From the very first few steps upon entering Blunos, a week-old dining establishment on the 14th floor of Eastin Grand Sathorn Bangkok, I sensed a fun-filled warmth to match my perception of the man who's behind it.
In a pair of Union Jack trousers and with his trademark walrus moustache, Martin Blunos was as funky, bold and jolly as any dining guest would want their chef to be. He greeted his customers with a big grin and often some chummy talk.
Two-Michelin-starred Martin Blunos: "In the end it's not the accolades you hang on your wall which count — it's the empty plates and satisfied smiles that truly mean the most. At Blunos I'll be making real food for real people."
Yet under his super-amiable demeanour lies a cooking dexterity which, since 1989, has brought the British chef a total of four Michelin stars for his two previous restaurants, Lettonie in Bristol and Blinis in Bath.
Over the years prior to his arrival to Bangkok, which he seemed to have adopted quickly as his second home, Blunos was a busy TV personality. He hosted his own show and appeared in many food programmes, including Iron Chef UK and MasterChef Australia.
Opened just a week ago in a long, semi-open space by the hotel's sky-high pool is Blunos' first restaurant outside his native England.
He said that the eatery, despite carrying his name, is not meant to represent the cuisine he's long been treasured for. Lettonie and Blinis built their glory from Franco-British haute cuisine with Latvian touches.
Here, it's more about hearty comfort food with a dash of globalised cookery served in a sharing portion. A good number of dishes on the menu, which is presented in a gastropub style on broadsheet paper, blends the culinary bliss of the East with that of the West. The rest represents Blunos' modern-day take on classics European recipes.
From a list of nibbles and small plates, we had joy with warm crab-cake lollipops accompanied by creamy wasabi mayo (320 baht), as we did with Middle East-style vegetarian fritters: fennel-onion bhajis with cucumber raita (130 baht).
A couple of not-so-foodie friends at my table were amazed to see me so blissfully addicted to Blunos' smoked salmon mousse with garlic croutes (230 baht) that I almost licked the plate clean.
Bone-in pork ribs with apple-ginger sauce and chickpeas.
It was the tastiest salmon mousse I'd ever had, and superbly complemented by supple slices of top-quality Norwegian smoked salmon and paper-thin, garlic-buttered toast.
Meanwhile, they fell in love with the slow-cooked beef short-rib nuggets on a bed of creamy horseradish sauce (390 baht). The super-tender, well-glazed beef cubes exhibited delicate layers of sweet fat and a comforting Asian taste profile that reminded me of home-cooked Thai-Chinese caramelised spiced pork belly.
Another dish that possessed an Asian influence was bone-in pork ribs (500 baht). The pork was braised in apple juice with ginger and spices, and with chickpea as a carbohydrate complement.
If you like Peking duck and can't afford to miss a great pizza, I recommend that you go for Blunos' Peking duck pizza (570 baht). This gastropub favourite comes with a topping that features the hotels' pride and joy: Chef Man Chinese restaurant's all-time best-selling meaty Peking duck.
On a bubbly crisp crust came a generous and flavourful helping of shredded roasted-duck meat interlaced with fine strips of spring onions and cucumber, topped with sweet hoisin sauce. It's perfect grub for sharing.
I was surprised yet delighted to find lobster rolls (490 baht), a New England classic sandwich, on the menu here. Chef Blunos said that with most typical lobster rolls the crustacean is underused and tends to be subdued by a large bun.
So for his creation, the lobster is treated as the real star. On a garlic-buttered soft roll was offered a hefty portion of naturally flavourful poached Canadian lobster meat, accompanied by orange-zest mayonnaise.
British fish pie is a rarity in Bangkok, so I didn't miss my opportunity to sample one by a kitchen wizard of Britain.
The Royale (650 baht) is the chef's value-added version of the classic fish pie. Underneath a creamy mashed potato surface were a sumptuous assortment of milk-poached Canadian lobster (half a crustacean) and tiger prawn, together with salmon, smoked haddock, mussels, squids and scallops in rich cream sauce with peas and dill. As someone quite new to fish pie, I found the dish soothingly reminded me of a creamy Norwegian fish chowder.
Blunos believes that dessert time should be a moment of fun and real sharing, so he came up with a creation that his dining guests can have fun with and be indulged (or playfully tortured) by at the same time.
For that, the chocolate roulette (280 baht) is highly recommended. Six choux pastry balls, each filled with chocolate ganache but with only one piece, aka the bullet, secretly seethed with chilli. Despite the unexpected fieriness on a poor friend's tongue, I'd say it gave a delicious childlike fun to our meal.
Those not in for the taste-buds adventure can opt for the Eastin Mess (230 baht), a house rendition of Eton Mess. Instead of a haphazard pile of crushed meringue, cream and strawberries, you'll have a neatly curated platter of thin meringue with dollops of whipped cream dressed with fruit compote, fresh strawberries and roasted almond slices.
To go with the wholesome cuisine, the dining room, backed by a dynamic open-front kitchen, provided a casual, communal feel, capped with a nice playlist of favourite songs including those of The Village People and Flo Rida.
An extensive floor-to-ceiling glass façade that allowed a poolside view and sweeping city panorama helped create a beachside resort-restaurant vibe.
Blunos
Eastin Grand Sathorn Bangkok, 14th floor South Sathon Road Call 02-210-8100 Open daily for lunch and dinner Park at the hotel's car park Most credit cards accepted
