Food Diary - Four Seasons Chinese & Audrey Cafe des Fleurs, Bangkok

Our second day in our Easter Bangkok trip was very short, and spent at the EmQuartier (posted here). I would've liked to seek out the famed street food spots. However, it was Songkran and we didn't want to risk getting wet, given that we were heading directly to the airport after lunch. Also didn't want my darling Cleo and my gear getting wet. Plus, I'm past the age where the idea of getting soaked with water while I am on holiday is fun.

As said, we'd first discussed lunching at Siam Square's Som Tam Nua (highly recommended for their som tam and gai tod). Then we thought about going to a highly recommended and popular Thai restaurant called The Local at Soi Sukhumvit 23.

In the end, Hubby accused me of being a wet blanket because I was reluctant to eat at his choice: Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant. I believe my exact response was: "Why would I want to eat here when we've eaten at the original London flagship?" In hindsight, not a fair statement, and I was probably being unreasonable.

Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, EmQuartier

Hubby ordered half portion of the crispy duck. We were a little surprised that the wrappers arrived laid out on a cold plate, since they are best warm. Would've been wiser to have the wrappers covered by a warm damp cloth in a bamboo steamer basket. Anyway, it was very good. The duck floss had a good mix of crispy bits and meaty bits - though it was a little on the dry side. I think I might even like it better than the London flagship!

Garlic stir-fried bitter melon shoots, Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, EmQuartier (IG)

Just had to have the stir-fried chayote shoots. Saw it on the menu at Laem Charoen and really wanted to try it, but had decided to forgo it because I was concerned we had already ordered too much to eat. I did not forgo it this time. The Four Seasons menu labelled it as "bitter melon", but it was labelled as "chayote" in Laem Charoen's menu.

Chayote is a gourd vegetable, a relative of the cucumber, melon and squash; was originally native to Mesoamerica (i.e. Central America); and the entire plant is edible. In Thailand, it is called sayongte (ซายองเต้); here in Singapore, they are also known as choko.

Liu sha bao (salted egg yolk bun), Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, EmQuartier (IG)

I loved the liu sha bao (流沙包, salted egg yolk bun). Generally, I avoid bao because I'm super picky about the dough wrapping and the dough-to-filling ratio. I was forced made to eat so many bad or mediocre bao while growing up, that I generally avoid them now and will only eat them if they are highly recommended and proven to be very good. The only exception to my bao aversion, it seems, is liu sha bao.

The dough wrapping has pillow-soft when steaming hot. They retained some of that pillow-like fluffiness even after they'd cooled. (I had to eat all 3 of them because Hubby was medically advised to avoid egg yolk of any sort.) The dough-to-filling ratio was okay, but it could do with a little more filling. The filling was viscous (it could probably be a little more runny), but a good mix of salted egg yolk and a little cheese. Quite rich, and slightly on the salty side.

We left just enough space in our bellies to have dessert at Audrey Cafe des Fleurs.

Audrey Cafe des Fleurs, EmQuartier (IG)

The interior of Audrey is decorated like a indoor garden-cum-Parisian cafe, and the flagship store is inspired by Audrey Hepburn and Breakfast at Tiffany's. 

Hubby got a little annoyed with me when he noticed that Audrey is more a bistro than a cafe, serving substantial food. I did highlight to him that they are better known for their sweets, and their savoury dishes have been met with mixed reviews. (I later noticed a Cantonese family struggling with their cheese fondue because it had cooled in the pot. It looked like a case where form was prioritised over substance.)

I got (another!) coffee, an Americano, which was good - aromatic and robust. Hubby selected the sakura-infused soda. (He really does have a thing for pink drinks....) He canned it, noting that it tasted overwhelming soda. In a way, it's hardly surprising, as sakura have a very mild, floral flavour.

Thai tea crêpe cake, Audrey Cafe des Fleurs, EmQuartier

I went for Audrey's Thai tea crêpe cake - a modern dessert twist to the classic Thai cha yen (ชาเย็น) in the form of a mille crêpe cake. It does sport the classic bright orange-brown colour of cha yen. It is good, as praised...a soft, gentle ふわふわ kind of mouthfeel from the thin layers of crepe and fresh cream. But it is super sweet, probably because cha yen is itself very sweet. It seems as though Thai people really seem to have a very sweet tooth?

It was real tough deciding on my sweet because I wanted to try the Thai tea crêpe cake, the Flower Pot Cake, the Garden Pot, and the Mango Sticky Rice. Hubby wanted one of them, so this was an occasion where I really wished I had 2 other friends who were game to share. Oh well. Next time perhaps. Whenever that can be.