“Asian Sensation” (ASSE) offers an interesting combination of cuisine and mixology: here are the best addresses in the Thai capital for good drinking and eating.
That is the name of the first edition of the event organized by Roy Yerushalmi in Bangkok.
The food and wine journalist and founder of the Rex Industries company, with which he also creates his dedicated events, chose Bangkok ( about which he has also written a city guide) to present ASSE “Asian Sensation,” celebrating the unique relationship between haute mixology and haute cuisine. During four days there were numerous events organized around the Thai capital with a single purpose: to experience the dialogue between Bangkok's best restaurants and bars.
"Over the past decade, Bangkok's cocktail bars and restaurants have received worldwide recognition, many are also listed in the regional and global 50 Best rankings. It is a young and creative scene built on exceptional hospitality and local traditions, bringing the best of both worlds to the drinks and dishes created by the many talented professionals,” says Roy. “Among East Asia's gastronomic capitals (Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore), Bangkok is the most accessible to Western tourists, physically and culturally, thanks to its culture of casual but attentive service, a myriad of drinks for all tastes and a reasonable price range compared to neighboring countries.”
At the launch of Asian Sensation 2024, we had a chance to sample much of the best edible offerings in town and provide you with some valuable tips, starting with a focus on cocktail bars, for your next trip to Thai soil.
Opium Bar
In Bangkok's Chinatown, on one of the floors of the eponymous starred restaurant Potong, lurks one of the city's most interesting and cozy bars. Opium is a Chinese-Thai-inspired speakeasy, founded in a space where a Chinese medicine pharmacy stood for more than 100 years, it is located on the penultimate floor where it seems people once came precisely to consume opium. Leading it is the out-of-class Matteo Cadeddu, Sardinian, energetic and able to give this fascinating place a lot of vitality and, above all, a changing and very appealing proposal. Plus Chinatown at night is one of the most lively and authentic neighborhoods in the city, not to be missed.
Vesper
It is one of the must-visits in which to feel at home and experience some of the best in town. Unparalleled atmosphere, excellent cocktails and Madrid-inspired food proposal worthy of note. At the helm is Tom Hearn, former American Bar at The Savoy, who offers brilliant versions of the classic Dry Martini and Negroni along with an identity-rich menu created with the young and creative team. You'll love drinking among the leather furnishings and the bar on the green, browse the People of Vesper Vol. 2 menu, in honor of the list of guests who frequented this neighborhood bar in the years leading up to Hearn's arrival in early 2023. A worthwhile bar to frequent every day.
Bamboo Bar
The Bamboo Bar is really nice with its wood spread and the romance of jazz piano to accompany the drinks. Especially now with the arrival of barlady Chanel Admas. We are in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the chain's first born in 1953, a beacon for hospitality, very true to its rich tradition but also constantly dynamic and in step with the times as evidenced by the experimentation in mixing that gives drinks like the Mango Bee's Knees or the Pandan Grasshopper.
Dry Wave Cocktail Studio
Thonglor is one of Bangkok's trendiest neighborhoods, home to some of the city's best bars. Dry Wave, located on the second floor of a building, was recently founded by Supawit “Palm” Muttarat, the former legendary manager of Vesper. Obviously, his bar has become a mecca for mixology lovers and beyond. His creativity has gone so far as to create a seasonal menu in which he serves two cocktails in one glass such as the Aloha Collins that combines Mai Tai and Collins. Elegant and cozy, it makes all the difference in Bangkok.
Firefly
How elegant is the Firefly! It is located in the Kempinski Sindhorn Hotel, in the Langsuan district, the luxurious heart of the city. It's all atmosphere and perfect drinks here, all at the hands of well-known bartender Dicky Hartono and his team, primarily the affable and precise Kosil Kamja. The menu is inspired by Hartono's travels working in bars halfway around the world, with drinks like the Liver Flow or the Firefly Rebirth. A truly distinguished bar where care, attention and high quality are the watchwords.
Nuss Bar
Tha Tian is Bangkok's temple district, stunning and not to be missed, partly because this is where the Nuss bar lives with its enchanting view of the golden domes of the famous Buddha temple. There is eating and drinking here, and the bar is on the entrance level with red walls and round tables. It is an intimate place with a menu based exclusively on local ingredients in the hands of the two young out-of-class people: the country's star chef ThiTid Tassanakajohn, aka Chef Ton, and his brother Tam who hold several signs, one more famous than the other in Bangkok.
Bar Sathorn
Another pedigree Italian at the helm, another guarantee for this gem that has remained untouched among Bangkok's skyscrapers. Marco Dongi takes care of it in a historic house inside the W Hotel, which has become an institution in the city scene but also in the world thanks to Dongi's tirelessness. It is a bar with many qualities, certainly the intimacy that regulars know they can find but also the beauty encountered by those arriving here for the first time. No unnecessary flights of fancy in drink list, lots of classicism, a few twists but above all lots of quality in recipes and hospitality.
Le Du Kaan - EA Empire Tower Complex
A decidedly impactful place, Ledu Kaan is the newest rooftop bar in the EA complex, located on the 56th floor of the Empire Tower. Here you really will have all of Bangkok at your feet with a 360-degree view where the restaurants of star chefs Nobu and Vicky Cheng coexist. Le Du Kaan offers the casual version (for an aperitif even though there is no such thing as an aperitif here but also for dinner) of the tasty dishes of the aforementioned Thai chef Ton with a drink list that speaks very much of (Northern) Thailand and winks at the glamorous dimension that many seek when coming up here (there is an entrance fee just to avoid hundreds flocking to the rooftop just to take pictures). All cocktails are based on ingredients and spirits from the country.
Mahaniyom
A lovely little cocktail bar located upstairs from the famous Nose-to-tail 100 Mahaseth restaurant serving Northern Thailand's Isan cuisine. With the theme Resourceful Cocktails, the current menu pays homage to a range of local flavors, each drink focusing on one ingredient in all its derivative forms such as the Cow made with brandy and red wine along with brown butter, beef fat, clarified milk and blue cheese air or Squid with vodka, mezcal and sake with dried squid, squid ink, clarified tomato juice and pickled ginger cordial. These sui generis but certainly research-based choices have earned founder Ronnaporn “Ronnie” Neung fame throughout the global industry.
Bar.Yard
On most rooftops you either have the view or the restaurant and bar quality, at the top of Kimpton Maa-Lai Hotel you will find both: breathtaking beauty with the city expanding before your eyes and pleasant food and drink proposition. In the Langsuan district in the city center, you'll sip your cocktail with 40 floors under your feet, the atmosphere is always vibrant, the DJs are never lacking, and the edible proposal is inspired by Latin American flavors. The service is that of a luxury hotel that leaves nothing to chance, all the more reason to get to Bar.Yard, especially for first-time visitors to Bangkok.
BKK Social Club
Inspired by the union of Buenos Aires and Bangkok, the BKK Social Club, in the Four Seasons Hotel, is headed by German veteran Philip Bischoff. Here, everything is glitz, glamour, and you indulge in the pleasures of life set in what looks like a large garden where plants descend from chandeliers and the bar counter is a work of art, especially at night. The menu draws inspiration from Argentina with less conventional spirits and a reminder of the lively bar scene of the 1970s and 1980s. Yerba mate, guava apple and mint cola make up some of the good drinks on the menu. There is also a chance to try paired Mexican dishes alongside Thai cuisine.
