Following the successful introduction of its first Bangkok outlet last year, the breakfast-centric American restaurant IHOP has now opened a second outlet, to offer its fans a house selection of substantial meals.
Set on the 4th floor of Siam Paragon, the 50-seater looks young and cheery with contemporary decor in bright green and yellow hues. Those who aren't familiar with the mystic 24/7 vibe of the 60-year-old brand may find it breezy and inviting. But for me, a person who takes comfort in diner-style simplicity, it's quite disappointing to find an absence of quintessentially American feel.
The dinnerware, too, looks fancier -- in bold colours and a variety of shapes. I even asked for my food to come in IHOP's plain round logo plates, but was told they are trying to offer a different dining mood here. Poor me.
My gastronomic spirit was, however, lifted when I saw the menu. It lists 80 items under the categories of appetisers, burgers, sandwiches, omelettes, salads, combo meals, pancakes, waffles, French toast, crepes and desserts -- all with photos and, surprisingly, affordable price tags.
Our first order, the appetiser sampler (240 baht), featuring crispy chicken strips, french fries, onion rings and deep-fried mozzarella sticks with mustard-honey sauce, was satisfying.
A breakfast sampler consisting fried eggs, pork sausages, slices of ham, hashbrowns and buttermilk pancake.
The tuna salad (240 baht), with a choice of buttermilk ranch, balsamic vinaigrette, creamy Caesar or Italian dressing, was offered in generous portion and proved delightful, taste-wise.
No complaints for the breakfast sampler (270 baht), consisting two fried eggs, two pork sausages, two slices of ham, hashbrowns and two buttermilk pancakes.
Next up, the mushroom melt sandwich (240 baht) failed to impress with presentation but conquered in taste bud thrills.
Same scenario for the dull-looking fish Florentine (250 baht). The pan-baked dory fish fillet on a bed of sautéed spinach with butter sauce, mashed potato and garlic bread tasted so fine a friend promised to be back just for it alone.
We were, however, let down by the sirloin steak tip dinner (270 baht). Accompanied by sautéed mushrooms, onions, mashed potato and sweetcorn kernels, the pan-grilled sirloin, which came in cubes, was too sugary and our party suspected it'd been drowned in syrup.
Of the omelette collection, I tried the chicken fajita omelette (220 baht), in which was rolled succulent strips of chicken breast, capsicum, onion, cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream, and was pleased.
The pancakes and waffles proved on-point. We sampled the house-created New York cheesecake pancake (195 baht) and berries-and-cream waffle (195 baht) and were delighted.
Helping to bring back American breakfast comfort was free-flow of black coffee (150 baht per person) in a "never-empty" thermal pot.
.png?w=600)
