An exotic ambience, a massive menu of Thai and Western dishes and a pretty extensive drink list: Leelawadee is impressive in many regards—unfortunately, not when it comes to food. Self-titled the restaurant of “Asia Arts” [sic], the décor is all wood, sculptures and paintings of lotus flowers. You guessed it, the result is more JJ than teak palace. With a large outside seating area surrounded by two glittering ponds, an extensive inside dining area, another large private seating room and a live band stage, there’s a resort feel, complete with golf carts to ferry you from the car park and staff in “Thai” outfits at the door. OK, they are professional, polite and informative but that doesn’t stop them from bringing the mains before the starters, Thai-style. The baked baby clams with onion and cheese served with garlic bread don’t taste of onions, nor even of clams, as the thick and chewy cheese smothers the poor creatures. The deep-fried spicy featherback fish cakes stuffed with salted egg yolk fare a bit better—at least they have flavor and an interesting creaminess from the salted egg yolk. For mains, the wild boar meat stir-fried with Thai eggplants, herbs, red curry paste and coconut milk is scrumptious. The wild boar is much toothier and fatter than normal pork and the dish is cooked like a spicy panaeng curry. Back to the sea, the deep-fried sea bass marinated with fish sauce is crispy and fresh. For dessert, the Café de Leela’s chocolate cake has a good texture (soft, creamy and fluffy) but only one flavor—sweet. A decent choice if you want a getaway dining experience but don’t expect solid cooking. Corkage B300.
