Travel | Bangkok 15 to 17 May 2016 | Karmakamet Secret World - Aromatic Shop & Diner

Love our impromptu'ness, our spontaneity. In other words, we didn't have a plan. Well, at least not for that night. It was a lazy Sunday, we had our late lunch at Thanying. Ate our meal slowly, almost like a kaiseki course and by the time we were done, it was already late evening. We were too full for dinner and abit too late to go traipsing around. And so, we remembered Elle and her instagram post of a giant candy floss.

That place was really really near Thanying, so we decided to go for it. Let's go! Took a cab and it brought us to some condominium. Then we were stopped by security as cars weren't allowed past a certain point. Ooh, and we saw people walking out and figured, they don't look like residents but more like patrons of a cafe. Went to investigate and true enough, we found the secret diner.

is it really here?

outside

entrance

let's go

This place smells so good. This wasn't my first encounter with Karmakamet. It was way back in 2010 where we stumbled upon this aromatherapy shop near JJ Market (Chatuchak).

step right in, to another world

The soothing aromatics, the cosy ambiance combined with industrial decor...it felt somewhat surreal. Almost anime like. For some odd reason, I was reminded of Fullmetal Alchemist.

welcome

drawers of potions?

Liked the stained menu, feels like old world. I'm charmed. The other diners seemed to be from the artistic/creative crowd.

mostly western

something to drink?

every nook and corner looks interesting

Many patrons were seen taking photographs, exploring the lovely corners. The service staff were all friendly and welcoming.

Ivan's drink (alcoholic)

double espresso @ ‎฿110

the gigantic ball of candy floss

Yes, we did get the giant ball of candy floss. It was named as "Strawberry Shortcake on the Clouds". Such fluffy, dreamy name. Little did we know...we were in for a disappointment.

But first, where is the strawberry shortcake? Though, it was also rather fun to dunk a chunk of the floss into the espresso to see it disappear and also to act as sweetener.

strawberry shortcake?

yoghurt?! I want cake!

Luckily, the group ordered another dessert. The usual chocolate lava cake and a creme brulee. Lovely parmesan cracker too. That scoop of ice cream was good too. This dessert was more agreeable than the earlier fluffy one.

chocolate lava and creme brulee

Karmakamet is suited for intimate dinners. The ambiance, lighting, mood was all quite romantic.

lovely ambiance

signage

Karmakamet Secret World - Aromatic Shop & Diner

Address: Metheenivet, Klongton, Klongtoey, 30 Soi 1, Khwaeng Ram Inthra, Khet Khan Na Yao, Bangkok 10230, Thailand

Contact:  +66 2 262 0700

Website: http://www.karmakamet.co.th/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karmakamet

Business Hours: 10am to 1130pm

Travel | Bangkok 15 to 17 May 2016 | Thanying Restaurant Genuine Royal Thai Cuisine

It was an impromptu decision to visit this restaurant. Was pretty hungry since touched down in Bangkok and it wasn't till 2.15pm before we finally decided to meet up for late lunch. Four of us took a cab to Thanying and it was a pretty long ride, due to the traffic condition as well as an unexpected closure of a lane that forced us to take a detour. The cab uncle was shaking his head through out. Oops.

Finally arrived, and the restaurant looks cosy on its private premise of an old house in Pramuan Street. It gave off a tranquil vibe and we did arrive at an odd hour to have a meal. It was almost 3pm then.

stepping in

nice courtyard

reception cum bar

dining area

This is the kind of restaurant that made me want to talk in whispers. Smart casual dressing is appropriate.

menu

Was famished and thirsty, so ordered up a Thai Milk tea to quench the thirst. When in a group, we'll do communal dining. Each of us was responsible to order one dish of our choice. Collectively, we decided to go with the four curries set, a couple of appetisers and dishes that were recommended by Tracy's Thai friend.

looks like my kind of drink, except it wasn't for that day. Singha @ ‎฿110

coconut slushie @ ‎฿120

my first glass (and only glass!!) of Thai Iced Milk Tea @ ‎฿100

Must say that the beer pricing was rather good. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the Thai tea though the tea flavour wasn't as I'd like.

First up, appetisers of Miang Kha Na, sweet corn fritters and rice crackers with pork.

Miang Kha Na (เมี่ยงคะน้า) @ ฿180

lovely flavours

Fell in love with the Miang Kha Na, kid you not. Chinese kale leave as the wrapper and toss in a couple of dried shrimps, crispy pork fat (deep fried lard), peanuts, ginger dice, fresh shallots, bird's eye chili, lime and a good dollop of that sweet dried shrimp paste equates to an explosion of flavours. So yums and refreshing. Have to bite slowly though as the dried stuffs are pretty hard and requires good teeth.

Sweet Corn Fritters (ข้าวโพดทอด) @ ฿160

Khao Tang Hna Tang (ข้าวตังหน้าตั้ง) @ ฿160

Second favourite appetiser was surely the crispy rice crackers with minced pork. Again, the flavours shone through. The coconut milk dip of the minced pork was a winner and eaten with crispy rice crackers was a joy in terms of texture.

For mains, we had a set of 4 curries; sweet beef massaman, sweet chicken curry, prawn green curry with sweet basil and roasted duck in red curry. At one shot, we had tried half out of the 8 available curries.

Set of 4 kinds of curries @ ฿480

tom yum goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง) @ ฿180

Tom Kha Gai (ต้มข่าไก่) @ ฿160

Also had a taste of the soups; Tom Yum Goong and Tom Kha Gai (chicken in coconut broth). The versions here would be leaning towards the sweet side of things and of subtler flavours.

Roti Gang Gai @ ฿180

The Indian roti was nicely crispy and fluffy. So tasty on its own.

Yamm Tua Poo (ยำถั่วพู) @ ฿170

Crab meat with curry @ ฿320

The crab meat stir fried with omelette, seafood and some curry broth was good with its fresh seafood, and the winged beans was nicely crunchy much like the Malay ulam (salad).

Late lunch was enjoyable and do come with an open mind. The flavours here is much subtler and sweeter. Allow at least an hour and a half to dine here. The ambiance is relaxing and service was friendly. The meal costs ฿2,879 in total and fed the 4 of us comfortably. The cost was about SDG30 per pax.


Must orders: Miang Kha Na, Khao Tang Hna Tang (crispy rice crackers with minced pork), crab meat with curry, Indian roti

signage

 

Thanying

Location: 10 Thanon Pramuan (Pramuan St.), off Silom Rd., between Silom 17 and 19, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Nearest BTS: Surasak BTS Station
Website: http://thanying.com/
Contact: Tel (66) 02-236-4361, (66) 02-235-0371 Fax (66) 02-635-0113
Email: kriangkrai@thanying.com
Business Hours: Daily from 11:30am and last order is at 10:00pm
Cuisine: Genuine Royal Thai
Price: Reasonable ($$)

[Media Invite] Singtel TV GO!

Recently, I was introduced to Singtel TV GO! at an event held at Elements & Co. First thing that came mind was, "What is Singtel TV Go?" It is basically a free-to-download mobile app developed to enhance the experience of Singtel TV subscribers by providing the option to view their favourite Programmes on-the-go.

So, how does this works?
This FAQ would be able to provide the answers: http://singteltv.com.sg/_pdf/singteltvgo-faqs.pdf

Ok, I have an understanding of how it works. Then, how much does this cost?
http://www.singteltv.com.sg/singteltvgo/#price-plans

There was an opportunity to experience this app for a limited time, so here's how it went:

download app

quick guide during first launch of the app

It was easy to install and you'll get to see all that's available to the subscriber. I was most interested in the TV Guide section. Upon selecting the show of interest, you'll be prompted to enter the account ID and Singtel TV number. Key in the necessary details and you'll be able to watch the show in a jiffy.

home screen

for the football fans

Elementary, my dear

Just need to download the episodes and click on 'Play' to watch it, anytime, anywhere.

hi Lucy

And, of course, there's programmes about food. Yums.

talking about food

For music lovers, you can enjoy a 24-hours music channel via the launch of MTV Live (CH349) and MTV China (CH550) on Singtel TV.

And, for soccer fans, Singtel TV has secured broadcast rights for UEFA Euro 2016 as well as Copa America 2016, and you can catch all matches on CH142 and CH141 through the Singtel TV GO application. Yay!

If you are interested, you may wish to visit http://www.singteltv.com.sg/ for more information.

[Media Invite] Escape Restaurant & Lounge @ One Farrer Hotel & Spa

No, this is not the Escape Room (nothing to do with the physical adventure game where you're locked in a room with your friends and have to find clues in the room to 'escape' by solving a series of puzzles etc)

Escape Restaurant & Lounge is one of those few places that opens 24/7 and serves up a variety of foods to satisfy the hunger pangs, regardless of what time it strikes! Conveniently located at Exit C of Farrer Park MRT station, this place is rather huge.

Buffet is available daily for lunch and dinner, and priced at $45++ and $60++ per adult. Click here for Hungry Deals.

bar area

let's drink

It boasts of open kitchen concept and one could order up a plate of spaghetti ala-minute. One of the sauce type includes salted egg yolk! What a surprise.

chefs at work

What do you usually start with, at the buffet? Cold seafood? Chose not to go for the sashimi this time round. Heard that the beef brisket here is good, so went ahead and scooped up some to taste. Tendon was soft and meat tender. Its sauce was of adequate strength. Good to eat with white rice.

stewed beef brisket with radish and carrots

prawn cracker, rice, beef brisket & tendon, broccoli with mushrooms, roasted pork and lamb gulai

Japanese maki and sushi

roast beef and yorkshire pudding

How can I not have a slice of pink-in-the-center roast beef slice with yorkshire pudding? Had mine with lots of jus and a dash of mustard. Yums.

roast beef, yorkshire pudding, jus

Am a yorkshire pudding novice. Some say, the pudding is supposed to taste like a dry muffin. How is that supposed to taste good? I quite liked the yorkshire pudding texture here. Kind of eggy taste.

Seafood cooked to order. Or rather, seafood like mussels or prawns can be cooked to order with your choice of sauce base. Salted egg yolk prawns? No problem!

salted egg yolk prawns with ginger slices

load up on salads, or satisfy your sashimi cravings

Of course, I still want my oysters. Last two pieces, gobbled up by yours truly...

cold and hot (spicy)

dim sum pastries

Let's take a peek at the sweets. There's a shelf full of sweets and cakes. Collected them on mini plates and one could grab a cup of coffee to have along with the desserts.

eat to your heart's content

coffee and the loot

doesn't this look pretty?

The butter cakes are pretty good, especially the one that tasted like peanut butter. Everyone else loved the passionfruit butter cake. Hmm.

sweet strawberries and cream

assorted

durian pengat

If you don't feel like having buffet, Escape do ala-cartes too. You could request for the full ala-carte menu. We tried the teochew porridge set, available from 1030pm onwards till 6am. The side dishes are mei cai kou rou (梅菜扣肉), braised peanuts, braised beancurd skins, and steamed cod fish teochew style.

sweet potato teowchew porridge set @$17++

梅菜扣肉 (pork belly preserved vege)

braised peanuts

The homely flavours as envisioned by Executive Chef Kong was pretty apparent as showcased by the teochew porridge and beef brisket dish.

Had an enjoyable evening, sampling the foods but didn't manage to cover all. Though eaten in small portions, it still amounted to certain stomach space!

Thank you One Farrer Hotel & Spa, especially to Daniel, Amy and Chef Kong for hosting us, and HGW for the invite. Here's the link to make a reservation now.