THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Plates to please the palate

Plates to please the palate

East meets West at the conveniently located Jann Bistro

BORN INTO a family of restaurateurs, Dreerut Pichanusakorn never really thought about doing something different with his life. For almost six decades, the Pichanusakorn family has operated Neil’s Tavern, Bangkok’s oldest steakhouse, but Dreerut decided to step out on his own, opening his first Bangkok restaurant in 2014 and a second branch a couple of years later on Soi Asoke.

Plates to please the palate

The talented chef, who earned his degree from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in San Francisco, spent several years gaining experience at different restaurants in the US before returning home five years ago to launch Jann Bistro on Chan Kao Road in the Sathorn area. Aiming to attract young office workers and expatriates, he offers a variety of tempting easy-to-eat dishes at wallet-friendly prices and a relaxing dining space to chill out after a day of hardat work. 
Two years ago, he expanded to busy Asoke, serving more culinary creations with a focus on East meets West. Located on the ground floor of Prime Building, the second branch is cosy with bright yellow walls and modern wood furniture.
Larger but still relaxing, this 70-seat bistro combines a dining space, bar counter and a mini supermarket called Bakers Barn selling a full range of good-quality pastry ingredients from aboard. The menu includes appetisers, soups, salads, main dishes, pasta, steak, seafood, some popular Thai specialities and home-made desserts from Neil’s Tavern. 

Plates to please the palate

Salmon Skin Salad with sesame-miso dressing

Dreerut makes his own sauces and curry pastes and uses premium imported lamb from New Zealand, scallops and USDA prime corn-fed beef as a guarantee a good flavour and quality. 
“Jann Bistro is actually under the Neil’s Tavern umbrella. The idea is to offer easy-to-eat dishes that everyone can afford. But while Neil’s Tavern is a traditional steakhouse, Jann Bistro is a relaxing hangout for the younger crowds to enjoy light meals and tailored drinks,” he says. 
“We offer more than 100 dishes of which 80 per cent are Western recipes including spaghetti, burgers, steak and grilled seafood.” 
Inspired by the popular Spanish speciality Gambas al Ajilio, aromatic Garlic Prawn (Bt295) is served crispy bread. Salmon Skin Salad (Bt225), meanwhile, is dressed in a sweet sesame-miso sauce that’s as refreshing as it is tasty. 

Plates to please the palate

Garlic Prawn

Tender grilled Organic Pork (Bt365) is served on a bed of corn, carrots, mushrooms and peas and comes with a creamy but light honey-mustard sauce. Beef lovers can order steak with a choice of different sauces ranging from truffle, red wine, teriyaki, garlic and mushroom. 
Grilled seafood comes with a choice of sauces that include garlic cream, garlic butter, cajun spice, spicy tomato, Thai seafood and teriyaki.
The Thai kitchen presents Spicy Duck Confit Curry with Roti (Bt295), an interesting fusion of French and Thai cuisine, Roasted Pork Salad, Stir-fried Beef with Chilli and Basil, Crab Meat Yellow Curry and Papaya Salad with Sticky Rice that can be paired with such side dishes as deep-fried pork, grilled chicken and grilled steak. 

Plates to please the palate

Lunch set of Cauliflower Soup, Chicken Pesto, Thai Iced Milk Tea and Viennese Praline 

Popular with office workers, the bistro offers Western-style set lunches priced at a very reasonable Bt315 and featuring a choice of more than 20 appetisers, main dishes and drinks. They include Duck & Cheese Spring Roll, Calamari with citrus-garlic sauce, Fish & Chips, Sea Bass with garlic butter or spicy tomato, Chicken Schnitzel and Penne Pesto with clam, chicken or prawn. 
I opt for creamy Cauliflower Soup, soft Chicken Pesto and Thai Iced Milk Tea and pay Bt80 extra for a Viennese Praline. There’s also a Thai lunch menu, starting Bt175. 

Plates to please the palate

Lunch set of Cauliflower Soup, Chicken Pesto, Thai Iced Milk Tea and Viennese Praline 

Despite being pleasantly full, I let myself be tempted by yummy Green Tea Lava Cake (Bt195) served with chocolate ice cream. Every day, the bistro offers more than 10 kinds of homemade cakes from Neil’s Tavern kitchen, including orange cream, chocolate truffle, black forest, Thai tea, espresso and oreo cheesecake. 
The best sellers at the bar counter, are red Fruit Punch (Bt105), a mixture of orange juice, pineapple juice, lime and grenadine syrup and yellow Honey Jann (Bt195) blended with dark rum, apricot brandy, lime and honey. 
  

MAKE A DATE TODAY
>> Jann Bistro is located on the ground floor Prime Building, Sukhumvit Soi 21. It’s open daily from 11.30am to 2pm for lunch and from 5.30 to 10pm for dinner. 
>> Call (02) 260-4391 or visit www.Facebook.com/JannBistro
 

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