In the middle of Sukhumvit 16 lies a cute two-story beige building. The second floor is home to a cocktail bar, Midlife Crisis Bangkok, which Chomp has already visited. In contrast, the first floor of that premise is the zone of a modern Asian restaurant called PEPÉ Bangkok, founded by Chowkit "Pé" Banjongnitipat and Chef Nattanicha "Ploy" Tassaneevorawong.
Pé told Chomp that he had first met Chef Ploy in Phuket, and he enjoyed the chef's cooking, so he invited Chef Ploy to join the PEPÉ Bangkok project as Chef-owner.
Despite not graduating from culinary school, Chef Ploy has a strong passion for cooking that stemmed from her love of eating. This self-taught chef found a way to intern at a restaurant in Australia to gain knowledge and techniques before returning to work at restaurants in Thailand.
At first, Pé and Chef Ploy wanted to open a modern European restaurant but changed their minds due to many competitions. Also, in Asian cuisine, there are more spices and ingredients to play with.
Thanks to their laid-back approach, Pé and Chef Ploy wanted their restaurant to be a friendly and welcoming place where diners could enjoy exquisitely prepared meals with their loved ones, friends, families, and even pets.
Chomp started with a snack such as Cheese Bomb. A dish that many cheese lovers would love. It's a panipuri filled with cheese cream and topped with prosciutto and grated parmesan. The sweet and salty with streaks of fat from the prosciutto and the sharp, salty and nutty parmesan balance the creamy, sweet and slightly tangy cheese cream. This dish offers a variety of tongue-stimulating textures of crispiness, crunchiness, butteriness, and silkiness.
Duck Liver is also a snack that many people would adore. This dish of silky smooth duck liver pâté ruffled on top of a crispy pressed pastry and decorated with prune sauce and umeshu jelly combines multiple notes and flavours. It's rich, buttery, earthy, herbaceous, fruity and citrusy.
A starter such as Fish Crudo consists of three different fishes: salmon, tuna and Hamaji. The three fishes swim in buttermilk and ginger soy dressings drizzled with dill oil and decorated with ikura and seaweed crisp. The fishes are fresh and work with the buttermilk dressing. The ginger soy dressing gives the umami flavour and a slight kick on the tongue. The dill oil provides a fresh aroma. Ikura and seaweed crisp offer textures and extra saltiness.
PEPÉ's Beef Tartare has Thai accent. This dish combines beef tartare with a Thai dish called Laab, adding lime juice, fish sauce, fine-chopped kaffir lime leaves, chilli flakes and ground toasted rice. Chef Ploy decorated the dish with shiso leaves and crispy garlic crisp. Scoop the beef tartare with the deep-fried rice paper and enjoy the vibrant aromas, flavours and textures.
Grilled Steak is one of the main dishes that is utterly tender and juicy. Chef Ploy uses a rump cap or Coulotte, the meat part topped with a layer of fat, grills until the fat melts into the meat, and then takes it out, resulting in a cooked and moist exterior while the interior remains red and juicy. The steak is served with black garlic potato puree, broccolini, homemade chimichurri and J1 sauce.
Roasted Duck Breast is another highlight dish. The duck is dry-aged for seven days before being roasted and bathed in five spices sauce. The duck comes with bao buns, spring onion relish and guava hoisin. The way Chef Ploy makes the duck rids the fat under the duck skin, leaving only dry, crispy skin and tender, juicy meat. The spring onion relish is slightly spicy and has a nice kick due to fresh ginger and Chinese chilli oil. For those who can't take the heat, the salty and sweet guava hoisin has extra freshness from the guava.
If this is the place you're looking for, then come to PEPÉ Bangkok. They also have a wide range of wine selections to go with your meal.
PEPÉ Bangkok
Hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 17:00 - 00:00
Reserve: +66842 649 291
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PEPEBANGKOK
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pepe.bangkok/
Location: 173, 3 Soi Sukhumvit 16, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110
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