Thursday, January 20, 2011

Chesa

This is the only Swiss restaurant I know in town and thank goodness its really really really good. The quality of the products are fresh and owner/ chef cooks up hearty and delicious food.


Chesa has been around for a very long time and has a big following. We sometimes forget that Chesa is there; but when we think of having 'meat', we right away think of Chesa. Chesa is situated in a house in a discreet sub soi. The restaurant's decor is nothing special but the restaurant is cozy & comfy.


The first dish was Mache Salad. I love mache salad and the only place I know that flies in the mache to Bangkok is at Chesa. A mix of mache, bacon, tomatoes, radish & chopped boiled egg with a light cream salad dressing. Chesa is the only place that has this and it simply amazing.


The second dish was Deer meat. For our starter; were very curious to try the deer meat. The deer meat was lovely; rich deep colour, good texture and nice taste.


The next dish was Roasted Venison. It is so rare to get a whole venison to share for six people in town. Chesa always has the most amazing cuts of meats (depending on the season). When the chef told us that the venison just arrived in the restaurant. How could we let him hold on to it? We ordered it medium-rare. The venison was cooked perfectly. The meat was so tender and cut like butter. Just amazing.


The first side dish was Chestnuts & honey. Oh my, oh my do I love chestnuts. What a great idea to have a sweet & smokey side dish like this to contrast with the other savoury side dishes. The chestnuts were soft & tender and the sweetness from the honey made them so so yummy.


The second side dish was Brussels sprouts with bacon. We do like Brussels sprouts and the way they were cooked at Chesa...makes this side dish a favourite. The Brussels sprouts were soft & tender and the rich flavour of the Brussels sprouts and the bacon were a match made in heaven.


The third dish was Red cabbage. The cabbage had a lovely deep burgundy colour, were soft and had the right balance of acidity, sourness & sweetness.


The fourth side dish was Spaetzle. Traditional German dumplings. My favourite when pan fried until crispy on the outside. The texture of the dumplings were more dense than gnocchi. The taste comes from butter & olive oil with a sprinkle of herbs.


The dessert for my gang was a Cheese platter to share. The Swiss cheeses were perfect. The right smell, texture and flavour. Who needs to fly to Switzerland now to eat cheese?

Overall; no wonder Chesa has been opened in Bangkok all these years. It is a great place for Swiss food. Chesa is a very popular place fondu or raclette; but I just cannot eat this kind of meal in the heat of Bankgok. I always associate these dishes with the cold winter weather of Switzerland. I find them too heavy for my palette.

However; the rest of the food at Chesa is absolutely wonderful. The meats are especially amazing. The selection of things at Chesa are of course freshly flown in from Switzerland and are unique because there are not many Swiss restaurants in town. The chef really knows how to cook his meats. The side dishes are so so good.

The service is really friendly and professional. The prices are not are not cheap but are not that expensive either. But we are willing to pay for the meats (a bit more expensive than other places) because they are rare and hard to find in Bangkok. A unique and hidden treasure on Sukhumvit.

Address: 5 Sukhumvit 20, Bangkok 10110
Telephone: 02-2616650

www.chesa-swiss.com

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