BLUE ELEPHANT

The Blue Elephant is billed as 'The Thai Restaurant' a visitor to Bangkok must pay pilgrimage, so I did. It is a stone throw from the Surasak Station, which is extremely accessible. Sitting in a spacious lot in front of the brand new Thai Chamber of Commerce Tower she gives the commanding impression of the old dominating the new. The restaurant is classy, without any doubt, one can feel it as soon as one enters. She has the air of an elegant, older generation lady in her best finery. An immediate association is the Raffles in Singapore. From the picture you can see the motif is 'modern with Thai traditions' except the definition of modern here does not mean contemporary. Nickel bronze gold cutlery, dark wood furniture, heavy trimmings, starchy white table cloth, ornamented displays, service staff in Thai costumes are the regime. It is all very nice and impeccable, do not get me wrong, but she definitely gives the impression she is still lingering in the 80s, a bit out of step and a bit 'tired looking'.

The menu is classic too, in fact there is a 'Classic Tasting Menu' at Baht 1650, or Baht 1500 without TomYum Kung, the world famous Thai soup, which I find odd for a top-end venue. I consulted our local Thai friends who are obviously not regulars, their collective opinion is ' ... it has drifted away from real Thai cuisine' which is understandable as Blue Elephant's targtted clientale is altogether different.

There is a Cooking School but only short, day-courses are offered. It was recommended to me before I found Wandee but the Professional Course here is only 5 days which seems short, considering I spent 5 days here at Wandee just on carving, garlands, floral arrangements and banana leaf weaving which are compulsory subjects because 'they form a key part of the history of Thai cuisine, and our food culture'. There you have it.

I was going to try the restaurant but decided to pass, I would submit to local advice in this instance. I will come next time to organize a tasting party, to try out her menu. I am sure it will be a wonderful venue to be with a traveling group, or for a special function.

One last comment, and I know it is apple and orange. Whilst I am here, I would go back to Bonjour for more of Chef Buum, before the Blue Elephant. Oops!