Small portions, several dishes, a single meal… tasting menus are all the rage in Bangkok, especially since the launch of the Michelin Guide. While a few argue that a degustation menu (the French word for tasting menu, oh la la!) may not be the best way to tackle what a restaurant has on offer, fine dining aficionados beg to differ. A showcase of creative culinary craftsmanship, these menus are all about treating your senses. I have done the dirty work of tasting six of Bangkok’s latest tasting menus for your oral pleasure.
Punjab Grill Bangkok
Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit
Sukhumvit 13
Open daily 6-11.30pm
Call 02-645-4952
Visit www.punjabgrillbangkok.com
THE MIND OF A CHEF:
“As India is a big country and I cannot have dishes from all over the country on one menu. However, I wanted to give diners a taste of India from different geographical aspects, along with their special produce, says executive chef Bharath Bhat, of his tasting menus. Though each dish on the tasting menus - non-vegetarian and vegetarian - represents a state in India, they are given a modern touch and incorporate chef Bhat’s Western culinary skills.
TEMPTATION ON A PLATE:
The best of Punjab Grill’s “Essence of India’ menu is the Raj Kachori representing the state I come from, Maharashtra, and is a contemporary take on my hometown classic. It represents Mumbai’s street food delight in a puffed flour crisp, filled with a tangy sweet yoghurt mousse, spicy nuts and chickpea vermicelli. Yum! My other favourite was the Gosht Ki Boti aur Kumbh Ki Khichdi from Kashmir and it is lamb leg scented with fennel and star anise, served with mushroom kedgeree and blue cheese naan. Blue cheese in a naan, you say?! Incredulous, I know, but oh, so, so delightful! The dessert Aam Bhapa Dohi, which represents the Indian state West Bengal, is a modern take on Kolkata’s signature steamed yoghurt flavoured with local Naam Dok Mai mango and served with fresh berries. Of course, because it’s chef Bhat, it has to come with a molecular twist. No spoilers here!
THE TASTE OF MONEY:
The best mix of West and East at an incredible price of 1,490 baht for the non-vegetarian and 990 baht for the vegetarian tasting menu. A three wine pairings is an additional 760 baht. But this is the real deal here - all prices are nett. Shadup and take my money!
Indus
71, Sukhumvit 26
Open daily 11.30am-2pm
and 6pm to midnight
Call 02-258-4900 or 086-339-8582
Visit www.indusbangkok.com
THE MIND OF A CHEF:
Indus has two tasting menus: “Signature Tasting Menu” and “Chef Amit’s Tasting Menu”. The Signature Tasting Menu is an introduction to Indian cuisine and Indus over nine courses, while Chef Amit’s Tasting Menu has been curated by executive chef Amit Kumar and renowned Indian food historian Dr Pushpesh Pant. The latter is a menu for diners familiar with India’s vast culinary history and changes depending Indian festivals and seasons.
TEMPTATION ON A PLATE:
Two different dining options is a plus for any diner. From the Signature menu, the Raan Sikandari (Indus Valley) is definitely a winner, with the leg of mutton having being slow-cooked for seven hours. The menu also includes the all-time favourite Rogan Josh, a rich mutton curry from Kashmir, served with saffron rice. The winners on chef Amit’s menu is the finely minced button mushroom kebab aka Khumb Galouti (Lucknow) and the absolute mouth-watering Daal Dholki from Gujarat, wherein spinach dumplings are served in a lentil broth. I could just keep eating bowls of the daal, it was so delicious.
THE TASTE OF MONEY:
Two tasting menus priced under 2,000 baht. The Signature Tasting Menu is 1,600 baht for seven courses with 1,200 baht for four wine pairings, while Chef Amit’s Tasting Menu is 1,800 baht for nine courses with 1,200 with four wine pairings. However, I would like to see Indian food paired with beer rather wine - not very fine dining of me, I know. (Prices are subject to service charge and government tax).
Karmakamet Conveyance
Lhong 1919
248 Chiang Mai Alley
Khlong San
Open daily 6pm to midnight
Call 02-116-3990
Visit www.karmakametconveyance.com
THE MIND OF A CHEF:
To chef Juthamas “Som” Theantae, the term “conveyance” is about how different we all are.
“I want to use food as a tool to be able to say ‘even though we are different we can accept each other’. So conveyance is to transport you to from this space to the next space and to go from here to there without judgement. I make food from different cultures and not under any agreements on how the meal should progress. It can be just one main course after another. I want people to come and eat and be in their own space and not to let the food be about the chef. When you are in your own space, and you eat how you want, maybe you accept the food in front of you and that way you accept people from other cultures. It has nothing to do with my memories. It is about everyone’s memories. If this food is not about your memories you will make new memories.
“I studied art from the age of 16-27 and to me food is art. And you can use food as a tool to make something better in society. The menu is about memories and into a new space is because without the menu, structure cannot be created. In total, we have three menus within the one menu - first being ‘Memories’, second is ‘References of memories’ and third ‘To the new space’. To me, food is like a realist painting not an expressionist painting. We have to be able to communicate what we are doing,” says chef Som about Karmakamet Conveyance.
TEMPTATION ON A PLATE:
A very spiritual approach to food, the menu has dishes not just from Thailand but also from the Philippines and even India. The desserts are mostly Indian and it is rare to see a non-Indian chef perfect Indian desserts that are not only perfect in texture but also not overly sweet. Of course, Chef Som used to live in Shanti Niketan in India for six years so her love for Indian cuisine is not that hard to figure out.
THE TASTE OF MONEY:
Karmakamet Conveyance focusing on tastes and flavours as one experience. Chef Som’s seven course menu blurs boundaries and distances evoking a range of memories paired with boutique organic, biodynamic wines from Fin – fabulous is needed. The menu changes every two months. The seven course menu sets you back 2,500 baht with an additional 1,800 baht for an eight wine pairings. (Prices are subject to service charge and government tax).
Celadon
The Sukhothai Bangkok
13/3 Sathon Tai Road
Dinner 6-11:30pm (Last order 10pm)
Classical Thai dancing daily at 7.30pm and 8.30pm
Dress code: Smart Casual (No sportswear, slippers, sleeveless shirts)
Call 02-344-8888 Ext. 8651
Visit www.sukhothai.com/bangkok/en/dining/restaurant-celadon
THE MIND OF A CHEF:
Chef Rossarin Sripathum, head chef at Celadon, has launched her latest tasting menu, inspired by the desire to provide diners with the opportunity to discover the complexity yet subtleness of Thai style home food. “The more they see and taste, the more we believe they will discover true Thai flavours,” says chef Rossarin. Every course is produced in original Thai style, using modern techniques and plating. Each dish comes complete with its own range of tastes from the North to the South of Thailand.
TEMPTATION ON A PLATE:
A complete dining experience and Thai food journey, with authentic tastes is what fills chef Rossarin’s menu. The meal starts off with Chiang Mai green chilli foam, crispy pork skin and torch ginger and is a great way to amuse the mouth. My absolute favourite on this menu is the pork sparerib in southern yellow curry, jackfruit seed and raw finger banana. So good is this curry that I can drink, yes drink, bowls of it. Enough said!
THE TASTE OF MONEY:
I highly recommend the “Full Experience” tasting menu as it showcases chef Rossarin’s finest. Nine courses is priced at 2,900 baht with four wine pairings for 1,900 baht extra. The “Part of the trail” is six courses and is priced at 2,200 with four wine pairings for 1,900 baht extra. (Prices are subject to service charge and government tax).
Canvas
113/9-10 Sukhumvit 55
Sunday-Thursday, 6pm-midnight (last order for food is 10.30pm)
Friday-Saturday 6pm-12.30am (Last order for food is 11.30pm)
Call 099-614-1158
Visit www.canvasbangkok.com
THE MIND OF A CHEF:
“The menu always starts with the ingredient that we want to use. Of course, the seasonality of the ingredient is what I focus on and the reason is because they are the best and the most exciting at the time. I am also thinking of lots of different techniques and what people enjoy from our previous menus. The menu changes every three months. Once the rainy season dies down a bit and the cool season starts, it will be a different menu,” says chef Riley Sanders of his tasting menus at Canvas.
TEMPTATION ON A PLATE:
Canvas serves six- and nine-course tasting menus highlighting primarily Thai ingredients with focused cooking and vibrant flavours in a relaxed, open space. A visually stunning restaurant, the menu is reflective of the Willy Wonka mind of chef Sanders. It’s unabashedly bold and colourful and beauty on a plate! The most exciting course, for me, was the Toasted rice bread with brown butter, salted egg and yellow chilli, which took me right back to my childhood and my mother’s kitchen. It is probably the best thing on that menu, and there are a lot! I have always been a fan of chef Sanders’ palate cleansers and the Lemon basil, custard apple and pomelo did not disappoint.
THE TASTE OF MONEY:
Chef Sanders wants more people to order the nine-course menu because “that’s where we are giving people an experience and they will be more satisfied”. Hence there is a mere 500 baht difference between the nine-course and the six-course menus. The six courses cost 2,400 baht and 1,200 baht for five wine pairings. The nine courses will push you back 2,900 baht plus 2,000 baht for three wine pairings. (Prices are subject to service charge and government tax).
Il Fumo
1098/2 Rama IV
Open daily 5.30pm to midnight (kitchen closes at 11pm)
Call 02-286-8833 (line opens: 3-11pm)
and 097-170-6260 (line opens 10.30am to 3pm)
THE MIND OF A CHEF:
Head chef Nelson Amorin’s two tasting menus at Il Fumo is best described as a Portuguese-Thai confluence. “There are Portuguese influences in many Asian countries and because of this, I thought that the tasting menu needed some connection to where we are, to where I was before Bangkok - China. If I only did Portuguese flavours they may not be well received by diners. No one is doing Portuguese food in Bangkok and it’s new. I am introducing people to Portuguese cuisine but with flavours that they know. All of them have different sources of inspiration,” says chef Amorin.
TEMPTATION ON A PLATE:
The meal starts off with three of Chef Amorin’s snacks and they deliciously tease the palate for what is to come. My favourite of the “Viajante” seven-course tasting menu is the Meia Desfeita, which is cod, blood orange emulsion, chickpeas and olive oil ice cream. No, this ain’t dessert - this is a salad and course No 2! But why an ice-cream in a salad? Chef Amorin believes that “when you have a long tasting menu, it is important to have some freshness in between the courses to keep you going”. My other favourite was the “Portokáli..Portakal..Portokál’” or Pudim Abade de Priscos with orange, black olive oil and though the menu says yuzu sorbet, there wasn’t any. This is because the menu is constantly being improved and changed. So you’re always in for a pleasant surprise. What is of note is that the dish was inspired by a New York Times article on the introduction of an orange to Greece, Turkey and Iran. In these countries, the word Portugal means orange because it was the Portuguese who took the sweet oranges from India to those countries. #FunFact
THE TASTE OF MONEY:
A few of the dishes on the tasting menu are also available à la carte. But the à la carte dishes are more for sharing and are less technical. Of course, should you fancy any dish from the tasting menu, chef Amorin is most happy to oblige. The menu sees changes monthly or every two months. If something better is being created in the kitchen, it appears on the menu. One thing is for sure that all the dishes are related to Portuguese cuisine. The damage is a mere 2,400 baht for five courses, with 900 baht for wine pairing for the “Essência” menu. The “Viajante” menu will set you back 2,700 for seven courses and an additional 1,400 for wine pairing. (Prices are subject to service charge and government tax.) g
