We were glad it is not too far from a BTS station (Thong Lo), as distance was quite the factor when we decided on the places to visit, as we were trying to do more sight-seeing and shopping this time round.
It's located among many tall clean, modern looking buildings, possibly condos as there were security guards, with quite a few expats strolling around leisurely under the hot sun. We were unsure of how the place looked like, but we made sure they weren't to fussy about dress codes before we decided to go there, for we wanted to visit some night markets later on.
A little sign pointed us to the right way, and a beautiful walkway large enough for a car to drive in slowly came into our view. The walkway obscured what was inside, and you could only just walk in with abated breath on how the exact restaurant would look like.
It was an extremely beautiful place, full of Thai flavours. It was once a house, but now renovated. The pool is defunct with a rusty structure that seemed slightly odd in its place, but there were quite a few other odd decorations which all add to the rustic feel of the place.
We were the first customers for them, and they were still preparing the place. We were greeted very nicely, and were told to take a seat while they got the place ready. We were too in love with the whole serenity of the place and we started taking lots of pictures of the place...
The pool!
Selling lots of sauces, they named this grocer...
Leading to the restaurant
One of the inside rooms
The server could speak very good English, though heavily accented, Constantly smiling, like many other Thais service staff, the service here is no exception.
We were first asked the usual question- still or sparkling? We went for the sparkling. It costed us THB200++ for one 750ml of San Pellagrino.
The menu is pretty unique as well- a long, rectangular shape, and slightly difficult to see the words.
Since there were two of us, we ordered one of each selection.
Drinks Menu
Thin and long~
Set Lunch Menu
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The Menu:
Bo.Lan amuse bouche
A choice of one from each of the following sections; served together with (free flow!) rice
~
Salad
Salad of ocean prawn with Mee Klong samphire
Salad of 'Prujuab' squid and salted duck egg with peanut and red chili dressing
~
Soup
Soup of pineapple and organic chicken
Soup of smoked fish and banana blossom
~
Stir-fried
Stir-fried ocean fish with spicy red curry & water bamboo
Stir-ried prawns with paddy oat leaves
~
Curry
Green curry of pork ribs
Northern style curry of organic chicken, betel, fern and indigenous spice
~
Dessert of the day or fruit plate
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This cute fish was taken away by the server... :(
How they look like:
Bo.Lan amuse bouche
~
Soup of pineapple and organic chicken
Green curry of pork ribs
Salad of ocean prawn with Mee Klong samphire
~~~
Soup of smoked fish and banana blossom
Stir-fried ocean fish with spicy red curry & water bamboo
Salad of 'Prujuab' squid and salted duck egg with peanut and red chili dressing
Stir-fried ocean fish with spicy red curry & water bamboo
Salad of 'Prujuab' squid and salted duck egg with peanut and red chili dressing
Northern style curry of organic chicken, betel, fern and indigenous spice
~
~
Pulled Pork
Relieves you of the hot hot spice!
I am not going to comment on each and every dish, as I am sure there's a reason why each dish is there for a reason on the wooden tray. Service's exceptional. The waitress saw our red-hot faces, she immediately served us some pulled pork with cucumber which really worked like magic in easing the spiciness. Her English is quite good as compared to the usual ones you'd hear on the street. Rice is topped up very quickly, and you could see the place is a hit with the locals for corporate lunches.
The answer you're probably looking for is, whether it's worth the money, for a tourist? Yes, for the ambiance, for the name, for the "I've been there" badge. But if you're an avid Thai food fan, perhaps you'd like to skip this place, because for this amount of money, you can get really good food in Bangkok elsewhere.
We would certainly love to visit Gaggan and Nahm when we are around next time. :)
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Bo.lan Essentially Thai ร้านโบ.ลาน อาหารไทย
Address: 24 Soi Sukhumvit 53 | Klongtonnua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Menu: http://bolan.co.th/2014/en/Menu/Dinner
Set Lunch available at THB 980++ (varies)
Dress code: Shorts was fine for a lady. But they didn't seem to fuss about it much perhaps seeing we were tourists, armed with a camera.
Nearest station: BTS Thong Lo
