Sunday, July 11, 2010

Khun Churn; Thai Vegetarian Cuisine

We decided to go to 'THE' vegetarian restaurant in Bangkok at the moment. When we first heard that there was a vegetarian restaurant in the basement of the Mediplex building on Sukhumvit soi 42. We thought; what an awful idea to open a restaurant in the basement of the building. No one will go!

Thankfully; we were proven wrong. It has turned out that Khun Churn is one of the 'BEST' vegetarian restaurants in town. The restaurant is very popular as well. The buzz for Khun Churn has come from word of mouth as well as facebook. Everyone who has eaten at Khun Churn has posted what they have eaten on facebook. In the beginning; the food looked & sounded so interesting that more & more people wanted to try out the food.

Khun Churn started in Chiang Mai and already has two very popular vegetarian restaurants there. Thank goodness for us that she expanded her empire to Bangkok.

Khun Churn is probably the only macrobiotic restaurant in Bangkok. With that distinction this restaurant already makes Khun Churn stand out in the very crowded food scene of Bangkok.


The restaurant design was minimalist. The colour scheme consisted of neutral & bright colours such as browns, golds & yellows. A good idea since there are no windows in the restaurant.


The amuse bouche was organic tomato & cucumber in a light soy sauce. For such a small dish; tons of flavour popped in our mouths.


The drinks selection was huge. There were lots of healthy juices to choose from. Instead of using liquid sugar they instead used honey to sweeten the juices (a very good & healthy idea). We ordered one lemon and one jasmine juice. Both were very refreshing and tasty.


The first dish was steamed spring rolls. The stuffing of tofu, beans sprouts and mushrooms gave this dish loads of texture & flavour. A nice start for any meal time.


The next dish was tofu in red curry. The tofu was soft and melted in the mouth. The red curry was spicy, sweet, tangy & sour. A really yummy dish.


The next dish was tofu encrusted with sesame seeds. The first time; we had this dish, it was accompanied with a wasabi mayonnaise. Now it is accompanied with two different sauces which were just as good. The tofu had a nice firm texture. The sesame seeds added colour, texture & flavour. A simple but very nice dish.


The next dish was minced mushroom with eggs & safron. This has got to be one of the most amazing dishes on the menu. It sounds so simple but we have never had anything like this...anywhere. Khun Churn minces organic mushrooms and melds it together with egg & safron. We do not know how they do it but the dish is dry. We thought it would be oily or soaking in a sauce. The vibrant burnt orange colour comes from the egg yolk & safron. Stunning dish!

Overall; a really fantastic place for vegetarian food. If vegetarian food tasted this good everywhere; we would not mind becoming vegetarians. The service is friendly and efficient. The ambiance is comfortable & cozy. The prices are very reasonable. The food selection in the menu is extensive; I think we have only tried 20% of the what is in the menu (we seem to keep ordering the same food over and over again). But; the food is out of this world.

The only bizarre thing is that the restaurant is in the basement. Every time we go to Khun Churn there is absolutely nobody in the building. All the shops in the basement are empty. The shop attendants in the Whole Earth supermarket were sleeping. It really is a sad sight to behold. We are always amazed that these businesses survive.

The other strange thing is that Khun Churn closes at 20:00. It is way too early to close a restaurant but I am assuming it has something to do with the building the restaurant is in. We would love to eat at Khun Churn for dinner; but, eating dinner that early is out of the question.

Bangkok Mediplex Bldg., Ground Floor
Sukhumvit soi 42
Tel. 02-713-6599
Opening Hours: 10am – 8pm

www.vegetariankhunchurn.blogspot.com

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