Modern Asian restaurant Ying Yang Asian Gastro Bar attempts to strike a harmonious balance between original Thai (and Asian) recipes and modern twists. Unfortunately, the results are mostly sub-par, a real pity since the service and décor are just the opposite. Instead of following tired industrial trends, the space goes for a glossy elegance that makes use of shiny black surfaces and antique Asian décor pieces. It’s a long, spacious room, with the mirrored walls giving it a feeling of even greater vastness and the ample space between tables offering a welcome break from the normal noisy, crowded mall-based eateries. Depending on what’s afoot on CentralWorld’s plaza, the ground floor view can also offer some nice people watching opportunities, too. Service is equally polished: a lakorn-worthy cast of ridiculously polite and handsome boys. But as we said earlier, the problem is with the food itself. The menu alone is a bit odd, with its numerous dishes heaped with pork floss or incorporating either tofu or steamed eggs. It’s also organized according to Chinese star signs, a completely unnecessary gimmick. Dry, less-than-fresh scallops, oily fried rice, a tendency to use too much salt, a dish made up of two sad and overcooked shrimps on top of a heap of deep-fried noodles—there’s really not much to recommend here. In fact, it’s probably better to think of this place as a bar where you can nibble on Singapore cracker cups with minced pork, tofu and bamboo shoots (B99) or munch on Cigarette Rolls (pork slices with minced spinach and chili sauce, B69). There’s plenty of booze to wash it all down (wine by the glass from B270), and even creative cocktails (from B199) by Fahbeer Suchada, a finalist in the local leg of the Bacardi Legacy Competition 2013. Ying Yang opened to a storm of paparazzi flashes as its celebrity “partners”—actors Nat Myria, Aum Atichart and Art Sajjakarge plus astrologer Kachapa Tancharoen—introduced Bangkok to their high-gloss concept. Unfortunately, food seems to have been an afterthought for the glam dream team. Today, Ying Yang sits pretty and empty, its 15 minutes of fame very quickly forgotten. Corkage charge B1,000.
