Try Thai food at Blue Elephant Sathorn.

This restaurant has caught my attention for a long time. Its striking yellow building and spacious surroundings make it impossible to miss. I've always wondered about its quality, assuming it was out of my price range. However, an opportunity arose during the BK Restaurant Week promotion in September 2018. For around 1,000 baht, I could dine at this establishment. With numerous restaurants to choose from, this was a chance to finally try it. I immediately made a reservation.

Upon entering the restaurant, there is a parking area nearby. If it is full, you can park in the building behind the restaurant. When I went, there were two or three tour buses with many Chinese tourists. However, the restaurant's management was well-prepared, and they had set aside a separate area for them. This meant that we were able to enter and find customers who were not part of a tour group, which made for a pleasant and uncrowded atmosphere, contrary to my initial expectations.

The restaurant is decorated in a traditional Thai style, attracting a large number of international diners. Nearly every table was occupied by foreigners, with only one table of Thai customers observed. The staff provided excellent service, efficiently managing reservations with a detailed sign-in sheet, eliminating the need for excessive documentation. Simply stating your name was sufficient. The tables were crafted from wood and woven materials, adorned with real orchid flowers. Please refrain from picking the orchids, as they are genuine.

Upon arrival, the staff approached us to take our drink order, speaking in English. We responded in English as well, assuming they might feel awkward otherwise. It's understandable that they would default to English, given the likely low number of Thai customers. This presented a good opportunity to practice our language skills.


Today's menu is a 3-course meal, not a tasting menu. (However, if you're interested in trying the tasting menu, it costs 2,400 baht without soup and 2,700 baht for the full menu. I'm considering trying it, it sounds delicious.)

The appetizer, a pineapple shrimp salad, is served to every table. It features a lotus flower-shaped salad bowl filled with cooked shrimp and pineapple, drizzled with a tangy dressing. The combination of sweet pineapple, tangy dressing, and tender shrimp creates a balanced and harmonious flavor profile. The shrimp's softness adds a textural contrast, enhancing the overall dining experience.


The first dish, Sago Chicken Breast, features perfectly cooked sago with a subtle flavor that complements the chicken and peanuts inside. This dish is a great way to start the meal.

The deep-fried crab meat wrapped in banana leaves was drizzled with a mild chili sauce, suitable for both Western and Thai palates. The sauce had a balanced sweet, sour, and slightly spicy flavor. The crab meat was incredibly dense, and the wrapping was thin and crispy.


The meal concludes with a refreshing green mango salad with fresh shrimp, demonstrating an excellent progression of flavors. The salad's taste profile resembles the first dish, but with mango taking center stage instead of pineapple. The combination is as harmonious as the lotus petal salad, effectively cleansing the palate and preparing diners for the main course.


Main courses: Moving on to the main course, the sea bass in tamarind sauce was a standout. The fish was perfectly fried, achieving a crispy texture without being overly dry or tough. The accompanying tamarind sauce was sweet and fragrant, complementing the fish beautifully. Paired with rice, this dish was a delight to the palate.

The beef panang curry features dry-aged beef that has been aged for 55 days, resulting in a more complex flavor profile. Unlike typical panang curries, which often have tough, chewy beef, this dish boasts tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat. The panang sauce is intentionally less intense to cater to international palates. The dish is generously portioned, offering a satisfying amount of beef.

This stir-fried morning glory with garlic chives is the perfect complement to the first two dishes, creating a healthy and balanced meal. The vegetables are crisp and fresh, and the thinly sliced garlic chives are mild and easy to eat, without the strong garlic flavor.

The rice is served in a container similar to a sticky rice container, divided into two sections. You can choose between white rice or brown rice. The white rice is cooked to perfection, while the brown rice is slightly sticky but not as sticky as Japanese rice. Both are delicious.

Dessert Delight: A Culinary Symphony

The arrival of dessert was a moment of anticipation, a canvas for culinary imagination. Would it be a simple affair, or would it hold a hidden surprise? The answer arrived in the form of an extraordinary creation: jasmine ice cream paired with a traditional Thai sweet, "khanom mo kaeng."

Eating them separately would have been a disservice to the dish. The ice cream, with its delicate sweetness, craved the counterpoint of the savory "khanom mo kaeng." The restaurant thoughtfully provided both a spoon and a fork, encouraging the diner to embrace the symphony of flavors.

The ice cream rested upon a bed of crispy crumbs, adding a delightful textural contrast. This interplay of textures, along with the contrasting flavors, created a multi-dimensional culinary experience. Each bite was a joyous exploration, a dance between sweet and savory.

The sweetness of the ice cream was perfectly balanced by the savory "khanom mo kaeng," resulting in a harmonious flavor profile. A hidden layer of "foi thong," a golden egg yolk thread, added a final touch of richness and complexity.

This dessert was more than just a sweet ending to a meal; it was a testament to culinary creativity and the joy of unexpected combinations. It was a reminder that the simplest ingredients, when combined with imagination and skill, can create a masterpiece.

*Drinks are not included in the set and must be paid for separately.

#blue elephant#bangkok.#thai food#thailand#eat
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