COCONUTS CRITIC’S TABLE — Here are some words to live by in Bangkok: beware the beautiful. This applies as much to statuesque women as it does to restaurants. The prettiest eateries – those that perch on top of skyscrapers, that sit by the banks of the Chao Phraya, that fill grand old mansions with ornate teak carvings and antiques and dress their waiters in silk chongkraben – seldom serve the best food.
Just as a beautiful person can get laid no matter how vapid their conversation, a Bangkokian restaurant with a nice view won’t have trouble filling seats – even if what comes out of the kitchen is decidedly pedestrian. In reality, it’s often at those Plain Janes of the resto world, the likes of Krua Apsorn or Jay Fai or Khua Kling Phak Sot, where the magic happens. Hell, sometimes it’s the filthiest street stall in the district that pounds the best somtam – just don’t worry too much about the rats and roaches gnawing on the leftovers.
Given all this, it was with some mistrust that I approached Sala Rattanakosin, a hotel-restaurant on Maharat Road, right behind Wat Pho. This place, I suspect, may well offer the best views in the whole city. It sits by the Chao Phraya directly opposite Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. This stunning example of Khmer-style architecture, with its distinctive prang, is inarguably – and I shudder to use this word, given the abuse it’s usually subjected to – “iconic.”
Inside, the decor could be described as – shock! horror! – industrial chic, with the usual exposed concrete and strange mechanisms of unfathomable purpose. But it’s fine and scarcely matters given what’s visible through the windows. Indeed, the whole restaurant feels like a kind of catered viewing gallery for the temple. Chairs are oriented to face the monument; you can’t help but just sit there staring at the thing. You begin to feel as if you’re all waiting for the temple to do something, as if it’s an imminent eclipse or a heavily pregnant panda. It will be no surprise to learn that the temple does nothing at all – save stand across the river bathed in golden light, dumb as a brick, in all its priapic glory.
Remarkably, the view from the venue’s slick rooftop bar is even better. It looks out not only on the aforementioned “golden stonker,” but also on Wat Pho and the Grand Palace, which shine with an almost supernatural glow and appear every bit the terrestrial abodes of exalted beings they’re meant to be. Which happens to make the bar an excellent place to get shitfaced.
And now to the food. Does it beat that of the restaurant’s neighbor, The Deck? The latter also faces Wat Arun and does a sterling job of proving the dictum above – that nice views beget mediocrity. And so I’m pleased to report that Sala Rattanakosin is an outlier in this respect. Like The Deck, the menu covers both Thai and European dishes, but here they appear side-by-side on the a la carte, rather than in their usual ghettos. Eating both cuisines at the same meal might bother the super-sensitive of palate, but for the rest of us, why not?
Still, it’s a bold chef who attempts to nail both idioms in the same kitchen – in this case a bold British chef named Tony Wrigley. The gambit pays off – mostly. The Western fare is better executed than the Thai dishes, but much of the menu is excellent. There may be issues with consistency – my experiences on several visits have included rapturous, contented and underwhelmed. The general impression, though, is positive.
The duck confit on herb gnocchi is pulled off with aplomb, with a rich cheese and truffle sauce balanced by bright mangetout and asparagus. A quinoa salad with asparagus, fat red olives, avocado, chilli sauce, holy basil and feta is a light and refreshing accompaniment, with enough going on to keep things interesting. The twice-cooked crispy pork belly also stands out for the smooth melding of Asian flavors with a cut that’s de rigueur on the city’s Western menus these days.
The Thai staple yam pla duk fu (fried catfish salad), in which shredded deep-fried fish is paired with a tart green mango salad that cuts through the grease, is a classic. Here, Wrigley replaces the fish with deep-fried soft shell crab – an entirely sensible move that results in a treat. But on my last visit, the chu chi ruam mitr (assorted seafood in a coconut red-curry sauce) had issues. Chu chi should be relatively dry, though here it seemed to have been reduced more than necessary. Worse, the seafood wasn’t cooked consistently – the shrimp was overdone and had toughened, while the fish and scallops had devolved into watery mush. Yam kai kati, a salad of shredded chicken poached in coconut milk was on the bland side, while the texture of the meat elicited the word “cardboardy.” This word should never be heard at a dining table, unless you’re eating cardboard. Despite these complaints, though, much of the food shines. And with a view like this, it could get away with so much less.
Coconut’s Critics Table reviews are written based on unannounced visits by our writers and paid for by Coconuts Bangkok. No freebies here.
FIND IT:
39 Soi Ta Tien
Maharaj Road
7am-10pm, open daily
Dan Waites is the author of Culture Shock! Bangkok, a guide to culture, customs and expat life in the Thai capital. Follow him on Twitter: @danwaites
Reader Interactions