The offer, which runs through March, features a choice of two starters and two main dishes, each featuring lobster as the star and prepared to recipes that highlight Trader Vic’s exotic Polynesian flavours. Guests can start their meal with a fresh and crispy Lobster Tempura Salad of lobster tail roll, claw in tempura, potato salad, mango basil salsa, potato crisps and baby leaves, or opt for a juicy Grilled Lobster Salad with fennel, pineapple and guacamole.

Sumptuous mains include a creamy Lobster Gratin served with tempura courgette, sweet potato fries and pineapple bearnaise sauce, and a whole grilled lobster with corn on the cob, marinated aubergine, peppers, asparagus and courgettes, and garlic ginger butter.

Diners ordering both a lobster starter and main course will receive a Classic White Wine Spritzer or a Watermelon Wine Spritzer on the house. The prices start from Bt550plus.

Book a table at (02) 476 0022 extension 1416 or email riversidedining@anantara.com.

The Manor restaurant engages in luxurious celebrations with its New Year Treasures Set Dinner, representing six benevolent wishes. A plate of Hamachi sashimi in spicy orange oil and pork and prawn dumplings with truffle XO sauce will offer good luck and prosperity.

Harmony, good luck and longevity are provided by Grilled Scottish Scallops with sealettuce butter, honey, Soyglazed Roasted Cod Fillet with champagne sauce, and Kobe Wagyu Beef Sirloin with truffle mash and French tarragonbutter emulsion. The dinner concludes with a fluffy Threemilk Cake with pistachio and raspberry for peace.

The hotel also presents Exceptional Poon Choi, a private menu for families and friends. The large casserole of extraordinary ingredients will give the New Year a luxurious start.

Priced at 1,088 Macao pounds (Bt4,317) for two, Poon Choi offers traditional delicacies such as South African abalone, sea cucumber, dried scallops, dried oysters with mushrooms and sea moss, and braised pig’s tongue.

Those seeking special gifts for loved ones can purchase the Prosperous Hamper and Gift Set, featuring traditional new year cakes, dried longan, homemade sauce, dried scallops, canned South African abalone and Japanese sake for 2,988 pounds. The hampers are available until February 15.

 The celebration proper starts on Friday, February 16, 2018 with a traditional lion dance ceremony. The God of Wealth will visit all the hotel’s riverside restaurants, sharing lucky Lai See packets as he goes.

Iconic and sophisticated, The China House has long been recognised as Bangkok’s most exclusive destination during Chinese New Year and is once again offering special Yu Sheng festive set menus. They include Golden Dog,-Ha-ha- ha Lo Hei, Superior Prosperity and Superior Abalone and Jelly Fish. Prices start at Bt1,838-plus  for  2-4 persons or Bt1,988-plus for 5-8 persons. A selection of a la carte delights and Golden Fatt Choi Dim Sum is also available from February 15-18, 2018.

Book now at (02) 659 9000 ext 7390 or visit www.MandarinOriental.com/bangkok.

The tempting international buffet celebrates the last day of the working week in style with premium imported meats and scrumptious seafood, along with steamed and fried seafood and meat dishes from live-cooking stations.

The new selections include Canadian Lobster and Bacon Slider – Squid Ink Brioche Bun, Roasted Lobster, Tomato Relish, Bacon, Tomato and Cos Lettuce Hearts; and Seared A La Minute Wagyu Steaks and River Prawn served in small bamboo baskets with Herb Butter. The buffet is priced at Bt2,200 net per person.

Book your table at (02) 236 7777, (02) 236 9952 or visit http://www.Shangrila.com/bangkok/shangrila/dining/restaurants/next2/book-a-table/.

You’ll find a great selection at Mandarin Oriental shops and all of them spell out a message of love.

Among the new delights are Red Rose, White Chocolate Liquid Heart and Chocolate Trio Cake, Heart Chocolate Lollipops, Pink Chocolate Truffles, Heart-Shaped Macaroons and Shortbread Dipped Chocolates and they’re all available at the Mandarin Oriental shops in Siam Paragon, Central Chidlom, The Emporium, Gaysorn Village and the hotel’s Lobby Corner.

Find out more at ()2) 659 9000 or email mobkk-bakery@mohg.com.

The Bib Gourmand list highlights more affordable restaurant options than those typically recognised with the Michelin Star. It was initiated back in 1954, when the Michelin Guide took the first step to indicate restaurants serving “good cuisine at a reasonable price,” reinforcing its commitment to quality for everyone. This recognition gained high popularity, and later became the ‘Bib Gourmand’ distinction, which has been presented annually since 1997.

The symbol of Bib Gourmand, featuring the famed Bibendum or Michelin Man licking his lips, serves as a label for an authentic cuisine carefully prepared and inexpensively priced. The maximum price point that identifies affordability is determined by local economic standards. In the case of Bangkok, the Bib Gourmand recognises eateries that offer quality cuisine at a maximum price of Bt1,000 (The price is for a threecourse meal; starter, main course, and dessert – exclusive of beverage).

“The Bib Gourmand plays a role as significant as the Michelin Star, in promoting Bangkok as the city of diverse and dynamic culinary scene with finedining restaurants, casual eateries, and moderatelypriced street food establishments. The Bib Gourmand not only offers local and foreign food enthusiasts to experience a Michelinrated restaurant at an affordable, valueformoney price; but also serves as a testament that a highquality, delicious meal is not always expensive,” Segsarn TraiUkos, the country director of Michelin Siam, explains.

In the debut edition of 2018 Michelin Guide Bangkok, there are 35 restaurants taking the spotlight as Bib Gourmand honourees. Among them are 18 streetfood establishments including Polo Fried Chicken (Soi Polo), a restaurant that’s been operating for 50 years and is famous for its garlic fried chicken with perfectly crispy skin on the outside and flavourful tender meat on the inside. Others are Jok Prince, a famous food stall hidden in a narrow alley offering smooth and savoury rice porridge with a smoky aroma, topped with either a raw egg or a century egg; and Yentafo Convent, a stall serving pink noodle soup, made with tomatoes and sweet potatoes, for more than 40 years.

The remaining 17 are restaurants such as Baan, where the husbandry and provenance of the ingredients is paramount: beef used in the Massaman curry is from an Islamic farm in Pak Chong, and sustainable seafood is sourced from southern Thailand; and The Local, an authentic Thai restaurant in a colonialstyle building where dishes are crafted from secret family recipes and represent all regions of Thailand.

“In the first edition of MICHELIN Guide Bangkok, the number of Bib Gourmand restaurants doubles the number of Michelinstarred restaurants. In addition, around half of the Bib Gourmand honourees are street food establishments. This signifies the charms of Bangkok as the city of good value and reasonably priced restaurants, as well as a top destination for street food,” said Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

“The Bib Gourmand basically provides an opportunity for small but excellent eateries to earn recognition and fame – thus encouraging the enhancement of culinary excellence for Thailand and the growth of the local economy. Both distinctions, Bib Gourmand and Michelin Star, will serve as a magnet drawing tourists and food enthusiasts from around the world to experience the remarkable diversity of Bangkok’s dining scene themselves.”

View the full selection of the Michelin Guide Bangkok 2018 at http://www.Guide.michelin.com in English and Thai.

Dinner in the Sky, which is located behind Dinosaur Planet near The Emporium on Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Road, features a dinner table suspended 50 metres above the ground by a 200tonne European telescopic boom crane.  At unique dinners in Bangkok, 22 guests will be secured in German TUVapproved safety harnesses and raised into the sky to enjoy the hotel’s executive chef Gaetano’s sublime menu and incredible city views.

Dinner in the Sky has been enjoyed by diners in more than 50 countries including China, Denmark, France, Holland, Japan, Macau, and Taiwan.

“We have a talented catering team at the site led by chef Gaetano. He has designed a fabulous menu that will perfectly complement this oneofakind dining experience,” said Robert Wittebrood, executive assistant manager of Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit.

The dinner menu includes an appetiser of Angus beef carpaccio with a healthy salad, lemon dressing and Parmesan cheese foam followed by tomato gazpacho chilli soup with crab meat and cucumber. Diners will be offered a choice of main course dishes including pan fried butterfish with saffron potatoes, asparagus, cherry tomato and beetroot reduction or braised Australian short ribs beef with barbecue sauce and roasted vegetables or roasted New Zealand lamb loin with hazelnuts, baby turnip and purple potatoes pur?e. The exclusive dinner will end with passion fruit mascarpone cream cheese cake with raspberry coulis and green tea ice cream.

Reservations are available for sunset at 6pm or night dining at 7.30pm. The flight duration is 60 minutes. Ticket are available now. The fourcourse dinner is Bt4,990 on weekdays (Monday – Friday), and Bt5,390 on weekends.

For further information or bookings, call (02) 007 5165, email info@dinnerinthesky.co.th or visit http://www.DinnerInTheSky.co.th.

Now it’s aiming to reach even greater epicurean heights in 2018, with a series of exciting gastronomic events and activities.

The resort’s gourmet journey for 2018 begins this month with extended visits by two of the UK’s most celebrated masters of fine dining and mixology.

Acclaimed mixologist Salim Khuory, former head barman of the iconic American Bar at The Savoy in London, will be sharing his expertise during his annual residency at The Nai Harn in January. As part of his stay in Phuket, Salim will be adding to The Nai Harn’s extensive list of original cocktails with two brand new signature creations.

January also sees the return of British celebrity chef Will Holland, who will join The Nai Harn from January 19 to 27 from The Atlantic Hotel’s Michelin-starred Ocean restaurant in Jersey. Holland will create a series of special dishes for the hotel’s beachfront restaurant, Rock Salt. He also plans to host an exclusive six-course dinner at the resort’s Cosmo restaurant on January 26.

“I have known Will since 2007 when he was working at La Becasse (the UK restaurant that received a Michelin star in 2009). We bonded over a shared love of amazing food, so he was first on the list of top chefs I wanted to bring to Thailand when I moved here in 2013,” says The Nai Harn’s executive chef Mark Jones.

“During his first visit we really rocked it together, attracting high-profile guests and inspiring diners and chefs alike. I am sure that this year’s residency will reach even greater heights and I look forward to exciting our guests with Will’s incredible culinary creations here.”

The return of the two masters in their respective crafts comes just a month after the resort hosted the world’s leading wine critic, James Suckling, for Phuket’s second “Great Wines of Italy” tasting event. The exclusive gathering in December marked the final stage of Suckling’s multi-city Grand Asian Tasting Tour and James has already confirmed a third event at The Nai Harn on December 8.

Further ensuring the best quality flavours at The Nai Harn, the hotel’s Cosmo restaurant launched a fresh new menu, which saw Jones draw upon his 20 years of experience in Michelin-starred restaurants and luxury resorts to create a series of stunning new dishes focusing on the freshest and finest ingredients from sustainable sources. Jones has also helped elevate the resort’s artisanal cuisine to new levels with the launch of The Charcuterie, an extensive selection of home cured meats and other delicacies.

In addition to hosting the twin residencies from the UK in January, a wealth of other exciting culinary occasions are in the pipeline for the remainder of the year at The Nai Harn. Highlights include a residency by Massimo Camia, who will be showcasing the flavours he creates at his Michelin-starred restaurant in La Morra, Italy in March. Then in May, Suckling with return to judge the 3rd Best Ros้ of Thailand competition, with blind tasting on May 10 and a gala awards ceremony on May 11.

“These world class events and special guests will further establish The Nai Harn’s position as Phuket’s foremost gastronomic destination in 2018,” says Frank Grasmann, general manager of The Nai Harn.

Find out more by visiting http://www.TheNaiHarn.com.

Now the restaurant is introducing “The Sunday Roast” every second Sunday of the month with all-you-can-eat roast and BBQ menu in the garden. A live band sets the mood from sunset on.

The lunch buffet features an Oysters on Ice station with Fine de Claire and Tasmanian oysters plus tuna tartare and a Spit Roast Carving station with Kurobuta pork and Piri Piri chicken. The Charcoal Barbeque station has Wagyu Flank steak, pork spare rib, miso cod, home-made sausages, garlic white prawns and more, all complemented with a variety of sauces and sides such as Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese and a wide selection of salads.

Finish the meal with apple crumble, strawberry tart, chocolate brownie and an ice cream and sorbet selection.

The Sunday Roast at The Courtyard, The House on Sathorn is available today (January 14), February 11, and March 11 from 6 to 10pm for Bt2,600-plus inclusive of free flow soft drinks, juices, coffees and teas. Add Bt900-plus person for free flow premium wines, craft beers, cocktails and sparkling wines.

Opened in 2015, The House on Sathorn is the neo-classical structure dating from 1889 that was originally a private residence. It became a hotel in the 1920s then from the 1950s to 1999 served as the site of the Russian embassy.

The building and grounds – directly adjacent to W Bangkok – comprise four separate venues: signature restaurant The Dining Room, outdoor bistro The Courtyard, and The Bar in addition to Upstairs and The Conservatory for meeting and social gatherings.

Book your table by calling (02) 344 4025 or email to thehouseonsathorn@whotels.com or. For up-to-date information, visit www.TheHouseOnSathorn.com.

JAPANESE CHEESE tarts and the Korean shaved ice dessert Bingsu are still all the rage, but three young entrepreneurs believe there’ll always be room for local desserts, the recipes for which are based on centuries of collective wisdom.

That’s why, five months ago, Kritsada Intharah, Thanchita Atthakornkowit and Supreda Dhanusuwansak opened the small dessert cafe and workshop studio Sane (pronounced Saneh) in Bangkok’s Tanao Road near the popular tourist area of Khao San.

The aim, they tell the Sunday Nation, is to make local sweets widely known among tourists while providing residents with some taste-bud teasing blasts from the past.

Thanchita Atthakornkowit at her dessert cafe and workshop studio Sane.

The front part of the cafe can seat about 10 guests and serves drip coffee, Thai tea, vegan and refreshing cold drinks together with bite-size local sweets such as the crown-like thong ek, saneh jaan (a dessert made with nutmeg), kanom tom (coconut ball dumpling), kanom tuay (steamed coconut milk pudding), and kleeb lamduan (Thai-style shortbread cookie).

The back serves as the studio where Kritsada, Thanchita and guest pastry chefs will take turns to offer tips and tricks for cooking traditional Thai sweets. The course will be held every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and cover a variety of traditional desserts including bulan dun mek (steamed rice cakes), kanom gluay (steamed banana pudding), piak poon (black pudding) and som manad (Thai-style meringue).

Thong ek and saneh jaan are served with a cup of hot Americano.

“Tourists tend to regard mango and durian with sticky rice as typically Thai desserts but never get to try other sweets that are part of our heritage. We wanted to change that perception and also teach them how they can create these delicious desserts,” says Thanchita who previously worked as a pastry chef at Zuma restaurant in Bangkok.

“Also, many tourists are still reluctant to try unfamiliar tastes. Several Thai sweet treats are finished with perfumed smoke from scented wax, but foreigners tend not to like the fragrance and say it reminds them of soap,” adds Kritsada.

Kanom tuay and hot Americano

“So far, most of our clients are Thais who want to get away from bustling Khao San and munch on tempting sweets in our relaxing and tranquil venue. The dessert classes are also attracting Thais who want to learn the techniques for making such rare delicacies as thong ek, saneh jaan, and chor muang (flower-shaped dumpling).”

Both Kritsada and Thanchita honed their cooking skills in international cuisine and pastry at the School of the Oriental Hotel Apprenticeship Programme, under the direction of Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, and also signed up for several courses in making sweet delicacies based on royal recipes at Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Vocational Training Centre.

 Kanom tom

While acknowledging it’s a risky business because of the very short shelf of Thai sweets – coconut cream and coconut flesh do not keep – they still want to share their passions and serve up Thai desserts like grandma used to make.

“Thai desserts are perceived as cheap delicacies despite the ingredients being relatively expensive. Everything has to be super fresh too, which adds to the cost. We use rice and sticky rice flour and arrowroot, all of which are gluten-free as well as palm sugar and fresh coconut milk,” says Kritsada, who ditched a career in engineering to pursue his passion for cooking.

Pino Coco

Visitors to the cafe can munch on such tempting treats as the six-piece set of thong ek and saneh jaan for Bt70 or a pair of kanom tuay for Bt25. Kao tu (rice balls), kleeb lamduan and bulan dun mek are just Bt10 a mouthful and made-to-order desserts can also be arranged.

The desserts are best washed down with hot drip coffee (Bt55 to Bt70), Cocoa x Coco (iced dark chocolate, coconut syrup and fresh milk, Bt80), Pino Coco (a mixture of pineapple and coconut juices and coconut milk, Bt95), or the Khaosan Mojito (roselle juice, lime, mint and soda, Bt70).

There is also vegan drink menu featuring cocoa, latte, cappuccino and mocha, made with 100-per-cent dark chocolate and drip coffee mixed with coconut syrup and coconut milk from Bt75 to Bt85.

 Cocoa x Coco

“I’ve tried mango and sticky rice with coconut cream, but this is the first time I have sampled traditional Thai desserts. They are kind of sweet and a little salty and the texture is really smooth,” says South Korean customer Lee Sun Hee of her kanom tuay. “But I still love ripe Thai mango whether it’s served fresh or blended as a drink.”

The dessert courses run for about an hour for learning gluay chuem (banana with syrup) (Bt499) or kanom tuay (Bt900) and up to five hours for the more complicated chor muang (Bt1,400) and look choop (Bt2,800). Look choop are bite-size sweets made from mung bean paste mixed with coconut milk, then shaped and painted with food colouring to look like fruits or vegetables.

Kritsada Intharah conducts a class on making bulan dun mek.

On the day I visited, Kritsada was conducting a two-hour class on making bulan dun mek, a soft sweet in a tiny cup. The name refers to the moon seen through the clouds and it’s made with butterfly pea flower juice and egg custard.

Rice flour, arrowroot and sugar are mixed and kneaded by hand for 10 to 20 minutes until well mixed and set aside. Butterfly pea flowers are boiled with water and then filtered through a strainer before mixed with the kneaded dough to give it the blue tint representing the night sky.

Ceramic mini cups are steamed over high heat then filled with the mixture and steamed for another 15 minutes.

The egg custard is made by mixing egg yolk, palm sugar, coconut milk and salt. A dollop placed on the centre of each tiny cup.

The three partners also offer custom-made Western-style cakes online via their Facebook page “Little’R cake”.

 Bulan dun mek

JUST DESSERTS

Sane Cafe and Workshop Studio is on Tanao Road (next to Khao San) and is open daily (except Monday), from 11am to 7pm.

For details, call (063) 541 4964 or keep updated with the workshop schedules at the “Sane.workshop” page on Facebook.