Wedged beneath the BTS station, smack on busy Sukhumvit, @Thonglor draws in clueless tourists (lured in part by the internet cafe) who haven’t realized they’re in Bangkok’s dining heartland, and the rare resident too lazy to venture beyond spitting distance of the BTS. It’s also meant to act as a showcase restaurant for JJ Delivery (www.jjdelivery.com), a catering and food delivery service. Maybe that’s why despite some genuine efforts in the style department (a lofty entrance, table mats matching the waitresses’ uniforms, hip ceiling lamps) @Thonglor can’t shake its industrial canteen vibe. The food too is utilitarian—edible, hearty portions without much flavor. The menu is one you’ve seen in many dodgy, tourist areas, with numerous Thai dishes and “inter” standards (the pork chop, the spaghetti carbonara, the salmon steak). Perhaps due to its location @Thonglor also ventures into Japanese territory but the California maki rolls (no avocado, just surimi, cucumber and egg omelet, B90), are about as good as you’d find at an Oishi counter. One of the more palatable Thai dishes is the soft-shell crab in yellow curry. The plate is loaded with a nice chunky crab and super fresh spring onions, even if the curry is a bit flat. Even flatter is the sauce accompanying the deep-fried (really, really, really deep-fried) snake head fish. They might as well have used water. And what’s going on with the diced carrots? Combined with heaps of ginger, dried shrimps, fried dried squid and tired lemongrass, the “salad” just ends up tasting soapy. The gaeng som, although also fairly bland, is a bit less catastrophic: plenty of shrimp and chunks of cha-om omelet, but the textures were a bit rubbery, an unpleasant contrast with the watery soup. With a few decent dishes, cheap prices (and no surcharges), a comfortable atmosphere and good service, we see how @Thonglor could build up a clientele of neighborhood expats (it also doesn’t close until midnight) but, despite its convenient location, it will never become a destination for the rest of us. Corkage charge B200 on Fri-Sat, B100 on Sun-Thu.
