COCONUTS HOT SPOTS — The Hass Bistro has just become the first restaurant in Bangkok to fully commit on the the avocado fad.
Although coming to the scene two years after the everything-avocado trend reached its peak, the bistro on Sukhumvit Soi 49 uses the Hass avocado imported from New Zealand to guarantee creaminess and prepare them every way you can imagine — served fresh, seasoned, deep-fried, heck, they even whip-cream it.
Like we hinted with the magic phrase “deep-fry,” The Hass Bistro is not just for so-called “clean food” enthusiasts. Aside from the classic avocado toast and salad, they’ve attempted to make a burger bun out of avocado and serve battered, deep-fried avocados as appetizers with dipping sauce.
We visited The Hass Bistro on a recent Tuesday and were greeted by friendly staff. The decor is warm and minimalist, making it a proper place to relax and hide from the buzzy street outside.
I started with a juice from the bar at the front of the store, ordering a Winky Winky (THB140) which is a carrot and red apple blended together. There were 10 different cold-pressed juices to choose from, each boasting a different benefit — fighting flu, improving skin, burning fat, and more. My thought was, the juice could have been smoother and colder.
And then came the avocado appetizers. The Crunchy Avocado (THB240) is deep-fried, breaded avocado slices served with Sriracha aioli dip. The fries make a great, addictive snack as they’re crispy and coated with a small amount of chili powder, while being soft and creamy on the inside. We had to try the Vegan Avocado Toast (THB145) and a croissant with avocado butter (THB35). The toast was well-prepared, on a thick wedge of homemade whole wheat baguette with cherry tomatoes, asparagus, fresh onions, and sun-dried tomatoes. Compared to what some restaurants around Bangkok charge for avocado toast, this dish is a bargain.
For the main courses, we chose the Avocado Burger with Chicken (THB335), which has a small patty (you can choose between chicken and prawn) stuffed between two avocado halves instead of a bun. The first time I picked up the tall stack, the ingredients just miserably fell out of my hands, and I ended up having to eat it with a knife and fork.
For that reason, some people might say it’s not really a burger, but all arguments aside, the chicken patty is perfectly cooked and seasoned to minimal perfection, while the creamy avocado is nicely balanced out by the taste of onions and tomatoes. The final thought is this is not going to replace your junk-food, fried-chicken sandwich. An avocado burger is its own genre.
We also ordered a Spicy Tuna with Betel Leaf and Avocado (THB220), which is a Thai-fused snack clearly inspired by miang kham. Despite sounding like a great idea, the dish turned out to be disappointing because they used canned tuna, and we found that the avocado didn’t go well with the bitter betel leaf. In modern-day food terminology, many of us hear the words “spicy tuna” alongside a decent-sized price and assume we are going to get ahi-grade fresh tuna, which would have made the dish pretty good.
For dessert, we were excited to try the Avocado Cheesecake with Avocado Sauce (THB250). The cake is creamy and sweet at just the right amount and tastes even better when mixing it with the fresh fruit on the side. My colleague enjoyed her Avocado Pancake (THB345), which we had to wait 15 minutes for because they freshly mix and cook the pancakes for every order. We were impressed that the stack was held together by avocado whipped cream. Yes! The avocado-fused pancakes are fluffy and served with a generous amount of fresh fruit. They are delicious and memorable and well worth saving some space and waiting a few minutes for.
The Hass Bistro opens daily at 8am, since it intends to serve early-birds who come in for breakfast. The staff said that they will soon add coffee to the menu.
Additional reporting by Laurel Tuohy
FIND IT:
Open daily, 8am-10pm
Sukhumvit soi 49
BTS Thong Lor
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