Food with true flower power

Next time you’re in town, make your way 150 metres down Kasemsan Soi 1 – opposite the National Stadium - and take a break from the bustling city at BCDE, the stylish yet relaxed restaurant at new hotel Lit Bangkok, which is owned and operated by Thai hoteliers.

BCDE stands for “bistro of creative drinking and eating” and is the only all-day dining venue of this seven-storey hotel. Basic and familiar dishes arrive at the table in some impressive presentations. The taste is authentic but everything is taken up a notch, including the prices.

The chefs – one lean, the other chubby - bring out the best in each other. Kamchan Singngoi, the lean one, specialises in European cuisine. He talks little and ensures the presentation is exquisite and the food flavourful. Ittichai Sawatdironnaphak, who is chubby, is known for his resonant voice and his fondness for Asian cooking, and adopts an experimental approach to his dishes.

If you think phad thai with prawns is a Thai food institution, try the version dreamt up by the lean and chubby chefs. The rice noodles are wrapped with a thin egg “paper” that’s truly golden in colour thanks to the mixture of hen and duck eggs and a little roasted chilli oil. Priced at Bt255, the dish is topped with a giant river prawn and has plenty of shrimps hidden inside the noodles. It’s garnished with lime, crushed peanut, bean sprouts, coriander, spring onion, bai bua bok (Asiatic pennywort) and hua pli (banana blossoms). The noodles are cooked al dente so retain plenty of crunch.

Another classic Thai dish is a combo featuring som tum, grilled chicken and sticky rice for Bt235. The som tum is pretty fiery if you’re used to hot Thai dishes and is beautifully presented in large red cabbage leaves with Isaan-style jaew dipping. Hot sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf is served on the side along with grilled chicken marinated with herbs for a day to ensure juiciness and tenderness. I personally found the chicken a bit sweet.

“We use only chicken rump to get tender flesh. Besides garlic, coriander root and soy sauce, we also use palm sugar for the aroma and a sweet aftertaste that overcomes the sour and hot som tum,” says Kamchan.

The chefs generate a spaghetti-based dish mixed with Thai-style tom kha gai or coconut cream soup with chicken. The spaghetti tom kha gai (Bt295) comes with rich cream soup mixed with chicken, golden needle mushroom, shredded lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and dried chilli.

If you’re only up for a snack, try the ham-and-cheese panini served with French fries and fresh green vegetables (Bt250), lobster bisque cappuccino (Bt220) served in a cup and drizzled with coffee powder or the Caesar salad with bacon, anchovies, parmesan and garlic bread (Bt280).

Throughout next month, the lean and chubby chefs will be playing with summer flower blossoms and introducing several dishes with a floral twist. The menus focus on native blooms like dok mai jeen sod (moonflower), dala (red torch ginger), dok khajon (cowslip creeper blossoms), dok pak plang (Ceylon spinach blossoms), dok sanoh (Sesbania flowers), dok kae (vegetable humming bird) and dok krajiab (roselle).

Your meal could start with pla goong dok dala, spicy salad of lightly grilled river prawn seasoned with fresh and shredded herbs of lemongrass, mint and chilli (Bt285). On the side are red torch ginger buds that are shredded to add spice.

“We use the inside buds for a fresh and crispy texture. This flower is a member of the ginger family and is used as a spice. It has a strong taste and a fizzy aftertaste that goes well with any hot dish. It’s also believed a daily intake of this raw ginger reduces acid in the stomach, diabetes and hypertension,” says Ittichai.

Another delectable dish is deep-fried crab cake with crispy fried flower (Bt230). The crabmeat is mixed with featherback for a chewy texture with the crunch coming from chopped rose petals, dok sanoh and dok khajon before being coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried until golden brown. It is also topped with crispy fried flowers.

“These flowers have mild flavours and don’t overwhelm the dish, but add a crunchy texture,” adds Ittichai.

Tom kha gai (Bt200) soup is mixed with a variety of flowers like dok khajon, dok mai jeen sod and dok kae and garnished with red rose petals, dok hom (fragrant flower) and dok kwang tung (flower of Chinese cabbage). Enjoy it with hot steamed jasmine rice that’s coloured blue with extract of dok anchan (butterfly pea).

Also on the flora menus are chilli paste and fresh shrimp dipping sauce served with crispy fried flowers (Bt220) and tamarind paste sour soup with sea bass and roselle on a bed of dok khajon (Bt250). The meal ends perfectly with a not overly sweet jasmine panna cotta for Bt175.

The flora menus can be ordered a la carte or as a five-course set for Bt456 per person.

BOUNTIFUL BISTRO
BCDE is at Lit Bangkok Hotel on Kasemsan Soi 1 (opposite the National Stadium). It’s open daily from 10.30am to 11pm. Call (02) 612 3456 or visit www.LitBangkok.com.