Once upon a time, amid a fast-paced evolution of the Bangkok dining scene, Whale’s Belly - despite its Pinocchio-inspired title - was introduced to the city as a fine-dining establishment.
The restaurant’s elegant setting, graced with goldhued draperies and lustrous candelabras that well complemented its culinary finesse, was highly treasured by highbrow epicures. Even at the peak of folksy, Instagram-centric gastronomy, the Whale had always stayed true to its fine-dining stature.
Seven years have passed. The Whale now realises that maybe it’s the audacity of Pinocchio, and not the humble old soul of Geppetto, it should follow.
My three dining partners and I were at the restaurant for a casual dinner just recently, after a major renovation. The now-80-seater, under the bold direction of a new owner, boasts a younger, brighter, more inviting vibe.
The visual impression may have changed, but not its kitchen dexterity.
The younger, brighter, more casual setting of Whale’s Belly.
Today the restaurant continues to offer Western fine-dining flair, but with a smart introduction of Asian pungency.
Meals here start off with complimentary amusebouche and are accompanied by warm artisanal bread.
Of a slightly-adjusted, 50-item à la cart menu, our meal began with the kitchen’s new take on the prawn cocktail (420 baht). It’s a flavourful platter of firm and crunchy tiger prawns dressed in a thick and pungent sauce made with kochujang (sweet and spicy Korean chilli paste) and garnished with tobiko (flying fish roe) and frisse salad.
Fans of tuna tartare would cry tears of joy over a sumptuous unification of hand-diced sashimi-grade akami tuna with tobiko, ikura (salmon roe) and caviar (620 baht).
And don’t miss the lobster bisque if you consider yourself a connoisseur. The Whale’s rendition (480 baht) featured a perfectly-seasoned bisque in which Cajun-spiced prawn bathed with a gummily soft sousvide egg yolk.
Yuzu cold capellini has long been the restaurant’s well-celebrated signature dish. The original recipe features sashimi-grade tuna on a bed of blue crabmeat and fine pasta seethed with spicy yuzu and white truffle oil.
That night, however, we opted for a new seafood centrepiece, a whole Canadian lobster (2,250 baht), ideal for sharing. We were satisfied by the fine quality of the ingredients as much as by the peppery sweet zest that lent to the chilled dish an exciting contrast.
The kitchen treats its supply of meat and seafood professionally, and the results were indisputable on every dish we had.
Crustaceans were so perfectly cooked that their plump and flavoursome meat offered a pleasant resistance in every bite. The fish, even when it came in small pieces, was always supple and never squishy. Meanwhile to offer steak fans an ideal mouthfeel, different cuts were executed with precisely different techniques.
For example, all-time best-seller Chateaubriand (3,950 baht) is slowly cooked sous-vide before being pan-roasted for a nice brown crust.
The steak, represented by a 400g Australian wagyu tenderloin, thus exhibited an extraordinarily lean and tender texture complemented impressively by a full beefy taste.
For another popular choice of steak, Australian wagyu hanger steak (880 baht), the kitchen chooses a flash-searing technique. The 160g, pre-sliced steak, served with crispy gnocchi, edamame, mustard leaves and black truffle sauce, offered even more chewing pleasure.
Steaks here come with two choices of side dishes and sauces. My personal recommendations are the truffled mashed potato and polenta, and no sauce. Ask for the restaurant’s handpicked collection of salt.
Those who love the luxury of steak Rossini but prefer to ditch red meat go for the Hokkaido scallop rossini (1,250 baht). Of it, a generously thick piece of impeccably seared Rougie foie gras came stacked on super-supple, juicy and naturally sweet pan-seared Japanese scallops in a pool of black truffle cream sauce.
Roasted Cajun-spiced gindara with Asian salsa.
The restaurant is introducing a new tasting menu that they call Whale’s Belly Journey. The menu comes with 3-course and 4-course options, priced at 1,000 baht and 1,250 baht respectively.
Diners are to choose from seasonal selections of generously portioned starters, soup, main courses and desserts prepared to original recipes inspired by the whale’s oceanic trip through different waters.
Of the set, I totally fell in love with New England seafood chowder. The light and tangy white-wineseethed cream soup - in which hearty morsels of squid, mussels, sizeable morsels of salmon and gindara (sablefish) came bathing - proved the best of its kind in Bangkok.
Equally scrumptious was the Cajun-spiced roasted fillet of gindara with Asian-style salsa, roasted cauliflower and whipped potato.
The restaurant is open for both lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday, and has a 4-course weekend brunch at 1,150 baht per person. Options include panfried foie gras, truffle risotto, lobster pasta, braised beef cheek and fish bouillabaisse, to name a few.
At the end of a meal, guests will never leave Whale’s Belly with their sweet craving unfulfilled.
The kitchen does as excellent a job on dessert as it does on savoury entrées.
Try the lemon tart with Madagascar vanilla bean ice cream (320 baht) and a platter of Australian strawberry, coconut cream gel, strawberry gel and strawberry sorbet (240 baht), and you’ll be delighted.
The dining room, with sections offering different gastronomic feels, was briskly attended to by the same old team of super efficient, English speaking staff. Reservations are recommended.
Scallop Rossini with black truffle cream sauce.
Australian wagyu Chateaubriand.
Akami tuna tartare with tobiko, salmon roe and caviar.
