This combination is the first pairing in Thailand of Chinese mooncakes with a French tea brand and promises pleasure for all the senses.

The Peninsula’s egg custard mooncakes are handmade according to a traditional Hong Kong recipe to ensure the finest quality texture and flavour. This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 24, and these treats for sharing among family and friends are perfectly matched with Mariage Freres black tea – a blend of fruits, rare spices and sweet taste of honey.

As a meaningful celebration of the hotel’s 20th anniversary this year, a limited edition mooncake gift box is being presented with proceeds from sales going to fund scholarships for underprivileged Thai students who dream of studying art. The box is crafted by up-and-coming artist Phannapast Taychamaythakool and can be reused as a multi-purpose box or clutch bag.

The hotel started baking and selling egg custard mooncakes in 2000 and by 2016 had sold three million pieces. Chinese cuisine executive chef Ball Yau and his team at Mei Jiang meticulously handcraft each mooncake using a closely guarded recipe originally created by The Peninsula Hong Kong in 1986. The Peninsula Bangkok inherited this fine tradition, and the mooncakes are sold in octagonal boxes of eight as the Chinese word for eight sounds similar to the words meaning “prosperity” and “good fortune”, wishes exchanged between family and friends during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

This year, the egg custard mooncake and premium French tea pairing shares the same auspicious number theme from Hong Kong culture, with 8 mooncakes, octagonal box, plus 28 grammes of tea totalling 44, and 4+4 = 8. The eight-piece mooncake set is priced at Bt980 net, and Bt1,380 net when paired with a 28-gramme box of Mariage Freres tea, and can be purchased from August 1 to September 24 at The Peninsula Boutique and the pop-up store at Siam Paragon.

To make an order, call (02) 020 2888, or email diningpbk@peninsula.com. They can also be purchased online, at http://www.peninsula.com/bangkok

THERE’S NOTHING fancy about Samyan Seafood (39) on Bangkok’s Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Road. The three-storey Chinese restaurant is distinctly old fashioned, with chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings, columns covered with Chinese characters, marble on the floor and big round tables with Lazy Susan trays on top to bring each dish within the reach of individual diners.

The Chinese and seafood dishes are designed for family feasts, made with the freshest premium ingredients and presented without frills. The must-try dish is stir-fried sea crab with curry sauce that the restaurant guarantees nowhere else can offer in the same portion and of the same quality at the same price.

The large Chinese restaurant Samyan Seafood (39) boasts a charming old-fashioned ambience.

“We use only white mud crab for its succulently rich, sweet and firm texture. Many people think that the bigger the crab, the more crabmeat they get. That’s false. Actually, a 800 or 900-gram crab is the best size, giving the largest quantity of meat and the richest natural sweet taste,” says Ekachai Tangsinpoonchai, the second-generation owner.

Ekachai’s grandfather was a major crab dealer in Yaowarat – Bangkok’s Chinatown – bringing in different crabs sourced in local and neighbouring countries. His father expanded the business by opening the original restaurant Samyan Seafood in the Samyan area off Rama IV Road in 1983. The restaurant relocated to its more spacious venue at the current location in 1996 and the “39” is a nod to 2539, the Buddhist Era digits for that year.

Ekachai Tangsinpoonchai shows the difference between white and black mud crabs.

“With our long experience in the crab business, we guarantee that no other restaurant offers the same quality, size and price. If you have found one and can prove it, then you dine here for free,” he says with a confident grin.

The best value-for-money deals are the six food sets priced at Bt5,000, Bt6,000, Bt8,000, Bt9,000, Bt11,000 and Bt16,000 for six to 10 people. I opt for a nine-course set at Bt6,000, which kicks off with an hors d’oeuvre of fried shrimp balls, drunken chicken, jellyfish with sesame oil, and fried minced shrimp wrapped with tofu skin (Bt500 a la carte).

 Hors d’oeuvres 

The second dish is brown soup – your choice of fish maw or shark fin (Bt1,000 for small a la carte or Bt2,000 for large). Then comes the signature dish of stir-fried crab in curry powder (Bt1,600 a la carte) that almost every table orders. The 800- or 900-gram crab is cooked with an aromatic curry powder and goose egg.

 Stir-fried crab in curry powder 

“The goose eggs give a smoother texture than hen or duck eggs and they absorbs the curry powder sauce very well, making the dish succulent and rich,” says Ekachai.

Peking duck

No true Cantonese feast is complete without roasted Peking duck and here the duck’s crispy skin is sheared off bit by bit for rolling into palm-sized steamed pancakes along with pieces of cucumber and spring onion before being dressed with thick, sweet and pungent hoisin sauce.

 Stir-fried shrimp with oyster sauce and ginkgo nuts 

Next up is stir-fried shrimp with oyster sauce and ginkgo nuts (Bt600-Bt800 a la carte). The shrimp flesh is fresh and firm while the ginkgo nuts are chewy.

Goby fish is usually steamed due to its friable flesh but Samyan Seafood offers battered wok-fried fish fillets tossed with roasted pine nuts (Bt800 a la carte)

 Fried goby fish fillets with pine nuts 

“The fish fillets are fried in high heat and a chef just moves the wok several times to ensure the flesh is not broken. It requires great cooking skill because even when steaming the flesh of this fish flakes into fragments. It’s best eaten no more than three minutes after serving,” says Ekachai.

Stir-fried wheat noodles with seafood

Then comes stir-fried wheat noodles with shrimp, crabmeat and mushroom (Bt250-Bt500 a la carte). The dish, which is reasonably dry and doesn’t have an oily taste, gives off a complex smoky flavour imparted by a hot wok during cooking.

Hot pot of fish’s head with taro 

Then it’s time for hot pot of fish’s head with taro (Bt500 a la carte), which combines a mild herbal taste with the naturally sweet flavour of taro. The course ends with sweet mashed taro with sticky rice and ginkgo nuts in syrup (Bt250-Bt500 a la carte).

Sweet mashed taro with sticky rice and ginkgo nuts 

The restaurant, which is equivalent in size to 14 shophouses, can accommodate 100 tables |(each for 10) on the first and |mezzanine floors. The 12 private rooms are on the second floor and can each take about 10 diners each. |The third floor is an old-fashioned banqueting hall that can accommodate 100 to 500 guests and is particularly popular for Chinese wedding ceremonies.

SENSATIONS FROM THE SEA

Samyan Seafood (39) is on Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Road (BTS: Chong Nonsi station) is open daily for lunch from 11 am to 2.30 and for dinner, from 5.30 to 10pm.

Make a reservation at |(02) 678 2020 or visit http://www.SamyanSeafood.com.

The three-day event at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre offers trades people Start-Up Village, housing brands that have been on the scene in Singapore for less than three years.

The Asia Food Innovation Awards highlight excellence across the F&B spectrum, from manufacturing to ingredients, packaging and finished products. There are 15 categories, such as best health/wellness product, best artisan product and best technology innovation. Winners receive an all-inclusive PR and media package to promote and publicise their success.

Speciality & Fine Food Asia will also host an Investor Pitching Series where potential startups will vie for an opportunity to pitch their ideas to stakeholders in the F&B industry.

Panel Discussions will feature industry experts in robust talks on emerging trends and current business opportunities. Hosted Buyers, a group of senior buyers and decision-makers from outside Singapore, will be involved in priority business matching with suppliers and traders.

Isaac Mchale, chef-owner of the acclaimed one-Michelin-star restaurant the Clove Club in London, will demonstrate his craft.

The Gourmet Halal Trail will showcase the latest innovative halal produce, and a halal workshop will provide practical insights.

Thai visitors who register to attend Speciality & Fine Food Asia will be eligible to claim a S$50 prepaid MasterCard. Register at http://www.BLS-onlinereg.com/sffa-rpb-asia-2018/main/Welcome.aspx and use Thailand’s registration code – TH1838 – on the home page of the registration portal.

Beer Belly at 72 Courtyard invites all football fans to cheer their favourite teams during the live screenings by offering special food and booze packages, plus live bands and games until July 15 at 5pm until late.

Book your spot in advance to get limited Budweiser drawstring bag at (02) 392 7770.

Metro Lounge, on the ground floor of Grand Mercure Bangkok Fortune, is buzzing with excitement during the Football World Cup 2018!

Come and support your favourite team while enjoying a special World Cup menu especially designed for the next three exciting weeks. Special dishes include fresh oysters, nachos with tomato salsa, bratwurst with bread and a large plate of onion rings.

Guess the winning team and score and get special prizes at the end of the match. During the semi-finals and the final, you could a buffet dinner for two at One Rachada World restaurant to be enjoyed within two months, or a bottle of sparkling wine if you prefer to celebrate right after the match!

Riverside Grill at Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers has a special Football Fan Zone for the live-streamed games from now until July 15 along with complimentary free flow draught beer from the match kick-off time until the first goal is scored (first half only), and free drink shots for every goal scored during the game. Prizes are also on hand for those who guess the right final results of the matches. A special VIP section can be reserved to allow you and your friends to get immersed in the game.

Gourmet Bar at Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square has erected a giant screen at the front of the hotel terrace and is offering World Cup-themed snacks including hot dog with mustard, chili cheese dog, chicken balti pie, pepper beef steak pie, grilled sausages with mashed potatoes and peas and nacho with dipping sauces starting at Bt100-plus.

And if you’d rather stay at home, Foodpanda Thailand lets you make game nights even more enjoyable by pairing cuisines from around the world with amazing deals throughout the season.

Supporting Team Mexico is the Sunrise Tacos Mexican Grill on Sukhumvit Road, and Bowlito the Mexican Kitchen on Wireless Road, with free delivery on every order,

Team Japan comes with Chabuton Ramen offering 10 pieces of gyoza for free on all orders of Bt500 from its Central Rama 9 branch; free delivery on orders from Sushi BuNe on Thonglor Soi 4-6, and free chicken nuggets with orders of Bt399 from Gold Curry on Sukhumvit Soi 39.

Team Australia is at Outback Steakhouse, Siam Discovery with free delivery; Team Spain is celebrated at Barcelona Gaudi with 50-per-cent discounts on all egg and omelette dishes, and Team England gets the cheers at London Pie andBourbon Street Restaurant, with free BBQ ribs with coleslaw with all orders of boiled craw fish. Dae Jang Guem supports Team Korea with free delivery on all orders while Team Iran supporters can munch free pita bread with all orders above Bt300 at Al Rawche on Sukhumvit Soi 5, Al Saray on Silom Soi 2, Daniel Thaiger on Sukhumvit Soi 30/1 and Hooters on Sukhumvit Soi 4.

Chocolate was first introduced to Europe in the 1550s and Movenpick’s properties across the region are honouring this in many different ways. Movenpick Hotel Hamburg is recreating the city’s skyline using chocolate pralines, desserts and bites in an eyecatching display.

Movenpick Hotel Stuttgart Airport offers an exquisite tasting experience giving guests the chance to try orangechocolate chips, white chocolate with berries or egg liqueurfilled chocolates. Movenpick Hotel Istanbul is succulent with a chocolate fountain and truffle chocolates handdecorated by talented chefs.

Movenpick Resort Soma Bay in Egypt where the hunt is on to find the “magic nut” in the housemade chocolate and Movenpick Resort & Marine Spa Sousse offers a magnificent buffet of homemade chocolate, local delights and seasonal fruits.

In Asia, Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu is using locally grown cocoa to create special Filipinoinspired treats that not only introduce guests to local delicacies but also support the island’s agricultural workers.

Here in Thailand, Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel in Chiang Mai is concocting a Swiss chocolate dip to accompany a traditional northern Thai snack – crispy rice cakes (khao tan) with traditional watermelon sauce. Movenpick Hotel Colombo chefs are mastering the art of using traditional Sri Lankan ingredients such as ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and chilli to make the “best chocolates in town”.

In the Middle East, Movenpick Resort & Spa Tala Bay Aqaba focuses on family fun, with chefs, parents and kids creating chocolate displays together. Movenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate Dubai offers an extravagant jewelleryinspired affair with exquisite golddusted chocolate medallions, handcrafted chocolate jewellery and edible diamonds handmade by the pastry team, while Movenpick Hotel City Star Jeddah makes chocolate crepes the hero in a special live cooking session that tantalises the tastebuds.

Find out more at http://www.Movenpick.com.

IN THE inaugural Michelin Guide Bangkok published late last year, Tables Grill at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok was among the 76 dining venues awarded Michelin plates in recognition of good cooking with fresh ingredients.

Aiming next for a Michelin star, the European-food restaurant is taking an exciting fine-dining direction under the baton of the new chef de cuisine Hans Zahner.

Hailing from Paris, Zahner previously worked at Les 3 Domes in Lyon and with celebrated chef Alain Ducasse at his eponymous restaurant in Paris.

Bangkok is the second city in Asia where Zahner has headed culinary operations, following nearly three years at the Peninsula Shanghai’s Michelin-star Sir Elly’s.

New chef de cuisine Hans Zahner 

“I had a chance to travel to many cities in China, Vietnam and Thailand and I realised that Asian people generally don’t like French food, which they find too heavy and creamy,” says Zahner, who joined Tables Grill in April. “I use traditional French techniques, but I want to give these classic dishes a fresh and healthy spin, using seasonal ingredients.”

As he prepares to revamp the whole menu in August, Zahner is introducing himself to the regulars with a sampling of his capabilities in a six-course degustation menu costing Bt2,900-plus per diner.

“The idea is to sate the appetite but not get too full,” he says. “The weather here is hot, so people can’t eat too much foie gras. Premium sea bream and salmon are better choices for a light and healthy meal.”

Amuse-bouche

The feast begins with breads and truffle butter, followed by an amuse-bouche with a shot of tomato foam and tomato confit served with a shard of mackerel on a radish.

Then comes David Herve Boudeuse Oyster, a small, round variety from the David Herve farm in France that’s admired for its sweet and succulent flesh. Served on a bed of blue rock salt that mimics the sea, the mollusc is lightly tossed with a lemony condiment and lemongrass jelly and capped with two tiny morsels of Granny Smith apple and beetroot puree.

David Herve Boudeuse Oyster

Zahner claims Tables Grill is the only restaurant in Bangkok using premium Brittany royal sea bream for its tartare instead of the usual tuna. The diced fish is dressed with Moulin du Calanquet extra virgin olive oil from France, which the chef likes for its robust yet delicate taste, a good complement to the firm-textured fish.

On top goes Kristal caviar – the roe of Schrencki sturgeon farmed in China. The dark eggs are plump, briny and buttery, with a nice pop and a clean finish.

Brittany Royal Sea Bream Tartare

All this rests on water carrot jelly, a rather complicated creation, says the chef. Carrot juice is slowly heated and stiffened with egg white, forming a fine mesh screen that works like a strainer to produce a clear consomme. The juice is then strained with three layers of fine-mesh fabric and gelatin is added.

Alaskan King Crab with Red Curry

The Alaskan King Crab sees the meat, tomato confit and lime skin beneath curry custard, coriander leaves, curry foam and a galangal emulsion, the effect being slightly spicy, sour and sweet. The foam is also drizzled with red cabbage powder.

Confit Wild Canadian Salmon

Next up is Confit Wild Canadian Salmon, of which Zahner carefully selects only the red flesh, drawing 12 fillets from the whole salmon. These are cooked sous-vide for 20 minutes at 47 degrees Celsius and garnished with Tasmanian black truffle. A zucchini cooked with Hormardine sauce makes a fine companion.

Roasted Australian Lamb

The main course is Roasted Australian Lamb. This is grass-fed tenderloin also prepared sous-vide and then roasted. On the side is carrot mille-feuille – 20 layers of finely sliced and baked carrot beneath carrot foam, all dressed with cumin sauce.

If you’re no fan of lamb, you can ask for beef, pork or chicken instead.

Lemon Cream and Rhubarb Sorbet

The meal ends with a refreshing dessert of Lemon and Rhubarb – rhubarb sorbet, lemon cream, hazelnut crumble and raspberry puree.

Conceived by New York-based designer Tony Chi, the dining room can seat 100 people amid Old World furnishings, vintage tiling and rattan partitions, all made in Thailand under Chi’s supervision. In a playful touch, cartoon chef figurines gaze down from the ceiling’s corners.

Around the room are five cooking stations where dishes like champagne risotto, tomahawk steak and creme brulee are prepared in full view. Away from the crowd are two luxurious private rooms – the 12-seat Chamber and 32-seat Cellar.

Tables Grill is aiming next for a Michelin star, with a new executive chef leading the campaign.

Tables Grill serves dinner daily except Sunday, when there’re a champagne brunch and the special a-la-carte menu including Half Boston Lobster Thermidor, Pan-fried Duck Liver and Poached Egg Penne Gratin. It costs Bt3,999-plus with free-flowing Louis Roederer Champagne, and Bt2,800-plus without.

SAMPLE ALL THAT’S NEW

Dinner is served from 6 to 10pm at Tables Grill at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok in the Ratchaprasong intersection.

Make reservations at (02) 254 6250 or http://www.TablesGrill.com.

The choice of culinary delights includes sweet and meaty Taraba king crab, plump Hokkaido scallops, delicious botan ebi shrimps and highly prized Satsuma beef.

The Occident and Orient combine in a marriage of culinary know-how and exquisite taste as these seasonal Japanese favourites are prepared with French savoir-faire, while Taraba crab open sandwich with konbu wafer is filled with avocado and pickled vegetables.

Also on offer are a nage – a savoury broth of Hokkaido scallops – and botan ebi sauteed with small vegetables, shimeji and mitsuba. There’ll be Hirame flounder with grated yuzu, celeriac, red sorrel and toasted matcha jus. And there’ll be succulent Satsuma beef garlic cromesquis served with daikon filled with bone marrow and olive licorice.

The prices start from Bt690.

Find out more at (02) 687 9000 and http://www.OkuraBangkok.com.

In partnership with Bitemojo, the world’s leading app for food tours, Taste of Thailand’s first self-guided food experience is the “Best of Vegan Bangkok,” a delicious journey along Sukhumvit Road to six distinct, select eateries where tour goers seamlessly receive six vegan delights along with insider stories on the place, recipe and people behind the dish. The places include Broccoli Revolution, Veganerie Concept, Sustaina Organic Restaurant, Hunter Poke, May Veggie Home and About Eatery. Each vendor has also created a special dish specifically for those exploring with the app.

“Following the success of our guided food tours in Bangkok and beyond, we saw the need for a more flexible alternative for the independent traveller,” said Jacob Holder, founder of Taste of Thailand Food Tours. “Doing a food tour on your own, or independently as a small group without a guide means much more flexibility to set your own pace and detour if you wish along the way.”

The experience is fully inclusive with information about the route, background on the food that will be served. Users can plan their experience according to their own timetable and vendor opening times as noted within the app. The company plans to launch two more tours this year in Bangkok’s Bang Rak and Chinatown areas with an expansion to include new Thai markets planned within early 2019.

The Bitemojo platform, in particular, echoes consumers’ behaviours in a digital age, serving as a form of digital currency to allow food lovers who fill up before completing the experience, the flexibility to use their remaining bite credit at any time on a later date. For participating vendors along the routes, this flexibility and seamless approach of the bitemojo currency, coupled with customer demand for Taste of Thailand Food Tours’ experiences, provides a new form of business with reduced administration.

“We are excited to enter the Bangkok food scene with such a leading partner, such as Taste of Thailand Food Tours,” said Michael Weiss, co-founder of Bitemojo. “Following our inaugural launch in Asia via Singapore earlier this year, we are elated to bring Bitemojo to the culinary hub of Bangkok where some of the globe’s best food can be found.”

Bitemojo currently offers tours in Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Ljubljana, Rome, Singapore and Tel Aviv.

Taste of Thailand is currently offering the Best of Vegan Bangkok at 40-per-cent off with the promo code “VeganTest” until June 30.

Those ready to eat their way through Bangkok can download the fully inclusive experience via the Bitemojo app on iTunes for iOS (https://bit.ly/2xJAYzt) or Google Play for Android (https://bit.ly/2rH1CTc).

Find out more at http://www.TasteofThailand.org.

Run by chef Massimo Bottura, the restaurant in Modena, Italy pipped last year’s winner, New York’s “Eleven Madison Park,” in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, after first taking the honour in 2016. It is the only Italian establishment to have won the annual accolade.

“This is amazing, this is something we built all together,” Bottura told the awards ceremony held in Bilbao in Spain’s northern Basque Country, famous for its avant-garde haute cuisine.

“I am going to use this spotlight to show that chefs in 2018 are much more than the sum of their recipes.”

The top restaurants list’s organisers praised “Bottura’s contemporary cuisine, which challenges and reinvents Italian culinary tradition while make use of the finest produce from the Emilia-Romagna region.”

His father wanted him to become a lawyer but when he was 23-years-old Bottura, who was famous for rustling up culinary delights for his friends, dropped his law studies to open a Trattoria in Campazzo, in the countryside around Modena in the Po River Valley.

On his days off, he would study with French chef Georges Cogny, who had a restaurant two hours away.

“He said to me: ‘always follow your palate, because you have a great palate which will make Modena known around the world’,” Bottura said during an interview with AFP in 2016.

He opened Osteria Francescana in 1995 after spending time in New York and Monaco.

Two Peruvians in top 10

Spain’s El Celler de Can Roca, which took the top honour in 2013 and 2015, came in second while third place went to Mirazur in southern France.

Restaurant magazine, owned by William Reed Media, launched the awards in 2002 and they are now as coveted by restaurants as Michelin stars, although the methodology used to select the best restaurants has faced criticism, especially from several French chefs who say it remains unclear.

There are no criteria for putting a restaurant on the list, which is based on an anonymous poll of more than 1,000 chefs, restaurant owners, food critics and other industry insiders from around the world.

Each member gets 10 votes and at least four of those votes have to go to restaurants outside their region.

The top 10 included two Peruvian restaurants, “Central” which slipped to number six from fifth place last year, and “Maido” which climbed to number seven from eighth place.

The only Asian restaurant in the top 10 was Bangkok’s “Gaggan”, whose owner-chef Gaggan Anand has won praise for his modern spin on his native Indian cuisine.

Half in Europe

Spain continued to dominate the line-up with three restaurants in the top 10, including El Celler de Can Roca, while France had two including Mirazur.

The 2018 list of 50 best restaurants included eateries in 22 countries — but over half were in Europe. Six are in the United States, six in Latin America and six in Asia.

Tuesday’s ceremony also handed out individual chef awards.

Britain’s Clare Smyth, who catered the dinner at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle last month, was named best female chef and France’s Cedric Grolet best pastry chef.

Peru’s celebrity chef Gaston Acurio, who is known for combining classic European techniques with typical ingredients from the Andean country, was given a lifetime achievement award.

The top restaurant award has gone to Spain seven times, the most of any country. In addition to El Celler de Can Roca’s two wins, ground-breaking Spanish chef Ferran Adria’s El Bulli, which he closed in 2011, took the prize a record five times.

This year was the first time the ceremony was held in Spain. The event has been held before in London, New York and Melbourne.

American Michael Ellis said that he was joining the Dubai-based luxury hotel chain Jumeirah after seven years with the red guides.

The soft-spoken Ellis, who previously worked for the French tyre maker’s motorcycle division, has expanded the guides to 31 editions in 30 countries.

But there has been controversy about Michelin’s decision to allow governments to commission new guides, with new ones for Seoul, Macau, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore all reportedly paid for.

Ellis said he will leave in September when he will become head of gastronomy for Jumeirah, which has hotels in the Gulf, China and Europe.

“Long live the Michelin guide,” Ellis declared as he announced his departure. “The inspectors are the beating heart… their passion and their expertise are without question and I was very honoured to be with them during these seven years.”

Ellis, who was born in Colorado, made his first trip to France as a teenager and decided he wanted to become a chef.

He returned to work in Paris as a commis chef at a Michelin one-star restaurant before realising “that I was probably more cut out to be a client of a restaurant.”