Living up to lofty expectations

Mahanakhon Eatery, Bangkok's latest gastronomic destination and this week's subject of review, opened two weeks ago on the ground floor of the Mahanakhon Cube building that was once home to Dean & Deluca.

The freshly renovated 700m² shared space features a dynamic compound of six restaurants and a wine bar conceptualised to offer a one-of-a-kind cross-kitchen dining experience.

Each restaurant, including Maison du Vin bar on the mezzanine floor, provides an outright dine-in service. However, food from other outlets can always be ordered to your table through the service staff allowing the utmost convenience and boundless gastronomic pleasure.

The clientele is a mix of corporate execs and international expats working in the financial district of Silom-Sathon as well as well-heeled families who flock to the venue on weekends.

Although parking spaces are available, it is more convenient to access the restaurant by BTS Skytrain and get off at Chong Nonsi station, Exit 3, which directly connects to the building.

Isabella's Italian-style rotisserie chicken.

Avril Gourmet & Bordier Selection

A repertoire of fine food products long-trusted by Bangkok's top-tier fine dining restaurants is offered directly to consumers at this French-own delicatessen-cum-restaurant.

Available for dine-in and takeaway is a wide range of European charcuteries, cheeses as well as gourmet sandwiches, salad, feuillete puff pastries and bistro-styled dishes.

Highly recommended items include quenelles fish cake with Nantua lobster sauce and rice pilaf (890 baht); pâté en croûte de la Maison with foie gras (299 baht per slice); deluxe cold cuts (695 baht for five choices and 990 baht for eight choices); and house selection of AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée -- a certification of geographically protected origin) cheeses (695 baht for four cheeses and 990 baht for six).

Of the premium cold cuts, there is Proscuitto de Parma, homemade mortadella, Spanish chorizo, hand-cut Iberico bellota and Spanish dry-cured sausage. Meanwhile, the fine cheese platter includes vanilla truffle gouda, Tete de Moine Alpine cheese, semi-hard Fourme D'Ambert blue cheese and brie de Meaux soft cheese, all AOP certified.

The housemade pate en croute prepared with French duck liver, pork and duck terrine, bacon and pistachios in golden-baked pastry crust proved scrumptious.

While there, it's a great idea to bring home a block or two of super-refined artisan French butter by world-famous Jean-Yves Bordier Creameries from Brittany, France. Choice of flavours includes lemon-olive oil, yuzu, seaweed and Roscoff onion. Prices are 390-420 baht for a 125g block.

El' Mar's lobster roll.

El' Mar

El' Mar's open kitchen and breezy dining area are decked out in contemporary style inspired by a sunny day in a French fishing village. Yet, the Gallic-styled maritime gastronomy is represented not just by the restaurant design but also by a neat collection of seafood.

The menu here is guaranteed to delight discerning connoisseurs of seafood.

It lists top-grade oysters and caviar among a vast selection of dishes prepared with fresh seafood such as Maine lobster, Alaskan king crab, Spanish mackerel, bouchot mussels, Manila clams and razor clams.

In the oyster category, which includes Barron Point, Pickering Passage, Tsarskaya, Gilardeau, Kushi and Fin De Claire, customers can have fresh shellfish shucked upon order and served chilled, or prepared to a warm gourmet dish.

The impressive collection of hot starters includes Manila clam chowder, lobster stew, fish 'n' chips, soft-shell crab salad and fried Kirishima oyster with tartar sauce and pickle. The latter (520 baht for a platter of two oysters) was delightful.

Also recommended are lobster roll with garlic aioli accompanied by a side salad and fries (1,070 baht); chilled seafood platter (2,770 baht); and Josper-grilled Australian black onyx Wagyu hanger steak (675 baht).

Salmon confit in snow ocean from Meat & Spice.

Isabella Italian Rotisserie

An outgrowth of Trattoria by Andreas, the most-established Italian eatery in Hua Hin, Isabella Italian Rotisserie is the latest brainchild of chef-patron Andreas Bonifacio.

Isabella's menu matches its large seating capacity, basically comprising more than a dozen of 12 salads and starters, over 20 pasta dishes, 15 pizza and panini sandwich options plus a few Italian desserts.

As its name suggests -- and perhaps to differentiate from that at the original Hua Hin eatery -- the highlight is the rotisserie chicken cooked in a state-of-the-art French rotisserie oven.

The poultry, from an organic free-range farm in Khao Yai, is rubbed with Italian herbs and roasted evenly through slow rotation to exhibit a crispy golden-brown skin that tightly encased the succulent, well-seasoned meat. It is served with chicken gravy, a barbecue sauce and a spicy Thai-style jaew sauce.

A half chicken with a side dish is priced at 490 baht and a whole chicken with two side dishes costs 980 baht. Side options include roasted mix potatoes, French fries, mixed grilled vegetables and truffle mashed potatoes.

The pasta selection offers anything from classics such as arrabbiata and carbonara to house signatures including pici pasta with lamb sauce, spaghetti with rock lobster, fresh tagliatelle with porcini mushroom and sausage, and agnolotti with duck, foie gras and black truffle sauce.

Of the Roman-styled pizza menu, options of toppings range from classic Margherita to burrata Parma ham to black truffle (80-160 baht per slice) while a selection of panini sandwiches include Panino porchetta with Roman-style roasted pork belly and fontina cheese; panio roasted beef with Parmesan; and tomato mozzarella panino with pesto sauce (220-260 baht).

'Two-days one-night' beef short ribs from Meat & Spice.

Meat & Spice

A meat-centric spin-off eatery by Another Hound Cafe, Meat & Spice serves up comforting dishes originally created with an enlivening Western and Thai twist.

The menu includes Wagyu brioche burger; pork chop with chorizo sauce; linguine pasta with spicy pad cha seafood; and rib-eye khao jee E-sarn. The latter (1,150 baht) ingeniously features a medium-grilled Australian rib-eye steak accompanied by a pan-seared sticky rice cake stuffed with pla ra (Thai-styled fermented fish) and served with a spicy tomato chilli relish.

Highly recommended dishes are also "two-days one-night" beef short ribs (1,950 baht). A hefty portion of beef short ribs, sous-vided for 48 hours until the meat becomes extraordinarily tender while retaining its succulency and beefy taste.

The steak is complemented by smoked mayonnaise dipping and barbecue sauces as well as a salad of crunchy bell peppers and curly fries.

Should you be a fan of salmon and or a comforting taste profile of Thai tom kha, don't miss "salmon confit in snow ocean" (450 baht). Of the dish, a thick, glossy and supple fillet of salt-cured salmon slowly confited in low-temperature oil is served in a warm Thai galangal beurre blanc sauce with deep-fried oyster mushroom and ikura salmon roe.

The dessert menu lives up to the long-cherished reputation of the Greyhound Restaurant Group, offering the likes of red hot chilli chocolate sorbet, poached pear in Christmas spiced red wine and ladyfinger banana tart tartin.

Hand-crafted coffee concoction by Other Cafe.

Ici

This fairytale-inspired dessert cafe is heavenly proof that happy endings do exist in real life. And I myself have already lived through it.

Helmed by award-winning patissier chef Arisara "Paper" Chongphanitkul, Ici first opened its door two years ago on Sukhumvit 27 as a reservation-only dessert house.

The sweet creations here are delicate, imaginative and full of sophistication.

There is Blueberry Balloon, a soft cheesecake with blueberry gelee and lemon cream; Snow White, yuzu whipped ganache with apricot-red apple filling and biscuit joconde and crumble base; and Three Little Pigs, a choux cream with strawberry mousse, strawberry gelee, praline white chocolate and vanilla pastry cream.

I had "Like A Singaporean Chilli Crab" (450 baht), an official dessert from the 2019 Michelin Guide Singapore Gala Dinner.

It's a truly lovely dessert made with calamansi mousse, young coconut flesh and tomato sponge cake in a crusty shell with coconut sugar streusel, chilli sauce, coffee caramel, salted egg yolk crumb, and candied coriander.

Ideal for taking home is a selection of financier cakes from original to cocoa to black sesame to praline (65-85 baht); and scones: from plain to pecan caramel to garlic (65-85 baht).

Ici's beverage offerings such as elderflower soda with lemon gelée, butterscotch milk and toddy palm latte (135-195 baht) look very dreamy and promise to revive your fairy tale fantasy.

Other Cafe

First, it was the vast selection of hand-crafted coffee. Then, there were very reasonable prices. But most notably and fascinating of all was the caffeine-packed indulgence in your mouth.

At this time, I'd say Other Cafe is my best-loved coffee house in Bangkok.

The cafe uses sustainably harvested coffee beans from various origins and is run by an award-winning barista.

Drink prices start from 90 baht for a hot coffee, 95 baht for a hot white and 110 baht for an iced concoction and up to 160 baht. But what you get here is three times greater the satisfaction you'll get from some much-hyped counterparts.

Must-have includes The Cube, a cold-brew concentrate with sea salt caramel milk (160 baht); and The Cloud, an espresso shot with apple juice and hazelnut syrup with a thick cloud-like creme Brule espuma (160 baht).

Non-coffee options include green tea, Thai tea, black cacao milk and flavoured soda.