Thai people have a way of expressing negatively charged words in nicer-sounding terms. For example, kathoey takes on a word that means the second kind of woman or a gender-crossing woman (or man?), while a soi dog is called a sunak if you want to appear pretentiously proper. The name for a type of reptile often seen dwelling in Lumpini Park and canals is considered so offensive some refer to it as tua ngern tua thong (silver-and-gold animal), even though no Thai in their right minds would ever hug one like it's made of treasure.
Along similar lines, the word "fusion food" has become the proverbial "F word" in the Bangkok dining scene. It verges so close to cliche that some restaurants try to distance themselves from it even though they blatantly serve dishes from cookbooks of multiple countries.
Hence, we've come across terms like "twisted flavours", "international flavours" and "East meets West". What's next? Border-crossing food? Culinary cross-pollution? Menu migration?
A recent addition to the fusion confusion in Bangkok is Clove, named from the ingredient garlic that appears in recipes of many countries. It too tries to distance itself from the F word by calling its fare "cosmopolitan" as it serves fusion and western food geared towards the taste of worldly city folks.
Clove is a two-storey house turned into a restaurant, standing where Sode Samo bar used to. There are different dining settings to choose from including al fresco in the front garden and a private room on thesecond floor of the main building. On the right of the pathway leading to the main building is a smaller but more colourful house that serves as a cocktail bar. The interior of the main building feels like a classy and shiny place for grown-ups to gather and have a dignified dinner and wine over bossa nova in the background.