And now for something completely different: quite how different I did not realise until I got to 87 at the Conrad Hotel
Various attractions drew me to this new hotel and it’s top restaurant. I was expecting live music and good food, but also it’s ‘just opened’ tag attracted my ‘like to be on the ball’ instincts.
I did not know what to expect but my wildest dreams could not have conjured up this cutting edge designer restaurant with a fascinating fusion menu based primarily on Chinese and Japanese cuisines.
I had to do several double takes before I really began to appreciate the finer aspects of the design. I think the point that really came across to me was the attention to detail of the whole design, from the lighting, to the table settings, to the music. There was no doubt somebody had taken a concept and developed it fully.
The pictures are flat screen televisions with rotating art photos and the menu on one set, fire and the solar system et al on the other set. The music was hard to define but in the end I decided it was lift music with attitude. Flowers and pots are featured, with the symmetrical pots display outlined by subtly changing lights. The waitresses wear black overalls.
As if all this is not enough to contend with then there is the menu, which is encased in plastic. I do not mean polythene but hard thick plastic. This meant that once I had the wine list, the daily menu, the snack menu and the a la carte menu in front of me I had about a foot of piled up plastic. All very unwieldy I thought, and somehow the one item that did not fit into the overall design.
The daily menu was priced at 487 Baht, called the 87-mile set. I saw what looked like 4 starters, 4 main courses and 4 puddings. So I assumed I should select one from each. Indeed most of these items were on the main menu. So I made my selection of Roast Duck Poh Plah followed by Misto glazed Atlantic cod with chilli macadamia nut mash and papaya basil chutney. All the items were very fusion oriented with place names and styles popping up in most dishes.
By now I had a reasonably priced bottle of Sauvignon Blanc (1,200 Baht) and had perused the menu and was ready to order. Not really my style I decided, but when in Rome…..
To the waiter I announced my choices. But no, he explained the menu was all the items. Confused, I decreed, “let it be all.”
A minute later an eggcup like object was placed in front of me. A scallop I was told. This was the taster, or amuse bouche, as the more pretentious call it.
The first two courses arrived, with correct timing, on triangular plates with a small taster portion of each of the four dishes neatly displayed and finished in excruciating detail with shaved and cotton like threads of the garnishes.
I preferred the four starters, which were more to my taste, but all the dishes were exquisitely prepared with the different tastes clearly defined. My initial scepticism was replaced with a feeling that I was enjoying a genuinely different gastronomic experience.
However the piece de resistance was yet to come; the puddings looked too good to eat. One of the hardest things to do when presenting food is to make it three dimensional, height is well nigh impossible to create. But on this dessert plate there were spires of meringue and a mini spire of cinnamon. It all tasted pretty good too, although I was not convinced about the chilli chocolate ice cream.
Not only did the food impress me but the price also. My meal with a bottle of wine was just under 2,000 Baht.
I spoke to one of the mangers and asked him how he would describe the cooking style. The chef is Chinese and the Chinese influence is clear. But the food is thought of as international, and I suppose it is. Cutting edge design with cutting edge fusion cooking: barely what I expected to find on a quiet Sunday evening in Bangkok.