J'Aime was first introduced to Bangkok in 2014 as an overseas offshoot of France's two-Michelin-starred, family-run restaurant La Côte Saint Jacques in Burgundy.
Since then the 60-seat establishment, directed by chef-patron Jean-Michel Lorain, has been treasured by epicures about town for its distinctive culinary flair that blends French haute cuisine with Asian culinary bliss in a contemporary dining ambience.
And up to many people's expectations, last year it was awarded a Michelin star in the inaugural Michelin Guide Bangkok.
A recent dinner visit to J'Aime after being star-studded revealed to me that the four-year-old restaurant has slightly changed. Or I should say "grown up".
The slightly-revamped dining room, previously dominated by a cherry purple hue, now looks more mature and intimate with a warmer colour scheme and an addition of private corner tables.
Although a frivolous, topsy-turvy installation of a decorative grand piano is still there, lazy Susans and chopsticks have lately been omitted from the dining tables.
In terms of top culinary quality, nothing has changed, as I was told. There's just a slight adjustment in the way the meal is served. J'Aime is now a full-steam fine dining restaurant offering a series of multi-course degustation meals and à la carte dishes. No more sharing plates.
The kitchen is still under the dexterous helm of executive chef Amerigo Sesti. It cooks up Sesti's seasonal creations as well as the Lorain family's two-starred recipes, some dating back to that of chef Jean-Michel's father.
The current à la carte menu runs until July. The 30-item collection lists appetisers such as Hokkaido scallops with black garlic gelée and Jerusalem artichoke emulsion (870 baht) and frog legs with morel mushrooms and black cardamom (1,200 baht). Main courses include Brittany lobster glazed with herb butter, zity pasta gratin and bok choy coulis (2,900 baht), pan-seared Kamui beef fillet with apple purée (2,550 baht) and roasted pigeon fillet and truffle white pudding, mashed potato and salsify (2,210 baht).
J'Aime's executive chef Amerigo Sesti.
Seasonal tasting menu comes in 5-course, 7-course and 9-course options. Prices are 2,899 baht net, 3,699 baht net and 4,399 baht net per person, respectively. Wine pairing packages are also available.
I went for the 7-course menu, said to be a signature selection.
It began with complimentary amuse-bouche of potato foam with herb oil, croutons and smoked paprika.
Representing the first course was a piping hot caramelised onion soup flavoured with daikon and crowned with super thin and crispy Gruyère tuile.
Next dish, a beautifully delicate, cool-temperature exhibition of oceanic delights, was razor clams in clam jus gelée with savoy cabbage, fresh oyster leaf and sea urchin cream.
It was followed by a lovely-looking warm dish of special Gillardeau oyster in rye porridge and lettuce purée with broccoli crêpes, buckwheat stick and peppercorn bark.
Less photogenic but voted the best course of the set was steamed sea bass served with celeriac julienne and truffle butter. The dish boasted a perfectly-cooked fillet of sea bass on a bed of crunchy, spaghetti-like strips of celeriac dressed with frothy truffle cream sauce and black truffle shavings.
Veal sweetbread has long been the Lorain's speciality dish for decades. My dinner saw pan-seared veal sweetbread à la Grenobloise with brown butter emulsion and caper powder.
A nice and velvety piece of sweetbread, from a three-month-old calf, was flash-fried and glazed with burnt butter sauce before being served on a sautéed mixture of shallot, crouton and capers with fine strips of caper leaves.
Even when it came to a homely ingredient like pork, the kitchen put as much finesse and creativity as it did with luxury produce. Farmed pork à la royale with chestnut purée and wild mushroom was brilliant, both visually and by taste.
It presented a disc-shaped pieces of sousvide pork roll (made with pork meat, chopped pork ears and truffle) dressed with pork blood-chocolate sauce on a bed of hand-rolled fresh pasta and creamy thick chestnut-parsnip purée.
Dessert was offered in an assortment style featuring J'Aime's all-time popular passion fruit soufflé, mille-feuille napoleon cake and rose ice cream in crystallised rose petals and buttery tuile. All wrapped up the meal flawlessly.
For this set, the all-French selection of matching wines include Vouvray Pétillant Brut NV, Domaine Champalou, Loire valley; Saint-Véran, Terroirs de Davayé, 2016, Maison Verget, Burgundy; Côtes Du Rhône Clavin Blanc 2015, Domaine De La Vieille Julienne, Rhône Valley; Bourgogne Rouge 2015, Benjamin Leroux, Burgundy; and Muscat de Beaumes de Venise Domaine, Des Bernardins, 2015.
An additional platter of blue cheese, banana and Champagne is available at 200 baht per person.
The restaurant has a large private dinning room that caters up to 16 diners. All guests are always guaranteed with flawless, charming service by English-speaking, front-of-the house staff led by Jean Michel's daughter and general manager Marine Lorain.
