Asiatique’s riverfront seafood restaurant is industrial in many ways. It’s set in a renovated warehouse with a barebones décor. It feeds massive crowds in the din of a canteen-like atmosphere. And it likes to overload its food on the holy fast food trinity of sugar, oil and salt. What isn’t industrial is its prices: B1,080 for a single crab in yellow curry is a lot more boutique than outlet mall. If the space’s sound design were not such a disaster (the additional pop soundtrack doesn’t help), it would be easier to appreciate the fairly modern, loft-like space and its heavy wooden tables. And the place is by the river, after all, meaning you can see a dark strip of the Chao Phraya if you look through the big bay windows. But while we could live with the food court ambiance, we’re not so lenient on the kind of kitchen shortcuts that have become so ubiquitous in malls’ bistro restaurants, though here they’re applied to Thai cuisine. The overly thick breading, as found on the “shrimp fish” cakes (B280) and squid deep-fried in salted eggs (B250), results in excessive oiliness and does not leave much room for the produce to shine. In the shrimp cakes’ case, there actually isn’t much produce either, as the mix is light on shrimp. Even the simplest dishes like clams stir-fried in basil (B250) or stir-fried cabbage (B150) come out far too oily (and too sweet). It’s especially odd because there’s nothing wrong with Kodang Talay’s fresh ingredients; so why coat them in fast food flavors? It’s as if they were trying to cut on the cost of seasoning, such as with the shrimps in tamarind sauce (B600), which taste much more of sugar than of tamarind, though the shrimps themselves are fine. Some dishes are even quite tasty, like the sweet and sour soup (gaeng som) with sea catfish eggs (B400). This is not an easy dish to find in Bangkok, and here it’s fairly well executed. But overall, we’re disappointed, especially as you end up paying double what you do at your neighborhood Thai-Chinese seafood joint (there’s a 10% service charge, too). Asiatique can make for a fun night out, but whether that night out should include a big splurge on average seafood is your call. Corkage B500.
