It is not surprising that open kitchens in restaurants are all the rage, considering the popularity of chefs cooking on the telly. In Bangkok, it is a growing trend with new restaurants boasting of open kitchens and chef-diner interactions.
Ocken, a cross between octopus and chicken, is where diners are treated to the full view of the kitchen. The big and bright restaurant is brought to Bangkok by the team that gave us Roast and Roost -- Think Beyond. It also serves as a bakery, but for now caters only to Ocken. The menu is comprised of five parts and is mostly made up of modern international cuisine, part of the memories and taste buds of the owners.
Freshly baked sourdough is served before each meal with cultured butter, a silken mix of cream and yoghurt.
Ocken. Nianne-Lynn Hendricks
Part One is almost like five different amuse-bouches and tantalises the taste buds. I started off with Baron Point oysters, which can be had fresh or fried (300 baht for two pieces or 850 baht for six pieces). I love my oysters fresh, so that's what I had with grapefruit yuzu mignonette, shiso and pimento peppers. The oysters needed a tiny bit more tang only because they were so fleshy and big. The Mini Cubano (220 baht) are melt-in-mouth, bite-sized roasted pork in pineapple juice, served on mini panini with mojo aioli made from pork drippings, and pickled jalapeños with grain mustard powder sprinkled on top.
Probably the best dish on the "One" menu is the Smoked Tomato Toast (160 baht). Served on a bed of spicy eggplant miso spread, the tomatoes from Chiang Mai are marinated in thyme and garlic before being smoked.
If you have been reading my reviews, you'll know that octopus is one of my favourite things of the sea, and naturally the No.1 dish on the "Two" menu caught my eye. The Octopus (650 baht) is first boiled, then pan-fried and served with sour tangerine, salsa verde, bacon fat and oregano. Cooked firm with the right texture, it best of all comes with a shishito pepper. A must-order would have to be the Ocken Salad (420 baht), which is served with burrata, kiwi, rosemary almonds, watercress and Asian pear. I have never had a salad in Bangkok that was this refreshing.
"Three" offers four different kinds of pasta, but the one that seemed the natural progression to the meal I was having was the Orcecchiette (380 baht) with lamb sausage, roasted carrot sauce, minted pea purée and crème fraîche. I am unsure if Bangkok is ready for pasta that is cooked al dente, but it would definitely be into the sweetness of this dish. The dish needed a sharp, pungent cheese like pecorino or some salty cheese to add an extra punch.
Smoked Tomato Toast. Nianne-Lynn Hendricks
From the main courses or "Four", I chose the highly recommended Poached Salmon (650 baht), which is a stunning dish visually. The bright charred green vegetable stew and bacon broth was wonderful against the pink salmon with its crisp skin. Perhaps the only complaint I would have about the dish was that the salmon was unevenly cooked, which seemed a tad odd to me. But once the stew reached my mouth, that was mere semantics. Watch out for the unexpected surprise in the stew with the inclusion of pan-fried young jackfruit.
"Five" is desserts, and there are four to choose from. I went for the Sathon Mess (320 baht), which is an array of green and pink with warm chocolate cake, green-tea génoise, green tea and strawberry ice cream, and a beautiful sorrel chiffonade over the dish. A dessert you will, perhaps, rarely see outside of a Japanese restaurant is Roasted Soy Bean Panna Cotta (140 baht). The delight in this dessert was the fact that it wasn't overly sweet and I could taste the genmai (roasted rice), and the fresh strawberry added tang. Yum!
To say the Ocken is doing everything right, so far, would be an understatement. One of the best things it does, and does well, is that diners can order sparkling water for a mere 60 baht! Yes, none of that foreign-water import at break-the-bank prices. However, if you're into that, Ocken does serve it, too. Their best cocktail would have to be the Salty Pineapple (320 baht), a wonderful concoction of Campari, dark rum, pineapple and salt. And fear not: keeping up the with the times, all drinks are served with bamboo straws.
