Water Library bar/restaurant, anyone rich enough to have eaten there ?

[roamer]

Came across this place on Trip Adviser, ranked No.1 of Bangkok restaurants.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g293916-d1674184-r160890302-Water_Library-Bangkok.html#REVIEWS

Set menu works out at 5000B. You can certainly spend a lot more.

"

We took a bar seat ti be close to the mixing action of Mirko and his team of mixologists. We ordered a gummi bear mojito and a WowGuava for the first round. The Mojito was solid classic with a slight touch of gummi bear. WowGuava was served in a liquid nitrogen pre chilled glass and represented the guava smell and taste nicely while keeping the gin component at bay, that can easily overpower a drink."

As for the food I'm asking if I really want to spend 950B on a US scallop (singular) which by definition left the water at least 24 hours ago.

Ok, when I said if anyone was rich enough to have done it I appreciate many of us can afford it, did I mean rich/foolish ? Would the same people wax lyrical over a duck soup from a food stall in Chinatown at 50B as I have done ?

I must say it sounds suspiciously similar to restaurants I've eaten at in London (someone elses's expense account) and then headed off to get a bacon sandwich from a cafe as I'm still hungry.

Take a look: http://www.mywaterlibrary.com/thonglor/

[MrRealDeal]

I think duck soup in a stall is just a different experience , I like nice places because of the atmosphere as much as the food. If you compare fine dining to other things people do for a couple of hours that don't even feed them I don't really see why fine dining would be considered foolish anyhow , Going to a professional sports game although a little longer is about the same price for a decent seat. Tickets to performances like Opera or Circe de Solie perhaps more depending on where you go. Even a Nascar ticket cost about the same but those people would say the fine dining people are foolish to get a meal instead of watching cars drive around a circle.

It's not sensible to compare street food cost with fine dining cost because most of the cost is not the food at a restaurant. It's not really do you want to spend on a scallop but do you want to spend for an enjoyable outing , it's kind of like saying why would I pay to see a game when I can watch it on TV ..... because one is an enjoyable outing the other is not.

Having said all that both the place itself is worth it and the food, which as far as I am concerned is just an added bonus you get from dining instead of doing something else, is really excellent.

[Scottythai]

Way I see it is foolish or not if it Piques your curosity then try it. If you like that type of thing thats great. I would try it once then most likely never go back. KL when i come back from offshore is always trying to dress up their foods and crap. Fusion food is not my thing but yea I did try a gourmet pizza infused with Squid ink in the crust. Lame and shitty but hey ya never know till you try it for your self.

[lomatopo]

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20980270-post467.html

[GrantSmith]

I took my parents there last year on the back of a recommendation from a friend... Don't waste your money... Mediocre service at best and as for product knowledge, let's not go there.

Numerous other establishments in the big hotels where you'll get better value for money...

[MrJohnson]

Top shelf and first rate. Really enjoyed my several times dining at this place. The only slightly discordant note might be the location at Chamchuree Sq. Am I eating in a shoppping centre? But a quibble really. Inventive food, excellent quality ingredients, impeccable service. Thumbs up!

[roamer]

Top shelf and first rate. Really enjoyed my several times dining at this place. The only slightly discordant note might be the location at Chamchuree Sq. Am I eating in a shoppping centre? But a quibble really. Inventive food, excellent quality ingredients, impeccable service. Thumbs up!

I took my parents there last year on the back of a recommendation from a friend... Don't waste your money... Mediocre service at best and as for product knowledge, let's not go there.

Numerous other establishments in the big hotels where you'll get better value for money...

Two widely differing views there The link that Lomotopo posted though made me decide to give it a miss, eaten "tasting" menus elsewhere, interesting but emerged hungry which to my mind defeated the purpose of going out to eat ijn the first place. And I agree 100% with the above post that many of the big hotels have some first class eateries with some very good deals.

I've heard some very good stuff about these two:

http://eatatgaggan.com/index.php

http://www.eatmerestaurant.com/

And a trip to Nahm is on the cards as well

[GrantSmith]

Can't beat Nahm... I was showing my wife the BK Magazine's "Top Tables" list last night, having eaten at over half of the Top 10, we were both so damn hungry, alas at midnight there wasn't much chance of us getting that fix sorted. But today is a new day hahaha

The thing that annoys me about this trend - wine bars come restaurants - in Thonglor is that it's taking up so much freaking good real estate, surely there's got to be something more creative other than to look at what's happening next door and think "well old mate next door is busy with his wine bar, think I'll do the same"

Anyway... What's for dinner?

[roamer]

Yep. and there is definitely a trend going on here. Water Library ranks No 1 on Trip Advisor and Nahm comes in at 175, yet Nahm regularly makes it onto some of the most respected ratings guides as one of the best restaurants in the world

[GrantSmith]

tripadvisor's always had the tourist angle covered - which has its purpose. But when it's your own backyard and you're looking to impress, you have to be looking at more "reputed" sources...

[lomatopo]

http://bk.asia-city.com/toptables2013

[GrantSmith]

http://bk.asia-city.com/toptables2013

Case in point

[Soi Sauce]

I spend about 100 baht a day on food, and that is all cooked for me and usually aroi.

How on Earth could someone try to justify this expense?

More money in one night than I spend on food in 2 months, and enuf cash to feed a poor Thai family well for at least a month.

Please explain.

[GrantSmith]

I spend about 100 baht a day on food, and that is all cooked for me and usually aroi.

How on Earth could someone try to justify this expense?

More money in one night than I spend on food in 2 months, and enuf cash to feed a poor Thai family well for at least a month.

Please explain.

Because we're not all philanthropic John D Rockerfeller's...

That's great that you can subsist on a 100 baht a day meals that are all cooked for you and that are usually aroi. Don't get me wrong, Took Lae Di do some great meals that are cheap and cheerful.

As for justifying the expense of forking out my hard earned on expensive meals, it's not an every day thing nor is it every day that I see my parents. When my parents visit, I go out of my way to treat them to a night out. If it's a place you've never been before it's sometimes like playing Russian roulette without the fear of death if you get it wrong and sometimes (like the restaurant mentioned in the OP) it's an expensive lesson.

It's about repaying the favour they showed me when I was a kid.

I also do the same with the wife, we frequent high end places (and not every day because it becomes boring) to relax and chill out, not because we're there to flaunt our wealth (or lack thereof) or fawn over the upper echelons of society that are sitting at the next table. It's a lifestyle she grew up with in Bangkok and it's a lifestyle I grew up with in Farangland. It's a lifestyle we're both comfortable with and the service we receive will continue to keep us coming back.

[MrRealDeal]

I spend about 100 baht a day on food, and that is all cooked for me and usually aroi.

How on Earth could someone try to justify this expense?

More money in one night than I spend on food in 2 months, and enuf cash to feed a poor Thai family well for at least a month.

Please explain.

Under your logic you couldn't justify anything except 100 bht per day of food