I remember saying that if I wanted to eat seafood I had to go all the way to Maha Chai or the seaport of Samut Sakorn. Then the owner of the restaurant at Maha Chai opened a seafood place called Maha Chai seafood. I did not have to make that pilgrimage to eat good seafood any more. The other day, after much cajoling from my friends, I was invited to eat at another seafood restaurant near my house on Chaeng Wattana Road near PaK Kret. I suddenly discovered that there are many types of seafood restaurant, which present themselves in the guise of a seafood garden/pond/restaurant.

              Some of these places offer seafood that is from fresh water, such as fresh water prawns, snake head fish, rad fish and all kinds of fish and shell fish from fresh water. While other so- called seafood restaurants offer the whole range of seafood both from fresh water and from the sea. The wider the range of seafood you offer, the more difficult it is for that restaurant to ensure that your seafood is of the freshest and best quality.

              I had been invited by my friends to eat at one of these so-called seafood gardens. There are many of these places all over Bangkok and all these places have the same ending to their names “Kung Pao” which literally means Grilled shrimp. And as expected this place is called Sor Kung Pao. Sor stands for the letter “S” in the Thai alphabet. They claim that they are the original Kung Pao and they do not have branches anywhere. I must admit that I did not want to go eat at these so-called Kung Pao places because I have a pre-conceived notion that they all serve bad food.

              It is a place where you go and sit under the stars by the pond or water. You are supposed to relax and enjoy fresh seafood with a hundred thousand other patrons! How could the food be good? At any rate I went because I did not want to be accused of being close-minded. Yes, we all sat by the water on a wooden deck built over the water. That evening there were no stars but the air was fresh slightly cloudy.

              It was surprisingly pleasant to have a party with 20 other people and not think too much about how the service will be; how the food will be but just relaxing and enjoying the company of friends. Open air seemed to allow us to be ourselves and talk loudly, telling jokes and laughing. Then the food arrived. They told me that all the fish item on the menu were good and we dutifully ordered fish, any kinds of fish. First came Pla Ka Pong fried with a seafood tamarind sauce. It is their version of sweet and sour sauce. The tamarind is a very ingredient for Thai cuisine and they have used it well.

              The flavor of the tamarind is sour but not sharp. It has a hint of sweetness to it and the aroma and flavor of the tamarind goes very well with the fried fish. I really liked this dish. Then came another deep-fried fish dressed with Yum Ta Krai or lemon grass salsa. It was delicious. A balanced mixture of three flavors, sourness from lime juice, sweetness from palm sugar and saltiness from fish sauce, all mixed together with thinly sliced lemon grass, cubed shallots and crunchy cashew nuts.

              I usually do not like to order this dish because they always make the dressing or salsa too sweet which makes the fish taste greasy. There was Kung Chae Nam Pla or raw shrimp marinated in Nam Pla. This is a favorite dish for all Thais who like to eat fresh/raw shrimp with their whisky, beer or wine. We tried so many kinds of fish all they were all quite good. I discovered that this place serve mostly fresh water seafood. Their grilled fresh water prawns were fresh and cooked just right, slightly under and still just a little pink in the center. They were sweet and perfect with the dipping sauce. They have steak Isan, which mean steak North Eastern Thai style.

              It was served on a sizzle platter with carrots and other vegetables but they added gravy to it! Isan means that you just simply grill the meat and slice them. When you eat it you have to eat it with Jaew, which is an Isan dipping sauce made from crushed dry chili peppers, fish sauce, shallots and green onion. The most important ingredient is tamarind juice to give it sourness and crushed toasted rice kernels. I was disappointed in the fried rice that they served because it had no flavors but the idea of a fried rice with just garlic and Kana (Chinese broccoli) is a good one.

              Tom Yum Kung was very good and the shrimp was very fresh and thank God not over cooked. We ordered Som Tum, so that we have some vegetable or salad with the meal. They put pickled crab in their Som Tum. It was very good but I do not recommend it for those who do not have a cast iron stomach like most Thais. All in all, this out door eatery was surprisingly good and had wonderful atmosphere. The service was quick and attentive. The Chef came out for my comments and was very receptive to my suggestions. I hope that you will all give it a try and go there with your Thai friends who will be able to show you how to have a good time at an outdoor seafood restaurant.

              I had mentioned at the end of my last column that I would write about nam prik. I have to beg your forgiveness for changing the subject matter this week. I need to rush a review for meat lovers everywhere because I have just discovered a new steak house that has recently opened. The name of this steak house is Park Avenue and it is situated in the Mercury Tower building opposite Central Chidlom. I happened upon it when I went to have a very private lunch with an old girlfriend of mine at Auberge Dab. The food at Auberge is still very good and definitely very French. They told me at Dab that they have a sister restaurant in the same building in the lobby area. I remembered seeing it when I came to a party for Ocean Glass company.

              They must have known that I love beef especially good beef. I have written countless times of the enjoyment I get from eating tender perfectly cooked steak! Needless to say I went to try the steak there two days later. It was wonderful but to make sure that this was not just a luck strike I invited my father and other friends who are connoisseurs of beef to have dinner with me again. This time I could try everything on the menu because I make it a rule that everyone has to order different dishes.

              The restaurant is decorated with wooden wall paneling. It is not too grand but very masculine. No bright colored walls of any sort are found in the dining room, which is a long rectangular room with raised floor on one side. There are two private rooms partition off with stain glass doors. A small and very masculine bar with a baby grand piano sits at one end of the room near the entrance. All the tables are laid with crisp white linen. All right, I have talked enough about the ambiance. Now it’s time to go into the food and how it tasted.

              A four-page menu was presented to each of our guests. It was divided into, first courses, salads, and soups. Then came a full-page description of their beef and steak selections followed by some seafood and a short light fare menu. I did not look past the steaks. The first time I came here I ordered Prime Rib which I wanted medium rare and being the greedy person that I am I ordered the largest cut they have (Texas cut). Before launching off on the wonderful and succulent flavors of the prime rib I should mention some other delicious dishes which we ordered to tease our appetite. There are the crab cakes, which is done with lots of crabmeat and breadcrumbs.

              This dish had no potatoes in the cakes but it is topped with melted cheese after frying. A small side of fresh and crispy salad accompanies the crab cakes. Salmon tartar came in a smoke salmon flower served with toast triangle. This dish was very delicate and my father ordered it. I had the steamed mussels in white wine sauce, which was good, but not as good as the crab cakes. My friend had oyster Rockefeller that is always good as a standard classical dish. It also depends on the sauce that they made to cover the oyster. It was good rich hollandaise that was just tart enough not to make the already rich oyster too greasy. Simple but fresh salad of rocket with a hot-bacon dressing or your usual Caesar salad helps you cleanse your palate before the main course arrived.

              Not a single one of use ordered fish or seafood. We all had different cuts of beef. My father order prime rib medium rare but he did not order the biggest cut. He only had a large eight once cut. It came out red and pink looked good enough to slice thin and place between two pieces of bread and have one hell of an expensive sandwich! But my father was a lot more civilized than I am. He savored every bite of his steak. As he cuts into it he heaped a small amount of French mustard in it and dips it in the gravy before putting it into his mouth. My eyes followed his every move as he ate. I swallowed a few times while watching him eat.

              You see, I know how good the steak here is. It was tender, succulent and best of all the beef is fresh chilled beef non of this frozen stuff. While father enjoyed his prime rib, others had their steak served. There was rib eye steak with maitre d’hotel butter. It was perfectly cooked with that distinct smokey flavor a charcoal grill. I had grilled sirloin strip.

              Well, you guessed it; I had the largest cut you could get which was 16 ounces. It was medium rare, sweet with the blood of the beef and so soft that I hardly had to chew. It almost melted in my mouth. There are other cuts of fresh chilled beef here but I guess my favorite would have to be the sirloin strip. There are wonderful desserts to be had here to. Crepe suzette done tableside but who would have room for dessert after a very large piece of steak! I forgot to mention the wine.

              Although not a very extensive wine list but the have a fairly good selection old and New World wines to choose from. All in all, this restaurant is worth your visit if you are a meat lover. I have not had beef this good since my trips to United States, Australia and New Zealand. Now I don’t have to go abroad to eat good beef! And the price is comparable to that is pay abroad as well.