The team behind Minibar Royale, Supanniga and EAT never fails to miss an opportunity to open in the most happening spots in town. And giant-luxe mega-mall EmQuartier is no exception, where you’ll find this wall-to-wall blond wood cafe serving simple Thai dishes that stand in contrast to the mall’s more deluxe eateries.

The food here takes influence from the Bangkok streets, adopting a tam sang concept that allows you to pick a protein and a carb then tell the kitchen how you want them cooked. The big difference here is that you’ll find higher quality ingredients and no added MSG. And we’d love to be excited about that—if it weren’t for flavors stuck in neutral compared to the bold street dishes from where they originate.

The tender Thai-French beef loin in this restaurant’s version of krapao nua (stir-fried Thai-French beef loin in holy basil, B195), for example, swims in a watery sauce with only one depth of flavor: sweet. Sexed up with a salted sunny egg from Chaiya district in Surat Thani, at least it’s not a total failure.

The tom yam seafood fried rice (B195) also lacks any of the piquant spiciness you might expect, saved only thanks to a slice of lime and liberal use of prik nam pla (chili fish sauce). Another dish that wastes its superior ingredients is the Himalayan salted chicken wings (B120)—so salty they make you thankful for the otherwise bland complimentary shiitake soup.

Our advice: stick to the sea prawn pad Thai (B195), which features perfectly cooked rice noodles from Chanthaburi in a sauce which, though a little muddy, has a nice balance of mellow flavors.

Come dessert, we also love the quality of the black sesame ice cream served with rice-flour custard (B130). The coconut ice cream is also wonderful, with tiny pieces of coconut meat blended into the soft cream, though the syrup banana that it’s served with is lifeless compared to the street version we love.

For the higher bill, don’t expect Eat, Rice & Noodle to fix your street-food cravings, but the quality of ingredients and fuss-free service sure beat EmQuartier’s food court.

This review took place in November 2015 and is based on a visit to the restaurant without the restaurant's knowledge. For more on BK's review policy, click here.