Red Sky restaurant - the sky-high, ultra lux dining venue at Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld Hotel - is hosting an enchanting finale to 2018 with its 8-course New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner.
Fulfilling the demand for fine-dining fare by Bangkok’s increasingly informed and quality-savvy gourmand scene, Red Sky has created this intriguing suite of exquisitely prepared and -presented dishes that are sure to delight the most discerning palate.
The man behind this culinary Tour de Force is Chef Christian Ham, whose impressive 22-year career profile boasts some of the most respected names in the world of fine dining, including L’Atelier Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong; Taillevent, Paris; and Au Crocodile, Strasbourg. No newcomer to Thailand, the French native has manned the ovens at D’Sens, Bangkok, and served as Chef Instructor at Cordon Bleu in Bangkok - having also taught at the famed culinary school’s Shanghai campus.
Our exclusive epicurean odyssey preview began with an amuse bouche of French Watercress Soup and Poached Cap Horn Oyster, the potage’s delicate savour texturally complemented by a French cream base.
Escalating the flavour intensity, a starter of Oscietra Caviar (30g) was served on a bed of ice. Among the world’s most sought after and priciest caviar, Oscietra is harvested from hybrid beluga-sturgeon fish whose roe is larger and more flavourful than other varieties. Its inclusion on the menu speaks volumes to the uncompromising quality and exclusive-origin standards employed in the sourcing for this inspired year-end feast.
Gazing out over a pink-orange tinged sunset cityscape from the restaurant’s 55th-floor domicile, our reverie was pleasantly paused with the arrival of a Pan-seared Foie gras with caramelized apples. The perfectly browned duck liver comes decked out in a sesame seed topcoat, with crunchy gingerbread bits dotting the mulled wine-steaked plate. Completing this arresting presentation is a gingerbread crisp-horn which towers over the scene in dramatic tableaux.
Next, we are presented with a bowl containing a trio of red wine-candied chestnuts nestled within a cloud of chestnut emulsion, into which a Light French Chestnut Broth is decanted at-table. A petit baguette slice is topped Black winter truffle and rosettes of uber-exclusive Echiré butter. Made entirely by hand in a very small area of western France, Echiré is the world’s most exclusive and expensive butter, highly valued by top chefs and discerning gourmands.
The Medallions of Brittany Lobster in white port wine sauce quite lives up to expectations of the tony crustacean harvested from the French maritime region famed for its seafood. Firmly textured with a distinctive cold-water flavour, the shellfish is presented as conveniently pre-sectioned tail tronçons and whole de-shelled claws.
Following a palate-refreshing Pink Champagne Sherbet and Champagne “float” with long pepper coulis, we sampled both of the mains options, the first of which was the Kobe Wagyu Beef Tenderloin (marbling rated A3) served with Truffle Mashed Potatoes. The geometrically stark plating features a “reservoir” of Perigueux sauce made with Madeira wine, foie gras and Black Winter Perigord Truffle, which is cleverly dammed-in by a barrier of piped potato mash bisecting the plate.
For the second mains option, a Pan-seared Monkfish is served with a brilliantly blue-violet hued mash made from the prized French Vitelotte potato, the three-dollop tuber armada “setting sail” across a sea of lobster-seasoned Homardine wine sauce.
An afters course featuring a delicately crisp Tatin Tart of poached William pear and whole chestnut served with luxuriously smooth whisky ice cream was a thoughtfully light yet satisfying finish to this uncommonly pleasing New year dining experience.
The price includes one bottle of Mumm Grand Cordon Brut Champagne per couple (half-bottle for single diners), along with complementary admission to Red Sky’s glittering rooftop Grand Countdown Party featuring live music and a front row seat to watch the city light up in pyrotechnic splendour at the stroke of midnight.
8-course New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner at Red Sky
31 December 2018 7pm-late B15,555++ per person.
For reservations: Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at Centralworld. 999/99 Rama 1 Road. Tel. 02 100 6255. Email: [email protected].
