Cabbages & Condoms Restaurant in Bangkok

This has got to be one of the better-known restaurants in the capital of the Land of Smiles. I believe it has been around for a few years at least, and if the size of the crowd on the Friday evening we were there is anything to go by, the place is still pretty popular among tourists. My CEB loves Tom Yam soup so this is what we had in a hotpot. The restaurant offers a choice between soup or curry being served in a hotpot which is more expensive, or in a bowl. Since we had pretty high expectations, we decided to go for the hotpot which meant a larger portion too. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. Soooo.....sooooo. Period. Not anything that would take one's breath away in a hurry. I suppose it is almost impossible to eat in a Thai restaurant and not try Tom Yam Goong so I would moderate my expectations if I were to order this dish from C&C.

Now, ever since our trip to Krabi last year where he had Tom Kha Gai for the first time at one of the more famous restaurants, my CEB has been hooked to this rich coconut curry dish which comes with pieces of chicken, pork or prawns. We didn't order this in a hotpot so here is how the dish looked served in a claypot bowl. The Slog Reviews: 6/10. If you like the rich sweet creamy sort of curry, don't order this dish at C&C. The curry was thin, watery and spicy to my CEB's tremendous disappointment.

1 of the restaurant's specialties was soft shell crab in curry. It came on a hotplate and some yellow curry sauce. The Slog Reviews: 6/10. I ended up eating almost all of this dish on my own as my CEB flatly refused to partake more than 1 mouthful of the crabs. It wasn't that it was awful but the crab wasn't fried to crispy perfection but more like a soggy half-cooked mess with gills. Do not waste any Baht on this! Oh yes, I know it's quite a lot we ordered (now you who know me well can explain the weight gain), but we did have one last dish of green curry with pork. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. My CEB and I agreed easily that this was the best dish of the lot.

The restaurant has outdoor seating and indoor seating but the weather dictated that we have a table inside. Here is a pic of the decor, most of which is about...condoms or the popularity of the restaurant.

When we were walking out, I took a picture of this most innovative costume - there are multi-colored condoms pasted on the mannequins' cap, shirt and pants.

And while I marveling over the creativity of the designer, I saw this. Unrolled condoms for the skirt! How smart is that!

And while we were on the way out....and no, I haven't seen the inside of the condom packet that my CEB picked up. I wouldn't count on the quality of the contents though, especially if not having a kid just yet is high on one's priority list.

There was a shop just next to the restaurant (within the same compound) that was selling all types of C&C souvenirs - my CEB grabbed a couple of key-chains with condoms in them for his male buddies. Men will always be boys.

I wouldn't go so far as to call C&C a tourist trap but if your intent is to have really nice Thai food, this wouldn't be the place to go. And if you are minded to go for the experience, just do remember to make reservations. There was quite a queue on our way out about 9pm.