Soitan, a Thai/Japanese fusion restaurant on Seacon Square Srinagarindra’s second floor, is an excellent new venue to check out. This casual eatery specializes in Chiang Rai-style Khao Soi, the incredible Northern Thai dish which one of the world’s top foodie websites, TasteAtlas, recently declared as their number one soup throughout all of Southeast Asia.
Their homemade recipe includes thicker noodles than most Khao Soi soups. The noodles feature a ramen-like texture that results in a far greater level of satisfaction for the person eating them than one might usually associate with bowls of the rich, fragrant concoction.
You are in for a real treat if you head to Soitan, boasting a menu of hard-to-find, delightful dishes sure to excite lovers of both Thai cuisine, and Japanese cuisine. The stylish space makes for a nice environment to enjoy the premium, expertly-made foods being served.
An Elegant New Restaurant With So Many Delights To Savour
The items on the menu at Soitan are affordably priced, giving undoubted value for money when you consider both the quality of the ingredients and the chefs’ extraordinary talents for cookery. They could charge triple the price and it would still be well worth every baht.
As you can see, there are some delectable appetizers at Soitan that will get your meal off to a fantastic start. The chunky, pan-fried Gyoza are absolutely delicious, densely packed with well-seasoned, ground pork and flavoursome veggies, delivering a hugely satisfying experience for THB 99, and being good enough to grace most Michelin-starred eateries.
By adding truffle salt to edamame beans, Soitan have elevated an ordinary dish to create a gourmet snack. Truffle Edamame, priced at THB 99, is both earthy and pungent with its musky, savoury flavour from the salt, and some sweetness and nuttiness from the beans.
One thing we really liked at Soitan was how attentive and helpful the staff were, making a great effort to assist with any questions about the menu and special dietary requirements of patrons. It made a refreshing change to the average service of most Bangkok venues.
In the bottom right of the photo above, you will see the tasty selection of Yakitori skewers available for customers to try. We really liked the Chicken and Green Pepper, a bargain at just THB 45, and the Chicken Wings for the same cost: they’re juicy and perfectly charred for a real taste sensation, improved by the flavourful, high-quality meat being used here.
Soitan’s signature dish of Chiang-Rai style Khao Soi is, of course, the star of the show. It’s got an exquisite taste, and the Chicken Soimen, seen above, has a superb flavour profile from the spicy broth and the chicken leg’s succulent meat making it well worth THB 129.
Khao Soi With Ramen-Like Noodles That Is Out of This World
Khun Maki, the owner of Soitan, learnt to cook Khao Soi during his childhood, helping his mom to prepare ingredients for her Khao Soi shop. He also learnt how to cook Japanese dishes whilst studying in Japan, later merging the two skills to launch his own restaurant.
We were very impressed by the extensive selection of toppings available, as you can see above. Customize the levels of spice, and sourness, to your liking by choosing from bean sprouts, pickled cabbage, Chinese cabbage, shallots, limes, ginger slices, and dried chili to give Soitan’s thick, soupy gravy coating the noodles an extra, scrumptious dimension.
Like any tasty Khao Soi, the Soimen dishes at Soitan are prepared by using shrimp paste, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, coriander seeds, lime leaves, cardamom, chillies, and palm sugar. However, it is the substantial noodles in their Khao Soi that really sets them apart.
The Beef Soimen, as seen in the first of the two photos above, is a huge bowl packed full of Khao Soi goodness, this time featuring beef instead of chicken. For THB 239, this dish was great value considering its exceptional quality: made using premium Japanese beef, the rich flavour of the meat combined with the aromatic broth delivers an “umami” taste.
In the photo immediately above, you will see the Chili Basil Beef Shank Set, an extremely satisfying meal that is comprised of Thai beef shank, miso soup, pickled vegetables, rice and a side salad. It is priced at THB 229, with a pork neck option also available to order.
Another dish worth mentioning is the Beef Kao-Lao, which is basically Beef Khao Soi but without the noodles. Perfect for anyone who follows low-carb diets, the hard-to-find dish again features beef shank, topped with Khao Soi sauce, and a chili and scallion garnish.
Our appetizing meal was rounded off by ordering some extraordinarily-good, homemade Ferrero Rocher ice cream. It sounded exciting when seeing it on the menu, but we didn’t expect it to be so mind-blowingly delicious: the creamy, luxurious dessert has a fantastic chocolaty/hazelnut taste, and is an absolute bargain priced at THB 79 for a large scoop.
Still trying to cool down from the Thai delights we had previously enjoyed, one drink that caught our attention was the Taro Milk, also in the photo above. Light, slightly sweet and with a nutty flavour enhanced by vanilla undertones, the refreshing treat is just THB 55.
Located on the 2nd floor of Seacon Square Srinagarindra, near to Lotus’s, Soitan is open from 10:30am to 8:30pm daily. Visit their Facebook or call: 096-749-0420 for more info.
