The once-upscale residential neighbourhood of Thong Lor has become a gastronomic hotbed known for stylish wining and dining over recent decades and new restaurants and eateries, both stand-alone and in plazas, continue to emerge along this 3km-long strip. It is quite common to see a wide variety of culinary offerings as both veteran ventures and newbies strive to come up with something fresh and new.
MAIN PHOTO The healthy and delectable cropped and toasted Mediterranean salad. dining with a Twist
BRLOW LEFT The snow pear crumble with assorted fresh fruit.
BELOW RIGHT The addictively good double-dip chicken nachos.
Occupying a spacious top-floor spot (once a home of Wine Me Up restaurant) of the convivial Seenspace plaza, Twist, which opened a few months ago, is the latest and probably freshest addition to the gastrobar-packed area. The glass-wrapped restaurant that owes its warm and casual feel to natural lighting, is lent a breezier touch with Scandinavian-style soft wood furnishings and light-hued decorations. Meanwhile, bossa nova and upbeat remix numbers play in the background.
Twist’s kitchen is run by a team of experienced staff from some of Bangkok’s most-established modern eateries. Despite the lovely sunny atmosphere that is often favoured by many popular brunch venues, the restaurant regards itself as an evening cafe that focuses on healthy, Mediterranean-inspired home-made dishes and exciting options of alcoholic beverages — particularly beers and ciders — rather than just coffee.
The three-page menu has a good variety of appetisers, salad, pasta, sandwiches, main course and desserts, plus a small line-up of breakfast treats to suit avid brunchers.
The molasses-glazed pork chop with creamy mashed potatoes and freshly-made mustard sauce.
Double-dip and chunky chicken nachos (280 baht) scrumptiously started off our dinner. It’s a five-portion plate of crispy deep-fried flour tortillas topped with diced organic chicken, well spiced and chargrilled to offer a delightful flavour, made from a tasty garnish of fresh tomato-cucumber salsa and two choices of dipping sauce: the creamy, sweet and aromatic capsicum-seethed cheese dip and the fresh and chunky guacamole.
The cropped and toasted Mediterranean salad (285 baht) came next. This meek-sounding dish, which was one of my favourites of the evening, featured a hefty jumble of carrots, aubergines, onions, shallots and pumpkins; all roasted, with fresh slices of avocado, home-made yoghurt, Mediterranean spices and Chinese broccoli florets. It was a healthy, stomach-filling and, most importantly, tastebud-pleasing fare, with the delicate taste of the vegetables being given a pleasant crunch and nutty contrast by bruschetta croutons and mixed nuts (almond, macadamia and pine nuts).
From the 10 choices of meat and seafood courses, including the likes of harissa chicken, osso bucco, crispy pork belly and seafood pot pie, the molasses-glazed pork chop (450 baht) is one of the best sellers at the moment.
Accompanied by fresh vegetables (Chinese broccoli florets and rocket and cherry tomatoes), the glazed pork chop, masterfully grilled to yield perfect succulence, was served on a soft bed of creamy mashed potatoes and topped with rich and tasty, freshly-made mustard sauce.
While a dining companion at our table of three was gratified by the house-made fettuccine tossed with tomato ragout and chunks of blue swimming crabmeat (420 baht), I found the dish, though fresh, leaving too mediocre an impression for such a price.
Unexpectedly, Twist did a great job on desserts (though the selection is not particularly extensive). I personally think this lovely venue is a nice place for those looking for sweet treats.
From the half-a-dozen choices including chocolate mousse, chocolate souffle and a collection of home-made ice creams, I tried the snow pear crumble (285 baht) and was sent to seventh heaven. Hidden underneath assorted fresh fruit cubes (grapes, kiwi and dragon fruit), were buttery cookie and mixed nut crumbles and dried cranberries which were lusciously warm and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. The aroma and tasty composite was complemented perfectly by the creamy and cool vanilla ice cream.
The other treat that I sampled, brioche pudding (250 baht), may not look as exciting in comparison, but this little portion of bread pudding served warm in a ceramic ramekin with a rich berry compote and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side offered as impressive a taste as that of the snow pear, but with a softer, silkier mouthfeel.
For those into al fresco dining, the restaurant has a nice open-air patio that allows some great people-watching of the busy plaza, especially at night. Service was fine.
The glass-wrapped cafe that owes its warm and casual feel to natural lighting is one of the freshest additions to the gastrobar-packed SeenSpace plaza.
