Five things you need to know about Bangkok’s
‘Water Library’ in Thonglor?
1. Housed in ‘Grass’, it’s the
sister restaurant to The Water Library in Chamchuri Square (See the Skinny
Bib’s post here).
2. The kitchen team (which often
outnumbers the diners) is led by Singaporean ‘celebrity’ Chef Muhammad Haikal
Johari.
3. Chef Haikal Johari trained at
Raffles, worked at prestigious restaurants such as: Ember, Les Amis and
Pierside (and has completed stages at Joël Robuchon and Laurent Gras).
4. Its counter seats can accommodate
a maximum of ten lucky diners, who are able to watch and interact with the
chefs as they prepare and plate the meal.
5. The menu reads like a ‘Who’s
who?’ (What’s what?) of some of the finest, premium ingredients sourced from
across the globe.
After taking drinks and canapés in
the downstairs bar, we were led upstairs to the dark, yet strategically lit,
Japanese inspired dining space and chef’s theatre. The super-sleek black décor
providing the perfect backdrop for vibrant pops of colour from pink orchids;
the red wax seal of the menu’s envelope and ultimately the food…
Every dish was carefully prepared
and expertly executed – where needed, flavour combinations were harmoniously
layered but the ‘stellar ingredients’ were always allowed to shine. We were
treated to:
Caviar – farmed Beluga caviar, Cadoret Flan, ‘Palamós’ Shrimp, Rice
Broth. The meal
started with what I think was my favourite dish, the most wonderful stately
trio of Beluga Caviar; Oysters from Les Huîtres Cadoret and a
tartare of Palamós Prawns brought together with the delicately smoky rice broth
– absolutely sublime!
Iwashi – Baby sardines, ceviche, Anjou pear, foie gras, plums, red
cabbage. The
presentation of the second course was absolutely beautiful. By now, I became assured
that we were in the capable hands of a kitchen team that didn’t just have a
copy of Modernist Cuisine and access to premium ingredients and fancy bits of
kitchen kit - they had flair, creativity, an understanding of taste, texture
and technique and an important something that can easily be forgotten by chefs
in their exuberance to impress… control and restraint.
‘Cerises Jaunes’ Tomatoes – gazpacho, Manchego, Château d'Estoublon
sorbet, micro basil.
Served in a crumpled paper (china) cup this dish managed to capture the essence
of Spain! Bursting with tomato flavour, from an intense tomato water jelly, a
semi-dried tomato and a mousse made with yellow cherry tomatoes, it was
completed with an indulgent Château d'Estoublon olive oil sorbet, star anise
blossom and grated Manchego – muy fantástico!
Potato ‘muffins’ – potato bread, lardon, truffle butter. The bread came served in a mini flour
sack, half filled with roasted coffee beans for their aroma. It was not just
the presentation that was unique, made with sour cream and topped with a lardon
glaze, cocoa and truffle butter, the flavour was pretty special too.
Kegani – Japanese horsehair crab, Kumara gnocchi, ‘buerre noisette’,
Manjimup truffles. The
first of three seafood dishes, this was perhaps this simplest in terms of
presentation but there was no compromise on flavour. Generous use of the
Manjimup truffles through the beurre noisette wowed without overpowering the sweet potato gnocchi and
delicate Japanese
horsehair crab.
Scallop – broiled fennel, olive jam, fennel flower. The huge scallop was delicious,
perfectly sweet, succulent and topped with salty fish skin. A rich red wine
jus, horseradish crème, olive jam, a luscious spinach sauce and fennel with
fennel flowers completed the balance of flavours.
Langoustine – Scandinavian Langoustine, pork ears, onion sable, shallot
jus. The pork,
crisp pig’s ear and sweet plump langoustine were all delectable. Apple jelly
and an apple gelée added an intense apply hit but this was the only dish that I
felt could’ve done with a tweak with either something bitter or acidic to cut
through the overall sweetness and fatty pork.
Quail – Loire Valley Quail, truffle cream, chanterelle mushroom,
consommé, prunes.
Delicious pink quail with truffle cream, puffed wild rice, chanterelles and a
mushroom tuile was nothing short of ambrosial. A liquid gold, nectarous consommé with prunes and Earl Grey
foam completed the dish.
Le Boeuf de ‘Hiroshima’ – charcoal grilled ‘Hiroshima’ tenderloin,
zucchini flower beignet, sauce poivrade. Starring a small but beautiful piece of high quality Japanese
Wagyu in a rich peppery sauce with a subtle wasabi crème and capers in the
beignet - another delicious dish.
Fourme D’Ambert – pear, cauliflower, caramel port wine. Dating from Roman times, Fourme d'Ambert is one of France's oldest cheeses. At The Water
Library, they brought it bang up to date with a cauliflower, delightful shards of dried cauliflower,
a port wine reduction and a sweet pear gelée – one of the finest chef prepared
cheese courses I’ve ever eaten.
Blackberry – parfait, brown butter, yoghurt. All balanced with perfect synergy
of flavours, textures and temperatures, Brown butter ice cream, blackcurrant
sorbet, coconut gelée, berry parfait, sorrel meringue, baby basil and fresh
fruits was the perfect, cool and refreshing way to end the meal before heading
out into the muggy Bangkok night.
Petit fours and Jing Green Tea.
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