monkey pod by blue elephant - soi11/13 corner

[gainsbarre 3,067]

Yesterday evening I organized a business dinner with some customers, and went to Monkey Pod restaurant on the corner of soi11 and soi 13.

Magnificent old Thai style wooden house (one of the only ones left in the area). 

Incredible service and wonderful setting inside the restaurant, pure luxury but very classy.

We went for the discovery menu an 8 course thai style dinner (2200thb/person) 

The food is just incredible, thai style but on an exceptional level, lots of traditional Thai dishes with a gastronomic twitch that enhances the traditional Thai flavours even more.

Huge cocktail list with exotic and dared cocktails (i went for a Rhum based cocktail, with kafir lime, lemongrass and ginger), we paired the food with 2 bottles of Gewürzstraminer (Hugel), which is a slightly sweet and spicy wine that works wonderfully well with thai food.

Per menu every body could choose his own level of spicyness he wanted, so no surprises there for those who want it a bit softer in taste.

all in all an excellent choice if you want to go for fine dining in a nice setting and still be able to hit the streets afterwards.

We ended the business part with a couple of pisco sours in Above11 and closed down the business part around half past midnight. After waving my customers out, I finished a very nice evening at cindy's (300m walk)

if you want to have some culinary experience with some friends or a romantic dinner with one of your sweethearts, this is an excellent place to go.

I should warn that if you wanted to take a Ladyboy friend out there, you have to make sure it is somebody that can appreciate a high quality meal. The advantage however is that it is thai food and Thai flavour so they most probably will like it.

There is a dresscode, but just the obvious one, no flip flops, no tank tops, and I would suggest your girl not to wear bikini's

Not for everyday, but worth it for a special occasion or if you want to give yourself a treat.

 

 

 

 

 

[Edisto 1,029]

Yesterday evening I organized a business dinner with some customers, and went to Monkey Pod restaurant on the corner of soi11 and soi 13.
Magnificent old Thai style wooden house (one of the only ones left in the area). 
Incredible service and wonderful setting inside the restaurant, pure luxury but very classy.
We went for the discovery menu an 8 course thai style dinner (2200thb/person) 
The food is just incredible, thai style but on an exceptional level, lots of traditional Thai dishes with a gastronomic twitch that enhances the traditional Thai flavours even more.
Huge cocktail list with exotic and dared cocktails (i went for a Rhum based cocktail, with kafir lime, lemongrass and ginger), we paired the food with 2 bottles of Gewürzstraminer (Hugel), which is a slightly sweet and spicy wine that works wonderfully well with thai food.
Per menu every body could choose his own level of spicyness he wanted, so no surprises there for those who want it a bit softer in taste.
all in all an excellent choice if you want to go for fine dining in a nice setting and still be able to hit the streets afterwards.
We ended the business part with a couple of pisco sours in Above11 and closed down the business part around half past midnight. After waving my customers out, I finished a very nice evening at cindy's (300m walk)
if you want to have some culinary experience with some friends or a romantic dinner with one of your sweethearts, this is an excellent place to go.
I should warn that if you wanted to take a Ladyboy friend out there, you have to make sure it is somebody that can appreciate a high quality meal. The advantage however is that it is thai food and Thai flavour so they most probably will like it.
There is a dresscode, but just the obvious one, no flip flops, no tank tops, and I would suggest your girl not to wear bikini's
Not for everyday, but worth it for a special occasion or if you want to give yourself a treat.
 
 
 
 
 

This is great intel. I never heard of it or maybe I saw the name and gave it a pass lol. Monkey Pod? Can't think of a name less classy. Buffalo Knuckle? Chicken Scratch? Etc.

[gainsbarre 3,067]

6 minutes ago, Edisto said:

2 hours ago, gainsbarre said:

Yesterday evening I organized a business dinner with some customers, and went to Monkey Pod restaurant on the corner of soi11 and soi 13.
Magnificent old Thai style wooden house (one of the only ones left in the area). 
Incredible service and wonderful setting inside the restaurant, pure luxury but very classy.
We went for the discovery menu an 8 course thai style dinner (2200thb/person) 
The food is just incredible, thai style but on an exceptional level, lots of traditional Thai dishes with a gastronomic twitch that enhances the traditional Thai flavours even more.
Huge cocktail list with exotic and dared cocktails (i went for a Rhum based cocktail, with kafir lime, lemongrass and ginger), we paired the food with 2 bottles of Gewürzstraminer (Hugel), which is a slightly sweet and spicy wine that works wonderfully well with thai food.
Per menu every body could choose his own level of spicyness he wanted, so no surprises there for those who want it a bit softer in taste.
all in all an excellent choice if you want to go for fine dining in a nice setting and still be able to hit the streets afterwards.
We ended the business part with a couple of pisco sours in Above11 and closed down the business part around half past midnight. After waving my customers out, I finished a very nice evening at cindy's (300m walk)
if you want to have some culinary experience with some friends or a romantic dinner with one of your sweethearts, this is an excellent place to go.
I should warn that if you wanted to take a Ladyboy friend out there, you have to make sure it is somebody that can appreciate a high quality meal. The advantage however is that it is thai food and Thai flavour so they most probably will like it.
There is a dresscode, but just the obvious one, no flip flops, no tank tops, and I would suggest your girl not to wear bikini's
Not for everyday, but worth it for a special occasion or if you want to give yourself a treat.
 
 
 
 
 

 

This is great intel. I never heard of it or maybe I saw the name and gave it a pass lol. Monkey Pod? Can't think of a name less classy. Buffalo Knuckle? Chicken Scratch? Etc.

A monkey pod is actually a tree, and of course outside there is a big Monkey pod tree 

Edited May 25 by gainsbarre

[Bwana_LB 2,754]

https://blueelephant.com/restaurant/blue-elephant-sukhumvit/

There are a few restaurants in those beautiful old homes scattered around Bangkok. Blue Elephant/Monkey Pod is the most recent. Great review, @gainsbarre!

A favorite of mine is The Local, which is located just a few blocks from Soi Cowboy. The house is over-the-top elegant, with teak and silk fabrics everywhere. The food is as good as the setting. I've never taken a LB here. It's definitely a Hi-So kind of place, dressy, and on the expensive side.

http://www.thelocalthaicuisine.com

[gainsbarre 3,067]

Nice tip  I am lucky enough to host the occasional business dinner with some important customers, so those places are perfect, mixing Thai culture, thai food, with some luxury and fine dining.

Don't get me wrong I can enjoy as much a raw beef salad in the isaan joint on 7/1 with the girls after the bars are closing !

[gainsbarre 3,067]

The fun part about the blue elephant restaurants is that the original one was in Brussels and started in 1980 by Thai people who later came back to BKK to set up the one on Sathorn.

Unfortunately the restaurant in Brussels did not survive COVID, and is now permanently closed, but the catering division still exists where they started the whole range of products that you can still find now in most of the big supermarkets. I think the actual manager of the whole chain is still a Belgian guy, i met him a couple of times here in BKK during Chamber of Commerce meetings. Not relevant for the quality of the food but a nice story. 

[Traveler13 178]

I was at the Blue Elephant in Paris and the place was just how you described it. Absolutely exquisite. When I entered I noticed the Thai staff were speaking French and I cannot speak any French (apart from what I learned on Sesame Street) but I can speak basic Thai.

Anyways, when the waiter approached I said (in Thai) "I am sorry but I cannot speak French, I can only speak a bit of Thai". The waiter waved his hands and said "so sorry" while he ran to his female boss.

The boss came over and I said the same spiel "I am sorry but I cannot speak French, I can only speak a bit of Thai" 

She asked "Can you speak English?" to which I agreed. She said "Good, because the waiter is Filipino". Lol, too funny!

[Edisto 1,029]

I was at the Blue Elephant in Paris and the place was just how you described it. Absolutely exquisite. When I entered I noticed the Thai staff were speaking French and I of cannot speak any French (apart from what I learned on Sesame Street) but I can speak basic Thai.
Anyways, when the waiter approached I said (in Thai) "I am sorry but I cannot speak French, I can only speak a bit of Thai". The waiter waved his hands and said "so sorry" while he ran to his female boss.
The boss came over and I said the same spiel "I am sorry but I cannot speak French, I can only speak a bit of Thai" 
She asked "Can you speak English?" to which I agreed. She said "Good, because the waiter is Filipino". Lol, too funny!

Haha!! That's a good story!! Pardon the thread fuck but for you world travellers, the most exquisite Thai resto outside of Thailand that I've been to is Himmapan in Rapperswil-Jona on Lake Zurich Switzerland. This place is in the playground of the rich and famous and seems like some wealthy Thai-lovers' vanity project.

I was treated and blown away by its somewhat remoteness, the authenticity of all the teak and Thai trappings. Food was expensive and ironically one entree probably cost the annual salary of an Isaan farmer. Service was impeccable, all wait staff were Thai. A surreal experience.

If you ever have the opportunity, even to walk around the place - off the beaten track - it has its own zoo as well lol.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/R7z9r2bymnNV7T7P7?g_st=ac

[Traveler13 178]

4 hours ago, Edisto said:

Haha!! That's a good story!! Pardon the thread fuck but for you world travellers, the most exquisite Thai resto outside of Thailand that I've been to is Himmapan in Rapperswil-Jona on Lake Zurich Switzerland. This place is in the playground of the rich and famous and seems like some wealthy Thai-lovers' vanity project.

I was treated and blown away by its somewhat remoteness, the authenticity of all the teak and Thai trappings. Food was expensive and ironically one entree probably cost the annual salary of an Isaan farmer. Service was impeccable, all wait staff were Thai. A surreal experience.

If you ever have the opportunity, even to walk around the place - off the beaten track - it has its own zoo as well lol.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/R7z9r2bymnNV7T7P7?g_st=ac

Wow, that place looks amazing! I saved it to my maps incase I ever make it to Switzerland. Cheers!

[Rocco 480]

17 hours ago, gainsbarre said:

The fun part about the blue elephant restaurants is that the original one was in Brussels and started in 1980 by Thai people who later came back to BKK to set up the one on Sathorn.

Unfortunately the restaurant in Brussels did not survive COVID, and is now permanently closed, but the catering division still exists where they started the whole range of products that you can still find now in most of the big supermarkets. I think the actual manager of the whole chain is still a Belgian guy, i met him a couple of times here in BKK during Chamber of Commerce meetings. Not relevant for the quality of the food but a nice story. 

I definitely remember eating at one in Moscow sometime around 2009

[sydney69er 1,605]

Damn! Buffet lunch followed by 8 course dinner. Where do you put it? hahahaha

I have walked past that Monkey Pod / Blue Elephant. Looks good. Sounds good too.

[snapper 41]

Was a regular at Blue Elephant in London for 30 years, the landlord fucked them over which is why it closed.