French flavours and Dutch flair

THE ONLY head chef in the Netherlands to be awarded a Michelin star in four different restaurants, Henk Savelberg recently brought his French gourmet cuisine to Asia, shifting his famed Savelberg restaurant from Voorburg to Bangkok.

The chef, who started in his career at the age of 20 and gained his experience in such French stalwarts as Gerard Panguad in Paris, Jan Pierre Bioux in Lyon and Le Chateau de Luca Lonnais in Brittany, opened his namesake restaurant in 1997. The eatery was recognised with a Michelin star that same year and maintained its ranking until 2014 when Savelberg retired to Thailand. 

Located in the Oriental Residence, the restaurant is decorated in orange, Holland’s national colour, and boasts a fine collection of paintings and sculptures from the Rock Around Asia Gallery as well as several of Savelberg’s Michelin books. The open kitchen and main dining area are on the first floor, while upstairs diners can hold a party in one of the two private rooms.

Riedel crystal-ware and platinum-finished flat ware add an additional touch of elegance.

The kitchen is in the capable hands of Joost Bijister and Roxanne Lange, who prepare their gourmet dishes with the best imported ingredients including French oysters, Australian lamb, Canadian lobster, Japanese scallop and Hollandaise tomato and white asparagus.

“Our cuisine is in modern French style and is lighter, fresher and less oily than more traditional dishes. We focus on nutritive value and diners will find more than one cooking technique in each dish to create different textures,” Jooster says. 

“Our menus are designed to be easy to eat, but the preparation is delicate and it often takes 30 to 40 minutes from placing an order to serving”.

Savelberg is attracting residents and expatriates in the Wireless Road area with a five-course Sunday lunch set for Bt3,500.

During our visit, Jooster offers us five bite-sized, complementary appetisers, among them Grilled Melon topped with pata negra ham, marinated watermelon skin and olive powder and fresh Laser Clam with Hollandaise shrimp served with lemon sauce. There’s also cannelloni filled with fresh cream, fried Dutch Cheese Balls, Skin Chicken topped with foie gras cream served with baked bread and olive oil and Gamba Prawn Tartar in guacamole sauce. 

The starters are both rich and generous: fried fresh Langoustines blended with organic tomato, pata negra ham, clear gazpacho, tomato mousse wrapped with zucchini and Scallop (oyster is another option) & Caviar, which blends the lukewarm scallop with saffron foam and spinach topped with caviar. 

Main dishes include tender grilled North Sea Turbot served with white asparagus morels, green peas, egg mousse and morel sauce, and an equally tender Saddle of Lamb infused with green herb crust, garlic and bell pepper and served with smooth mashed eggplant and lamb sauce.

“Our Australian lamb is topped with the herb crust and dried tomato then cooked at 55 degrees Celsius to give it a juicy texture and good flavour. We like to decorate each dish with flowers and local vegetables,” Jooster says.

A serving of spiced caramel with yoghurt and blueberry granite in strawberry syrup and champagne cleanses the palate and we finish the meal with strawberry Cremeux, a sinful mixture of lychee iced water, strawberry marshmallow and crepe roll, served with smooth ice cream yoghurt.  

 

 

SAVED BY SAVELBERG

>>Savelberg Thailand is at Oriental Residence Bangkok, Wireless Road. It’s open daily, except Tuesday, from noon to 2pm and again from 6to 10pm for dinner. Call (02) 252 8001 or visit www.Savelbergth.com.