Koko, Siam Square Bangkok – Lovely Flavors in Siam Square

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Siam Square is an area that appeals to tourists and locals alike with its eclectic mix of shops and boutiques that sell local designer-label apparel. When it comes to chow time, aside from the big players like the Bangkok Hard Rock Café, you can also choose from small café-restaurants like Koko.

Koko is a Thai eatery that caters to vegan palates, with a sprinkling of meat dishes.

Most importantly, they have Thai curries. Well, once you have set your mind to slurping down a bowl of curry with the lovely flavors of sweet basil and lemongrass and lime leaves, it’s hard to put that thought away.

Sweet curry pork
95baht

Many Thai restaurants offer you a choice of meat for the curries. Over here, however, it seems that only pork curry is available on the limited English menu. But that alone is enough to curb the curry craving. It goes wonderfully with steamed white rice (15baht).

The bowl of piping hot flavorful curry arrives with chunky pieces of tender pork flesh. Rather than being chili hot, Thai curries are more about a harmonious blending of sweet and slightly sour flavors, tamed with coconut milk and sugar. The whole dish is sinfully satisfying, even if not very good for the heart.

Deep fried fish with sweet and sour sauce
170baht

Another Thai delight is any deep-fried item with “sweet and sour sauce”. This, in the local context, simply refers to the famous Thai sweet chili sauce.

The fish, in this case, is totally bland. I mean lacking in any flavor, the kind that my Mom has promised to cook for our kitten Snowy many times. They must be very confident about their sauce, I thought.

And well, the sauce does help a lot. What was originally flavorless turns out to be palatable after all.

Chili fried shrimp
190baht

The fried shrimp with chili certainly offers more of a kick. The crunchy pieces of shrimp with the combination of sweet, spicy and garlicky flavors make for a wonderful sensation on the palate.

Siam Square

The prices here are steeper than that of most other Thai restaurants. Take for example the fish and shrimp. Similar dishes cost the same at Lerk Thai in Singapore.

Koko
262/2 Siam Square Soi 3, Rama 1 Road
Bangkok, Thailand

Nearest BTS/mrt: BTS Siam
(66)02-658-4094

11am-9pm daily

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About the Author

Veron Ang is the founder and chief editor of Sparklette. She lives in Singapore and has dined and traveled across the world. She also runs Sparklette Studio, a web design and development firm. If you'd like to connect with her, head on over to the contact page or follow her personal updates on Twitter: @VeronSG.

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Kidtalentz
November 18

sparklette@ Koko, Siam Square Bangkok – Lovely Flavors in Siam Square: Siam Square is an area that a.. http://bit.ly/3zYoLa
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
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kidtalentz
November 18

So you ‘re comin here to hunt for Thai curry again :)
I Think the sweet curry pork might be Thai curry which call “Panang” in Thai. This kind of curry usually a little bit more sweet than other Thai curries.
Reply
- Veron
  November 18
  
  I LOVE the sweet curries in Thai cuisine! I found this Thai name “Gaeng Kiew Whan Gai” for a red curry dish on a Thai restaurant menu. I know Gai is chicken. But what are the first three words?
  Reply
  - kidtalentz
    November 18
    
    Gaeng = curry
    Kiew = green
    Whan = sweet
    Gai = chickcen
    It’s what you call chicken “green curry” you’ve already known vey well ,not a red curry one.
    Reply
    - Veron
      November 18
      
      Thanks for the translation! That definitely clears things up. My mistake. Red curry chicken should be Gaeng Ped Whan Gai then?
      Reply
      - kidtalentz
        November 18
        
        Nop, just only “Gaeng Ped Gai” or “Gaeng Gai” .
        It’s because whan = sweet which I ‘d told you once that normally Thai curry should not sweeten with sugar except from coconut milk itself. But Panang …the one you got at KoKo is a kind of a little bit sweet curry.
hwsoh
November 18

RT @sparklette Sparklette Digest! Koko, Siam Square Bangkok – Lovely Flavors in Siam Square http://bit.ly/3zYoLa
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
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Nicholas
November 18

doh… now I’m thinking of having curry again for dinner…
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J2Kfm
November 18

pork curry will do just fine. or maybe to us, Malaysians who can’t find pork cooked in curry, for obvious reasons. other than the occasional Chinese eateries.
for instance, there’s a small town named Gerik in the northern part of Perak state, which houses a good number of restaurants serving wild boar curry. imagine the delightfully-wild-and-gamey combination.
http://www.j2kfm.com/gerik-food-curry-wild-boar-anyone/
Reply
- Veron
  November 18
  
  Wild boar curry? It makes pork curry sound infantile! I have never in my life eaten wild boar meat and have no idea what it tastes like. Have yet to spot it on a Singapore restaurant menu so far, though I have seen it in the form of bak kwa in Macau once. The people in Perak seem like a real adventurous bunch!
  Well if anyone knows where in Singapore to eat wild boar meat, do drop me a note :)
  Reply
Melissa
December 16

Siam Square may be a trendy zone, but personally I prefer places like Chatuchak or Suan Lum. More variety and the prices are much, much lower!
Reply
- Veron
  December 16
  
  While we’re on the subject of shopping, I would recommend the Platinum Mall in Pratunam as the first stop. Many vendors from Chatuchak and Suan Lum actually purchase their supplies here! The variety of clothing, shoes, accessories etc is huge and cheap.
  Reply