The State Tower is located on Silom Street in Bangkok’s Bang Rak district as a part of the world’s first self-styled vertical vacation spot, lebua. Finest often known as the open air bar within the sky within the finale of Hollywood smash hit comedy, The Hangover II starring Bradley Cooper and Paul Giacometti this unique resort advanced boasts 4 eating places and 6 bars. Impressively, to say the least, two of the 4 eating places have been awarded two Michelin stars. Ryuki Kawasaki’s Mezzaluna presents an Asian twist on French delicacies while Vincent Thierry’s Chef’s Desk retains a stricter up to date French angle. Simon from The Luxurious Editor just lately reviewed Chef’s Desk as a part of our full evaluate of Tower Membership at lebua – learn on to find extra.
Located on the 61st ground of the State Tower, Chef’s Desk is a big, curved area which has an unfeasibly excessive ceiling and matching home windows to indicate off the twinkling cityscape beneath. Its lighting is tough to pinpoint but it surely gives the world and everybody in it with a cheerful, virtually magical glow. Colors are delicate and muted and vary from gray to cream to pink. The restaurant has a 42-seat cowl and every desk is distanced from the others for privateness and intimacy. Every seat is directed inwards, in direction of the chef’s desk (kitchen space) the place the following feast is ready with calmness and precision by seven or eight kitchen workers.
Above the kitchen hovers an enormous bronze extractor fan which may very well be mistaken for a Nineteen Fifties UFO however was truly crafted to emulate a Buddhist monument. Throughout from the kitchen is one other, smaller chef’s space for pastry.
Chef Vincent Thierry not solely helped design the area however can be current each night, working his magic. He possesses a uncommon talent and was awarded three Michelin stars while at Caprice in Hong Kong’s 4 Seasons. Inside months of opening Chef’s Desk he was awarded one star. Two stars adopted the yr after.
We have now a six-course tasting menu with wine pairings however by the point the palate cleansers, the amuse bouches, the little treats, the petits fours have snuck in, it seems like a luxurious, continuous epicurean extravaganza double that size. It’s a really overwhelming expertise, a curler coaster journey of depth and delicacy, of care and affection, of flavour after flavour, texture after texture. Fare is fashionable French, sourced primarily from Thailand however with a couple of exceptions such because the sixteen cheeses which come from France.
Carrying skinny, spherical silver glasses which match the color of his brief, side-parted hair and lightweight stubble, Chef Thierry welcomes us to his restaurant with a bathtub of home made butter held firmly in hand. As if to ritualise our meal’s starting, he scoops the butter right into a conical form and fingers every of us a portion to accompany the home-baked bread. And we’re off.
Japanese Tuna Stomach a la Niçoise accompanied by Billecarte-Salmon Grand Cru Champagne. The champagne is chosen for its minerality to enhance that of the tuna. The tuna is unfeasibly delicate and delicate, a lot so that you simply attempt to chew it however fail; it’s already dissolved. There’s a small little bit of aniseed someplace, there’s a small crispy one thing and the drizzle of oil is classy.
Subsequent up is Binchotan Alaskan King Crab served with celeriac jus and accompanied by Chablis Grand Cru Courtault- Michelet, 2021. After which Purple Mullet, Tomato and Eggplant with Patrimonio Leccia 2022 from Corsica. Sooner or later we’re invited into the chef’s kitchen to look at the preparation of our subsequent course: Challans Duck with Artichoke, Tangy plum, velvety sauce.
Three completely different sous cooks huddle over every dish and work with tweezers and spoons to craft the right positioning of every curve of each vegetable, to control the jus and the froth, to encompass and prettify the plate. Each presentation of each ingredient is deliberate, agonised over, intricate and creative.
By the top of the night, the Maitre D, the sommelier, the waiters, all look like finest mates. They return to the desk not solely to serve our meal however to verify we’ve loved it and to reply any questions we’d have about it.
Chef Thierry sits down for seven minutes or so and I ask him what makes the distinction between a two-star Michelin chef and a three-star one. It’s not a simple query for him to reply however he philosophises about by no means stress-free, by no means being content material, all the time pushing himself, pushing his concepts, pushing his workers, while retaining a cheerful staff, a dignity and a practical sense of self.
The Chef’s Desk is a really beautiful expertise. Overwhelming in its personal manner. Virtually inconceivable to absorb the width and breadth of meals, wine, style, texture and talent on show. My good friend described it as ‘the meal of a lifetime;’ one thing I can simply agree with. It’s not onerous to think about a 3rd Michelin star heading this fashion quickly.
