The contemporary food hall offers comforting local flavours with a world-class vibe.
A dynamic crowd of diners packing the 300-seat Eathai on an ordinary weekday may be beyond the expectations of those who’ve yet to visit this two-year-old upmarket food court. But it is a common sight, regulars say.
Since it first opened mid-2014, the venue has been a popular dining spot among aficionados of Thai food. The clientele is a mix of casual tourists, international executives, local families and radiantly clad socialites and A-listers.
Clients are drawn in by an astounding array of local gourmet at affordable prices, enjoyed in a contemporary atmosphere with live-cooking stations and sophisticated food kiosks.
There, more than 500 options of food, including regional dishes from all over Thailand, fresh-from-the-ocean local seafood, palace-style Thai cuisine and locally cherished street treats, have been carefully selected by the management from very famous eateries, as well as best-kept-secret culinary masters across the Kingdom.
To celebrate its second anniversary, Eathai introduced last month its fresh new look, more extensive dining space and, of course, a wider range of victuals and dining styles.
Today the 3,500m² food hall boasts as many as 13 zones, offering different genres of culinary bliss. It also includes a local-style grocery, fresh market, cooking studio and proper cafe.
The contemporary food hall offers comforting local flavours with a world-class vibe.
One of the new additions, called Little Chinatown, offers Chinese-Thai cuisine from long-cherished, five-decade-old Sanyod restaurant. Famous for its traditional Cantonese dishes, the restaurant’s all-time best-selllers are stir-fried noodles (150 baht), roasted duck (175 baht), barbecued pork (150 baht) and tofu clay pot (250 baht).
For those who love the pungency of Southern Thai cuisine, I highly recommend the khanom jeen nam ya pu, or Thai-style fermented rice noodles in spicy crab curry (210 baht).
Representing the fresh and tasty seafood from the East Coast province is kuaytiew kang Ban Phe, or mantis prawn and crabmeat in spicy noodle soup (250 baht), from Rayong.
Other worth-having dishes include palace-style sweet crispy noodle (120 baht) from Khrua ML Nuang, and wok-fried rice vermicelli with water mimosa and seafood (145 baht) from Je Oy Talat Phlu.
Red curry with super-tender beef ribs.
There are two new corners showcasing a wide range of Thai desserts. One is called Baan Khanom Wan, offering warm and comforting classic Thai desserts (55 baht per order). The 15-item selection includes braised mung bean in coconut milk, braised sago with young coconut flesh, sticky rice with black bean in coconut milk, khanom khrok (crispy rice flour cake) and khanom bueng (Thai-style crispy pancakes).
The other corner, called Wan Yen, indulges diners with old-fashioned ice cream (70 baht), old-fashioned popsicle (12 baht) and other icy sweet delicacies (45 baht). There’s also a corner dedicated to pop-up kitchens of famous eateries, which, by invitation, take turns to showcase their signature dishes.
Meanwhile, located on the west side of the spacious hall is a new dining-venue addendum called Eathai Cafe, ideal for diners who’d like to order from the menu and not to roam the food hall.
The 80-seat zone, covers 150m², offers an all-day dining concept, with breakfast dishes, snacks, soups, curries and a single-dish menu. Not to be missed are the red curry with beef rib (240 baht), deep-fried river prawn with tamarind sauce (480 baht), stir-fried cowslip creeper blossoms with minced pork (149 baht) and durian with sticky rice and coconut cream (130 baht).
The palace-style sweet crispy noodles.
Mantis prawn and crabmeat in spicy noodle soup.
Eathai
Central Embassy, G levelPhloen Chit Road Call 02-160-5940 Open daily 10am-10pm Park at Central Embassy’s car park Most credit cards accepted
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.