Saffron, Banyan Tree Bangkok | Bangkok Post: Food

The people who made spas synonymous with Thailand apply similar approaches to Thai cuisine with equally stimulating results

Anyone old enough to remember when the spa craze first started in Thailand is quite likely to still indelibly associate it with two words: Banyan Tree. Not the one in Bodhgaya under which Sidhartha became The Buddha, but the then-nascent international hotel chain that today numbers 30 resorts and hotels around the world.

And if, by chance, you\'d forgotten how Banyan Tree was really the first hotel brand to put a spa at the heart of the operation, you\'re sure to remember the moment you step inside Banyan Tree Bangkok.

Everything about the interior, from the design to the aroma, emanates from a spa core that sucks you in and makes you yearn for a treatment yourself.

Years may have rolled by and many competitors come on the scene but Banyan Tree retains its original aura of being a bit special. You\'ve only to ask any of the many guests from points around the region where such luxuries are priced prohibitively, who fly to Banyan Trees even if only overnight, simply to enjoy what remains the archetypal spa experience.

What\'s all that got to do with the hotel\'s less featured Thai restaurant, Saffron?

Saffon Rice

I\'d say a lot. The association kind of explains the cuisine\'s out of the ordinary appeal. Run through a checklist of sub-genres of Thai cuisine, by region, royal association and pretention, and you end up ticking all the boxes for Saffron without quite getting to a satisfactory definition overall. It\'s not solely spa cuisine either, though it does have some elements of that. It\'s not street food. It\'s not cliche{aac}d. And it doesn\'t try to be all things at once.

What it expresses is a masterful command of Thai ingredients and recipes, including rarities and dishes long forgotten. Just as Banyan Tree spa treatments are renowned for their essential oils derived from indigenous herbs and whatnot, so Saffron\'s cuisine conjures culinary ingredients into dishes that transcend the sum of their parts.

That is not to take anything away from Chef Renu, a diminutive, warm, motherly figure who commands the Saffron kitchen at Banyan Tree Bangkok. Indeed a lot of the knowledge is her own and, recognising this, she is also the group\'s Master Chef and Trainer for Thai cuisine. Saffron, Banyan Tree\'s signature restaurant, is featured in most of its hotels and resorts around the world, including far flung destinations such as Mexico, Ras Al Khaimah and Seychelles

Kong Wang Ruam

But if you\'re still not quite sold on the idea of experiencing Thai cuisine at its holistic best, perhaps the awesome venue will tip the balance. If there\'s a higher Thai restaurant anywhere I\'d like to know about it. Fifty-two stunning stories above terra firma in that tall thin landmark building like an aerial Nautilus with Captain Nemo at the controls, Saffron commands a dramatic one and a half stories sorted into a side with stunning city views, a side with equally stunning river views, and down the windy stairs, two private dining rooms and, outdoors, Latitude Lounge, a great place for pre- and/or post-meal drinks with fresh air.

Saffron\'s de{aac}cor is part spa, part Thai classical, part cutting-edge contemporary. Most noticeable is the play of light, colour and reflections. A complete virtual Saffron is reflected in the floor to ceiling windows. Ornately carved temple lintels and lotus blossoms strike a heritage, meditative note. Tableware is finest jade celadon placed on stylish cracked glass tables of complementary colour. Standout hues are shades of celadon green and the betel juice red that complements it so well.

As for the staff, in their new beige tunics with dark brown mandarin collars, cuffs and pantaloons, they might just as well deliver a firm massage as food. And like good spa therapists, there\'s something healthy about them too. Relaxed and friendly without being familiar, they use your name, they smile, and they know what they\'re talking about when it comes to explaining the dishes.

Complimentary plate

But it\'s the food that steals the headlines. The meal begins with a waitress washing one\'s hands with water poured from a celadon pitcher into an orchid strewn bowl then dried on a soft towel. It\'s a bit like how spa treatments begin with foot scrubs.

And it\'s just as well because a complimentary plate of crackers and dips and a separate amuse bouche now arrive requiring the use of fingers. There are two types of crackers; regular rice crackers and signature Saffron crackers, larger, orange and much thinner, made from cake flour infused with chilli paste, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf. Onto these we alternately spoon chicken in spicy tomato sauce, shrimp in lemongrass-infused coconut milk, and grilled green chilli, all fresh, refined flavours that you don\'t find presented this charming way many places else. The AB was a fine pomelo salad tightly wrapped in betel leaf cone and sealed with a delicate yellow flower; a nice touch on a great munch.

Next onto a couple of appetizers. Khong wang ruam (Bt700 for two) enables you to sample several items at once, including Deep-fried prawn wrapped with crispy rice noodle, Grilled tender chilli marinated chicken breast satay with peanut sauce, Fried floppy sea bass in fresh rice spring roll with mango plum sauce, and Banana blossom prawn salad, each exquisite, interesting and satisfying in its own way.

Muek Phad Tua Lantao

Nor could we resist a plate of Mieng khum pla thod (270) where our fingers also came in handy. This is where you make little beetle leaf cones yourself and then slip diced ginger, chilli, onion, peanuts, cashews, lemon and so on inside and, in this case, top off with a luxury ingredient, crisp fried sea bass cubes, then douse with wonderfully smooth tamarind sauce. The spicy, sour, sweet, salty flavours explode delectably like fireworks in the mouth.

And so to our soup. No not for once ho hum Tom yam gung, though it is on the menu. Feeling a little adventurous we choose instead ethnic earthen bowls of Tom sab, braised Australian short rib ossobucco (300), a spicy sour delight premised on lemon juice, basil leaf, galangal, lemongrass and melt-in-the-mouth cubes of beef. Hot in both senses, nourishing and wholesome, it fair knocked them prawns off their perch.

This brought us to our shared main course selections.

Gai yang khrueng gaeng comprised Thai barbecue curry-marinated chicken, papaya salad (400) drizzled with coconut sauce, sprinkled with white sesame and placed on a bed of papaya salad, an underplayed somtam that provided a perfect foil to the juicy chicken.

Pla nueng manao

We also chose Pla nueng manao, magnificent steamed snowfish fillets (750) under a just right chilli-lime sauce with steamed cabbage.

Muek Phad Tua Lantao, wok tossed squid, snow pea, peanuts and squid ink (550) was also terrific. Wonderfully fresh and firm whole pea pods complemented amazingly tender squid and the rare item sauce that is just right.

At this point we enjoyed a sour yet tasty manaow palate cleanser before going onto our star dish: the hottest thing on the menu, Gaeng prik kradook moo (450), roasted peppered pork spare ribs, honeycomb sauce. We did this not because we were drunk but because, for all its fire, it is a great delicacy. Moreover, the accompanying steamed cabbage and green beans in coconut milk worked wonders at tempering the hot flavours, making it very palatable, tender and succulent.

All these were served with a choice of rice from a trolley with the waitress pointing out the particular attributes of each: hilltribe - vitamins; jasmine rice - aroma; wholegrain - digestions, and; signature saffron rice - blood pressure.

Wine-wise there is a good selection but the two red and two white Thai wines look especially tempting, notably, Chenin Blanc Reserve PB Khao Yai (1,600/350) and Shiraz Monsoon Valley (1,500/350).

We concluded simply with Saffron\'s take on fresh mango and sticky rice where the rice came in deep fried cones and accompanied by black and white sesame and homemade coconut ice cream with a strong flavour fortified by dried coconut. This was a bit of a novelty but it did accentuate the dish\'s complementary flavours well.

Either come in a party of four to six and mix and match or take advantage of the currently two, four-course set menu options @ Bt1,500++.

Open daily: Dinner, 6pm -11pm

SAFFRON. Banyan Tree Bangkok. 21/100 South Sathon Road. Tel. 02 679 1200.

Khao Neaw Mamuang