Elements of gastronomic delights

The Okura Prestige Bangkok has already won over gourmets with the painstakingly delicate multi-course Kaiseki offered by its Japanese restaurant Yamazato and fans of fine eating will also be drawn to Elements, which focuses on modern Western cuisine.

The restaurant, which changes its menu every quarter and also offers diners the chef’s table experience, lives up to its name by featuring the best of nature’s elements from rust-coloured plates, charcoal wall partitions, hardwood furnishings and blue LED lighting at night. Perched on the 25th floor, it also boasts an alfresco deck that gives a great view of the vibrant city skyline.

The best spot though is the chef’s table, which can accommodate up to 12 guests. From here you can watch chef Cyril Cocconi and his team at work in the kitchen, a wonderful experience that requires reservations to be made well in advance. The wooden table in a private area has translucent curtains that can be closed for privacy and is separated from the kitchen by a glass screen.

The menu is updated throughout the year to reflect the arrival of a new season. Each quarter is called an “Act” and the dishes are based on seasonal ingredients, among them asparagus, truffles and morels from Europe and lamb and beef from Australia. 

Elements is currently on Act 4 with current menus being served until the end of August. The highlights are seafood and white asparagus along with a range of main course choices that include pan-fried turbot, grain-fed veal from France and roasted Brittany blue lobster served with white asparagus. You can enjoy the dishes a la carte, in three or five course sets, or as an eight-course micro set paired with wines. 

“My kitchen is oriented towards simple foods,” says Cocconi. “I respect the taste of produce and this is the basis for how we plan our menus and prepare our dishes. I always like to preserve the integrity of the fresh ingredients while using different techniques, seasonings and cooking processes.”

Elements attract the senses with creative interpretations that have both visual and textural appeal. I tasted several dishes during my visit in the set portions, all of them captured in the photos that accompany this article. The price given for each dish is for a la carte and diners can expect larger portions than seen in the images.

The amuse bouche is Salmon Tartar mixed with chopped caper, galangal and red onions to add spice. It’s topped with poached quail egg and wasabi shrimp roe and dressed with salt, pepper, chilli powder and olive oil. As enjoying several different textures in one bite makes up the restaurant’s distinctive character, grilled asparagus and white asparagus tempura together with roasted peanut are served on the side to add the crunch.

The next dish is Parfait of Duck Foie Gras (Bt950). The terrain of foie gras comes with strawberry jelly on top while on the side is fresh strawberry, pistachio crisp and pistachio paste. It gives off different tastes, varying from the creamy foie gras to the jelly texture of the strawberry and the crunch of the pistachio. Another pleasing dish is Warm Scallop Carpaccio (Bt910), which features morsels of scallop topped with lardo – Italy’s cured pork product made from thin layer of pork fat, and grilled and fresh asparagus together with mustard vinaigrette. 

Next up are the complicated textures and tastes of Stuffed Dover Sole with Langoustine in Vacuum (Bt1,650). For this dish, the fish is stuffed with langoustine mousse with lobster sauce and topped with white asparagus tempura. Served on the side is fresh oyster from France topped with avruga fish roe and more white asparagus tempura. I personally found the dish too fishy.

A combination of various elements is applied to the Black Cod Glazed Teriyaki (Bt950). The cod is glazed with teriyaki sauce before grilling and thanks to the cooking technique, the sauce comes out in the shape of fish roe and place on top of the fillet. It is also offered with orange-jasmine tea espuma, herb salad, turnip and rice crisp powder.

Beef lover won’t be disappointed with Wagyu Beef, Two Ways Combined (Bt1,250), which featured a short rib cooked sous vide at 65 degree Celsius for 48 hours to ensure the meat is soft, juicy but not bloody. On the side is celeriac and apple tart in layers as well as celeriac paste dribbled with truffle oil. 

The dessert called Jivara Taste Imaginary Landscapes (Bt420) also comes with complicated textures and tastes and an appealing presentation. Chocolate truffle dressed with salt together with spaghetti-like strings of chocolate stand on the left side of the plate, while the centre is a brownie topped with chocolate ice cream. The right side features a chocolate sphere filled with passion fruit mousse.