My first dining experience at Benjarong Restaurant in Dusit Thani Makati was courtesy of my godmother. My mom was in town (she’s based in the US) and since she grew up in Bangkok, Thailand, my godmother wanted to treat her to good authentic Thai food. So we went to Benjarong. That was many many years ago so though I remember the food being good I don’t really recall what we had.
We went to Thailand last December and we had a blast. The food was mindblowingly delicious, so much so that we had a constant hankering for Thai food after we had gone back to Manila. We tried so many Thai restaurants in Manila but none could give us the same satisfaction. Then I saw an RCBC credit card promo for Benjarong, 25% off your total bill during weekdays lunch time. So last April 10, we went to have lunch there.
We ordered Yum Pla Duk Foo (₱695) a.k.a. Catfish Salad. I love how their catfish floss is so crisp and flavorful, everything was so fresh. We had the server mix it for us and wow, this probably the best version of catfish salad I’ve tried here in Metro Manila. It was enough to be shared by the four of us too.
I asked our server to recommend dishes that were good for sharing since there was four of us. Next up was Tord Man Gung (₱695) a.k.a. Shrimp Cakes. This comes in 5 big, juicy, meaty pieces with sweet chili dipping sauce served on the side. I’m not fond of shrimp but this was WOW.
We are forever on a quest for Tom Yum that is close to what we’ve had in Thailand and this is one of the closest ones so far — Guay Tiew Tom Yam Talay (₱775) a.k.a. Seafood and Chicken Tom Yum. It was refreshing and not thick, very easy to savor by the spoonful. We tried a really good one at the mall (Samyan at Robinsons Magnolia) but I found it too rich, too much coconut cream was in it. This one is the thin not creamy kind, not thickened with coconut milk or cream so it’s just pure broth with herbs and spices. Spice level is just right so it’s not too spicy.
Another thing we’ve been looking for is authentic Thai Omelette since we had a lot of really good ones in Thailand. So we ordered Kai Jiew Pu (₱700) a.k.a. Crab Omelette. It was served with really impressive and smooth housemade sriracha sauce. While they spared no expense in stuffing the omelette with crabmeat and it was pretty good, it was not the fluffy crisp kind of Thai omelette we were looking for.
We also ordered Khao Klug Ka Pi (₱625) a.k.a. Bagoong Rice which we had our server mix for us. Good, though admittedly it’s not as difficult to find good Bagoong Rice as it is other Thai dishes.
For meat, we decided to order See Krong Moo Krob Wan (₱875) a.k.a. Crispy Pork Ribs. Flavor was on point though there was too little meat for the price since the meat was on the bones (you know how ribs are). Next time I think we should go for their Green Curry which I’ve heard great things about.
For dessert, we tried Kanom Tako (₱350) a.k.a. Water Chestnut Pudding since the server told us one order is comprised of 4 pieces. I’ve had similar desserts in other places but this was mindblowingly good. We were told it’s similar to maja blanca but gosh, it is not. It’s far superior to maja blanca in terms of taste and texture. Every mouthful is a cooling, refreshing experience.
Overall, we had an outstanding dining experience at Benjarong Restaurant in Dusit Thani Makati. I’m so sad they will be closing down soon (no dates yet though) since the hotel building is going to be demolished when Dusit’s lease ends. I’ve tried way too many Thai places here in Metro Manila (most are nothing to write home about) and Benjarong Restaurant is by far the best in terms of food quality and service.
For a video of our dining experience, click HERE.
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