After two days of running around temples, getting lost on the roads out of Bangkok, riding elephants and getting suits fitted, our third day was a lot more low key.
Instead, I dragged Brad around to the shopping malls to get my fix of cheap clothes. Teehee! For those who haven't been to South East Asia, 'mall culture' is huge. Whilst in Melbourne, we might head out to a suburb or Chapel Street or Smith Street for a meal…it's not uncommon to head out to a mall to meet up for dinner.
You're also spoilt for choices for malls in Bangkok. We popped by the shiny and luxurious Siam Paragon to check our the car dealerships on the 4th level….how the hell do you get the cars up there?! And also the random orchid show on the ground level. Was just beautiful!
There was also this outdoor portrait exhibition, showcasing well known designers and models. Loved this shot of Karl Lagerfeld. Crazy but genius.
We also made our way to Platinum Fashion Mall, a massive mall, packed shoulder to shoulder with cheap whole sale price clothing. Seriously girls, no need to bring the boyfriends here, they don't appreciate.
Naturally couldn't resist one of my favourite ice-cream stores, parked right outside Platinum…yaay Rocky Road!
In the evening, we met my friend, Gavin, for dinner. Being a local, we left dinner options up to him and when we found out that his suggestion, Long Table, was only a 10 minute walk away from us, we were psyched!
Although navigating Bangkok's roads in heels may not have been such a good move on my part. Thank god for my man-bag to hold on to….(I love you Brad, really!).
After taking a lift up to level 25 of a rather unassuming business building, Long Table had a shiny, trendy and bright fit out, bright coloured lights all over the bar outside, and a cleaner lighter palette inside, although it does have an air of casual about it, we sat on a day bed, made dining area, with a recessed middle with a table. Kind of like at those Japanese restaurants…just more white…and pleather.
Brad and I got there a bit earlier than my friend, who was stuck in the infamous Bangkok traffic, so we drank beers, had a heated discussion over how shiny places charge so much more for beer and browsed the menu.
Thai food is the agenda at Long Table, but with a modern approach and clean and neat presentation.
Once Gavin arrived, we did a fair share of ordering…and we somehow managed to finish it all between the three of us….
We started with a pomelo salad, something I sorely miss when I am in Melbourne. Fresh, juicy, I loved that the pomelo was all…shredded up (for the lack of a better word). I found the light and crispy pork chicharon on top an interesting contrast and thought it probably didn't need it…but who's one to turn down chicharon?
I naturally insisted on having pad thai. Long Table's version had gigantic prawns (like gigantic!) and delightfully sticky noodles. I wouldn't have minded them a bit sweeter and a little more vibrant in flavour overall, whilst enjoyable, I probably wouldn't recommend them…considering you would be in Bangkok.
Grilled Chiang Mai sausages with crisp vegetables were recommended by Gavin and completely delicious. The little slices were surprisingly spicy and packed a punch in the mouth. Probably one of my favourite dishes of the night!
I forgot exactly which fish dish this was, but I do remembering oohing at how cute it was when presented. It was also very tasty, with a lovely sweet and sticky sauce to go with it…mmm…
I love home made tofu, Chillipadi used to do a great silky tofu which I feel has gone down hill these days. However, here, it was a mouthful of heaven as the slightly caramelised exterior gave way to a smooth, silken tofu that melted into the mouth. And I'm never one to balk away from a sticky sweet chilli sauce...which I may have gotten all over my spoon...then the table...then Brad....but oh well...
It was always amusing taking Brad to meet my friends in Asia. The conversations would always start with me doing the social niceties and chatting and catching up to whatever the other person was doing. The inevitable question of "So Brad…what do you do?" would pop up and I would then happily bow my head down and dig into my meal while Brad and my friend would do the rest of the talking and exchange thoughts on psychology and books to read.
I was more than happy for this to happen, while munching away on dessert. More sweets for me….!
It was hard to go past something with chocolate and the warm melting chocolate cake with vanilla sauce and cappuccino ice cream fit the bill perfectly. Soft gooey interior which spilled onto the perfectly white plate when opened…and ice-cream.
The raspberries with sesame crisp and passionfruit syrup with vanilla ice-cream provided a slightly more refreshing alternative end to the meal, fun and colourful, tangy and bright. It was essentially a sweet fruit salad with with a bit of crunch and ice-cream. What's not to love?
Overall I liked the food at Long Table. Sure, it is dressed up, it's not super, super authentic, and not as cool and street as actually being on the street having cheap grub, but the setting was beautiful and the food really still quite tasty.
Gavin had to head off after the end of the meal, which left Brad and I to wonder out onto the balcony area, grab another beer or two and enjoy the real selling point of Long Table. The view.
At level 25, you get breathtaking evening views of the Bangkok skyline. With lazy lounge music pumping out the speakers we kicked back and had a nice quiet finish to the evening…even if you don't come for the food, at least pop by for a scrummy cocktail and the views….
25th Floor, Column Building, 48 Sukhumvit Soi 16
Bangkok
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