Central World Plaza is the new “talk of the town” shopping complex, even though some parts of it are still under renovation. I was curious to see what all the fuss was about so I went to check it out for myself, along with a few friends. It was modern-looking with a sleek clean look although I thought it was too white and futuristic. Maybe it’ll look better after the construction is done.

Anyway, the point here is not to review CWP so I’ll just jump to the restaurant. We ate at a place called Mixt, which is a newly opened fusion restaurant (or so it claims to be). The restaurant was all decked out in red with black décor and fake flowers lined the entrance of the restaurant. At first glance, it almost looks like an art shop. The restaurant is designed to look like it has an “outdoor” area with little tables arranged on the balcony but it wasn’t outdoors, it was just an outside area. We decided to sit in this ”outside” area, much to the insistence of little J and middle J. The outside is decorated a little differently from the inside, with round glass tabletops and a natural brown/beige tone. Different shades of brown and cream-colored one-seat sofas were scattered everywhere and the waiter had to re-arrange the sofas for our table.

Mixt has a small drinks menu although some of the items on the menu are not yet available. Little J and middle J both had Blended Lemon Juice (45 baht), which I was told was a real eye-opener…due to it’s *very* sourness.

A and I had the Strawberry Smoothie (70 baht) which had been made from real strawberries (not the artificial flavoring that some places use) and it tasted quite nice although it was a bit on the sweet side. Smoothies usually contain ice cream to help give the drink a thick consistency and this smoothie was thick but I didn’t detect any hints of dairy products, much to my delight. (I mentioned before that I wasn’t a big fan of ice cream or sweet desserts.)

We started our meal with the Mixt Roti (130 baht) which came in a big plate with small portions. Roti is a type of Indian bread that doesn’t contain leavening agents (substances such as baking soda or yeast that causes bread to rise), so roti has layers and layers of thin flour sheets stacked together and the texture is dense but crispy. The fried roti had been cut into little triangles and the dipping sauce that came with it tasted like the dipping sauce for Khao Tung Naa Tung, another Thai snack. This dip contained shredded chicken, tuna, white sesame seeds, and the concentrated coconut milk gave it a salty and creamy taste.

Next, we tried the Devil Rice (150 baht); squid ink fried rice with large scrumptious pieces of squid in it, all wrapped in an omelette. The rice tasted just like Khao Pad Kraphao, or Thai basil fried rice. This dish was somewhat mediocre, as there was nothing particularly extraordinary about the rice except that it was black and quite spicy. The owners/chefs should have thought of a different way to season the rice, especially since they gave it an interesting name like Devil Rice. On the other hand, I have to give them credit for their squid – it was fresh and chewy. The rice also came with a tiny bowl of clear broth which contained carrot strips, golden needle mushroom and small tapioca balls. The soup had a mild flavor and while the tapioca balls didn’t contain any flavor, it gave a slightly sticky gooey texture when chewed.

My friends and I all have a special fondness for mushrooms so when it came to ordering soup, our choices were either the Tom Yam or the Tom Kha Kai. We chose Tom Kha Kai (120 baht) in the end because A can’t handle spicy foods very well. Tom Kha Kai, creamy chicken soup made from boiling coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves together, is one of my favorite Thai dishes and while some people prefer their tom kha kai salty or sweet, I love mine sour and rich in coconut milk. The tom kha at Mixt tasted just the way I liked it, but it was a bit too aqueous.

We actually ordered another recommended dish – Spaghetti with Soft-Shell Crab Sautéed with Black Pepper and Garlic (250 baht) - but the waitress came to tell us that they ran out of soft-shell crabs and the kitchen was closing (she told us the kitchen closes at 9:30 pm and it was only 8:30 pm) but we already had our fill of this place anyway.

Overall, this place still lacked a lot of qualities to make it a good restaurant but I might be a bit unfair since they’ve only been operating for less than a month. (Still, if they are not ready to operate fully yet then they shouldn’t open until they are ready.) Maybe in a few months they’ll transform into the restaurant that could…

Mixt
B305 Third Floor
Central World Plaza
Ratchadamri Road, Pathumwan
Bangkok, Thailand 10330
Tel: 02-613-1175
Open: daily 11:30am-10pm

Categories: Restaurant Review
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It seems that there are more and more “fusion food” available these days and the invention of a new dish has become so common it’s hardly something worth raising your eyebrows over anymore. While it’s great that people are discovering new tastes and experimenting with exotic ingredients, we shouldn’t forget about the old ones.

Bayia is a Muslim snack that is relatively hard to find nowadays. Traditionally, it was served in a “dish” made out of banana leaves but I wasn’t around yet to witness that. (Haha!) I only learned of its existence a while back but I’ve been hooked on this snack since! It all started when I went out for lunch one day and discovered the cart by the street. Street vendors are common in Thailand and you get relatively good food for a cheap price.

Anyway, this “shop” was selling bayia and other fried munchies but I’ve never had bayia before so I decided to try it. Bayia is made from mashed split mung beans and seasoned with ground cumin and coriander seeds before being deep fried. Once you remove it from the oil, it has a crispy texture on the outside, sort of like bread crumb coatings, and the inside tastes like mashed potatoes. It is then eaten with fried chilis and dipped in either a tamarind-garlic sauce or a sweet chili sauce.

I heard that there are still a few street vendors selling bayia in Bangkok but the place I go to is at the front of Sukhumvit 49. The owner is a scary-looking lady who doesn’t smile much, and the bayia costs 2 baht apiece.

Categories: About
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From my previous posts, you can probably tell that I eat all sorts of raw things, from eggs to fish to beef. Don’t worry, I’m not really a vampire but I have to admit, raw food does taste quite nice if you know how to prepare it. Now, Thais are not really into eating raw things (although there are a few exceptions) but this is one of my favorite foods so I just had to blog about it. (Yes, I do seem to have a lot of favorites, don’t I?)

My first recipe is beef carpaccio, a dish that I made about a month ago. It was pretty good, if I say so myself…so good I devoured a whole plate all by myself!

Beef Carpaccio
(Makes 2 plates)

• 400 g. good quality beef (it’s important that you only use top quality beef for this dish)
• 1 pack of rocket leaves, washed and dried
• a wedge of Parmesan cheese
• 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Place the rocket leaves on a chilled plate.

Slice the beef into paper-thin slices and arrange on top of the rocket leaf bed. *Note: Placing the beef in the freezer prior to slicing can make the process easier.

Mix the balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl and drizzle the mixture over the beef. Sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

Shave the Parmesan cheese over the beef slices and squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the beef. (This is optional. You can also use the lemon wedges to decorate the plate.)

Serve while still chilled.

Categories: Recipes
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