From hilltop to tabletop

NOW BACK for its 11th edition, the annual Taste It All @Ratchaprasong is once again taking gourmets on a culinary voyage through the specially created dishes from the head chefs of seven leading hotels and a tearoom in this high-end area of downtown Bangkok. 

Fortunately, the gustatory treat has been extended well beyond one day and now runs through the end of the month. That gives everyone plenty of time to slowly savour what the neighbourhood has to offer.

This year’s theme is “Royal Delights” and sees the eight chefs bringing top quality ingredients from the hilltop to the tabletop. Among the goodies sourced from the Royal Project are sturgeon meat and caviar, pheasant, Bresse chicken, lamb, rosemary, baby carrot, tarragon and white beans. All pay tribute to the success of the Royal Project Foundation, initiated by His Majesty the King in 1969 to bring sustainable development to the people of the northern highlands.

The French breeds of pheasant and Bresse chicken have been raised by the Royal Project in the northern highlands for a few years but the supply is still only sufficient to serve the needs of restaurants. To make the birds more widely known, Austrian chef Sebastian Reischer of InterContinental Bangkok’s Fireplace Grill uses pheasant breast as the main ingredient for his signature “Royal Pheasant”. The dish is priced at Bt1,800 a la carte and is also served as part of a three-course set for Bt3,000.

“It’s challenging to prepare the pheasant breast to perfection as it’s 

 easy to overcook. The 160 to 180 gram of breast is slowly cooked using the sous-vide technique at 50 degrees Celsius for an hour before being pan-seared with butter and rosemary,” Reischer says. “I serve it with vinegar shallot, charcoal-grilled onion, shallot jelly, pickled baby carrot, crispy potato and potato espuma.”

Pheasant breast is also favoured by Danish chef Kevin Saint-Jean Kristensen of Tables Grill at Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok. His “Pheasant in the Woods” sees the 

 breast grilled and topped with pickled chanterelle and porcini mushrooms, black truffle, redcurrants, parsnip root and puree, and sorrel leaves. Armed with a handheld smoking gun, the kitchen staff then shoot oak smoke on the dish that comes with a hooded cover. When opened, the dish’s fragrance wafts through the room. It costs Bt600 a la carte or Bt1,800 as part of a five-course set.

“The dish evokes fond childhood memories,” says Kristensen “I grew up in the country and often went to the forests with my father to pick wild mushrooms, herbs and berries. I use many herbs from North Europe such as sorrel leaves, which give a sour taste. In Denmark, we use sorrel as a substitute for lemon.”

Known as the queen of poultry, the Bresse chicken is remarkable for its tender and fat-marbled flesh and American chef Alan Wesley Kwan at Red Sky of Centara Grand at CentralWorld knows how to bring out all its flavour. In his “Chicken la Bresse”, the chicken breast is first marinated with salt, pepper, paprika powder, gar

 lic and onion powders before being cooked sous-vide at 55 degrees Celsius for one hour. It’s then slightly seared and served with shiitake mushroom cream sauce, tarragon, butternut squash puree and baby carrot. It’s not available a la carte but in a three-course set priced at Bt1,500.

The Royal Project has long been successful in farming sturgeon fish and today is celebrating yet another triumph with the production of its caviar. Spanish chef Jose Martin Ruiz Borja at La Tovala & Wine Bar of Renaissance Bangkok has been quick to take advantage of the “black gold” for his “Scallops, Caviar and Black Truffle Creme” priced at Bt480. The pan-fried scallop is served on a bed of sauteed white asparagus and white truffle cream and is topped with Iberico ham and caviar. 

Warinthorn Sumrithphon, the Thai chef at Anantara Siam Bangkok’s Spice Market, is showcasing the delicate taste of the flesh with “Smoked Sturgeon with Pomelo Salad”.

Warinthorn first seasons the sturgeon with salt and pepper then wood 

 smokes the fish before searing it in the pan. It’s served with a Thai dressing of palm sugar, lemon juice and fish sauce and is accompanied with a slightly tangy salad of pomelo mixed with white turmeric, red onion, lemongrass, mint and kaffir lime leaves and chilli. It’s priced at Bt520.

Lamb and rosemary are traditional partners and Thai chef Sorachart Mongkolsiri at the Square, Novotel Bangkok Platinum Pratunam, makes the dish even more interesting with his “Herb-crusted Rack of Lamb, Rosemary Sauce” for Bt900. The rack of lamb is roasted with herb mustard crust and served with eggplant timbale and rosemary jus. 

Thai chef Lak Preeprem of the St Regis Bangkok’s Viu goes for the meat from more nature sheep for his “Slow Cooked Mutton Rosemary” for Bt850. It features mutton chunks marinated overnight in red wine and rosemary then cooked sous-vide at 65 degrees C for 24 hours. It’s served with caramelised baby carrots, onions and green peas.

“Mutton is the meat of a sheep more than a year old and has a much stronger flavour and tougher meat. It’s normally braised but with the modern cooking technique of sous-vide, the mutton is tender and flavourful,” Lak says.

Usually used as a garnish, the baby carrot is the real star for chef Nicolas Lam at 1823 Tea Lounge by Ronnefeldt at Gaysorn mall. For his “Baby Carrots with Hollandaise and Karasumi”, the vegetable is smoked with salt and Oolong tea leaves and served with Hollandaise sauce. It’s garnished with salad leaves, tomato and grated Karasumi – a delicacy of sun-dried, salted and cured grey mullet roe – and sprinkled with lovage oil and sherry vinegar. It goes for Bt180.

 

SEASONAL SAVOURIES

The special dishes are available at all participating restaurants through August 31. Chicken la Bresse at Centara Grand at CentralWorld will be served until September 30.

Krungsri credit card holders get a special discount when dining at the seven restaurants and the tearoom until September 30. Visit www.HeartOfBangkok.com for details.