Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu, Bangkok

If you've been to Japan, chances are you've come across gyukatsu - a delicious dish that's been loved there for quite some time.  Unlike the more familiar tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet), gyukatsu is made with beef that's lightly coated in crispy panko breadcrumbs and deep-fried just enough to keep the centre beautifully rare.  The fun part?  It's served with a small hot stone grill at your table, so you can cook each slice of beef to your preferred doneness, one piece at a time.

Although gyukatsu has been popular in Japan for years, Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu only expanded to Bangkok around a year and half ago and has only recently opened its first Sydney location.  While we were visiting Bangkok, we had to see ourselves what all the hype was about.

It turned out to be such a fun dining experience.  Being able to grill the beef ourselves meant we could enjoy every bite exactly how we liked it, whether lightly seared or cooked through.  Since you cook the meat at your own pace, every piece stays hot and fresh instead of cooling down all at once.

Each set comes with a selection of dipping sauces that let you mix and match flavours, and some meals also include their curry sauce.  We absolutely loved the curry.  It was lighter than the rich Japanese curries we're used to, making it perfect pairing that didn't overpower the beef.  It also comes with a silky onsen egg, which added an extra layer of richness and made every bite even more satisfying. 

If you still have room after your meal, they also offer a selection of in-house desserts to finish things off on a sweet note.  Overall, it was a really enjoyable experience and we can definitely see why Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu has become so popular.

Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu

At Siam Center Bangkok

Lv. 2, 979 Rama 1 Road, Pathum Wan, Bangkok

Ph: +66 98 669 3182

Premium Boat Noodles at Thong Smith

Previously:

The House Lounge by Aspire, Sydney International Airport

The iconic Sawasdee Ronald McDonald

Back last year, when we were in Thailand, we had this grand noodle boat from Thong Smith restaurant.  We fell in love right away with their rich and thick broth as well as the use of premium quality meat.  Although for a bowl of beef noodle boat in Thongs Smith, it could cost $7 while usually out there is only half the price.  And the price for wagyu noodle boat starts from 299 bath or around $14 per bowl.  

Okay, so it's not exactly cheap, but trust me, it's worth every cent!! Normally, when I have a noodle boat, I need to add the four-elements seasoning to balance the broth flavour like sugar, chilli, vinegar, and fish sauce.  But with Thong Smith's noodle boat, I don't have to add anything in.  The taste is already that great, it's spot on. 

I recommend ordering some crispy pork lard as well.  This tiny golden pork fat will lift up your dish to a heavenly level.  If beef is not your thing, not to worry, they also serve pork noodle that comes in dry or soup.   

Sliced Australian wagyu, beef ball, braised shank and tendon 329 THB / AUD 15

Crispy pork lard

Braised shank 89 THB & tendon 89 THB

My next favourite dish here is hands down to this deep-fried wonton.  They were not oily at all, yet it comes with generous amount of meat filling.  They went well together with plum dipping sauce.

Some fruity soda drink to wash down the piquancy from the pork blood

Thong Smith Mega Bangna

Open 7 days a week from 10 am - 10 pm

There are many other branches across Bangkok such as in Central Embassy, Siam Paragon, Terminal 21, Central World and a few more.

Stay tuned for the next blog, we went to Shanghai over the New Year:

Turkish Airlines Lounge in Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok

Turkish Airlines Lounge in Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok

Previously:

Premium Boat Noodles at Thong Smith

When you have a Priority Pass membership, of course you want to maximise it, don't you?  Here we're again, enjoying airport lounge benefits before our flight to Shanghai departed.  We randomly picked this Turkish Airlines lounge near gate D in Suvarnabhumi International Airport.  I was delightfully surprised with their food choices though.  I like the fact that they serve traditional Turkish coffee accompanied with some baklava, an authentic Turkish pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with lots of sugar syrup and honey.  It is sweetened my day. 

Spending time in an airport lounge, it makes our waiting time just flies, especially with a glass or two of good cocktail drinks on your hand or each hand.

So ready with our flight to Shanghai which takes approximately four and half hour.  See you all in my next blog where we explored one of the massive cities in China, pack with people and good food.

Noodle with fish - food from China Eastern Airline was surprisingly good

Fried chicken and rice

Turkish Airlines Star Alliance Gold Lounge

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport Concourse D

Stay tuned for the next blog in Shanghai:

Grand Central Hotel and Nanjing Road, Shanghai

Swensen's Ice Cream and Pang Cha, Bangkok

Previously:

The Coral Beach Club

On a hot summer day, there is an unguilt excuse to have ice creams as much as you like, no matter day or night.  Let's do both afternoon and in the evening then.  Why not?  If you plan a trip to Thailand, there is one very popular ice cream parlors here and beloved by locals.  You might know already, the place is called Swensen's.  The price wise is reasonable.  I mean there are cheaper ice cream selling out there, but hey!!!  For this quality standard of products they offered, then I would say it is not that expensive at all.

 

They not only sell varieties of ice creams but there are brownies, pancakes, waffles and also mango sticky rice which can be found here.  We had ice creams from Swensen's so many many times while we lived there and never once have they disappointed me.  

Strawberry sundae boat 169 Baht

Pancake with caramelised banana and ice cream of your choice 179 Baht

Snail cup set 119 Baht - cup with a scoop of ice cream

From time to time, they have these cute cups promotion where they use it to serve ice creams on and once you done eating, they will wash the cup for you before you're taking it home. 

Later that night, we had another cold desserts to cool down our body in order to have a good night sleep.  I know this is just an excuse 😜  This time, we went for something more Thai tang.  It was a Thai milk tea flavoured bingsu from Pang Cha.  They have a few branches across Thailand and located mostly in malls.  

Pang Cha Thai milk tea 380 Baht (around A$16.5)

It was a nice shaved ice.  Strong taste of milk tea but not so sweet.  It comes with some pearls sago and almond flakes that I don't really need them to be there but we still managed to finish them anyway.

Thai Southern roti 265 Baht (around A$11.5)

However, a little disappointed with this roti as I found that the roti itself was slightly undercooked.  It has a crispy bits on the outer layer but perhaps they rolled too thick, so inside, it tasted quite floury.  But otherwise, that Thai milk tea-flavoured condensed milk was lovely.  

Stay tuned for the next blog still in Thailand:

Saraburi

Copper Beyond Buffet, Bangkok

Previously:

Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel

Let me take you to one of the finest and the most premium buffet restaurants in Bangkok, Thailand.  This place was so far the best buffet I have ever had in my entire life.  They serve mini version of fine dining dishes.  They are very thoughtful that everything comes in a small portion, like literally fits in one mouthful.  So, you can basically try more varieties.  Moreover, the used of top-notch quality of produces and outstanding selection of food menus made them earn a lot of positive and top-hole reviews.  This place is none other than Copper Beyond Buffet which located on the second floor of The Sense Pinklao. 

Customer won't be able to just walk-in into this restaurant.  Only advance reservation is accepted.  Sometimes it might take a month to make a booking.  So, if you only have a few days in Bangkok and want to dine in here, do book the place about 2 or 3 months before to avoid disappointment.  There are a few buffet packages and all come with a great deal.  The one we chose was package B for 2,559 Bath (around A$110) where you can get to choose 2 items from the listed menus on top of the general buffet menus.  They give a limit of 2 hours for each sitting session.  

Once we arrived, we have to queue and pay at the reception before heading to the actual dining area.  Although the lines were quite long, but it was moving quick. 

Reception and cashier

How this buffet works is a little different from other buffet restaurants.  So, with the package that we bought, each person can choose 2 items on extra item lists filled with premium dishes (above picture) on top of the standard buffet items available for everyone in the house.  They have something like lobster tail, foie gras, scallop and few more excellent dishes that aren't available in different packages. 

Seared foie gras with port wine sauce

This foie gras was splendid.  Nicely seared on the outside and paired with a good sauce as well. 

Australian striploin steak topped with foie gras with red wine sauce

Then this dish came around.  The already delicious foie gras accompanied with perfectly cooked meat.  They were just simply double delish.  Though, if I need to choose, I prefer the foie gras dish on its own.  As I can taste that unique foie gras smell when they stand alone. 

Bake and torch lobster tail with trio cheese

This dish wasn't mine, but I tried a tiny piece of them.  And it was a fine lobster tail and that burnt cheese on top complimented the lobster meat very well.

Hokkaido scallop with white wine creme fraiche

Beside getting those two items from the special lists, you can also grab more items from all the sections in the dining hall, like what normally buffet works.  A-must try item would be this Wagyu noodle boat, I picked the one without noodle to minimise carbs intake so I can have more food.  Another dish to get is definitely the truffle soup served with croissant.  It was very creamy and the truffle itself was strongly pronounced.  This soup is accompanied with flaky buttery croissant as well.  I wished my tummy could handle the second bowl of this great soup but still more other delicious food I needed to try. 

Truffle soup with croissant

Miyagi oyster as big as my palm - it was amazingly juicy, sweet and very plump.

Korean marinated squid

This marinated squid was the food I enjoyed the least in here.  It was too chewy and slightly bland. 

Fresh sashimi

Wagyu noodle section

What I got here is precisely meat and soup.  About two or three huge thinly sliced wagyu.  They were totally amazing.  I would say the best noodle boat, I had ever ever eaten.  I really wish there is a store out there that selling this and I will definitely go there every week.  The meat was melted in my mouth.  Just once or twice chews and it was all gone and dusted.  The soup itself was very rich, dense and pack with flavours.  No need to add any sauce or any sugar or any chili.  It was perfect as it is.  

 

Beside taking dishes that are ready to grab, you can also order dishes from so many stands scatter around the dining hall.  See picture below for sample menus.  There are nearly hundred to choose from.  And again, they come in a tiny individual serve, so no need to share with anyone yet you still can try many of them.  You only need to tell them your table number and they will serve it to your table when the food is ready.

Look at this crazy nigiri.  The amount of meat compared to the amount of rice.  It was insane.  I can have ten of this easily.  Wagyu was cooked to perfection with, I believe, is an eel sauce added on top.

Peek-a-boo, I found you little rice

Australian striploin beef spicy Thai salad

Smoked duck with berry sauce

Salmon mentaiko sushi and sashi sushi

Sakura ebi capellini

Stir fried rice with beef fat

Pineapple gazpacho

I had this pineapple gazpacho after my main meal to clean out my palette before getting ready for sweet courses and dessert.

Truffle and raspberry macarons

Apple pie

Waffle served with caramel sauce

Creme brulee

Chocolate lava with raspberry sauce

Panna cotta with berry sauce

Brioche toast with honey and passion fruit yoghurt ice cream

From all their dessert choices, I like the creme brulee the best (I had second bowl of this by the way) and the next one would be their honey toast.  Their macarons were really good as well.

Varieties of ice cream

Copper Beyond Buffet

Level 2, The Sense Pinklao

71/50 Barommaratchachonnan Arun Amarin, Bangkok

Ph: +66 92 281 1818

Stay tuned for the next blog in Phuket:

Kanom Jeen Liew, Phuket