Scorching Bangkok day 3: an Indian-Mexican romance

I had a stop to make before arriving at my next hotel in the middle of the city. A few days ago I had a long-overdue catchup up with senpai, and he connected me with two alumni from our school. These guys were kind enough to take time out to grab a coffee with me, so we met at Roast in EmQuartier with my luggage in tow.

Moving from the riverside to Sindhorn Midtown Hotel Bangkok is meant to make it easier for me to get around the city, as it's a few minutes away from the Chitlom (ชิดลม) BTS Station. I did take the BTS after my coffee to get to the hotel, which wasn't too painful with my luggage. I needed to do some emergency shopping before dinner tonight, and as centralwOrld was not far away, I was able to get there on foot and back easily.

When my Grab driver chose to abandon my fare because he didn't want to get stuck on Sukhumvit for a short fare, I took the BTS and got off at the station nearest to the restaurant, then hopped on the back of a moto taxi to get to my dinner at Ms. Maria and Mr. Singh

I was initially slated to dine alone, but discovered that someone I had been corresponding with online happened to be in Bangkok at the same time, so I invited him to join me at my table. By the time I arrived at the restaurant, I realized that an additional place had been set for Indian Hairy Legs and he would also be joining me.

This is a casual restaurant where the whole family is welcome, and there's no set menu. I decided to leave the choice of dishes up to Vlad - and later Indian Hairy Legs.

Golgappa : chole mousse / pomegranate panipurri - golgappa (गोलगप्पे) is Dehli-style pani puri (पानी पूरी), and inside the crispy shell we had a mouse of white beans and seafood which was nice and creamy. On the side we had a drink made with pomegranate and green mango, which was savory and acidic with spices.

Ceviche Ms. Maria and Mr. Singh: dry aged hamachi / ama ebi / grilled octopus / finger lime / chipotle leche de tigre / fenugreek - the leche de tigre was made with chile morita and ginger. This gave the dish more heat. In addition to the yellowtail, grilled octopus tentacles, shrimp, and deep-fried shrimp heads, we've also got some finger lime caviar to add to the acidic profile of the dish, which is what one looks for in a ceviche.

Ceviche cold curry scallop: Hokkaido scallop / avocado chutney / coconut milk - this was not the "original" cold curry I had back in 2017, as the acidity was much more prominent now and cuts through the coconut milk. The flavors from the mix of coriander, mint, and lime were very strong, and definitely more of a ceviche.

Aguachile verde: season vegetables and fruits / green aquachile - sauce made with Serrano chile from Sinaloa in Mexico, coriander, red onion, cucumber, basil, garlic... Then we've got cucumber, guava, Chinese pear, radicchio, melon, radish, and ice plant. Very refreshing and aromatic, and good to get some fresh veg.

Tacos de Maria and Singh: quinoa-corn tortilla / grilled seabass / red and green adobo / mizuna / peppers / guacamole - the seabass came with some turmeric, and we had some peppers, pickled onions, and I added some guacamole.

Tacos pork vindaloo: flour tortilla / mozzarella cheese / pulled pork vindaloo / chargrilled pineapple / chillies - this was topped with some green salsa and pineapple. The flavors from the cloves were pretty distinctive and prominent. I added some green salsa because I'm a pussy and didn't want too much heat.

Hate squid love peanut mole: chargrilled squid / crispy tentacles / mole sauce / green chutney - we've got both strips of grilled squid as well as deep-fried squid tentacles here, along with a mint leaf and coriander chutney. We also have mole coloradito from Oaxaca, made with four different chiles - ancho, pasilla, cascabel, and mulato. Of course we've also got chocolate, but this one also has jaggery for an Indian touch. On the side we had a small dab of pipián made with tomatillo, jalapeño, poblano, epazote, and hoja santa.

We wrap it all in a tortilla made with hoja santa, which is why it looks green. The mole was very rich and definitely more on the sweet side, thanks to the jaggery.

Gaggan's crab curry: jumbo lump Thai swimmer crab / coconut curry - I've always loved the crab curry from Gaggan / GohGan, and always want it whenever it's on offer.

But is the swimmer crab meat "Jay Fai size"? In any case, I love how much heat there is when it comes from Gaggan's kitchen. It definitely was a little weak at GohGan last year.

Chicken tikka masala - as the menu says... "British national dish made to glory."

Mom's spinach and paneer: baby spinach / Indian cottage cheese / avocado - somehow, this is a dish that I always end up having. Not that I'm complaining...

Freshly baked Goan poee - first time trying this, and very happy with all the spices on top.

Churros - I LOVE churros. Can't walk away without having some. And love that it's dusted in cinnamon sugar.

Toasted sticky rice ice cream and dulche de leche - the dulce de leche was "smoked in caramel".

Leche flan with frozen pineapple: creme caramel / pineapple mint sorbet - the flan was very sweet and very intense. Texture was pretty firm.

Very happy to have spent more time hanging out with Indian Hairy Legs and Vlad, and finally trying out what they're doing here. I was coming here to show some love for Rydo, but I guess I'll be doing that tomorrow instead.

Hairy Legs was going clubbing with Munching Dentist at Sing Sing Theater and asked me to join them. Vlad didn't think it was the kind of place I would like, but he happened to know the owner, so I invited him to come along and meet Hairy Legs.

I honestly can't remember the last time I went to a club like this... other than the night where Hairy Legs and the Caprice team regained their third star back in December 2018. But just as it was that night, we stayed clear of the main dance floor tonight, and just watched the action from above... including admiring all the different house dancers - some of whom were sitting on swings suspended from the ceiling.

Munching Dentist very kindly opened a few bottles of Billecart Salmon Brut Rosé, which is always nice to drink.

For a guy who hasn't gotten much sleep this week, maybe staying out past 1:30 a.m. wasn't such a good idea. But it sure was fun!