I've tried so many Thai food establishments from food markets and hole-in-the-walls to upscale hotel restaurants but I think BKK Express is my first time food court style experience.

BKK Express is the one of the many food options at Uptown Mall Food Hall.  It is a sister company of Soi Thai Restaurant.

Appetizers

♥ Thai Spring Rolls (120 php)

For starters, order for sharing some Thai Spring Rolls.  The price is very reasonable.  And, you'll surely enjoy munching on these crunchy finger food.

Specials

Pork Belly in 5-Spice with Hard Boiled Egg (260 php)

The Pork Belly in 5-Spice with Hard Boiled Egg taste like Beef Brisket but sweeter.  You can to eat it with the vinegar-based sauce to contrast the sweetness.

Rice Toppings (served with home-brewed Pandan Iced Tea)

Bagoong Rice Toppings (190 php)

The Bagoong Rice Toppings is a colorful bowlful.  If you're not a hefty rice eater, I think this is a good staple for two.  There isn't much viand to have this on its own. 

♥ Salted Fish Fried Rice (170 php)

I usually go for the Bagoong Rice Toppings but the Salted Fish Fried Rice equally good.



Pad Thai

♥ Pad Thai Crabmeat (250 php)

The Pad Thai Crabmeat has lots of beansprout making it crunchy with some sweetness from the crab meat.  One order is already good for two.

Pad Thai Chicken (220 php)

If you can't have crab meat, you can opt for the Pad Thai Chicken.

Pad Thai Singaporean (250 php)

This is my first time to try a Pad Thai Singaporean.  It was a good try but I still prefer the usual Pad Thai.

Thai Grill Plates

♥ Chicken Satay (320 php)

The Chicken Satay is one of my favorites among our orders.  It is tender, moist and tasty.  An order comes with 10 pieces so it's quite affordable.

Grilled Thai Isan Sausage (350 php)

Another first for me is trying out the Grilled Thai Isan Sausage.  It's like our local longganisa but not as sweet.
 

Grilled Thai Isan Sausage (350 php)

You enjoy the Grilled Thai Isan Sausage like the samgyupsal. 
 

♥ Thai Sweet Pork BBQ (330 php) (*not actual serving)

My personal recommendation is the Thai Sweet Pork BBQ.   It also comes with 10 pieces per order.  It has a alluring sweetness and juiciness that will keep you wanting more.


Desserts

♥ Sticky Rice Mango Sundae (135 php)

The Sticky Rice Mango Sundae is the usual sticky rice mango with a scoop of coconut sorbet.  The coconut sorbet is very light.  The rice and mango is in two layers so its good for sharing.  Don't expect the green colored rice to be flavored though, I'd just for visual appeal.

Drinks

♥ Thai Iced Coffee (55 php)

I loved the Thai Iced Coffee.  It's a steal for only 55 php!  This will definitely be my caffeine fix when in the area.

Pandan Iced Tea (45 php)

If you go with the Rice Toppings, you can get the Pandan Iced Tea for free.  But, in case you don't.  I think you'll like how refreshingly sweet it is.


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
BKK Express serves its purpose to provide quick, convenient and affordable Thai cuisine.  I can't say it's the best but most of its meal are good for sharing at an affordable price.  I recommend this for those in the area (Go for the Thai Sweet Pork BBQ).   The ingredients are okay except for the shrimp (they use dried ones). 

As a lover of Thai cuisine, Basil has long been on my wishlist.  I was really glad that my cousin chose this place to celebrate Father's Day.  

If you're looking for this place, look out for Roche Bobois Showroom along Pasong Tamo Extension because this is behind it!  We had a hard time looking for this place.  It's a good thing uncle called to instructed us. 

The dining area was huge!  It had brick-colored walls with artistic steel framed mirrors.  There were large Buddha figures.  Each were holding flickering candles.  It had a fountain in the center and many long tables covered in black linen sheets and big wooden and skillfully carved sturdy chairs. 

How odd that we were the only diners that night.  It's as if we reserved the place all for ourselves.  My brother and male cousins were on their annual traveling tradition so we were less than usual.  We occupied just one long table which happened to be on the very center of the dining area. 

P.S.  My apologies I wasn't able to take a photo.  They say that people born in February are moody.  Well, this night I wasn't in the mood to be a shutterbug.  This post would not have been made positive if not for my kind-hearted little sister who volunteered to take some food photos.


Food

Salad & Appetizer

♥ Thai Papaya Salad (255 php)

We loved the Thai Papaya Salad with palm sugar, fish sauce, garlic, chillies, cherry tomatoes, lime juice and crushed peanuts.  It had a dominant sweet peanut flavor. 

♥ Thai Crispy Fish with Green Mango Salad (370 php)

Unlike the Yam pla Duk Fu I've tried before, the Thai Crispy Fish with Green Mango Salad has a solidified crispy catfish.  It was fun to eat together with the very sour green mango strips, onion slices, chillies and cashew nuts.

Fresh Spring Roll (260 php)

The Fresh Spring Roll is one of the most chunky I've encountered so far.  It's got shrimp and ground pork bits with carrots and greens.  It is served with a sweet and sour tamarind sauce.

Soup

♥ Creamy Chicken Soup with Young Tamarind Leaves (315 php)

We tried both the soups that they offered which were served in a similar method.  The Spicy Seafood Soup (350 php) is a traditional Tom Yum soup with shrimps and oyster mushrooms.  We had our soup mild because my cousins are not fond of spicy dishes.  I enjoyed it!

Every one loved the Creamy Chicken Soup with Young Tamarind Leaves.  It was my first time to try this kind of soup.  One slurp and I'm hooked!  Although I liked the Spicy Seafood Soup, I have to agree with the family that this tangy and creamy coconut-based soup is better.

Seafood 

Stir-Fried Fish with Crispy Holy Basil (435 php)

The Stir-Fried Fish with Crispy Holy Basil is fried tilapia fillet in tapioca batter and served with sauteed crispy basil, garlic and chilli.  Love the crunchy texture but the flavor is nothing extraordinary.

Curry

Chicken Green Curry (325 php)

We had two kinds of curry.  The first was the Creamy Pork Curry (325 php).  It had a rich and thick herby (with hints of lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime and coriander) and spiced Panang curry flavor.  Some of my cousins find the flavor too weird for them but I appreciate its distinct taste.  The pork bits was tender too.

The Chicken Green Curry (325 php) was too diluted that we could hardly taste the green curry and coconut milk.  It looked like a soup with chicken and eggplant bit and basil leaves.

Meat & Poultry
We tried the Spicy Wagyu Beef Short Ribs (490 php).  It was so sweet that you the spiciness is tamed to a very manageable tone.  It was tough to chew so I'm quite surprised that they considered that wagyu.

Emerald Chicken (295 php)

The Emerald Chicken is Chicken Pandan or chicken wrapped in pandan leaves and herbs.  This one is bite-sized.  It's pretty good!
 

♥ Chicken with Cashew Nuts (295 php)

I was expecting this to be similar to the one I had in Mango Tree.  But, I guess Basil likes to define it's own distinct Chicken with Cashew Nuts by making them more pleasurable to eat in a crunchy way.  This was not too herby in flavor so the taste is more on the safe side like the Chinese kung pao chicken.  As expected, this was everyone's favorite as it was emptied quickly.

Rice and Noodle

♥ Thai Bagoong Rice (298 php)

Our favorite Thai rice dish is of course the Bagoong Rice.  I liked their Thai Bagoong Rice because it had fried shrimp bits.  The pork is very sweet so the portion is just right as it is intended to be eaten with the rest.
 

♥ Thai Style Fried Noodles (360 php)

Another Thai staple that we usually order is the Pad Thai.  Basil's Thai Style Fried Noodles is one of the best!  The noodles were bouncy and fun to chew.  The tamarind dressing and crushed peanuts blended excellently along with the other tasty ingredients.

Dessert

♥ Sticky Rice with Mango (130 php)

We wanted to try all their desserts but the Sticky Rice with Mango is the only item available. The Sticky Rice with Mango had the most beautiful presentation I have ever seen. Unlike other sticky rice with mango, this had lots of crushed peanuts.  For the price, it was a hefty servings.  Peanut lovers will enjoy this but for me, I still prefer the one with dominant coconut milk flavor.


Drinks
The Thai Milk Tea is the only non-alcoholic beverage available.  It was too sweet!

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
If you're looking for the most bang for the buck fine-dining Thai experience, Basil is definitely a great choice.  The dishes composed of authentic Thai herbs and spices and other quality ingredients.  The food is affordable given the large portions which is not usual for a Thai and fine dining restaurant.  We were really surprised by it.  We surely missed the presence of the guys when we ended up with so many left overs and take home packages hehe.  However, we felt that therewas a misalignment with their luxurious ambiance and the poor service.  Given that we were the only diners for the night, we found it difficult to call the attention of the servers.  It took too long for them to comply with our requests or some were completely neglected. 

To celebrate my mom's birthday with relatives, we reserved our dinner at Azuthai Restaurant.  Although we haven't tried it yet, we took the risk since it had high ratings on TripAdvisor.com and it was highly recommended to me by foodie friends. 
 
The parking was limited so we're lucky to be early so we still had a slot.  But, not to worry since their guard will aid in finding you one. 

We were welcomed in and ushered to our reservation table as soon as we reached the front door.  They had a more private area with dividers.  Mom was wondering why we weren't assigned there.  Only to find out later that the Marcoses (Imelda Marcos, Imee Marcos and company) would occupy that place for a casual family dinner. 

Complimentary Nuts

 While waiting for our guests, they gave as Complimentary Nuts. 


Food

Appetizer

Tod Man Goong (325 php/5 pcs.)

To start our rather long dinner, we began with the Tod Man Goong.  I'm not usually a fan of fried fritter dishes but this Thai fried shrimp cake was delightful especially with the sweet and spicy dipping sauce.  It was not oily at all but rather it had a thin splendidly crunchy coating and soft and tasty shrimp filling. 

Poh Pia Paksot (195 php)

The Poh Pia Paksot is fresh Thai spring rolls in rice paper with special sauce with peanuts.  Nothing extraordinary about this one but it had some boasting freshness to it. 

Soups

♥ Guio Tiao (345 php)

The servers assisted in serving the big bowl of Guio Tiao into three bowlfuls.   It is actually my first time to try the Guio Tiao.   It is a spicy beef noodle soup with clear rice noodles, star anise, cinnamon, cilantro and bean sprouts.  They gave us a bowl of hot sauce so we could add more spiciness according to our preference.  This is really good!

Tom Yum Poh Tak (345 php)

The Tom Yum Poh Tak is spicy thai seafood soup with seabass, squid, prawns and mushrooms in clear both.  An order is good for three bowlfuls.  We ordered this mild which turned out to be not spicy at all.  It had a slight sweetness and sourness with hint of herbs and spices.  It was a quite soothing to drink. 

Salads

Yam Pla Duk Foo (325 php)

The Yam Pla Duk Foo is crispy catfish shred salad with thin strips of green mango, crushed peanuts, onions, sliced lettuces and mint sprinkled with lime dressing.  The crispy catfish is very very crisp as evident from its darker than golden color.  As not much flavor is derived from the catfish bits, tanginess from the green mangoes and lime dressing is dominating for this dish.

♥ Yam Som O (295 php)

This is one of the best Yam Som O I have tried yet!  The Yam Som O is a sweet pomelo salad with jumbo prawns, chicken bits, toasted coconut in chili lime dressing.  

Vegetables

Gaeng Phet Pak (295 php)

The Gaeng Phet Pak is red vegetable curry mixed with coconut milk with broccoli, cauliflower ,carrots, green and red peppers and young corn.  This is satisfactory but since we also ordered the Massaman Gaeh which had the same red curry, it was outshun by the latter.


Curries

♥ Massaman Gaeh (395 php)

The Massaman Gaeh is the headline of the evening.  Everyone was full of oohs and aahs over this dish!  The massaman lamb in ember red curry mixed with coconut milk is so tender and savory.  The shallots, potatoes and peanuts are complementary to the exemplary lamb meat!

Gaeng Kew Wan Gai (345 php)

The Gaeng Kew Wan Gai is tender chicken cubes in green curry mixed with coconut milk with eggplant slices and basil.  This is not as fiesty as the red curry but it has its own sophisticated flare.

Mains

Gai Ho Bai Toey (325 php/5 pcs.)

The Gai Ho Bai Toey is pandan chicken with sweet soy sauce.  My cute little nephew loved this!  He ate three pieces of this dish in a flash and wouldn't want anything else. 

♥ Gai Kra Prow (325 php)

The Gai Kra Prow is stir-fried minced chicken with hot chili bits, crunchy string beans and crispy basil leaves.  I really loved the festive taste of basil in this dish!

Noodles and Rice

♥ Pad Thai (325 php)

The Pad Thai was served in the most beautiful arrangement as seen on the menu.  Too bad I forgot to snap a shot since we were too excited to cosume this and requested the staff to mix it as soon as it was served.  This is Pad Thai is heavenly!  Although I'm trying to stay away from carbs, I along with everyone else can't help myself from indulging this.

♥ Khao Kapi (325 php)

The Khao Kapi is another popular dish which is the Thai bagoong fried rice.  This one is a bountiful with harmonious ingredients of sweet pork chunks, dried shrimp, scrambled egg, green mango, string beans and shallots.  This earned everyone's approval!

Desserts

♥ Khao Neaw Ma Mung (165 php)

The Khao Neaw Ma Mung is a cup of sticky rice covered in rich coconut cream topped with sesame seeds with ripe mango slices.  After our heavy meal, I know what you're thinking.  We might not have any room for dessert right?  Believe it or not, everyone kept digging in into this delicious Khao Neaw Ma Mung like there was no tomorrow.

Tap Tim Krob (125 php)

As soon as we, the ladies, were handed out the menu, everyone was already settled over the Tap Tim Krob which was water chestnuts with coconut milk, thick coconut strips and shaved ice.  All of us ordered one each and adopted a no sharing policy since we had much expectation for this.  But sadly, it was nothing special for me.  I was yearning for the distinctive crunchiness from the water chestnuts but there was none.

Ruamit (125 php)

The Ruamit is a Thai style halo halo.  It is the same as the Tap Tim Krob but with kaong (sweet sugar palm) and corn kernels.  Like the Ruamit, this is good but nothing spectacular.

♥ Tako (125 php/3 pcs.)

Although we ordered a lot of the Tako, since we also received a complimentary order as a birthday present for my mom, not a piece was left on the table.  These tapioca coconut cream in pandan cups are so delicious!

Drinks

Beverages

Thai Iced Tea (95 php)

The Thai Iced Tea is thick, rich and a bit too sweet for me.

♥ Thai Iced Coffee (95 php)

Coffee lovers will definitely love their rich Thai Iced Coffee with exquisite nutty after-taste.

Lemongrass Iced Tea (95 php)

I'm quite surprised that their Lemongrass Iced Tea is sour like lemonade with lemongrass extract.


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
For Thai cuisine, I highly recommend Azuthai Restaurant for its sterling food service, food quality and ambiance.  We had a sensational dining experience.  The price is a bit on the high side but quite understandable because an order is good for 3 to 5 persons.