EVER-CHANGING CHINATOWN
With so many restaurants having been shuttered or relegated to doing “delivery only” for much of the year, it’s difficult to say if any real food trends have emerged. But when it comes to trendy locations, it’s impossible to beat Bangkok’s Chinatown. Restaurateurs who can find a historic building here, and have the resources to renovate, are well on their way to creating the city’s next buzzworthy dining spot.
A perfect example is Contento Caffé e Cucina – reviewed in our May issue – which is located on Maitri Chit Road (a short walk from Mustang Blu, the popular boutique hotel and eatery that also attracts well-heeled crowds to this part of town). Contento offers an Osteria-style dining experience, with an effortlessly European vibe and ambiance, and the main man behind it all is Ou Baholyodhin, Chief Creative Officer at Sansiri, who oversees the project together with his partner Ball Tharapibarn.
At street level, Contento’s striking navy blue and white exterior adds a welcome splash of colour to this slightly shabby neighbourhood, commanding attention with four large arched windows, six sculpted pineapple reliefs, and a front door that brings to mind 10 Downing Street. Step inside and you’ll find a chic little bistro with an Italianleaning menu that offers a pleasing mix of all-day breakfasts, small bite appetisers, salads, pastas, and meaty mains; with interesting nods to French, English, and even Japanese cuisines interspersed throughout.
Contento is one part of a multi-storey project, collectively referred to as Rong Samran, and currently the floors above the restaurant are in the process of being transformed into chic socialising spots as well. The second level Blue Bar is next in line to officially throw open its doors, and Ou – never at a loss for words – describes its eye-popping interior as: “Kyoto meets Venice in this glamorous izakaya x cicchetti bolt hole, as you’re watched over by blue herons and Fu dogs.”
Another new restaurant shining the spotlight on Chinatown is Potong, where Chef Pichaya “Pam” Utharntharm offers her unique take on progressive Thaichinese cuisine with a mammoth 20+ dish tasting menu that stimulates all five senses. Housed in a beautifully refurbished, five-storey building that dates back more than a century – where generations of Chef Pam’s family both lived and produced traditional Chinese herbal medicine – it has fast become one of the most talked about dining experiences in town. From duck tongue to black chicken to deconstructed corn soup, her menu challenges (and rewards) diners at every turn.
In nightlife circles, Chinatown’s tiny Soi Nana (Maitri Chit) remains the district’s cool cocktail epicentre, and when alcohol restrictions ease expect TAX, the most recent addition to the laneway’s liquor lineup, to finally get the crowds it deserves (after being shuttered for the vast majority of 2021). Operated by the same folk behind Teens of Thailand and Asia Today, it specialises in craft cocktails made from vinegars, and is located directly above the hip pizza joint Black King Bar, which opened in late 2020 but also spent much of this past year in lockdown limbo.