Amidst the boom of Spanish gastronomy in Bangkok, Alegria, an upscale tapas bar-cum-restaurant, opened its doors at the K Village shopping mall.
Alegria
The kitchen of the 50-seater is led by executive chef David Aparicio Martin, a native of Bilbao. Aparicio brings with him an impressive career profile that spans over two decades and includes several Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe.
Alegria's cuisine combines Spain's time-honoured culinary tradition with a contemporary global twist.
Best-selling starters include red prawn tart with ikura and grilled orange mayo, ensaladilla de txangurro crab salad in crispy chilli cone, black-ink squid croquettes with lemon aioli, and jamón Iberico with fresh tomatoes on ciabatta bread.
Highly recommended main dishes include slow-cooked beef cheek served on truffle mashed potato with beef stew reduction; arroz negro with mixed seafood and black ink zofrito; hamachi tiradito with wasabi emulsion and garlic cream; and grilled Atlantic octopus tentacles with salal verde.
The meal promises a lovely wrap-up with Basque burnt cheesecake prepared to a secret recipe from the chef's grandmother.
Alegria opens Tuesday-Sunday, 5-11pm.
Edward Kwon in Bangkok
An exclusive pop-up restaurant by the world-renowned Korean celebrity chef Edward Kwon is now open for epicures in Thailand at Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok.
The restaurant, dubbed "Edward Kwon in Bangkok", serves up an unforgettable modern Korean dining experience by the super amiable and talented Kwon, the head chef and proprietor of Lab XXIV, one of South Korea's best restaurants in Busan.
Specially crafted for the Bangkok outpost, the 12-course menu innovatively unifies classic Korean recipes and authentic Korean tastes, with modern cooking techniques and new presentations.
Guests can expect to find Instagrammable delicacies such as sweet shrimp tartlet with yuzu puree, sea grape and crispy white kombu, dakgalbi chicken in a flaky French croustade with nuts and cilantro, Korean-style Wagyu beef tartare with Korean pear and Avruga caviar on brioche, and chilli-marinated seaweed cannelloni with otoro tuna, kimchi and sea urchin.
The pungent meal is given a creamy break by corn porridge with squid, brown rice and potatoes and abalone in steamed egg custard with salmon caviar and enoki mushrooms. This is before proceeding to the slow-cooked premium Wagyu beef galbi with banchan, an assortment of Korean fermented condiments.
The gastronomic journey concludes with a collection of surprise desserts followed by petit fours.
The 12-course menu is priced at 4,900 baht per person. An additional seven-glass beverage pairing costs 870 baht per person.
Edward Kwon in Bangkok opens only for dinner, Wednesday to Monday, until Oct 7. Reservations are a must.
Nikaku
Officially opening its door to the public yesterday, Nikaku Bangkok is the first outpost of Japan's two-Michelin-starred Edomaezushi Nikaku in Kitakyushu on Kyushu Island.
Helmed by 3rd generation chef/patron Setsuo Funahashi, the restaurant offers authentic Edo-styled sushi through a refined omakase dining experience.
Top-quality fish and seafood, mostly from the waters surrounding Kyushu, especially the Kanmon Straits, are flown into the restaurant directly from the island many times a week.
For the current season, the variety may include amadai (tilefish), yaito katsuo (skipjack tuna), anago (saltwater eel), aji (horse mackerel), otoro (pink fatty tuna), chutoro (medium fatty tuna), Oita kuruma ebi (Oita tiger prawn), tako (octopus) and ika (squid) as well as the highly-priced creamy Murasaki uni (sea urchin roe) from Hokkaido.
The fish is prepared using the chef's skilful and precise fish-cutting technique while the sushi is made according to the traditional honti-gaeshi (hand-shaped) style.
Celebrating the culinary sublimity of its hometown, rice, vinegar and soy sauce used at the restaurant are also products of Kyushu.
The 12-seat omakase experience is hosted by a team of Japanese master chefs and ensured a high-standard service by veteran staff.
The 20-course meal is priced at 7,500 baht per person. A complementing "Tea Experience", featuring seven choices of fine tea leaves from various parts of Kyushu Island, costs an additional 890 baht per person.
Sake, also from Kyushu, is available by bottle.
Nikaku Bangkok is located on the ground floor of W Bangkok Hotel. Seating times are noon, 5.30pm and 8pm, Thursday to Tuesday. Advance reservations are required.
Erawan Tea Room
Relaunched last month after a year-long improvement, the much-loved Thai restaurant of Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel is welcoming diners back with a fresh new look and upgraded menu.
The cuisine continues to pay tribute to authentic Thai recipes -- both internationally popular and locally cherished -- while highlighting prime-quality artisan ingredients and sustainable products from all over Thailand.
It is recommended you begin your meal here with chor muang, purple-skin dumplings with shrimp and pork filling; yum som-o, pomelo salad with deep-fried soft-shell crab; and tom kha gai, chicken soup with young tamarind leaves.
For the main dish to eat with rice, worth having are Southern-styled crab curry with betel leaves and crabmeat and split gill mushrooms; stir-fried lotus roots and rhizome with shrimp paste and banana prawn; and stir-fried sea crab with curry powder.
Traditional Thai desserts are also the outstanding signatures here, especially khanom khrok, or crispy rice cake made with organic rice berry batter, coconut milk and coconut flower sugar; natural sago from Phatthalung province in coconut milk with candied bael fruit; and sweet bua loy pearls in freshly-squeezed organic coconut milk.
Many appetisers and sweet items from the a la carte menu are also offered in bite sizes as parts of the restaurant's best-selling Thai-inspired afternoon tea set paired with premium teas and locally-sourced coffee.
Erawan Tea Room opens daily, 10am-10pm.
