But; we heard that Le Cafe Siam was under new ownership & chef. Under the new ownership; they renovated the old house and the new Chef/Patron Paul Anthony Quarchioni formerly from the Normandy of the Oriental Hotel was cooking. With that kind of background there were finally some good reasons to visit the NEW Cafe Siam.
On top of that; we also heard that chef Paul decided not to open the typical high end dinning French restaurant but a bistro styled restaurant with basic bistro food. We were very excited since there are not many bistro style food in town.
The architecture of the old house is lovely. An old house from the 1960's (I think); a mix of traditional Thai and colonial mansion architecture. The restaurant is not very big inside. The main dinning room (inside & outside) is on the ground floor; while the bar/ lounge is on the second floor. There is a big garden in front which adds the tropical feeling.
It was a cool evening; so we decided to eat at the outdoor dinning area. The only problem we had was that almost at the end of our meal; we were eaten by mosquitoes. We had to ask for mosquito coils and sprays. You cannot see those evil monsters because of the mood lighting outside; it was dim. Besides the blood thirsty monsters; the ambiance of the restaurant is very nice. It is comfortable and it is not overly designed or decorated. It also brings you back in time with the restoration of the old home and its colonial furniture.
We decided to take the tasting menu. The first dish was an amuse bouche of carrot juice & home-made fois gras. The carrot juice was tasty and refreshing. The fois gras tasted very nice and just the right portion.
The second dish was a choice between steak tartare & sweetbreads. My friends chose the steak tartare. It tasted very good. The meat was very fresh & had a good texture and the ingredients mixed with the meat was blended perfectly.
The second dish which I chose was sweetbreads with salad. A very rare dish to get in Bangkok. So; when it is available, why not? Not everyone likes sweetbreads but we do and this dish satisfisfying.
The third dish was for my friend who chose the onion soup. I never order onion soup in Thailand. I always link eating onion soup to winter, and many of you know, we rarely have winter in Bangkok. However; the soup looked good.
The third dish was our choice; the soup was a lobster bisque. A favourite of mine, when done right. The bisque was smooth, rich and creamy. The lobster was fresh, solid and the chef was very kind to give a good portion of lobster in the bisque.
The fifth dish was penne topped with mozzarella cheese shaving. This was the strangest dish of the night. We did not understand why they served this dish. First of all it's an Italian dish and second, it was bland. It disturbed the flow of our French dinner and I think the chef ran out of ideas. Very strange!
The fifth dish was a choice between fish (sorry I cannot remember the type of fish it was) and meat. I chose the fish; which was cooked perfectly, which was slightly raw in the middle, the skin crispy and the fish meat was tender, flaky & juicy. A very nice dish.
The fifth dish which my friends chose was stewed beef. A hearty, rich and tasty dish. The beef was very tender and juicy. The jus added extra tastes. A really good choice.
The dessert was crepe suzette topped with vanilla ice-cream. The crepes were thin, the sauce was rich & sweet and the orange slices added sour & acidity. A nice combination of textures and tastes.
Coffee and truffles.
Overall; the food was good, simple and affordable. An oasis in the middle of Bangkok. The atmosphere is really cozy, comfortable and beautiful. The service is very good. If you do sit outside; ask for mosquito spray right away before those black blood sucking monsters come and attack you.
www.lecafesiam.com
4 Soi Sriaksorn Cheu Plerng Rd. Sathorn
Sathorn, Bangkok
02-671 0030
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