Rating 1/5

Pan-Asian. Le Meridien Bangkok, 40/5 Suriwongse Rd., 02-232-8888
Like the restaurants in Sex and the City, Bamboo Chic is so cool it’s scary. The glass walkway underlit in green, the live DJ, the moodily-lit dining room, the soaring ceilings, and the wild pan-Asian fusion menu all make you think you’re going to get lucky. But like the men on Sex and the City, Bamboo Chic clouds your judgment with booze, then reveals itself to be a mistake as soon as you start eating. There is a disconnect between the promise of this ultra-contemporary lounge-slash-restaurant and the reality of what’s brought to your table. Despite a tea kettle and wedge of lemon, the allegedly dobin mushi-style sea bream, prawn and chicken soup (B300) is overpowered with umami flavor, pretty much like a cheap miso. The maguro tataki salad (seared red tuna and ponzu wasabi miso jelly, B400 for small) is a satisfying first bite—warm fish, cold dressing—but it’s all fried garlic and sweet soy sauce beyond that. The salmon fillet with red caramel (B580 for large) and the (soggy) eel and foie gras (B1,100 for large) are both topped with the same overly sweet soy sauce that reminds us of Oishi’s bento boxes. The dinner buffet (a pedestrian option at this elegant place) does not even attempt to deliver on the restaurant’s ambitions, with baffling clichés such as green curry, a standard sushi/sashimi spread and teppanyaki stations. We will say, though, that the drinks are inventive, delicious and reasonably priced for such a swank setting. Among the “Asian martinis,” the kyu, a spiked Japanese cucumber juice (B220), is refreshing and comes in a stem-less glass buried in a bowl of ice. The vita vini (B220) is a lovely blend of cold prosecco, lychee juice and chopped grapes. There is also an impressive and long wine, sake and soju list. Still, it is difficult to recommend Bamboo Chic. Although the girls on our favorite HBO show do it all the time, we cannot in good faith advise you to go to a restaurant and then not eat a morsel. Open daily 6pm-1am. Corkage B500. BBBB.HF