PUBLISHED July 22nd, 2019 06:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 01:53 pm
The 51 Tasty Moments is a rather strange name for a restaurant, until you realise that it’s more of an integrated food and lifestyle concept that combines F&B with retail and design. Two streets up from the iconic Sukhumvit 55 Road, this is a serene sanctuary that seeks to introduce better eating into the lives of Bangkokians.
There is plenty to love about this single-floor 1500 square metre complex, or should we say vibrant lifestyle haven? There’s a spacious lawn with tall trees, bean bags, and the obligatory fairy lights — clearly, it’s made for drinking all day and night in, and we are happy to oblige. Inside, high ceilings and big windows make it feel like one bright and airy living room, and you’ll see art pieces and furniture from LF Furniture and Adler Art Gallery. Want to buy one to take home? Go ahead.
But you’re probably here for the food, and you’ll find plenty of that here. Frères Marchand’s deli section has a fabulous selection of charcuterie and cheeses, which you can take away or enjoy on the spot. We recommend their creamy Lemon Tart or traditional Apple Tart (THB150), which make for great desserts. There’s also La Vanille ice cream shop for housemade smoothies French-style ice cream — and trust us, you’ll want some to cool down in the perennial Bangkok heat.
Their hot kitchen is more of an east-meets-west affair, as Singapore chef Clement Ronald Ng — the man behind fusion restaurant Clik — whips up a confident Asian menu dedicated to seasonal Thai ingredients. The Pomelo Prawn Salad (THB180) is an easy favourite, made from scratch the traditional way with pomelo, chilli, lemongrass, toasted coconut, and prawns dressed in sweet but tart tamarind sauce. Nothing like a fresh Quinoa Salad (THB260) with nuts, crispy rice cracker, pomelo, and a heap of garden veggies to uplift our spirits either.
You’ll find the occasional Western touch — Clement’s deliciously rich Khao Soi Chicken Pasta (THB180) is one of the more popular dishes here. He cooks chicken in mildly spicy khao soi curry together with spaghetti and top its up with parmesan and fried shallots. The restaurant’s chicken comes from the free-range Klong Phai farm in Khao Yai, and it’s particularly juicy.
It’s the same chicken you get with the Organic Farmers Chicken (THB590 for half, THB990 for whole), which comes with avocado, chimichurri sauce, and plenty of that chicken jus. It’s so good we’d take one home to tear apart over Netflix. If you have space left, order the Italian Burger (THB 390), a sexy thing made with dry aged grass-fed beef, tangy housemade tomato sauce, caramelised onions, and parmesan cheese.
We love that it’s so easy to hangout for half a day here. Even the wines are very affordable, with some 50 labels that start as low as THB160 per glass. And free-flow wine for THB480 between 6.30pm to 8.30pm on most days? Not bad at all.
The 51 Tasty Moments is located at 64 Sukhumvit 51, Bangkok, Bangkok Metropolis 10110, Thailand, p. +66 98 870 7051. Open Tue-Sun 7.30am – 10.30pm. Closed Mon.