A local favourite RETURNS
THIEN DUONG’S MOSTLY SIGNATURE SELECTIONS CONTINUE TO DELIGHT
It’s not always common for a time-honoured restaurant to pick up its thriving business after a relocation.
Thus when I saw a packed house at Thien Duong’s four-week-old venue, I knew this was one really smart move.
The long-treasured Vietnamese restaurant is a part of Baan Dusit Thani, a recently-launched project to give the Dusit Thani hotel’s signature gastronomy and hospitality a new lease on life while the hotel is closed for redevelopment.
As one of the three dining outlets being transposed, Thien Duong takes over the restored warehouse in the back of the very beautiful 7,200m² compound.
The expansive premises, originally owned by one of Thailand’s wealthiest pharmacist families, boasts a cluster of German fachwerk-styled houses built before World War I, a large landscape front yard, a tennis court, a dance hall and a swimming pool.
The high-ceiling warehouse, in which the restaurant is located, has been stylishly revamped to offer a cozy tropical bar feel with lush jungle hues, bamboo and wooden furniture, lots of natural lighting and upbeat Asian instrumental background music filling the air.
Flocking the restaurant on the weekday that I visited was a happy crowd of diners — regulars and new faces, locals and expats. And briskly attending to them was a bubbly team of veteran staff, whose fivestar and cordial service proved to remain flawless.
The original Thien Duong first opened in the mid-80s as a high-end Vietnamese restaurant. It offered a full-steam selection of Vietnamese fare, both classics and seasonal specialities.
Of the new chapter, the menu is scaled-down to feature mostly all-time favourites. Even so, it still boasts over 50 items including appetisers, personal dishes, sharing entrées, soups and desserts. Better yet are the prices, which seem to be more middle-tiered.
Our lunch kicked off with chao tom, or deep-fried minced prawn cake on sugar cane (290 baht).
Served with bite-sized portions of rice vermicelli, the prawn cake is made with kneaded minced prawn rolled around a stick of sugar cane, which lent to it a natural sweet juice, before being deep-fried.
The plump and springy prawn cake is enjoyed with a sweet-and-sour condiment, a freshly-prepared mixture of fine carrot and turnip strands flavoured with fish sauce, sugar and mild rice vinegar.
We couldn’t afford to miss having nem nuong
(340 baht), regarded by most Thais as a quintessence of Vietnamese meal.
Typically, this DIY platter of grilled minced pork balls with rice paper and assorted fresh vegetables would require diners quite a messy effort to enjoy.
But here the dish is presented in a way it offers a more genteel dining experience. The rice paper and lettuce are neatly cut and layered while the helping of cucumber, garlic, half-ripe banana, star fruit and pineapple is served in nice morsels.
You eat them by wrapping a pork ball together with the diced fruit and fresh herbs (e.g. mint, holy basil, Vietnamese coriander and cilantro, which come on the side) in the rice paper before dressing them with thick sesame sauce.
Thien Duong’s rendition of nem nuong sauce had a pleasant umami whiff of ferment soybean paste to it and was subtly nutty without being overly sweet.
We also found taste buds contentment in another bestseller, bahn cuon, or steamed Vietnamese ravioli with minced pork and shrimp (190 baht).
The dish features warm and delicate rice noodle packets, in which reveal a delicious wholesome filling made with minced pork, prawn and mushroom, topped with golden deep-fried shallots.
Also worth having is banh xeo, or crispy turmeric crepes with minced pork, shrimp, chives and bean sprouts (210 baht).
When it comes to Vietnamese noodle soup, I would rate Thien Duong’s Pho beef (190 baht) among the city’s very best.
Bathed in crystal clear yet soothingly flavourful broth were pleasantly gummy rice noodles and generous portion of supple slices of prime grade beef. Other protein options such as chicken, pork and pork sausage are also available.
The current selection of desserts lists the likes of longan pudding with fresh cream and sago with cantaloupe. My personal favourite that promises no regret is warm banana fritters accompanied by gooey house-made vanilla ice cream (180 baht).
A little draw back during my visit was that the restaurant served up only Italian coffee and not a traditional Vietnamese coffee. However, if you’re really into exotic drinks, an impressive array of Vietnamese-inspired cocktails can be ordered from the bar.
Reservations are highly recommended.