When a restaurant opens in a venue designated for tourists, austere food writers tend to expect less of its culinary offerings.
No matter how much it invests in its kitchen -- financially or through labour -- the food is often perceived to cater to out-of-town visitors.
But what's wrong with that? Is it fair to say that the travellers' taste buds aren't on par with the locals'?
As a matter of fact, no it's not.
This week's subject of review, the Crystal Grill House, was built to showcase world-class gastronomy through local heritage and narrative. Obviously, it doesn't matter who its clientele is, culinary perfection seems to always be the main focus.
Opening a few weeks ago at the busy Asiatique open-air mall, the grill house is a gastronomic sequence following the success of its flagship dining establishment, the Sirimahannop.
The spectacular three-masted Sirimahannop ship, which is permanently docked at Asiatique pier and hosts a restaurant and function space, is a replica of a Royal Thai Navy vessel originally built in the reign of King Mongkut as a trade ship between the Kingdom of Siam and Europe.
The vessel's Danish captain, Hans Niels Andersen, was later granted the right by King Chulalongkorn to establish the East Asiatic Trading Company on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in late 1800. The location is now home to Asiatique.
As much stunning and monumental as the ship is the juxtaposed new grill house. The 90-seat restaurant features a cluster of five glitzy glass-dome pavilions sided by a breezy al fresco dining terrace right by the river.
Each pavilion, seating from four to eight guests, offers exclusivity for a private party while providing a glamorous setting to be seen at. The name and decoration of the glass domes take cues from destinations the historical ship sailed to.
The grill house, just like that of the Sirimahannop, is managed by Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen's Park.
The menu, designed by the hotel's British-born executive chef Stephen Doe, focuses on prime meat and seafood selected from the world's best sources upon blind tastings.
Highlighted dishes, including some of the finest beef cuts from Australia and the US, are cooked according to classic Western techniques on a signature wood-fired Josper grill to develop a unique flame-grilled fragrance that enhances the natural flavour of the meat.
Complementing the food is a house selection of fine wines and spirits as well as classic and house-crafted cocktails. Of the signature collection, I swear by America, a dreamy concoction of buttered bourbon whisky with green tea, rosemary, apricot jam and citrus; and Japan, a subtle blend of gin, vanilla, sparking water and matcha foam.
There are 10 options for appetisers. Try any of them and you will not regret it.
The Hokkaido scallop crudo (580 baht) kicked off my dinner with a balmy yet full-flavour delight.
The scallops, exhibiting a supple soft texture and sweet delicate taste, came on a juicy sweet and crunchy bed of compressed watermelon. Dollops of avocado-wasabi puree added a creamy pleasure to the bite while yuzu kocho capped the dish with a peppery citrus zest.
The Australian Wagyu rib-eye steak.
Next up, the Kataifi tiger prawn with chunky remoulade sauce (460 baht) features the firm-meat crustacean wrapped in filo-like vermicelli pastry that gave the succulent prawn a brittle contrast. Complementing the crunchy treat was the creamy smoked chipotle remoulade.
Being a full-blown grill house, steak tartare is quintessential.
The restaurant's rendition (680 baht) is presented through Australian Black Angus tenderloin, hand-cut into tiny cubes and seasoned with a secret blend of spices, lemon and egg yolk jam. The tartare was truly enjoyable without the help of the accompanying toast.
You should not miss the pleasantly gummy Josper-grilled Spanish octopus with sweet and sour romesco sauce, new potatoes and arugula (680 baht). The dish is one of the city's best.
Given that I am no big fan of salmon gravlax, I found chef Doe's rendering of house-cured salmon with dill, Champagne and cucumber relish (420 baht) surprisingly delicious and addictive.
There are three main dishes besides the grill menu. A pork burger, crab pasta and roasted cauliflower. The latter is vegetarian.
The Hokkaido scallop crudo with compressed watermelon and avocado-wasabi puree.
The pasta (780 baht), which I liked very much, features properly-cooked linguine pasta and a generous helping of king crab meat coated in a thick bisque-like mushroom sauce capped with freshly-grated bottarga, chilli and arugula leaves.
The grill selection is not extensive but comprehensive.
Beef connoisseurs will be pleased with Stone Axe MB6/7 Wagyu New York striploin (2,690 baht), Stone Axe MB8/9 Wagyu rib-eye (3,800 baht), Southern Rangers MB4 Black Angus rib-eye (1,580 baht), Southern Rangers MB4 Black Angus tenderloin (1,680 baht) and a 1.2kg sharing cut of Southern Ranger bone-in Black Angus rib-eye (5,800 baht).
The wood-fired grilled Wagyu striploin and the Black Angus tenderloin that I tried were flawless.
Produced by a sustainable black pork farm in Chiang Mai, grilled centre-cut pork chop (780 baht), which was lean and tender, is also highly recommended. And if fish is your preference, a crisp-skin flame-grilled Tasmanian salmon steak (680 baht) promises satisfaction.
All grilled meat comes with the restaurant's signature steak sauce.
The collection of side dishes features the likes of steakhouse chips with old bay salt and rosemary (120 baht); broccolini with Parmesan garlic crumbs (160 baht); charcoal-roasted pumpkin, confit garlic, white wine and parsley (180 baht).
The grilled Octopus with romesco sauce and new potatoes.
During our dinner, the amiable chef Doe came to present the dessert himself. When his mango pavlova (180 baht) was placed before us, we -- the chef and us Thai diners -- came to a disagreement.
He said the colour of the mango was orange. We said yellow. The contention went on headstrong as we broke apart and gobbled the crisp light baked meringue with a passion fruit curd centre and juicy yellow chunks of sweet nam dok mai mango toppings. The one thing we pleasantly agreed on was that our tastebuds were being comfortingly indulged.
The ginger-lime baked Japanese cheesecake with berry compote (190 baht) and double chocolate mousse pot with brownie and whipped cream (180 baht) were also heavenly we almost lick-cleaned the plates.
The restaurant is open daily 4pm to midnight. Reservations are highly recommended.
The hand-cut steak tartare with egg yolk jam and grilled sourdough.
The king crab linguine with creamy mushrooms and bottarga.
The baked Japanese cheesecake with berry compote.
