Jim Thompson Restaurant at the Jim Thompson House, Bangkok

It's Thailand's lovely garden-enclosed complex, sitting at the banks of one of Bangkok's huge water canals. It's also a hallmark of a silk business iconography in the name of the American James "Jim" Thompson, whose legacy left a leisure enclave comprising six traditional Thai teakwood houses, including a museum, a silk boutique and a restaurant. 

Being a food pundit, where else can you find me but in a restaurant, and being a purveyor of fashion, where else can you find her but in the boutique. So we tried both. But let us take you for a tour first:

The teakhouse villa is filled with incongruous collection of Thai ancestry and marvelous antiques which embodies Jim Thompson's lifelong passion and whimsical design preference. 

Silk spool display so guests will have an idea how intricately delicate the job is. 

Silk loom before they gets delivered to local shops and international fashion trades like Paris, New York, London and Milan. 

Water lilies in front of the restaurant. 

In the midst of surrounding trees, the restaurant's inconspicuous facade bellies a tastefully designed entry foyer, with LED TV and boxes of chocolates and cookies, itself an iconic blend of East meets West, and a definite preamble to the glamour of Jim Thompson permeating all the way into the interiors of the dining sphere.

Tom Yam Goong(THB 240) - Hot and sour soup with mushroom, galangal, lemongrass, shallots, bird's eye chilies and prawns

Gai Hor Bai Toey(THB 240) - Marinated chicken wrapped in pandan leaves, deep-fried and served with special Thompson dip

Neau Phad Prik Thai Dum(THB 220) - Stir-fried beef tenderloin with three color peppers and white onions in a black pepper sauce

Phad Broccoli Goong Sod(THB 180) - Wok-fried broccoli with prawns and oyster sauce

It's a real Lemon Grass Juice(THB 100) with a straw that is definitely a stem from the grass itself. That's authenticity 101. 

Apparently, the restaurant is also one of the expats' and foreign dignitaries' favorite, even those foreigners working nearby the area, given most of that day's customers being Caucasian.

So do I.