Red Sky at night, diner's delight
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Red Sky at night, diner's delight

A sweeping view of the city with a menu to match

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

Despite the recent heatwave, when we arrived at Red Sky of Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Center at CentralWorld, the 6pm weather on the 55th floor rooftop was a lot cooler than what I had imagined. The al fresco restaurant-cum-bar, which is one of the city’s most popular sky-high dining venues, quickly became packed with international guests as the temperature gradually dropped to an amazingly comforting level.

My foodie friend and I were there for an update on Red Sky’s recent modification. Venue-wise, the place now offers diners an even more sweeping view of the city, as the mixologist station, which used to serve as a partial wall of the dining area, was moved to allow for an unobstructed panorama.

As for the food, Hugo Coudurier, a French cooking master who has worked at a number of big name restaurants, including three Michelin star restaurant Guy Savoy in both Paris and Las Vegas and La Ferme De l’Hospital in Bossey, France, has been appointed Red Sky’s chef de cuisine.

Integrating classic European recipes with modern cooking techniques, Coudurier, 33, has perfected Red Sky’s menu, making the restaurant a true destination for upscale chic bistro cuisine.

The 60-item menu is comprised of cold and warm appetisers, soups, sharing platters, fish and seafood, meat and poultry, artisan cheeses and a nice collection of desserts. There is also a seasonal tasting menu set, which allows diners to sample several of the chef’s signature dishes prepared with ingredients according to the current culinary season in France. The six-course menu is priced 4,055 baht, or 6,555 baht with wine pairing.

Warm asparagus salad with smoked Scottish salmon.

Upon arrival at the table, diners are greeted with complimentary basket of warm, house-baked bread and French butter. Both were delicious.

Then we headed off to the appetiser. That evening we were suggested the warm asparagus salad (755 baht), featuring green and white asparagus, which are now in season, with smoked Scottish salmon and sherry vinaigrette-creme fraise dressing. Rather light in consistency but rich in taste, the sauce nicely complemented the supple asparagus, perfectly rendering a classic flavour profile.

Next up was butter roasted Nova Scotia lobster "Vol au Vent" (895 baht). It’s a generous serving of the classic French treat with a creamy mushroom filling, lobster meat topping and bisque espuma. The puffed pastry was flaky and buttery, the stuffing — a salty-sweet mix of mushroom and cream — was condensed, the lobster meat of prime quality and the bisque foam provided a perfect pungent finish.

Coudurier has created one of the best truffle soups ever. His fragrant artichoke and summer truffle mushroom soup (655 baht) presented Perigord truffles with Parmesan gratings and toasted mushroom brioche.

Another dish that deliciously represented the season was the golden chanterelle mushroom risotto with pata negra ham, Parmesan and truffles (855 baht). The Italian rice, professionally cooked and offering a sumptuous mouthfeel, came tossed with supple and aromatic mushrooms in a pool of pungent red wine and veal jus reduction. Salty slices of Spanish ham lent the plate aluxurious finish.

For the main meat course, the French suckling Lozere lamb rack with potato purée and morel jus (1,755 baht) is truly worth enjoying. The lamb, raised on a strict milk-only diet, yielded a succulent meat that won’t let red meat fans down.

Should you look for a seafood option, I recommend the oven-roasted halibut with jasberry rice, caramelised endive and morel sauce (1,555 baht). This creative unification of imported Atlantic fish and Thailand’s black rice proved world-class in terms of quality, taste and presentation.

We were wonderfully pleased with Chef Couderier’s French version of chicken rice. It’s a tasty plate of poached “poussin” (chicken) with truffle- and foie gras-seethed basmati rice and albufera sauce (1,355 baht). As sumptuous as it sounded, the nicely cooked long-grain rice was accompanied by the tender chicken, a cute little packet of steamed cabbage, carrot and daikon cubes and a classic French sauce made with butter and duck liver.

Passing over options such as wild strawberry gateau with white chocolate glaze and brioche bread-butter pudding with whisky sauce, we settled our meal’s sweet end with the caramelised apple tart with Tahitian vanilla ice cream (355 baht), and were very satisfied.

The restaurant, where diners are lulled by sweet jazz tunes from a live band, is often packed. Reservations are recommended.

Bangkok’s favourite al fresco restaurant-cum-bar at 55th floor rooftop now offers diners an even more sweeping view of the city.

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