It is common knowledge that Rama V was the first monarch from the kingdom of Siam to embark on a journey to Europe in 1897 as is the fact that he was the one who brought back cultures, traditions and culinary tastes of the lands he visited and introduced them to Thailand, especially to Thai kitchens.
What isn't common knowledge is that Vilas, the newest Thai fine dining restaurant in Bangkok whose doors have been opened for a week today, takes this history and adopts methods of cooking from the kitchens of Rama V and adapts them for the modern palate. The Thai meaning of Vilas is "from other lands", which refers to the ingredients used, but it is also the name of a rare orchid found in the northern Thai mountains, where chef Prin Polsuk, the visionary mastermind behind Vilas, is from. At the helm of Vilas' open kitchen is Spanish chef Pepe Dasi Jiménez.
The concept behind Vilas, in Mahanakhon Cube on Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Road, is the complete opposite of Samrub For Thai, chef Prin's signature restaurant, where all the ingredients are locally-sourced and everything is 100% Thai. "Dishes at Vilas reference Rama V's personal cookbooks, with the taste and flavours being Thai, but draws a lot of influences from other lands. The current menu, aptly named "First Love Of Vilas" (B4,500++ for 12 courses) leans towards Japanese ingredients "and chef Prin and I have developed this menu together as we bounce ideas off each other", says chef Jiménez. "The recipes are kind of Samrub For Thai-style, but we modify and change the presentation and techniques. When you are at Vilas, you'll notice techniques from Europe and other parts of Asia on the plate, though once you eat it, you'll see that the Thai taste is prevalent," he adds.
From left: Head chef Pepe Dasi Jiménez; Relish. (Photos courtesy of Vilas Bangkok)
Begins the meal with Vilas Thai wafer or kanom bueng. The crispy crepe is served on a clay baguette and with three bites: ankimo or monkfish liver from Hokkaido; young coconut glazed with palm sugar, fish sauce and spices; and the Portuguese-influenced egg drop or thong yod. Quite an unusual first bite, the fishy after-taste may not be for everyone's palate. I have expressed my love for sea urchin or uni many a time and the next bite was nothing short of delicious. Sea urchin with seepweed is served on a "tinned roof" and is a miang of sorts. The idea of this dish comes from the South where they use bai chakram as vessels for the miang. At Vilas, bai chakram is used to make the cracker that holds the uni, lotus leaf, which represents the Buddhist spirit of Thailand, and Japanese oba or shiso leaf. The next course is perhaps my favourite on the entire menu and is simply named "Relish". Here the nam phrik uses Japanese crab, but the main highlight of this one bite is the bitter gourd cracker. The nam phrik kai poo or spicy crab roe dip, is mixed with a stock made from the crab carcass and is served with snakefruit and bai chamuang.
The Charcoal-grilled sea eel comes with a nam pla waan, a sweet fish sauce from Pranburi, and is served with chilli, shallots, kaffir lime leaf, garlic, coconut crumble and ikura. It is not only the food that gets attention at Vilas. Under the design-oriented eye of chef Prin's culinary partner Mint Jarukittikun, the dish the eel is served in is made to look like the charcoal-blistered skin of the fish. If you've lived in Southeast Asia, you've probably heard of balut or the fertilised developing egg embryo, boiled and eaten from the shell. Steamed preserved krill with coconut cream and good eggs mimics the popular street snack, but is served in a chawanmushi style. The organic eggs come from Suphan Buri and the shrimp, which appears to be hatching from the egg, comes from Surat Thani. The egg is served in an egg-shaped dish on an egg tray and comes with a paper boat, where you put the prawn tail shell after you've eaten it. Making sure nothing goes to waste, the shell is used for stock for the dish.
Grilled sticky rice uses black rice from Sakon Nakhon on a bamboo skewer stuffed with nam phrik pla raa and topped with bottarga from Japanese mullet. Accompanying the rice is grilled sea snail with Isan pineapple-fermented fish sauce. The saltiness of the rice goes well with the sweet sea snail. The Fermented soy bean soup of squid is a mix of Chinese, Japanese and Thai ingredients, namely soybean, miso and sweet basil. It comes with Japanese octopus stuffed with squid and minced pork. Another favourite is the Deep-fried preserved sweetfish. The ayu from Japan is fermented with rice vinegar and served on a sauce of nam phrik pow, along with a Korean-style fried oba leaf.
From left: Charcoal-grilled sea eel and fish roe; Steamed preserved krill with coconut cream and good eggs; Ginkgo nut custard and glacéd fruit.
"For the main course, we wanted to make a Japanese or Indian curry but the kaeng kari doesn't use any ingredient from India except for turmeric, which is also part of southern Thai cuisine," says chef Jiménez. The Curry and coconut rice is for sharing. The curry paste is made using turmeric, coriander seeds and roots and chestnuts. Australian beef cheek and tongue are added to the curry, along with deep-fried chestnuts for texture. The curry is served with fruits like star fruit, rose apple, heart of palm and a salad. Though delicious, I felt the curry needed a kick to it.
I was looking forward to the Ginkgo nut custard and glacéd fruit, which is cooked like a Spanish-style flan and draws inspiration from chef Jiménez's heritage. The flan has a shallot cracker and glazed plums for freshness. I love, love flan and this dessert was yummy, especially with the smokiness from the caramel that comes through. Though the sweet joy did not end there. The last bite is kanom krok, the classic Thai street snack. "To combine both the sweet and salty version, we make a salted coconut ice cream and top it with Japanese chives. The side accompaniment represents the fruits that one buys on the streets with the salt, sugar and chilli dip. We make a jelly with sour mango and add some som saa for flavour," explains the chef. The candy drop helps cleanse the palate after the kanom krok. A perfect last bite!
"We want to replicate what already exists but have fun in a humorous yet refined way with dishes that are punchy, pungent and surprising," says Prin, and needless to say, Vilas may have accomplished just that. Line: @vilasbkk or email reservation@vilasbangkok.com.
