Tops with tapas

Tops with tapas

Kika Kitchen and Bar makes good on a current culinary trend

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
Tops with tapas
White shrimp with tempura head and saffron-tomato salsa.

Once upon a time, tapas bars were associated mainly with haphazardly plated finger food, booze and lack of kitchen talent.

Today, however, as diners have developed a more refined palate and share small plates has become a gastronomic trend, tapas bars are where true culinary stars shine.

That is the case with Kika.

Opened a little over a week ago, Kika, which regards itself as a little-sister eatery to six-year-old Oskar Bistro, is a brainchild of the restaurateurs behind Oskar, Birds Rotisserie and Quince.

The tapas bar's culinary direction takes its cues from the gastro evolution of Barcelona and Madrid, and is under the helm of French chef-owner Julien Lavigne, who partners with Argentinian-born Joel Bonino, the restaurant's chef de cuisine. A new face in Bangkok's restaurant scene, Bonino's impressive portfolio includes a number of eminent -- some Michelin-rated -- restaurants in France, Germany, Spain and the UK.

Part Spanish, part French, with a strong influence of seasonal local produce, Kika's cuisine is presented through the chef's original renditions of versatile new-world fare. Dishes are crafted to offer big flavours, and may blend Mediterranean classic recipes with a whiff of African, Asian or Middle East taste profiles. The majority of ingredients are sourced from artisan producers within the tropical Kingdom.

An open-kitchen counter and high dining tables help lend to the 65-seat tapas bar a sense of community.

At this 65-seater decked out with an open-kitchen counter and high tables to encourage a communal feel, the menu comes in the form of a dispensable place mat. The list simply describes main ingredients and a brief cooking method for each dish, and is always adapted to season and market availability.

A number of artisanal foods, from pickles to cured fish to charcuteries and cheeses, are displayed behind the open kitchen. There is a 42-month-aged jamon Iberico bellota, from 100% acorn-fed, pure-breed Spanish black pig, a permanent offer.

Kika retains its Spanish culinary virtues through the use of a charcoal grill oven, the best-quality olive oil, and sustainable seafood harvest.

From the grill comes a simple plate of grouper (330 baht), featuring lightly seasoned fillets of the oven-charred local fish complemented by silky-yet-pungent wasabi-seethed avocado purée and toasted sunflower seeds.

An open-kitchen counter and high dining tables help lend to the 65-seat tapas bar a sense of community.

Also from the local water is barracuda (360 baht). The firm fish meat is spiced and cooked in a woodchip smoker, and served in a hearty salad of chickpea, toasted hazelnut, pickled shallots, dried black olives and house-made Sriracha Aioli.

The fish entrée to follow was a bacalao brandade made with Spanish salt cod (340 baht). On a bed of the scrumptiously briny mash were sizeable pieces of cod tongue, which exhibited a nice stringy texture and naturally flavoursome quality, comparable to that of crab leg.

The white shrimp with tempura head and saffron tomato salsa (290 baht) proved a tasty incorporation of an age-old Mediterranean recipe and top-notch tropical seafood.

Three partially raw shrimps were accompanied by their crispy deep-fried battered head, all to be enhanced with creamy salsa.

The assortment of Spanish charcuteries.

From half a dozen items of meat and poultry on the current menu, we sampled the Iberico baby lamb neck (360 baht). Slow-cooked before being broiled, the delicate and flavourful lamb neck came layered with succulent fat and a spicy crust of coriander seeds, cumin, chili pepper, and salt and pepper, on a pool of carrot and ginger purée.

One of my favourite items was the restaurant's signature take on gazpacho (190 baht). As addictively delicious as it was refreshing, the chilled soup was based on Thai watermelon, tomatoes, cucumber and garlic, with aromatic driblets of holy basil oil.

At the end of the meal, our palates were cleansed and indulged at the same time thanks to an order of caramelised pineapple (160 baht). The luscious dessert featured sweet local pineapple spiced with cloves, then roasted and presented in the style of cannelloni with mascarpone filling. The rolled delicacy was sided with a tiny scoop of coconut ice cream and garnished with Venezuela tonka beans and superfine flakes of toasted coconut and minty sugar.

Due to scarce parking, it is highly recommended that you not bring your car. BTS Sala Daeng is less than five minutes away and MRT Silom is 10 minutes away.

Skewers of pimiento peppers, anchovy and olive drizzled with smoked paprika and aged balsamic.

Some of the premium canned tapas classics with house-baked toast.

Braised and broiled Iberico baby lamb neck with spiced crust and carrot-ginger purée.

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