La Cuchara is a cosy Latino retreat in the heart of Bangkok. Hidden down an unassuming side­soi near Sathorn Soi One, where cats and children frolic and laundry hangs out to dry, La Cuchara is a just-the-two-of-us kind of place, a romantic Co­lumbian restaurant ideal for those with a hankering for homemade salsa, rich paprika stews, lime-laced cocktails and a Latin American ambiance.

Opened six months ago, La Cuchara -which means “spoon” -is the brainchild of Nittaya Nakham, a Thai woman who learned the art of Columbian cuisine from a former boyfriend. His mother still visits the restaurant to check out what’s going on in the kitchen and give inspiration and advice for new dishes.

“I want to keep it simple,” says Nittaya, explaining her food philosophy. “It’s home-style cooking with something different every day in an easy and friendly environ­ment.”

La Cuchara is certainly easy on the eye. The small outdoor terrace is a verdant oasis of pot­ted plants and flowering trees, making you feel far removed from the chaos of Bangkok. The red light overhead creates a pleasing sensation of be­ing somewhere secret. Inside, the extraordinary attention to detail gives the restaurant a fiesta feel, as though you’ve been magically transported down a backstreet of Bogota and at any moment Shakira is going to sashay down the staircase, belting out These hips don’t lie.

The blue walls, a colour chosen for its popular­ity in Columbia, are decorated with Columbian masks, brightly coloured fabric flowers and hang­ing plants. Rather than images of Buddha, La Cuchara features Catholic paraphernalia – Moth­er Mary, Jesus Christ, saints and crucifixes. Rich red silk curtains frame the doorway. Plants and coloured water glasses liven up the blue tables, and a pathway of candles light up the staircase, leading the way to a bar which will open in a few months time. The large mirror with a Latino-style tiled border and ceiling lamps flashing prisms of coloured light complete the South American feel. The only thing missing is a piñata.

You might feel far removed from anything Thai, but Nittaya doesn’t see it that way. “Columbian and Thai cuisine have a lot in common,” she says. “They use the same basic ingredients – lime, cori­ander leaves and chilli. Even the cooking style of Thai curries and Columbian stews is similar.”

Nittaya has a set-menu written on a chalk board hanging on the blue wall. She likes to experiment and changes what’s on offer regularly. Lunch is served daily from 12:30 to 14:30 and the kitchen opens again for dinner and late night cocktails. The portions are generous and the prices very reasonable, ranging from 200 baht for La Cucha­ra Pork with Paprika Stew to 240 baht for Grilled Beef with Sautéed Shallots.

We start with Ceviche de Camaron, a delicious spicy prawn and tomato salad generously sea­soned with fresh coriander leaves, and served in a banana leaf fashioned into the shape of a square bowl. For the entree, we have La Cuchara Chicken, with tender chicken falling off the bone and drenched in a tomato, coriander and shallot stew. Our second dish, La Cuchara Pork, fea­tures equally tender pork medallions in a paprika stew with spiced potatoes. In keeping with the Columbian-style of eating, every meal is served with rice, avocado, homemade salsa and thick deep fried wedges of cassava.

La Cuchara isn’t merely a place to soak up a Lat­ino atmosphere and eat great food, it also spe­cialises in exotic drinks. A central feature of the restaurant is the well-stocked red bar, with blue stools perfect for bar hanging.

“I love to serve cocktails,” says Nittaya, with a glint in her eye that serves as a warning.

La Cuchara likes to call their cocktails “toxic,” but what they really mean is dangerously easy to drink. The extensive cocktail list has over 50 combinations, but their specialty is Latin-inspired drinks. In addition to the old Latino favourites, such as Mojitos, Cuba Libra, Margaritas and Caipirinhas (which they give a new twist by flavouring with strawberries or guava), they also serve the El Macua from Co­lumbia and the Pisco Sour, a Peruvian drink made with egg whites and aromatic bitters. Seductively refreshing, the El Macua and the Pisco Sour both easily qualify as “toxic.”

A trip down Latino lane wouldn’t be complete without music. The extensive CD collection includes soulful sounds from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Brazil and, of course, Columbia. So if you’ve had your fair share of green curry, Singapore Slings Land Thai pop music, head to La Cuchara for salsa, a Pisco Sour and some Latin Jazz.  You might just discover the South American spirit inside you.

La Cuchara is located:
2/38 Soi Sribumphen (Sathorn Soi 1), Rama 4 Road,
Thungmahamek, Bangkok 10120 Tel: 02-679-9910
Web: www.lacucharabangkok.com

Published by Traversing The Orient Magazine. You want to make an online travel business? Please go to www.web.com.

La Cuchara Restaurant

In recent years, Bangkok diners have become more famil­iar with Turkish and Middle Eastern restaurants as they have established a notable presence on the local restaurant scene. Already en vogue for a number of years with UK and European trailblazers, the fascination with Moroccan cul­ture has now spread to Asia and in 2008 various Moroccan themed resorts and restaurants have peppered Thailand’s landscape from north to south.

To understand why Moroccan cuisine is so popular across the world, you have to really taste the tanginess and the spicy flavors. Considered as one of the most diversified and sumptuous foods, it has blended different cuisines from Moorish, Arab, Middle Eastern, Berber, Jewish, Iberian and Mediterranean African cultures. Hence Sukhumvit Soi 3 serves as the prefect ground in Bangkok’s own eclectic scene for one of the finest ambassadors of the Mo­roccan kitchen, Tagine Marrakesh.

Located at the foot of The Grace Hotel, 200 meters in from the main Sukhumvit road, the space is nothing fancy yet comfortable, and those who really know their Mechoui from their Kefta wont need any strange words to invoke Moroccan magic here. It’s all about the food, and perfecting the true taste of an exotic land. The interior furniture designs, decorations and crockery are imported from Morocco and when walking in from the steamy streets of Bangkok this contrast in cultures is striking.

Over different historical eras and centuries the Moroccan cuisine has been refined by the highly capable cooks working in royal kitchens from Meknes, Fez, Marrakech, Tetouan to Rabat. Tagine Marrakesh in Bangkok has managed to lure the chef away from The Sheraton Hotel in Casablanca to bring her spice jars and whip up her own magic in the menu now available on Sukhumvit Soi 3. Most of the dishes are priced between 120 – 300 Baht and in Europe you would have to add at least one more zero to these prices for the same quality, and probably less quantity.

Known as the culinary star of North Africa, Morocco is the doorway between Europe and Africa. Much imperial and trade influence has been filtered through her and blended into her culture. Unlike the herb-based cooking across the sea to the north, the Moroccan art of cooking is characterized by a palate of rich spices. Cumin, coriander, saffron, chilies, dried ginger, cinnamon and paprika are on the cook’s shelf and in her mortar. Harissa, a paste of garlic, chilies, olive oil, and salt, makes for fiery dishes that stand out among the milder foods that are more the Mediterranean norm.

Couscous, granular semolina, is central to Moroccan cuisine and cooked with spices, vegetables, nuts, and raisins. After a triple steaming process under the skillful eyes of the chef at Tagine Marrakesh, it makes a meal in itself or is topped with rich stews and roasted meats. Lamb is the principal meat and when done the Moroccan way it is cured and roasted until tender enough to be pulled apart and eaten with the fin­gers. Topped with raisin and onion sauces, or even an apricot puree it’s the carnivore’s dream of greener pastures in a concrete world. Meat and fish on the Moroccan menu are grilled, stewed, or cooked in an earthenware tagine – the name for the pot, the dish and this particular restaurant.

Nuts are prominent throughout the menu; pine nuts, almonds, and pistachios show up in all sorts of unexpected places. Sa­vory foods are enhanced with fruits, dried and fresh apricots, dates, figs, and raisins, to name a few. Lemons preserved in a salt-lemon juice mixture bring a unique face to many Mo­roccan chicken and pigeon dishes. Where you have rich food laced with Moroccan spices, you will definitely have desserts. In Morocco these don’t necessarily have to be sweet although the sweeter it is, the better it will be with rich and dense confec­tions of cinnamon, almond, and fruit perfumes that are rolled in phillo pastry, soaked in honey, and stirred into puddings.

Epicureans can’t claim to have really enjoyed a complete Moroccan meal unless it ends with a time-honored tradition; a pot of mint tea and a selection of three pastries. The aromatic blend of Chinese green and jasmine teas is made all the more enticing by adding some orange blos­som water and then infusing it with fresh mint leaves. At Tagine Mar­rakesh this is best enjoyed together with restaurant owner, Hassan.

Although he has been living in Bangkok for several decades Hassan still knows the fine art of his country’s kitchen and aims to share it with other appreciative nomads – and they wont be disappointed. Those who already know the Moroccan cuisine make a beeline for his res­taurant, including the Moroccan Ambassador to Thailand. A violinist by profession, Hassan appreciates and understands cooking as an art form, touching not only our taste buds but also providing a sensory and tantalizing feast for the eyes and nose.

Chatting with Hassan is a treat in itself, with his heart-warming insight to culture and cuisine he transports you to another time and place. Ed­ucating guests on regional specialties and the tricks of the trade when it comes to food combinations, colors and health properties of their food, Tagine Marrakesh dishes up the essence of Morocco with no frills attached. You will be forgiven for altogether forgetting you are in Bang­kok and upon leaving this restaurant culture shock strikes again when an elephant, not a camel, stops you in your pace.

Tagine Marrakesh, The Grace Hotel
Sukhumvit Soi 3, Bangkok
(between BTS Nana and Ploenchit)

Published by Traversing The Orient Magazine. You want to make an online travel business? Please go to www.web.com.

Tagine Marrakesh

It all began innocently enough. Around twenty years ago someone had the bewitching idea of luring in the innocent; mixing cocktails and serving brew in a purpose built Victorian building thereby creating the ambience of an old English tavern. The Witch’s Tavern was the first English pub in Bangkok and is today the most unique; an oasis from the bustle of Bangkok where bands concoct a nightly dose of popular tunes from the 1960’s onwards.

Most great ideas spawn an offspring and it was ten years later that the group opened The Witch’s Oyster Bar in Soi Ramrudee. Having been told by a couple of friends that this stylish bar and restaurant was the best kept secret in Bangkok my curiosity is piqued as I creep through the Soi toward the smoky lights penetrating the mist before me.

Any sense of trepidation is swept aside as I enter the homely abode. Before me is a selection of fine ales from across the oceans and above me hang one of the most comprehensive selections of malt whiskies in Thailand. Surely a sight for sore eyes for any wandering farang; but what sets this evening on the right track is the fact that it’s happy hour and the night has only just begun.

The bar’s restaurant area overlooks the ground floor and spills out onto a balcony overlooking the street. Afraid of the shadowy mists that have enveloped the night my partner chooses to take a ta­ble inside. Climbing the rickety staircase we seat ourselves at a table that looks down on the bar area where people are flinging back the ale and mak­ing hay while times are good.

Filling my vessel with blood red wine the waitress asks me what my fancy may be. Tracing my finger down a menu that reads like a feast fit for a medi­eval King I predictably select a platter of oysters followed by a hearty serving of Roasted Foie Gras with Crushed Almonds and Port. My partner seeks comfort in the more homely fare of crispy roasted pigeon with creamy mash potato. Accompanying this is the Oyster Bar’s very own and very unique creation of chutney. When I ask the waitress what might be in that mix she turns pale and beseeches me to drink more.

More than happy to comply I sink into my chair, soak up the fare and gaze across at the far wall stacked high with various sized jars of syrup liquor. A million shades of amber nectar blend and coagulate into an attractive spec­tacle of potions that shimmer and swim with the movement of people. The wine is working wonders as my partner and I move onto our final course; Witches Dim Sum Basket.

The morsels, no doubt created in a cauldron where east meets west prove to be the per­fect end to the meal.
However, the night is far from over and with the sandpaper tones of Dylan ris­ing up from the floor below I knew it’d be a long time before I stepped back into the mist.

The Oyster Bar is located 20/10­-11 Soi Ruam Rudee, Ploenchit, Bangkok 10330  Tel: 02-251-9455 0.3 km’s from BTS Ploenchit Station

Published by Traversing The Orient Magazine. You want to make an online travel business? Please go to www.web.com.

The Witch’s Oyster Bar