august-2011

HUB
Jarrett Wrisley
LEFT/RIGHT: Soul Food
Mahanakorn offers Thai
street food with great
cocktails; LIT! Bangkok aims
to attract repeat visitors
success in Hua Hin or Phuket. Jeerasak
attributes this success to the hotel’s stellar
service, as well as its generously proportioned
rooms equipped with free Wi-Fi, minibar and,
in some, a washing machine and kitchenette.
A similar emphasis on the creature
comforts of home is at play at LIT! Bangkok,
an up-and-coming, 79-room minimalist
paean to “light and shadow” which opened
several months ago. Inspiration for the hotel
stemmed from “the fact that 80% of Bangkok
visitors are repeat visitors,” says CEO Srayut
Ekahitanonda. LIT! is for “those who love
to feel part of the local community and not a
stranger in an unfamiliar city”.
Soul Food Mahanakorn is no budding
up-and-comer. With two fl oors packed with
048
ravenous patrons and a stack of ecstatic
reviews, this restaurant has truly arrived.
Building his eatery around the concept of
“Thai street food with great cocktails”, food
writer/owner Jarrett Wrisley sought to focus
on the details other restaurants weren’t
paying attention to.
“It’s easy to get great Thai food in Bangkok,
but I wanted to focus on the vibe, and
well-crafted drinks, and carefully sourced
ingredients, as much as the cooking,” says
Wrisley. He credits his success to a mix of
“professionalism, attention to detail, hard
work and a little bit of luck”. But “it’s the same
wherever you go,” he adds. “Restaurants will
never work if you don’t obsess over every
little detail. Everyone is a restaurant critic,
basically, and if you have a bad product you
aren’t going to fool them.”
FROM ONLY S$98
Jetstar fl ies direct to Bangkok from Singapore
daily. Book online now at
Srayut Ekahitanonda
TAKE ME THERE
CLOUDS
Grd fl r, Seenspace, 251/1
Thonglor Soi 13, tel: +66
(2) 185 2368
BREW
G/F, Seenspace, 251/1
Thonglor Soi 13,
(restaurant not yet open
at press time)
GARDEN OF DREAM
Top fl r, 27/1 Sukhumvit
Soi 51 (across from
WTF Bar & Gallery),
tel: +66 (2) 662 5057,
gardenofdream.com
TUTTI & TUTTI FRUTTI
Marketplace, Thonglor 4,
Sukhumvit 55,
tel: +66 (2) 259 9068
HANSAR BANGKOK
3 Soi Mahadlekluang 2,
Rajdamri Rd,
tel: +66 (2) 209 1234,
hansarbangkok.com
LIT! BANGKOK
36/1 Soi Kasemsan 1,
Rama 1 Rd, tel: +66 (2)
612 3456, litbangkok.com
SOUL FOOD
MAHANAKORN
56/10 Sukhumvit Soi
55 (Thonglor), tel:
+66 (2) 714 7708
/ (0) 85 904 2691,
soulfoodmahanakorn.com