Savoury sanctuary | Bangkok Post: food

EATING OUT

At the end of Sukhumvit Soi 1, adjacent to Saen Saeb canal, stands a beautiful 70-year-old house once a residence of Charoen Sheanakul, the Father of Thai Engineering. Today the exquisite building has been nicely renovated by his architect granddaughter, Pariya, and turned into an aesthetic hotel-cum-dhamma retreat.

The 70-year-old former home of renowned engineer Charoen Sheanakul has been turned into a hotel with a 30-seat restaurant. PHOTOS: ANUSORN SAKSEREE

The place is called Ariyasomvilla and is where my recent discovery of another most delightful dining sanctuary in Bangkok took place.

Elegant yet homely, Na Aroon restaurant occupies a spacious, high-ceilinged chamber on the ground floor of the 24-suite Ariyasomvilla.

Soy bean chilli dip with soft-shell crab.

The menu hinted that it doesn't cater only to hotel guests. Its 200-item repertoire listed impressive varieties of Thai and Western fare. From spicy yum salad, curries and rice dishes to European-style soups, pasta and main seafood courses, the choices were varied to serve all types of diners. Still, non-meat offerings (the owners are keen vegetarians) and old-fashioned Thai dishes (probably to complement the restaurant's graceful Siamese ambience) cooked with seafood is what Na Aroon focuses on.

The style of cuisine here is basically home-cooking. MSG is forbidden and all ingredients are carefully selected to provide as healthy a dining experience as possible.

We started off with the owner's favourite, hoy tord hed, or vegetarian-style mussel pancake (180 baht). Not expecting much of a thrill to the palate, we were hence very pleased by the crispy treat made with a special flour mixture, bean sprouts and mushrooms as substitute to the shellfish. The addictively delicious appetiser was enjoyed with a typically sweet and sour hoy tord chilli sauce.

The impressive lunch continued with salmon and ebiko ravioli with green curry sauce (250 baht), a signature dish that recently won a Thailand International Culinary Cup in the freestyle pasta category. It featured home-made ravioli, which wasn't al dente but rather soft, stuffed with salmon meat and shrimp roe and soaked in green curry cream. Regardless of its murky appearance, the dish was a real palate-pleaser thanks to the fragrant, spicy, salty and slightly sweet curry cream powdered with finely chopped kaffir lime skin to give a very aromatic Thai zest.

Deep-fried larb tuna (150 baht), served in golf ball-sized globes, is among the most-ordered appetisers here. Yet I found that this herbally fragrant, pungently appetising snack could have tasted better with a crispier shell and less friable centre.

For entrees to be enjoyed with rice, I recommend you order lon poo nim, or soy bean dip with soft-shell crab (285 baht). The pungent character of the dish, which was piloted by the tangy flavour of the tamarind paste, complemented by fresh vegetables including cucumber, white turmeric, carrot, string beans, eggplant and cabbage, reminded me of my grandma's tao jiew lon, but with the soft, all edible whole crab as a nice filling.

Stir-fried crispy mushroom with black pepper.

Stir-fried mushroom with black pepper (195 baht) proved to be an ideal option if you're looking for a meat-free item that can be enjoyed as both a side dish with rice and an appetiser. The mushroom had been lightly battered and deep-fried to give a brittle exterior and chewy centre before being tossed with black pepper, young peppercorn, garlic, chilli and crispy basil leaves.

Despite the restaurant's focus on "healthy" fare, however, when it comes to European dishes, the rich and creamy character of the Western cuisine is never compromised. Ravioli in pink sauce (225 baht) and penne carbonara (230 baht) is scrumptious evidence of this.

The Italian dumplings, with a tasty filling made with spinach and taro puree, laced with orange-pink sauce made with tomato, mushroom and cream, proved to be a real delight, while the creamy carbonara pasta was among the richest and best-tasting in town.

Should you look for a Western-style vegetarian dish, I recommend that you try fried chicken breast (285 baht). The "chicken", made with soy bean, yielded a pleasant chewy texture that went perfectly with the dressing (you can choose from red wine mushroom, curry mustard or cream sauces) and a generous portion of mashed potatoes.

Just like how the savoury cuisine is presented, when it comes to desserts, Na Aroon's guests are offered a full stream of both Thai and Western sweets.

In season right now is longkong loy kaew, or longkong fruit in syrup (85 baht). The chilled sweet and salty syrup, in which the soft and delicate tropical fruit is bathed, was nicely infused with finely chopped mint leaves to give a more refreshing touch.

From the home-made bakery menu, we passed the likes of cheesecake and pies to sample warm fig pudding with vanilla ice cream (160 baht), apple crumble with vanilla sauce (160 baht) and homemade chocolate tart with fresh cream and ice cream (160 baht). Made daily by the owner, all were truly luscious.

It was an impressive lunch at Na Aroon. Considering its extensive menu, tasty food and lovely, laidback ambience, the restaurant is well worth visiting for those wishing to have a delicious healthy meal without cuisine boundaries.

Because the seating is limited to 30 diners, reservations are recommended.

Ravioli with spinach and taro filling in creamy pink sauce.

Hoy tord hed, or crispy vegetarian-style mussels pancake.