Dining as an art form
A bistro off Soi Bearing offers an interesting mix of Thai and fusion dishes
THE OWNER of the popular Thai restaurants Tum Tum and Ploen Phung , Sittha Kunalai last year expanded his wings with the opening of the Art of Food, a cafe and bistro offering quick and easy-to-eat dishes, desserts and healthy drinks with a Western and Japanese twist.
Packed with office workers and students in the busy Bearing neighbourhood, it boasts a minimalist decor with a plain cement floor and walls decorated with paintings by local artists. The tables and chairs are natural wood and the booths are fitted with printed-fabric cushions.
“I love cooking and eating. I started with the som tum speciality restaurant Tum Tum then moved to noodles with Ploen Phung. The Art of Food offers something different in what I hope is a relaxing atmosphere. Interestingly, there are no cafes of this type in the Bearing area,” Sittha says.
“We serve a fusion of Thai, Western and Japanese dishes and keep the prices low so the restaurant is affordable to all. That’s not to say that I scrimp on the ingredients. We only use organic vegetables from my home.”
The menu features such delights as beef steak served with spicy jaew dip, crispy New Zealand oyster omelette, jerked lamb marinated with spices, home-made pork sausage, dragon rolls topped with avocado and spicy minced duck salad.
Sittha recommends we sample the crispy fried Sunflower Sprouts served with sour and spicy salad (Bt110) and the Volcano Roll (Bt279), which is filled with crab stick and topped with smoked salmon.
For the main course, there’s the South Set (Bt95) featuring spicy Southern-style curry with fish and vegetables, steamed rice and minced-pork omelette, creamy Spaghetti Cabonara topped with onsen egg (Bt145), Egg Benedict (Bt155) served with salad and Pork Spare Ribs Barbecue (Bt250) decorated with corn, salad and French fries.
The Shibuya Honey Toast (Bt135) is served with chocolate and vanilla ice cream and adorned with smooth whipped cream and sliced strawberries. It goes well with a mango or mixed berries smoothie (Bt80) as well as Latte (Bt65) or Cappuccino (Bt60) made with an Arabica blend from Chiang Rai.
Not to be missed are Sittha’s home-made Gelato sticks, which come in more than a dozen flavours including Hokkaido milk, choco banana, blueberry yoghurt, nutella, choco peanut butter, watermelon, mango coconut milk and mint chocolate chip.
Wines from Italy, Australia and Chile are also available.
EATS IN THE EAST
>>The Art of Food is located on Soi Bearing 31, Samut Prakan. It’s open daily from 11am to 11pm.
>>Call (02) 023 3553 or visit “The Art of Food” page on Facebook.
