A true taste of Spain
Gourmet Spanish cuisine makes its debut at Uno Mas
SPANISH HAUTE cuisine has finally arrived in Bangkok with the opening of Uno Mas on the 54th floor of Centara Grand at CentralWorld.
Occupying the space that formerly housed the Fifty-Five Steakhouse, Uno Mas is in the capable hands of veteran chef Joan Tanya Dot and boasts a warm and casual decor with terracotta walls in rich Mediterranean colours.
Divided into three separate zones, the reception area is the ultimate in cool chic with bamboo-covered walls and ceiling and a glazed azure floor that gives the impression of walking on water. It leads diners to the Wine Cellar, which is home to more than 2,000 bottles from 36 labels from both the Old and New Worlds.
Diners simply make a selection and the restaurant’s wine angel delivers it to the table. Inside, the ambience is muted with a DJ spinning Latin tunes that complement the dishes offered in the semi-alfresco Tapas & Raw Bar, split into two levels and offering a choice of seating on the deck, inside the restaurant proper or at the stylish bar counter.
The spacious Dining Deck is proving particularly popular with customers not least because of the cityscape backdrop and show kitchen, where chefs use specially-designed fire pits and a Josper oven to prepare grilled seafood and signature Spanish dishes.
Most of the ingredients are flown in, with the olives and garlic coming from Spain and other Mediterranean nations, the cold cuts from France and the langoustine from Spain and France. The king crab is sourced locally and the vegetables are bought direct from the royal projects in Thailand’s north. The rice is Japanese.
“I want customers to taste the real flavour of Spain here. Japanese rice absorbs the flavour better when cooked in our stock. All the food is Spanish though we do play a little with spices to cater to the Thai palate,” Dot says.
Tonight, the chef is cooking up a romantic dinner for lovers with a set feast of Tsarskaya oysters with Hendrick’s gin and tonic and cucumber, foie gras terrine with dry figs cider sauce and Marcona almonds, Lobster cannelloni, avocado and salmon roe, an Octopus and Suckling pig duo, Pyrenees Rack of lamb grilled with cous cous and veal jus, Red Velvet Valentine’s Cake and petit fours.
Easy-to-eat dishes for sharing include Mock Tuna on ice (Bt290), which features three pieces of tuna-like red watermelon marinated with sangria and topped with rind and mint and Escalivada (Bt390), in which roasted vegetables are marinated in olive oil and vinegar, topped with Spanish anchovies and served on toast. Another favourite is the dish of Mixed Olives (Bt90) featuring the cuquillo, manzanilla and arbequina varieties.
Tsarskaya oysters (Bt250 apiece) come with different Thai condiments like chilli paste, spicy seafood sauce and garlic while the Croquettes (Bt190) – deep-fried wild mushroom balls – are enriched with a foie gras sauce and olive oil.
“Escalivada is a traditional snack made of roasted vegetables such as onion, avocine and capsicum. The vegetables are marinated with olive oil, vinegar and topped with parsley and anchovies from Spain and make a wonderful appetiser,” Dot explains. “Croquettes are also popular and are made with different ingredients like mashed potato or seafood. I like to make mine with wild porcini.”
Bravas (Bt190) – tempting potato confit – are filled with spicy tomato sauce, aioli and topped with paprika, while Fideua (Bt1,290) is a fried-rice dish native to Valencia that’s mixed with chicken and seafood. Another must try are the Gambas Pil Pil (Bt390) where the shrimp is blended with olive oil, white wine, cayenne and garlic and paired with bread.
“Bravas are my favourite. They’re crispy, slightly greasy and soft. We use aioli, a kind of mayonnaise with garlic, and serve the potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce topped with paprika. It’s very simple and probably the most popular tapas dish in Spain,” Dot says.
The a la carte menu also features Joselito Cold Cuts (Bt1,290) that include 36-month marinated |cured leg, six-month marinated cured loin, cured salami with paprika, sea salt and garlic, ham marinated with sea salt, garlic and pepper salami.
And diners who love pork should definitely order the Cochinillo Roasted Pig (Bt1,490) if for no other reason than the show put on by Dot that finishes with the plate being thrown to the floor. The meat – half a Segovian suckling pig – is delicious, cooked slowly for about 10 hours and marinated in Mediterranean garlic and olive oil.
“The pigs must be no more than a couple of weeks old to ensure the meat is extra tender,” the chef says.
Diners can end the meal with Churros (Bt395) – deep-fried butter choux served with cinnamon and Valrhone dark chocolate dip.
MEDITERRANEAN MARVELS
>>Uno Mas is on the 54th floor of Centara Grand at Central World.
>>Tonight’s seven-course Valentine’s Dinner costs Bt8,000 per a couple and includes a bottle of award-wining Cava Duran Gran Reserva wine for a couple of sweet lovers.
>>Make a reservation at (02) 100 6255.
