Though not awarded stars, Sensi Italian was inducted into another pretty exclusive club: L'Assiette Michelin (Michelin Plate), denoting "restaurants where the inspectors have discovered quality food."
Hiding in a leafy back alley, the restaurant occupies a largish, high-ceilinged, modernised villa. Announced by a mini-manicured garden, the dining room features jazzy parquet floor, leather Italian armchairs, spot lighting, exuberant art, and white cloth-covered tables, each with a lantern and fresh flower. There's a small bar, then a stretch wooden chef's table that peeks into the culinary lab.
Hailing from near Venice, Stefano's CV names Enoteca Pinchiorri, Japan, and triple-Michelin-star Le Calandre, Italy, beside Rossini's and JoJo in Bangkok. He's worked alongside several Michelin-starred guest chefs.
"I follow traditional Italian recipes, but the approach is contemporary," he says. Michelin nails it with: "a cuisine that respects the classics but embraces contemporary mores." Intense flavours based on imported fresh produce complimented with sophisticated reductions and emulsions explains more.
On a visit in late August, Merlo had revamped 80% of the menu and was working on the final 20%, adding more choices while keeping favourites like truffled risotto and steaks.
He'd adapted the kitchen to his ways, including training staff how to handle ingredients, given that his fetish is instantaneous freshness. For instance pasta is made every day; and shown to guests on a spatula before cooking to prove it.
"Eat pasta when you make it and you can really taste the freshness."
Sensi's signature eggplant parmagiano (fried eggplant, tomato, mozzarella, basil) (490) is revamped to be "more elegant."
Capressi (560) is now an aria of flavour with milk and cream espuma inside fresh buffalo mozzarella, a gelatin of sweet cherry tomato on top and tomato, basil, extra virgine olive oil beneath.
Carbonara (490) is also revisited with soft, floury fagottini pasta shaped into nipple cones replacing spaghetti or rigatoni. The cones are filled with classic egg yolk, pecorino sheep's milk cheese and guanciale cured pork cheek sauce. With more sauce and guanciale outside, the inverse explosion of velvety pasta, cheese and sour meat is virtuoso.
Signature truffle risotto (980) has been to the clinic, too. The risotto is cooked with Italian truffle paste and finished with butter and Parmesan cheese. A yellow eye of egg yolk injected with truffle sauce somehow hangs together until you swirl it. Fresh truffle shavings on top makes it yet more exquisite.
Lean, low-fat suckling pig meat is brined overnight then sousvide-warmed until sublimely tender, before crisping the thin skin and serving. The sweet, tender pork calves effortlessly. Pumpkin/orange mash, French beans and pig bone jus with toasted coffee essence caps an awesome ensemble.
Stefano's artistry is further to the fore with Lemon Km 678 (325) – a hard-shell, lemon-shaped confection, sprayed with gold powder for shimmy, spun around organic Chiang Mai lemon (grown 678 km from Sensi), white chocolate mousse and lemon jelly. Crack it and eat the soft centre and hard shell together. There's cream and chocolate but the after taste is cleansing, light and refreshing.
Stefano has also revamped the tasting menu concept into one fixed five-course menu and "carta bianca" (blank slate) seven- and nine-course offerings using the finest produce on the day.
Coming up is a wine bar and deli wing.
While the food is operatic the soundtrack is pop. But stuffy Sensi is not.
Directions: Narathiwat Ratchanakarin 15, take 3rd turning on right, Lane 5, LHS/or from Suan Plu Krungthep Technic junction, Narathiwat Ratchaakarin 17, Lane 5, RHS.
Tel. 02 117 1618
