Asia Bar + Kitchen

Asia Bar + Kitchen serves up a melting pot of Asian cuisines—from Southeast Asia and East Asia to the Indian sub-continent—at hotel prices and food court quality. Situated in the Holiday Inn Express near the BACC, the spacious venue’s black walls, high ceilings, rustic floorboards, hanging lamps and cane partitions give off a hip industrial vibe—too bad about the lackluster soundtrack and struggling air-con. The outdoor area is furnished with large black umbrellas and a bit of greenery, providing a surprisingly laidback escape right under the BTS line. Unfortunately, a couple of South African wines by the glass (B260) and a ho-hum selection of run-of-the-mill Asian beers (such as Tsingtao, B130) don’t make this a particularly great bar for savvy drinkers. As for the food, the Thai dishes are very disappointing—and do note that your B150 pad Thai and B80 Coke will run up a bill verging on B280 net after service charge and tax. Even the more original Malaysian, Singaporean, Hong Kong, Indian and Indonesian options fail to excite the palate. The roast duck (B330) just can’t compete with MK, not to mention the nearby Four Seasons Restaurant (Siam Paragon, G/F). Our experiences with the roti prata served with dhal beans and chicken curry (B150) and Malaysian satay chicken (B180) are similarly disappointing. There’s just a lack of freshness and quality in the basic ingredients that the kitchen is working with. It’s less glaring in some basic noodle options, like the well-executed Cantonese hor fun (wok-fried noodles in gravy with shrimps, B180), but overall, this is pretty uninspired food. Asia Bar + Kitchen does have this deal where you can get six beers for B650, and service is pretty sharp (this is a hotel after all). Combine that with the cute outdoor area and you’ve got a proposition that might make sense in very desperate times—such as after a movie at MBK, when the nearby malls and food courts are closed—but one that is otherwise just best avoided. Corkage charge B500.