HARD UP FOR SILHOUETTE SOFT

I am so going to get Silhouette Soft very soon. I know there's no chorus of WHYYYYYS??? this time from you because who doesn't want to be able to pose like this model after said procedure? Imagine holding up your hands thus on the MRT, at graduations and weddings, or just malling. Yes, goodness gracious me! Maybe we can even add s-l-o-w-m-o opening and closing actions. Wouldn't that be a riot!

FACT - I have been planning to do something about my deflated cheeks and sky-diving jowls and what seems most promising to me now in the market and within my non-budgeted budget is the Silhouette Lift. Doesn't it sound like a French whisper caressing your ear lobes? And would you look at those elegant cones on the thread that opens beautifully like a ballroom gown? They will surely hold up some sagging cheeks and jowls, no?

With my two hyenas' concerted efforts, two clinics in downtown Bangkok have reverted. Both quoted 60,000 baht. One even promised unlimited threads! They compare so favourably with Singapore clinics. Sloane Clinic, as blogged by one Ling Mei Ting blogger, charges per thread 'from' S$1605. Not even 'at', mind you. Which might mean the longer the thread, horse face, the more expensive it gets?!

So it looks like Bangkok is calling me again. I was initially confused about Silhouette Lift and Silhouette Soft. The former made me queasy as it requires a 1.5cm to 2cm slash above your ears for the threads to be inserted into each cheek. Its threads are also non-absorbable, unlike those of the Silhouette Soft. 

I shall keep you updated when I do it. 

EAT ME NEWLY RANKED AT #25 ON ASIA'S BEST RESTAURANTS LIST

It was ranked #37 last year and I'm going to go all out on a limb and say I really don't get Eat Me. I just don't. Let's start with the name. I mean, the owner is Australian. Is it tongue-in-cheek? A Down Under pet phrase? What?

And for a restaurant of repute, what's with the interior design? It's threadbare. It's I-can't-really-be-bothered. And it's been like this for years. 

Food wise, it's pretty good but you can get the same standard elsewhere in Bangkok at such prices, and with better ambience. Do they really have to dim the lighting to such an extent I have to pinch myself from falling asleep? 

A three-course dinner can be enjoyed for about 1200 baht here. More if you drink.

ADDRESS:

20 metres off Convent Rd (in Soi Pipat 2)
Silom. Alight at Saladeang BTS station and walk.

FEEL AT HOME IN SIRI SATHORN @ SILOM

I have been staying on and off at the Siri Sathorn these past 20 years. It's an old building but they have maintained the interiors really well. Their rooms are delightfully big and the breakfast spread is excellent. 

Some of my hyenas complain of the ten-minute walk to and fro Saladeang BTS station but I treat it as exercise to walk off my stomach-bursting meals. 

It's very conveniently located with Silom Complex and many good restaurants (Naj, Secret Garden, Somtum Der, Eat Me) within walking distance. There are many street food stalls at the start of Convent Road and both the relatively new Chang Massage and the very old Body Tune Massage await along Silom Road. 

The pool is very small but there's hardly anyone in it most of the time. You can always skip it and take morning walks at Lumpini Park instead. 

Oh, yes, there's a lovely, homey Jim Thomson Cafe just 200 metres down the road that serves some really lovely Thai (food, you ejit!).

FEELING IMMACULATE @ THE SUKHOTHAI

Whenever I am inside the Sukhothai, I pray I have clean underwear on. It just seems so terribly prim and proper, but in a very inspirational sort of way. 

I have dined a couple of times at their Celadon Restaurant. It serves great Thai, the standard is consistently high and the service impeccable. 

But despite Sukhothais' super prim and pristine image, my memories of it are always very fun. The very accommodating staff once helped us turned a function room into a dining space for a 40th birthday celebration. 10 crazies turned up in Thai costumes of different interpretations cos the theme was Amazing Thailand. The staff didn't bat an eyelid. In fact, we observed that each course of the dinner was handled by different waiters and waitresses who must have heard what was going on. 

On another occasion, again for a birthday, they arranged a separate wing for us with its own beautiful garden (they were warned that 8 hyenas would be running amok in Indian saris, regardless of their sexes). The dinner was to start at 8pm but we turned up at 10pm due to some wardrobe malfunction and still, the staff were impossibly sweet. And the dinner most divine. 

We also stayed at this oasis of calm for a hen party of another. We hired a male stripper for the unsuspecting bride-to-be and begged for jam from room service. She has never looked at jam the same way since.  

THE MANDARIN ORIENTAL, BANGKOK - SIMPLY PRECIOUS & EXQUISITE

That was how I found this Thai gem to be on my one and only visit some 15 years ago with GG, Hetty and Little Kenny. We went there for dinner at their open-air Sala Rim Naam Terrace (pics below) and had a quick tour of the hotel grounds. It was elegant, genteel, and oh, so very lovely.

When it opened as The Oriental in 1876, it was the first hotel in the Thai Kingdom. For more than 135 years, many privileged guests have travelled along the Chao Praya River to stay at this legendary hotel, which has 339 elegant rooms, 35 luxurious suites, impeccably serviced restaurants and a world-class spa. 

The hotel has played host to many world renown personalities. They include Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward, Graham Greene, John le Carre, Barbara Cartland, Tennessee Williams, and that's just the authors. 

Other famous guests were Neil Armstrong, Lauren Bacall, George Bush, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Mel Gibson, Henry Kissinger, Sophia Loren, Richard Nixon, Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, David Beckham and Omar Sharif. 

I will probably never have a chance to stay at this Grand Dame's of the Chao Praya River but I should at least visit again, maybe for a spot of tea at their Author's Lounge?

SOMTUM DER AWARDED MICHELIN STAR IN NEW YORK ON 1 OCTOBER 2015

The Michelin Guide announced its full star ratings for New York last night, and among the recipients was Somtum Der, the Silom restaurant that branched out to New York's East Village in 2013. It is now, gasp but true, a Michelin star awardee for its uncompromising Isaan-style street food. 

Background information from their Facebook page:

Somtum Der, a collaboration of friends and family who have close tie to Isan region, caters authentic northern Isan food in a comfortable friendly atmosphere, which guarantees to offer more than tasty true Isan food but also a lifestyle that can be enjoyed. 

As Khun Eh (Thanaruek Laoraowirodge), the key initiator who is originally from Khon Kaen describes, “Somtum Der is where real local recipes are available in a differentiated ambience as they have never been served before.” 

The restaurant’s genuine spirit of Isan is reflected in every bit. Starting from the name of the restaurant, der is a common suffix widely used in Isan region. It indicates a warm invitation, which in the same time can be informative. 

The unique taste of northern Isan somtum stresses on the saltiness, a taste of somtum which rarely found in Isan food restaurants in Bangkok. Chef Korn, a shareholder and a head chef, grown up in Sakhon Nakorn and has been having a great passion in local Isan food. He is in charge of all recipes and his aim is to make sure that they stick to their roots.

Alight at Saladeang BTS station and walk away from Silom Complex, towards the direction of Lumpini Park. 

5/5 Saladaeng Rd. Silom. Bangrak. BKK.
OPENING HOURS: Mon-Son 11.00-22.30 (Last Order 22.00)
EMAIL: somtumder@gmail.com
TEL: 02-632-4499

DINE AT THE BIGGEST THAI RESTAURANT BRAND IN THE WORLD

What Pitaya Phanphenonsophon, CEO of Bangkok-based Mango Tree, had started in 1994 has grown into 70 locations in 16 countries worldwide. In an interview in 2014, he mentioned that he wants to expand the brand to 100 restaurants by 2015 throughout Asia Pacific, the Middle East, China, Australia and, in the United States, their first opening in Washington DC. His family owns the Coco group of Thai and steamboat restaurants as well. 

I have been dining at this Mango Tree’s original restaurant - a beautiful mansion built during the reign of King Rama IV almost 100 years ago - since my early days in Bangkok. The restaurant was named because of a mango tree, which is still there, planted out front.

Mango Tree can seat up to 200 guests and is divided into three areas: Kiew Sawoey Pavilion, Nam Dokmai Pavilion, and the al-fresco courtyard area. The courtyard is breezy and pleasant, especially with evening live classical Thai music and dancing performances. But it is still open-air so it's a big NOPE for me. 

Mango Tree 

(Alight at Saladeang BTS station on Silom Road and follow map below)

37 Soi Tantawan, Surawongse Rd.,

Bangkok 10500

Tel. 0 2236 2820, 0 2236 1681

Fax. 0 2238 2649

E-mail : mangotree@coca.com

Open Daily : 11.30 a.m. - 12.00 p.m.

GOING JAPANESE WITH FUJI RESTAURANTS

I think I have dined at Fuji Japanese Restaurant on every one of my Bangkok trips. Their menu is extensive, reasonably priced and the portions are good. Their insistence of having bamboo interpretations, be it graphic or plastic, is another matter altogether. Ditto for the random pots of ikebana going amok.

With more than 60 branches in Thailand, this feisty Japanese restaurant chain practically dominates the oiishi market of the Thai F&B category. There are probably in every big mall of Bangkok. And I am a rabid fan of their coconut freeze. 

GET READY TO COO @ KELLY BY AUDREY

If you're that sort of girl who coos at anything and everything, Kelly by Audrey is the purrfect cafe-restaurant for you as everything about it, from its interiors to the way their food is presented, is pure peaches and cream. 

We went for a spot of tea at the branch on the fourth floor of Central Plaza Lad Prao (accessible via Phahon Yothin MRT station) and it was definitely a hot spot for girls who take a gazillion Instagrams. 

Inspired by none other then Grace Kelly, this Kelly serves a mixture of Thai, Italian and Continental goodies, all presented in a very pretty manner guaranteed to elicit some oohs and ahhs. 

I think Kelly by Audrey is a real pretty place to hang out with your besties, share some pretty bites and shoot them while at it. 

BTW, isn't the staff's French chambermaid uniform (pic above) too cute for words? 

SNEAKER HEAVEN IN UNION MALL

If you don't mind second-hand shoes (I can oredi hear some inner thoughts going wat if they were removed from the deceased of a car crash?!), there are plenty up for grabs on the top floor of Union Mall (accessible via Phanon Yothin MRT station), sharing retail space with a row of vintage clothing shops at one corner of the floor.

There are sneakers of every sort and all going for 250 baht to 550 baht. They look almost new to me.

Some nifty leather boots are sold for only 350 baht, and they could really by worn by some Pretty Woman in their previous lives :)

Three more months to year's end and I have kept my promise of not buying any pair of shoes this year! I need to wear out some of them desperately before I allow myself the luxury of owning a new pair. Fingers crossed :)