TL;DR: Small plates, big on flavour
Let’s talk about fusion food.
It’s a bit of this cuisine, inspired by a bit of that cuisine, inevitably served with a twist of something else for good measure.
A little predictable, you might say. Even insipid, if the chef truly misses the mark and doesn’t nail down either of the cuisines he’s trying to ‘fuse’.
It’s all too easy to take a European dish, add a sprig of coriander and a slice of chilli, and then market it as the latest revolution in Asian Fusion food.
Boring!
So with that in mind, we were a little trepidatious when heading into Another Hound – an upmarket spin-off of the successful Greyhound Cafe that brands itself as “chic and glam Asian-Italian dining”.
Were we going to be served linguine with lime? Fettucine with fish sauce? (Ed: Our fears were, poetically, very alliterative).
The menu was promising – lots of choice, reasonable prices, up-close photos and clear descriptions.
The food was better – a complex mix of bold and subtle flavours across the Asia/Italy divide working to complement the simple, yet delicious, array of ingredients.
Fusion food done good.
Black Calamari Fritti was our first port of call and was a masterclass in textures. The soft and tender squid were beautifully offset by the charcoal crumble of the squid ink batter and it was satisfyingly unlike anything we’d seen or tasted before, which is essentially the point of fusion food.
Next came the disgustingly indulgent The Crackling Family.
No, it’s not a new WWE tag team.
Rather, a smorgasbord of crackling – crispy, roasted chicken, pork and salmon skin with a side helping of potato wedges. Sushi style with European undertones. They were lip-smackingly delicious with understated seasoning and tangy sauces to dip into on the side. My companion said he felt “drunk on skin” in the aftermath of such a feast. He’s a veritable wordsmith.
We opted for pasta and rice dishes for the main event: Spaghetti Sugar Cane Smoked Duck and Fried Diced Lamb with Garlic and Black Pepper.
Again, flavours were plentiful – especially the garlic, in true Thai style – and ingredients on point. The spaghetti was perfectly al dente giving centre stage to the thin slices of duck and sweet, bursting cherry tomatoes.
My companion’s lamb dish was really the epitome of successful fusion food, reminiscent of a dish straight out of Lebanon. The lamb was tender and almost caramelised; the textural antithesis of the crispy garlic dimes sprinkled atop. Served on a bed of fluffy rice, it was a genuine meeting of East and West.
By this point, we were totally stuffed – I blame the skin – and sadly unable to even consider the prospect of dessert. The deli counter that greets you at the entrance to the restaurant certainly looks full to the brim with sweet treats.
All in all, Another Hound can count itself as a fusion food success story and a restaurant we’ll certainly be returning to. Hopefully, we’ll make it to dessert next time…
We dined at the Another Hound franchise on the second floor of the Emporium, adjacent to Phrom Phong BTS station.
