Wine Connection Deli & Bistro

Going out in Bangkok with Miss J wouldn't be complete without a stop over at some kind of a trendy restaurant/lounge. This time, she brought me and my other good friend, Pam, to a fairly new bistro called Wine Connection Deli & Bistro. As a wholesale wine supplier, Wine Connection has branches all over Bangkok and well as other cities in the country. As the largest wine store chain in Southeast Asia, the company focuses on importing selected wine and premium spirits from all over the world. Located at K Village, Wine Connection Bistro allows customers to be able to enjoy their wine along with delicious European food.

We walked in around 6 pm just before dinner rush and it was already starting to get busy. Displays of wine and spirits are found throughout the restaurant. There is also a deli section that offers assortments of imported European cheeses and charcuterie.

We sat outside on the patio as it was a cool and breezy evening, the kind of weather which only happens several times a year in this hot tropical country. The ambience was great, very mellow yet sophisticated. The music is a mash up of soft rock, jazz, and R&B. The service was exceptional. Our wine were constantly refilled and there were always at least 3 servers standing by in case anyone needed anything. I also noticed that some of the staff were wearing black uniform t-shirts with their job description written on the back such as busboy, food runner, while the servers were wearing red uniforms. It's nice that not only the staff know what their jobs are, but other people know what to expect of them too!

I love it when menu has pictures of what the food would look like (no guessing and using imagination!). The price was definitely reasonable for the type and atmosphere of the restaurant. Many entrees only cost around 180-220 bath or $6 to $7.50, which are reasonable compared to other bistros in Bangkok.

Miss J did what she does best, ordering wine. She picked Aresti, a 2009 Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. "Make sure it's nicely chilled.", she commanded. As a result, our bottle of wine was served icy cold in a tin bucket. Miss J knows what she wants and gets what she wants. We ended up polishing 2 bottles that wonderful night.

Rocket Salad

We actually ordered rocket salad last after we realized we've been munching only on carbohydrates. It was a light and refreshing change and it made us feel a bit less guilty.

Spaghetti Arrabiata

The spaghetti Arrabiata was definitely my favourite under Miss J's recommendation. I've had this dish elsewhere but this is definitely the best one I've had so far. The sauce had a little bit of a kick from roasted chilies and very aromatic flavour from garlic and basil infusion.

Fettucini with Serrano ham, Alfredo and truffle

The fettucini had a very nice texture, holding together the creamy Alfredo sauce with a subtle hint of parsley. The sauce was well seasoned and was not too bland or too thick. For 220 bath or $7.50, though I couldn't detect any truffle whatsoever, but I will let it slide.

Pizza Napoletana

We ordered pizza napoletana, a fire baked thin crust pizza with anchovies and olives, and extra shrimp topping for 90 bath or $3 (which gave us about a tablespoon full). Miss J and Pam kept complaining they taste goat cheese in there and I was quite puzzled.

In the end, us three girls finished everything, the food and wine. Our bill with 10% service charge came up to around 2100 bath or $ 70. With 2 bottles of wine and 4 dishes, that's not bad at all. I had a wonderful experience at the bistro from the company, the food, the wine, the service, and the atmosphere. Wow, to have all those elements is really hard to come by! When we left around 8 pm, the huge restaurant was already packed with people waiting outside. I definitely will return again and recommend this bistro to everyone. Thanks for bringing us Miss J. This will be our favourite hang out spot from now.

Corso 32

I was a huge fan of chef Daniel Costa, who in my book, makes the most amazing pizzas, calzones and tomato bisque ever. I felt like a lost soul when I heard he wasn't making them anymore and left Cafe de Copa. Not to sound like a creeper, but I stalked him around a couple times while he worked at Red Star, just to try his take on gastropub food and wishing that he would return to full Italian cuisine one day. Then my prayers were answered when I heard he extended his wings and opening his own restaurant, Corso 32 earlier this month.

Last week, I finally got a chance to visit the new restaurant in downtown. The ambience of the restaurant really reflected his personal style and visions. The vibe of the restaurant was very lively, warm, casual. There was an opened kitchen facing the entrance and patrons can see the chefs at work as they're coming in and out. The restaurant was buzzling with a constant turnovers throughout the entire time we were there. With indie, grunge playing as the soundtrack that night, the majority of his patrons in their late 20's - 30's enjoyed themselves drinking, dining, and socializing (many of whom I'm sure are well acquainted with chef Daniel). No doubt, this is Edmonton's new "It" spot.

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The menu was simplistic, yet that reflected his cooking style and staying true to authentic Italian dishes. He definitely broke away from Italian cafe food from Cafe de Copa to turned towards rustic Italian comfort food.

After several minutes to decide, I started off with the crispy short rib terrine with Barlett pear salad ($15). The terrine was smoky, tender, and savoury. It was topped with thin Barlett pear ribbons and arugula. While the pear was crisp and refreshing, I felt it still tasted rather bland, even when paired with the terrine.

Spicy game hen "under a brick", rappini, herb, pine nuts, gremolata $26 arrived rather impressive looking. The hen was cooked under a brick, an Italian cooking method which allows the meat to be cooked on the grill quickly and evenly. The portion of the chicken was fairly big, and the meaty pieces were golden and crispy, but definitely not spicy. Some white meat pieces were a bit dry, but this is why I prefer dark meat because they stay moist and tender. I wasn't familiar with the name "rapini" and we were told that it was a type of vegetable similar to broccoli. It is high in nutrients, and a common vegetable used in Southern Italian cuisine. When it was served, we all thought it tasted and looked closely similar to its chinese cousin, Gai Lan. The rapini was accompanied by gremolata, which consisted of lemon, parsley, garlic, and mint. And despite its effort to tone down the rapini's bitterness, it was still much more pronounced than in the chinese broccoli. In the end, I couldn't bare the bitter taste to enjoy it. It must be more of an acquired taste and I wish we were warned because we would probably have changed the side to something else. The overall flavour of this dish reminded of two very simlar chinese dishes; crispy salted chicken and steamed gai lan. It was quite puzzling and how much they resembled each other! Despite it being a rustic Italian dish, we couldn't seem to bring ourselves to appreciate it :(

The special that night was a squash ravioli with sage, and at any other time, I would've jumped the gun and ordered it. But at that moment, I thought that I had tried that dish at a lot of places already and it was time to try something different. That squash ravioli ended up lingering in my mind for the rest of the night as I traded it for pappardelle short rib ragu ($18) and fonduta ravioli, black truffle, pickled chanterelles, brussel leaf ($18). Much like a deconstructed lasagna, the beef ragu was hearty and very tasty. I really enjoyed the tender texture of braised short ribs in rich tomato sauce and how well the pappardelle held the sauce together.

The fonduta (Italian cheese fondue) filled ravioli was subtle, velvety and creamy. If you're cheese lover like me, you might really appreciate this dish. The only downer was that the aroma and the taste of truffle were very faint and I could hardly detect it.

I wasn't quite satisfied yet and wanted to sample one more dish. Rather than getting the dessert, I went for the smoked arancini ($9), or fried risotto rice balls and they definitely made my night. Crispy on the outside, and creamy with risotto, shitake, and melted mozzarella on the inside, an Italian soul food I could eat every day.

Though I still miss his pizzas, Corso 32 is a great addition to the progression of Edmonton dining scene and I can't wait to go back to try out more dishes.

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