Located on Siam Square Soi 8, just a stone's throw away from MBK and the Siam Square Malls, this restaurant is a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of the area. The building alone, styled after a traditional Thai wooden house, already makes a change from all the concrete and glass all around. The theme is continued on the inside with dark wooden tables interspersed with shelves and cupboards filled with all sorts of bric-brac.
From the outside, just next to the Novotel Siam Square.
Whilst customers are inevitably greeted with a loud "Sawasdee Kha/Krap", the sercvice can admittedly be a little hit-and-miss. Of course they have a good excuse: the restaurant is always humming, and not just with tourists either. A couple of years we took our best friends here, both Thai, and they both agreed that the food was excellent (after initially being a little worried that this would turn out to be an overpriced tourist trap.
The Interior.Speaking of which, I saw comments that this restaurant was very expensive. With most dishes in the 120-150 Baht range, I think it is actually pretty good value for money; especially considering the location and certainly a fair alternative to the horrible food courts in the malls. Sure, one could probably eat much cheaper at the food stalls in the road but a) they are pretty thin on the ground around Siam Square and b) I am not a big fan of sucking exhaust fumes during my meal.
Fried Fish with Sweet n' Sour, excellent.The menu is extensive, this also includes Thai desserts which the restaurant is known for. The staff do ask for the degree of spiciness. I would skip the bravado and go for "mild" to "medium"; the "spicy" dishes will melt cutlery, destroy stomach linings, and will certainly come back to haunt you the next time you are in a restroom.
Service is fast and efficient, if not always too heavy on the friendliness. Don't bother with ordering starters and mains separately as everything will arrive at the same time anyway. The cold drinks start from 50 Baht for a fruit juice, via 95 Baht for a Singha, to 150 Baht for one of the many old-fashioned cocktails (though why anyone would want to drink an Eggnog with their Red Curry beats me).
Everything is good here.The Spicy Salads are all very good, our favorite is the Spicy Glass Noodles Salad for 120 Baht. We then move on to a curry, the Green Curry for 130 Baht always hits the spot. Every fish dish we have tried was very good and what is never missing is the Fried Rice with Shrimp Paste for 85 Baht. I don't know where they get the small dried shrimps from, but they are delicious and I just cannot find them in any shop. Portions are a very decent size; we will never learn and end up ordering too much food most of the times.
I am no big fan of desserts in general and Asian desserts in particular as they are usually too sweet for me. However, on those rare occasions when our eyes were not bigger than our stomachs, the boiled Tapioca topped with Coconut sauce (40 Baht) will certainly have us roll out of the door; ready for some more shopping.
Though the desserts are as sweet as they look.In the evenings there is live entertainment in the form of traditional Thai music; I believe this starts at 19:00.
We can certainly recommend this restaurant and sincerely hope that it will not be replaced by a hotel or yet another shopping mall as long as we still go to Bangkok. Apart from excellent food, this place is great to get away from the craziness of the nearby shopping area; and if it is to just gather strength for more shopping.
Rating (out of 5):
Service: ***
Food: *****
Ambiance: ****
Value for money: ****
Recommended: Absolutely
Contact details:
Ban Khun Mae
Address: 458/7-9 Siam Sq., Soi 8, Pratunam, Bangkok
Phone: (662)250-1952-3
E-mail: contact@bankhunmae.com
Web: www.bankhunmae.com/index.html
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