Bang Sue is a cozy 50-seat bar on the second floor above Khao San Road restaurant. The bar’s moniker is a nod to Bangkok’s main train station.

If you had ever driven past the restaurant’s former location on Adelaide, you will have seen the line-ups out the door. That's why Bang Sue is a great waiting area where people can nibble on Thai-inspired bar snacks and sip on cocktails before they make their way down to the main event. But owner Monte Wan hopes it will be an attraction in its own right as the menu is entirely different and the beverage options are plentiful compared to the one-beverage offering of Singha beer in the Khao San Road dining room.

Wan aimed for the off-King address to create a “chilled-out vibe” and become the “living room of people in the condos” that surround it.

(IMAGE: YVONNE TSUI)

The bar is made of corrugated tin and wood panels to resemble the street stalls in Bangkok and a mural by Parisian-born abstract artist Jimmy Chiale occupies an entire wall. Wan describes the artist's style as his “subconscious mind print.”

For the cocktail menu, Joshua Leblanc (Track and Field Bar) and Adam Clift (Belfast Love) collaborated on a menu of Thai-inspired libations that are “fun, adventurous and pay homage to Thai cuisine but are not exclusively Thai cocktails,” says Leblanc.

(IMAGE: YVONNE TSUI)

Prud’homme Beer Sommelier Maarten Nederhof (Louis Cifer) oversees 18 beer taps — mostly local and craft. Six of those taps are permanent, with one dedicated to a draught cocktail.

Those who’ve ordered off the late-night menu at Nana (sister restaurant to Khao San Road), will see a few familiar things on Bang Sue’s menu from chef Chantana “Top” Srisomphan, a Northern Thai native. Dip with shrimp chips, peanuts with Tom Yum spice and the 4-Flavour Caramel Corn is a combination of sweet, sour, salty and spicy. All snacks, no doubt, are meant to encourage another round of drinks.

(IMAGE: YVONNE TSUI)

Those looking for something a little more substantial will find offerings such as steak tartare, chicken satay, marinated pork jowl and fried chicken. If by chance one still has room for dessert, the Khanom Krok, a coconut custard which scarcely resembles a bare takoyaki ball, is worth trying — if only to experience a dessert that contains green onion. For those who prefer onion-free desserts, there are three gelato flavors (coconut, Thai tea and pandan) to choose from made by neighbor, Millie Creperie.

Published on: Mar 7, 2017