Another of Emdee's great food reviews plucked from obscurity!

Posted by - ® emdee on February 19, 2006 at 11:30 am:

FACE RESTAURANT BANGKOK

Face Restaurant is located in one of Bangkok’s swishest neighbourhoods. In fact the Sois that run off Sukhumvit Road both to the north and south house some of the most expensive property to be found in the metropolis.

This area in outer west Sukhumvit has always been expensive, and the many restaurants in the area have a reputation for charging high prices, sometimes as a reflection of the rent they are required to pay, but more often as a genuflection to the wealthy locals and ex pats that frequent these eateries.

Face Restaurant is to be found on Sukhumvit Soi 38, only about 50 metres or so down the Soi from the main road.

The best way to get there is by the Skytrain, alighting at Thong Lo station and exiting to your right where you will find Soi 38.

At least that was the way I got there, despite only residing about 20 minutes walk away, I didn’t want to arrive in a lather of sweat, so the crowded Skytrain with its ice cold air conditioning provided the perfect mode for getting to Thong Lo.

I made this journey at request of one of our forum regulars, Mary W, who reported she had had heard good things about it on another Thailand travel site.

As one enters the cobbled courtyard, it can be discerned that Face is not your usual run-of-the-mill Bangkok restaurant. It fact it is more than just a restaurant.

As one is greeted courteously and warmly at the door of the beautiful traditional Thai teak house, it becomes apparent that Face is divided into several different areas. There is a really funky bar which on the night I dined there, was populated by the beautiful and wanna-to-be-beautiful people.

I noted that there was also a spa, a Thai restaurant, an Indian restaurant, a secluded dining area for private functions, and an outdoors eating area.

I took the prudential step of making a reservation earlier in the day and taking along with me the daughter of one of my business associates in Bangkok so that I would not feel like a culinary leper in dining solo.

The proceedings properly began with a pre-dinner drink, with my companion choosing a Singapore Gin Sling and your correspondent a bottle of Tiger ale, which came in a cold frosted half schooner.

My dining companion complained that the Singapore Sling had been concocted using red colouring instead of the traditional and very expensive cherry brandy. At 199 baht one would have thought that the establishment could have afforded to put in a jigger of cherry brandy, instead of substituting with the abhorrent red colouring.

At about the time my companion was complaining about the make up of her drink, I got the uncomfortable feeling that many eyes were taking an interest in us – and indeed they were. The restaurant was crowded and I asked Lauren why so many people seemed to be taking an interest in us. She giggled and said: “They think you are middle-aged farang and me a rent a girl”.

I now know what it must be like for the many middle aged farangs in Bangkok escorting a girl about one third their own age.

After about 20 minutes, I had to call out to one of the waitresses that we were still waiting for a menu, whereupon about five minutes later we were presented with a menu which included all the usual suspects on a Thai dining carte and few extras as well.

The Thai restaurant at Face is called La Na, or Lanna, that being the derivation of Chiang Mai, which has its own cuisine and dialect. However, there appeared to be little in the way of Lanna dishes on the menu, and the thought occurred to me as I gazed at the Indian restaurant at the other end of the building, that it was called Hazara, which was also something of misnomer, as I recall Hazara being a province of Afghanistan near the Pakistan border from my backpacking days in the middle of the last century.

At this point a few things began to annoy me about the ambience. I noticed that smoking was allowed in the adjoining bar and the repugnant smell of the tobacco had entered the restaurant via the air conditioning. Additionally, the music from the band in the bar was of such an amplitude that it made conversation possible only by raising one’s voice several octaves.

Having selected our entrees and mains, we waited quietly for around 15 minutes for someone to attend to us, whereupon I lost patience, and approached the food manager and asked if one of the waitresses could take our order.

Another wait of five minutes occurred before a well spoken young woman came to our table and took our orders.

We ordered another round of drinks and waited for the entrees to arrive. I could see that the bar was full, as was the restaurant, but I also noted that there were only about 20 diners in the erstwhile named Indian restaurant.

Having finished our second round of drinks we waited longer for the food to arrive but without luck.

I approached the food manager once again, pointing out to him that we had been in the restaurant for 75 minutes and had to that point nothing to eat. He was clearly not happy by me approaching him for a second time, but at least it did produce some action, wherein the entrees arrived at our table several minutes later.

I was glad that I had chosen two starters, with the Tom Yooung Goung soup and Thai fishcakes, whilst my companion had chosen a plate of several differently filled spring rolls.

The Tom Yooung soup was OK, that is, it was redolent of its type without being outstanding, while the Thai fish cakes were delicious, accompanied by a two dipping sauces, one being a light soy and the other a sweet chilli. The Thai fish cakes had been lightly fried and were crisp on the outside, moist on the inside, and succulent with the fish paste and herbal ingredients.

Lauren said the seven different spring rolls were delicious which were also accompanied by a lime and chili dipping sauce as well as the ubiquitous soy dipping sauce.

Our plates were whisked away and we ordered our fourth round of drinks, sticking routinely to the Tiger ale for both of us, as the wine list was astronomical, besides which, I have always felt that apart from Guweurtztraminer, hardly any wines complement Thai cooking with its overpowering flovours and heavy use of chili.

Another long wait ensued until I caught the eye of the well spoken waitress and told her that we would appreciate the mains as soon as possible, as we had been in the restaurant for over two hours and spent most the time drinking rather than eating.

However, another 20 minutes elapsed and just as I was about to approach the manager for the third time, the well spoken arrived with our mains, with Lauren’s choice of red Thai pork with seasonal vegetables and your correspondent’s selection of yellow curry chicken with steamed rice.

We shared the main courses, and it soon became apparent that these dishes were a level above of what most Bangkok restaurants offer in regards to these well known Thai selections. The red pork was delicious, tender and moist and the seasonal vegetables were crunchy and the red curry sauce was to die for.

My yellow chicken curry was also delicate, aromatic, moist and carefully prepared. The steamed rice was of the jasmine variety and the food was ensconced in some beautiful Benjarong pottery which was only appropriate given the salubriousness of the surroundings.

Neither of us felt like another wait for eternity and besides which the odour of the smoke and the incessant noise from the Thai band had somewhat ruined what we thought was going to be a special occasion.

I asked the well spoken one for the tab but you guessed it – we waited for 20 minutes before we both got up and headed for the door, whereupon the manager rushed to the desk and presented us with the bill.

Upon scrutiny it became apparent he had given us the wrong bill as it had enough food items on the print out to feed the first battalion of the Australian army.

After looking meaningfully into his computer for about three minutes he came up with the right table number but had failed to add the fifth round of drinks. Normally I would have pointed out the omission, but I felt that we had been so badly let down by the lack of service, that it was the price they should pay for such dereliction.

We departed across the cobbled courtyard to the strains of a Fleetwood Mac number and headed back to Thong Lo station, leaving behind a uniquely-designed restaurant, with good food and one of the worst attentions to service of its clientele that I have experienced in Thailand or anywhere else for that matter.

SUMMARY: Face is a complex of two restaurants, a spa, a bar and several other things as well. It is located in Sukhumvit Soi 38 in a beautifully restored Thai teak house. I felt that this place is for the under-35 crowd who intend to make a whole night of the experience in the complex.

COST: Eight Tiger ales at 150 baht each; one Singapore Gin Sling at 199 baht. Tom Yooung Goong 199 baht (three helpings); spring roll selection 185 baht; red Thai pork with season vegetables 255 baht; yellow Thai curry chicken 225 baht. Steamed rice 90 baht. Total:2263 baht. + 10 per cent service charge and 7% VAT. Grand total: 2721 Baht.

SCORE: Hygiene 10/10; ambience 4/10 (would have been much higher but for the tobacco smell and the band noise); food 8/10; value for money 2/10; service (or lack thereof) 0/10: Total: 26/50.

VERDICT: If you like extra long breaks between courses then this restaurant is for you. Service is a nominal extra. Over priced food in funky, trendy surroundings. It is not child friendly (unless your child is 18-34 and is one of the beautiful people). It accepts all of the usual plastic cards and is open seven nights a week for dinner and six days a week for lunch.
The Indian restaurant - Hazara - is only open for dinner seven nights a week.

Conclusion: Go there only if you want to spy on the beautiful people, or if you are an aficionado of poor service and expensive food.

Recommendation: Soi 55 and Soi 38 have better restaurants than Face. In fact I think Face needs to save Face in several spheres, not least of which is the service, tobacco smoke and the loudness of the band from the adjoining bar.

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