COCONUTS HOT SPOTS — Wake the hunter’s instinct in you and go for a little hunt down the meat aisle at Siam Paragon’s Gourmet Market.
After your “hunt” in Paragon’s extensive meat section, you can either bag your beautiful proteins to take home for later feasting or, now, you can satisfy your inner cave man’s need for instant gratification by getting a little something cooked up right on the spot. At You Hunt We Cook — a station right inside the market, a team of specialized meat chefs await, ready to do masterful damage to your meat.
To use the You Hunt We Cook service, simply carry your goodies over to the side counter of the station, deposit them and take one of those queuing tickets or risk losing your carefully hand-picked cuts on the grill.
While you’re waiting, the staff will ask you some really tough questions that you’ll need be prepared for. Questions along the lines of “How would you like your meat cooked?” and “What do you like on the side?” might be thrown your way.
Real tough ones, these questions!
But, even though you might already have your preference set on the rare-to-well done scale, there is still plenty of room for a dilemma. For instance, what kind of sauce or seasoning should they put on your meat? Do you like it plain, so you can really taste the flavor? Or, so you want them to add some chili, salt and pepper? Oh, and we aren’t done quite yet. Did I mention that You Hunt We Cook can provide an entire meal for you? They have side dishes such as pasta, potatoes, ratatouille and more. Let’s dissect some dishes one by one.
A piece of steak weighing no more than 350 grams will cost you THB100 for cooking. Anything beyond that — even an entire cow — will be THB200.
This first dish we had cooked was our local product — Korat’s very own goodie going by the name of “Korat Wagyu” (THB455 per 285 grams). The beautifully marbled piece was cooked medium rare and sauced with Café de Paris Butter Sauce (Extra THB80) — a bright-yellow-colored, butter-based French sauce that adds both a umami taste and slight hint of acidity to the meat.
With this first serving, I must say I’m surprised …and impressed. The quality of the beef itself is no less enjoyable than those bearing other fancy labels from overseas. It’s cooked perfectly to my order and well-seasoned. Hard as it may be to believe, I’m indulging in this piece of five-star-hotel restaurant-quality meat surrounded by hundreds of busy shoppers, right in the middle of one of the city’s biggest supermarkets — no candle light, no pretty silverware, no attentive wait staff, just fresh food and a seat by the grill.
Next on my plate is a rib-eye chosen from the fancy 55-day, dry-aged shelf. It’s cooked rare with ratatouille on the side. Be warned my friend, this place is not afraid to serve you a red rare layer when you ask for it. Rare is rare, no less and no more. And the ratatouille side? It sure is a comfort during this hearty course. I asked for this beauty to be cooked with brown onion sauce (Extra THB70). There were other choices that I didn’t try this time, such as mushroom cream (Extra THB70), béarnaise (Extra THB75), red wine (Extra THB60), and spicy Thai (Extra THB60), but I will on the next visit.
Once again, this tiny kitchen does not disappoint.
Other sides include baked potatoes, fries, mashed potatoes or pan-fried hash browns, which cost an extra THB60 per portion. If you’re a fan of pasta, there are both pasta sides and ready dishes that you can order separately in full portions. Some of the tasty options include: spaghetti puttanesca (THB200), lasagna al forno (THB250) and potato gnocchi con pesto (THB185). Be reminded though, it’s a big portion. With my steak, I simply didn’t have enough room.
When it comes to dining at You Hunt We Cook, part of the credit for how splendid the dish turns out is yours. In other words, do you know your meat? If you do, this restaurant is going to be your new favorite haunt.
FIND IT:
Gourmet Market, Siam Paragon
Hours: 10am – 9pm
BTS Siam
Reader Interactions