The change of seasons often means a fresh start. In the F&B world, it denotes new produce, dishes and often at times, complete new menus. Guru By Bangkok Post lists the places offering new menus for the season.
Vilas Bangkok
Vilas has a new menu inspired by the travels of executive chef-patron Prin Prinsoluk and his partner-in-crime Mint to Portugal and Spain. “Though ‘Vilas In The Northeast Time’ isn’t about the ingredients of Spain or Portugal on this menu. It’s about combining the ideas, cultures and traditional dishes of Portugal and Spain into the ones of Isan. This menu is Isan food but each dish has influences from the cultures of Spain and Portugal,” explains Vilas Spanish head chef Pepe Dasi Jimenez.
Nothing opens the palate better than spice and the Vietnamese chicken sausage cracker with smoked chilli sauce and coconut cream cheese, to cool the mouth down should you need it. I didn’t as I loved the smoked chilli sauce and wanted a bottle to take home. Sausages of Isan pays homage to the sausages of Spain and Thailand’s northeast with the trio of different types.
The Hot and sour soup of stuffed pork hock is my favourite dish on the menu. The soup is reminiscent of a tom saap but is mee from braised pork leg, kaffir lime leaf powder, seasoned with vinegar and lime juice and fish sauce. Another favourite on this menu is the Duck beak larb dumpling. If you’ve visited casual Isan restaurants then you’ll be familiar with the deep-fried duck beak. At Vilas, chef Jimenez also serves it deep-fried but in corn dog style as the beak holds the delicious duck larb dumpling.
Curries are usually the main course at Vilas, and the previous menu’s one blew me away. The Grilled beef with toasted rice and smoked tomato relish is served in a curry of rabbit or hare, made Surin style, with banana and banana crisps. The menu ends on a high note, perfect for humid summer nights — a trio of granita.
Vilas Bangkok is in Mahanakhon Cube. Call 094-997-8631 or visit vilasbangkok.com.
Mott 32 Bangkok
The Bangkok outpost of Mott 32, one of Hong Kong's most iconic Cantonese restaurants, is being given a first refresh since it opened its doors last year. Group Chinese executive chef Lee Man Sing has created a menu highlighting seasonal flavours while staying true to the brand’s modernity.
Chef Lee’s seafood-forward spring and summer menu for Mott 32 Bangkok has bold flavours and makes maximum use of the Chinese spices and peppers. The Crab sautéed in garlic-infused oil and served with deep-fried mantou is a delight, while Freshwater prawns paired with white asparagus, prawn roe and gingko nut is inspired by the chef’s travels to Europe.
Salt-and-pepper wok-fried lobster, Razor clams tossed with chilli and bean sprouts, and Crabmeat fried rice with flying fish roe and chives add to the interesting menu. Meat lovers can indulge in wok-fried Mala Angus beef with tea tree mushroom and chili, and is my favourite dishes on this menu! Braised pork cartilage with Chinese wine and dark soy sauce, and Wok-fried bitter gourd with Iberico pork, preserved vegetables and vermicelli are added treates.
“While working on the menu, it was important to me to retain Mott 32’s forward-looking approach to Chinese cuisine while respecting tradition and ethical sourcing,” said Chef Lee Man Sing. “Each ingredient was carefully selected for its impeccable credentials and harvested when the flavour profile was at its peak.”
Mott 32 Bangkok is at The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon. Call 02-085-8888, email STBKK@standardhotels.com or visit standardhotels.com/bangkok/properties/bangkok.
Punjab Grill Bangkok
Sometimes when dining alone at Indian restaurants, I wish there were smaller menus so I could eat a few dishes. Punjab Grill comes to the rescue with its tasting menu. Changed every three or four months, the current tasting menu is a good mix of dishes from the vast country.
Who doesn’t love chaat and Chef Bharat S Bhat opens the non-vegetarian menu (B1,990++) with a Khumb chaat, khumb being the Hindi word for mushroom. The base of the dish is a heady, tangy mix of different types of mushrooms, topped with crispy enoki, truffle cream and a khakra. My favourite dish of the meal was the Leshuni aur lal mirch jheenga, which translates as tiger prawn marinated with red chilli and garlic and served with a coconut espuma, which complements the prawn perfectly. The spicy tangy marinade was absolutely delicious and the coconut epsuma was like a butter that only enhanced the flavour of the prawn. Lip-smacking good, literally.
Cafreal is a Goan spice paste, with influences from Portugal. Often used with meat, chef Bhat has used it on chicken thigh. The Galinha cafreal is a succulent chicken thigh marinated in the spice paste and served with a cranberry chutney, or sauce. Jal jeera is often drunk before or towards the end of a meal as the spice mix in the drink aids with digestion. Replacing the usual palate cleansing sorbet is the jal jeera, poured table side from a pressure bottle.
The star of the meal is the main course, which is Rahrara champ or New Zealand lamb chop braised in yoghurt and served on top of spiced minced meat, and a warqi paratha. Warqi translates as flaky and the bread is ideal boat for the thick mince. The dish, though rather rich, is banging but one must save room for dessert. Gulabi rabdi ghevar is a sweet flour honeycomb served with gulkand kulfi, rose milk foam and freeze-dried rose petals, which are crushed on top of the plate tableside. Gulkhand is one of my many favourite things to eat, and is essentially a rose jam used in desserts. Needless to say that while the kulfi went down a treat!
Punjab Grill Bangkok is on Sukhumvit 13. Call 091-818-5248 or visit punjabgrillbangkok.com.
