The Beauty of Siam: Anantara Siamese Fighting Fish showcases Thailand’s national aquatic emblem in the resort lower lobby and adjacent Riverside Plaza.

To mark the exhibition, the hotel provides new dessert menu and special cocktail which inspired from the beauty of fighting fish.

Taking inspiration from the fighting fish’s beautiful markings, the chefs at Anantara Riverside have created iconic sweets and drinks to mark the occasion.

The display at deli Numero Uno will be piled high with handcrafted desserts, from truffle chocolates in fish form to shortbread and macaroons with painted designs.

Starting price from only Bt50-70 per piece. Visitors can stop by for a light bite after viewing the exhibition or take home hampers as gifts. Numero Uno is open daily 6.00 am – 10.00 pm

Visitors to the exhibition can also take to a Manohra cruise or the Elephant Bar for watercolour cocktails: the Chao Phraya Betta refreshes with gin, butterfly pea and cucumber, while Riverside Fight Night combines the kick of tequila with dragon fruit for only for Bt350 NET. Elephant Bar opens at 5.00 pm until late. The Manohra dinner cruise departs from the resort pier at 7.30 pm.

For more information, please call +66 2 476 0022 ext. 1416 or email riversidedining@anantara.com.

NO FEWER than six acclaimed Japanese restaurants have opened their first outlets in Thailand at Siam Takashimaya, the department store within Bangkok’s Iconsiam retail palace.

All are well known in their homeland and all are confident they can tantalise the Thai palate with their respective variants on omakase, teppanyaki, sushi and sashimi, donburi, tonkatsu and shabu shabu.

Masa by Otaru Masazushi offers omakase-style dining with prime ingredients, mainly from Hokkaido.

The new Rose Dining zone is decked out in a minimalist style with warm lighting and cosy wood furnishings. There’s a serene and undeniable Zen-like appeal to the area, where all six outlets have set up shop.

Famed sushi restaurant Otaru Masazushi, a mainstay of the harbour town of Otaru in Hokkaido for 80 years, imports fresh produce for its classy omakase meals for which the chefs set the menu according to seasonal ingredients.

The Bangkok outlet is called Masa by Otaru Masazushi. It has 10 seats along a dining counter that wraps around the open kitchen, as well as a private room big enough for six people.

Nishin (herring) sushi

Owner Takayuki Nakamura is delighted to be sharing the family legacy with Thais. His grandfather started out with a food cart 80 years ago and Nakamura has long been wowing guests in Otaru and in Tokyo with his mastery of the knife in preparing beautiful sushi and sashimi cuts.

“Hokkaido being an island has a great variety of seafood,” he says. “About 90 per cent of the ingredients we use here in Bangkok come from Japan, and we use high-quality local tiger prawns and squid as well.”

Uni sushi

In the curve of the wooden counter can be imagined the current streaming along the Otaru canal. Glass panelling is embedded with Japanese paper shaped into snow patterns above and sea waves below.

For dinner there are the omakase course (Bt6,000) with amazing sushi and kaiseki, and the Mini Omakase (Bt4,000) with sushi, an appetiser, soup and dessert. At lunch there are sushi sets ranging in prices from Bt1,490 to Bt3,790. A-la-carte dishes are always available.

Ika Somen

Considered a speciality of Hokkaido is Ika Somen (squid noodles, Bt790 a-la-carte). This is raw squid sashimi that Nakamura slices with a flourish into fine strips so they look like somen – thin noodles.

The squid fin, body and tentacles all go into the mix with uni (sea urchin roe) and a cup of sauce filled with egg yolk. You dip the roe in the sauce and whip it to churn up some egg yolk. Slurping up the squid noodles is not only “okay” but encouraged – it’s the Japanese custom.

High in healthy omega-3 fatty acids, nishin (herring) is popular as sushi in Hokkaido. Priced at Bt390 a-la-carte, it is fatty flesh, but in this case, no dipping in soy sauce, because the overall taste is magnificent. Instead, the chef lightly dabs soy sauce on the fish alone, without touching the rice.

Botan shrimp

Botan shrimp from Hokkaido makes another sushi marvel for Bt490. The thorax of the shrimp rests on one portion of rice while the fat and flesh of the head are wrapped with more rice and tied in nori (seaweed). Shrimp roe goes on top of both.

The next restaurant is Kamui Hokkaido Dining, which, despite its name, actually hails from Yokohama.

“The original outlet specialises in traditional dishes, but the Bangkok branch has a totally different menu focused more on teppanyaki and contemporary Japanese dishes to meet the style of Siam Takashimaya,” says chief executive officer Kido Takao, who also runs the ramen shop Baikohken on the ground floor.

Kamui Hokkaido Dining highlights fresh sashimi and teppanyaki dishes using topgrade beef from Hokkaido.

“More than 60 per cent of our ingredients come from Hokkaido, while the vegetables, pork and chicken are all grown and raised here.”

The word Kamui refers to a divine being found in the mythology of the indigenous people Ainu of Hokkaido. The interior design has terra cotta and geometric elements lending a rustic, tribal ambience. The chefs can be watched through the wide kitchen window.

In teppanyaki, the star ingredient is wagyu beef raised in the Furano Basin at the foot of Mount Tokachi in the island’s Daisetsuzan National Park.

The Chef’s Special Meat Plate

The Chef’s Special Meat Plate (Bt1,500) includes a platter of rib-eye steak, slices of A3-grade Furano wrapped in uni with wasabi sauce and egg-yolk ponzu, and teppanyaki-grilled pork that’s been braised for 10 hours.

Furano beef steak reappears in another dish too, sitting atop rice boiled in beef stock (Bt1,350).

The Chef’s Special Sashimi Bowl 

The Chef’s Special Sashimi Bowl (Bt2,400) is a sizeable helping, the big bowl billowing with dry ice. It’s great with chutoro, otoro, akami, tai, salmon, tuna, saba, buri, uni, oyster and scallops – the last three are from Hokkaido.

Tsukiji Takewaka was in existence at Tokyo’s Tsukiji – Japan’s biggest wholesale fish market – for nearly three decades before relocating across town to the Ikeburuko area. Its reputation for the absolute freshest seafood is unimpeachable.

Count on Tsukiji Takewaka for the freshest possible seafood and great soba noodles.

The restaurant back home goes chiefly for the multi-course dining of kaiseki, but the choice in Bangkok is wide and varied. It too ships in about 90 per cent of ingredients from Japan.

“Thais love salmon and fried dishes, so we have those on the menu, such as fried tofu and fried soft-shell crab,” says manager Tomoyasu Machiya. “Our signature is soba noodles made fresh every day. You can watch the chefs kneading the dough and making the noodle in the kitchen.”

Tempura Seiro

Tempura Seiro (Bt490) has the buckwheat noodles chilled and served with shrimp and vegetable tempura.

For fresh sashimi, opt for the Takewaka Seafood Bowl (Bt1,370) – a rice bowl filled with sliced salmon, buri, chutoro, hirame, scallop, unagi, engawa, botan shrimp, uni and salmon roe.

Takewaka Seafood Bowl

Salmon Skin Roll (Bt520) is a modern take on the classic roll-up, stuffed with rice, salmon flesh and skin, and cucumber, with nori and salmon roe sprinkled on top.

Also in the Rose Dining zone are the tonkatsu restaurant Katsukura, shabu shabu restaurant Kissyan and Unagi Toku, where the speciality is unadon (grilled eel).

MORE THAN SUSHI

The Rose Dining Zone is open daily on the fourth floor of Siam Takashimaya department store at Iconsiam.

Masa by Otaru Masazushi is open 11am to 3pm, and 5pm to 10pm. Call (02) 005 3800.

Kamui Hokkaido Dining is open from 10 to 10. Call (02) 288 0800.

Tsukiji Takewaka is open from 10 to 10. Call (02) 288 0204.

Using excellent ingredients means cooking with less seasoning while keeping the natural flavours vibrant. The chef creates every dish with the knowledge gained from his deep experience. Diners can savour every dish like a work of art.

The feast costs Bt1,200-plus.

Starters include Iberico ham and goat cheese, a beautifully plated dish with two tastes in perfect harmony; panfried foie gras; imported Ora King Salmon from New Zealand; a rich seafood broth with scallops and tomatoes from Chiang Mai; and an eyecatching purple-theme salad with roasted baby beets, feta cheese and reduced balsamic dressing.

The main courses include free-range cornfed spring chicken roasted with feekah. With a tint of cinnamon and some baby pink apples and carefully wilted spinach, this dish redefines everything you thought about chicken.

Destined to be a favourite among Thai diners, the fish filet served with Thai jasmine rice is a light, refreshing dish.

Higher-end dishes include Boston Lobster. Tasty and chewy, it is guaranteed to pair perfectly with one of our white or sparkling wines or Champagne from our list of quite impressive list.

And of course, a classic rib-eye is available for steak lovers, as juicy as you could wish and cooked precisely to your preference.

Carefully handrolled truffle tortellini by our chefs are filled with baby globe artichokes, heirloom carrots and garden peas, and finished with a light vegetable nage with butter and torn cage.

Cafe@2 is open for lunch daily from 11.30 to 2.30 and for dinner 610.30.

Call (02) 690 9999 or email bkkci.info@conradhotels.com.

Among executive pastry chef Christoph Widmer’s notable new creations are the Salted Caramel, Vanilla, Pineapple Cheesecake, New York Cheesecake, English Fruit Cake and Butter Marble Cake. Fans of Italian fare should be sure to try the Tiramisu Eclair with creamy and smooth tiramisu filling.

A long-term resident of Thailand, the Swiss-born chef also explores the possibility of using locally sourced premium produce. One item he experiments with is a 70-per-cent Chiang Mai Dark Chocolate Crunch Dome. Rich dark chocolate from Chiang Mai elevates this delight to another level.

“As a chef who loves the fragrance of freshly baked pastries and enjoys playing with wonderful and interesting ingredients, I always feel at home when I am in my kitchen, and this new patisserie selection is a heart-made collection, something I would cook at home for my family and special friends and which I believe that they would very much enjoy,” he says.

The Chocolate Boutique also offers many other choices including Almond Darquoise, Diplmat, Raspberry, Hazelnut Praline Mille Feuille, Baked Royal Apicot Tart, Chocolate Passionfruit Craze, Banana Cake with Walnut and Green Tea Castella Cake.

The Chocolate Boutique is open daily from 7.45am to 11pm.

Call (02) 236 9952 or visit http://www.Shangri-la.com/bangkok/shangrila/dining/restaurants/the-chocolate-boutique/.

Among executive pastry chef Christoph Widmer’s notable new creations are the Salted Caramel, Vanilla, Pineapple Cheesecake, New York Cheesecake, English Fruit Cake and Butter Marble Cake. Fans of Italian fare should be sure to try the Tiramisu Eclair with creamy and smooth tiramisu filling.

A long-term resident of Thailand, the Swiss-born chef also explores the possibility of using locally sourced premium produce. One item he experiments with is a 70-per-cent Chiang Mai Dark Chocolate Crunch Dome. Rich dark chocolate from Chiang Mai elevates this delight to another level.

“As a chef who loves the fragrance of freshly baked pastries and enjoys playing with wonderful and interesting ingredients, I always feel at home when I am in my kitchen, and this new patisserie selection is a heart-made collection, something I would cook at home for my family and special friends and which I believe that they would very much enjoy,” he says.

The Chocolate Boutique also offers many other choices including Almond Darquoise, Diplmat, Raspberry, Hazelnut Praline Mille Feuille, Baked Royal Apicot Tart, Chocolate Passionfruit Craze, Banana Cake with Walnut and Green Tea Castella Cake.

The Chocolate Boutique is open daily from 7.45am to 11pm.

Call (02) 236 9952 or visit http://www.Shangri-la.com/bangkok/shangrila/dining/restaurants/the-chocolate-boutique/.

LOCATED towards the Ploenchit end of Sukhumvit in an area that boasts several Indian street food stalls and restaurants, Punjab Grill restaurant stands out in the crowd thanks to its elegant and fine-dining ambience. Here diners are transported back to the genteel days of British India with contemporary renditions of Punjabi cuisine.

Stepping into the restaurant from the lobby of Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit, guests are greeted by warm lighting that plays well with the red brickwork and carmine carpet.

A chef prepares chargrilled meats in the tandoori oven set in the glassenclosed kitchen.

A long black marble bar separates the lounge area from the elevated dining section. Live music adds to the ambience but doesn’t deter conversation. The 70-seat restaurant also allows guests to see the chefs at work in the glass-enclosed kitchen, particularly when they’re preparing naan breads and roasted meats in any of three copper-clad tandoori ovens.

For more intimate occasions, a 12-seat private dining room is available and a semi-private alcove can accommodate 20 persons.

This is the first Bangkok franchise of Punjab Grill, which has more than 20 outlets across India with the flagship restaurant in New Delhi. Outside India, it has branches in Abu Dhabi and Singapore and Bangkok is the latest to have joined the ranks.

“We take signature dishes from the flagship restaurant but adapt them to suit the region. The tastes may be slightly different. We bill our dishes in terms of cooking and presentation as contemporary Indian cuisine but the tastes are totally authentic,” says chef Bharath S Bhat who has worked at some of the top Indian restaurants including Indego at Grosvenor House Dubai, Amal at the Armani Hotel Dubai, and Simply India at the St Regis Mauritius Resort.

Dishes are available both a la carte and in a tasting menu with vegetarian or non-vegetarian options. Before starting the meal, guests will be offered with a very thin towel rolled into the shape of a rose and scented with rose water to refresh their hands.

I opt for the a la carte menu and the complimentary amuse bouche of the day is Northern India’s popular street food Papai Chaat served in a very tiny cup. Crisp-fried dough wafers are mixed with yoghurt mousse, tamarind sauce, and coriander chutney. A complimentary basket of crispy Indian breads is also brought to the table to go with tomato-raisin chutney, mint-coriander chutney and cheese-garlic dip.

 Tandoori Jheenga

Most street vendors in India use a food cart to sell various different types of street cuisine. Playing with that everyday ambience is the Indian streetside snack Avocado Bhel (Bt205) served on a miniature thela – a word meaning food cart in Hindi. Crisped rice mixed with onion, tomato and spices form the bed with avocado guacamole tossed with spiced chutney, sweet yoghurt espuma and crispy shredded potato on the top.

Vegetarians will love the Tandoori Portobello (Bt450) – halves of portobello mushrooms stuffed with cured olives and pickled sun-dried tomatoes grilled for a smoky taste.

Non-vegetarians can opt for Tandoori Jheenga (Bt855) – char-

grilled tiger prawns scented with carom seed and Chaamp Taajdar (also Bt855), braised and char-grilled New Zealand lamb chops.

“Northern Indian cuisine like that served in the Punjab involves meats and seasonal vegetables marinated in spices and slow cooked in a tandoor oven. Here at the Bangkok branch, we also cook local tiger prawns, scallops from the US and Norwegian salmon tandoori style. Before cooking, the ingredients are marinated for several hours in mace, fennel, cinnamon, and cumin,” says chef Bhat.

The main spices used in these dishes, all of them imported from India, include yellow chilli powder, kasuri methi, kashmiri mirchi, home ground garam masala, cardamom, mace powder, royal cumin and carom.

My main dish is Raan-E Sikandari (Bt1,450) – baby leg of lamb slowly braised in its gravy for about six hours at a low temperature then roasted in the tandoor with cinnamon and cardamom. Before serving, the chef will pour dark rum over the lamb and slightly burn it to get a smoky flavour.

Biryani – basmati rice slowly cooked with fragrance of green cardamom, mace and rose water in a brass pot wrapped with baked bread to retain its heat – is also served. Biryani can be cooked with your choice of meats – prawn (Bt855), mutton (Bt600) and chicken (Bt500) or with vegetables (Bt365) for vegetarians.

Chaamp Taajdar

Tandoori-grilled naan breads are aromatic and much too good to ignore, especially the Peshwari Naan (Bt95) topped with olives and garlic paste, and Mushroom Kulche (Bt100) stuffed with spiced mushrooms and scented with truffle oil.

The naan pairs perfectly with Butter Chicken (Bt405) – morsels of soft texture chicken poached in creamy and buttery tomato and Dal Makhani (Bt320), slowly cooked black lentils in tomato and flavoured with cream and butter.

And while the courses are filling, do try and save a little bit of room for dessert, especially the Chocolate Sphere (Bt260). This white chocolate sphere is filled with pista kulfi, which is similar to ice cream but denser, creamier and packed with crunchy pistachios, scented with aromatic cardamom powder and saffron as thoroughly doused in dark chocolate sauce.

The selection of mocktails includes the aptly named Rejuvenate – a mixture of pomegranate, vanilla, mint and lime. Twisted Colada – a concoction of pineapple, coconut cream, saffron, blue curacao topped with colourful seeds the Indians use as mouth fresheners – is creamier but equally as good. Both are priced at Bt175 a pop.

INNOVATIVE INDIA

>> Punjab Grill at Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit on Soi Sukhumvit 13 is open daily for dinner only from 6 to 11.30pm.

>> Call (02) 645 4952 or visit http://www.PunjabGrillBangkok.com.

Each Signature Themed Sunday Brunch at VIU restaurant takes diners on a new gastronomic journey with food and beverages inspired by compelling culinary themes.

For the inaugural Signature Themed Sunday Brunch this Sunday (June 16), the chefs retrace luxury brand from the streets of New York City to the Bangkok skyline, showcasing iconic treats from the Big Apple including footlong Reubens, lobster rolls, New York-styled pizza, and the classic New York cheesecake.

In July, the lavish gastronomic spread draws culinary cues from the great British summertime with its seasonal picnic baskets and lively pub fare, including special brunch items like beer-battered fish and chips, scotch eggs, Eton mess, and a giant trifle with juicy summer fruit.

In August, the chefs shine the light on Peru to reveal a multicultural cuisine tracing back thousands of years, including the country’s national dish of ceviche in its varying forms, as well as lomosaltado and hearty stews.

To mark the start of the annual Oktoberfest in September, a selection of Bavarian classics will be served including bratwursts, wiener schnitzel, and pork knuckles, accompanied by foamy mugs of beer.

It’s spring in the Land Down Under in October, and the barbie will be fired up in honour of the Australian culinary institution, with sausage sarnies and premium cuts of grilled Aussie lamb accompanied by other quintessential Aussie favorites including smashed avo, feta on Vegemite toast, Lamington’s, and a selection of exemplary wines.

As the end of the year draws near in November, the bounty of Spain is celebrated with delicious additions to the themed brunch including gazpacho, authentic paella, gambas al ajillo, and a selection of fine cured meats including chorizo and jamon.

In December, for the last Signature Themed Sunday Brunch of the year, the flavours turn festive with all the holiday trimmings. The distinctive feast includes traditional turkey, roast ham, as well as mulled wine and hot toddies to complete the Christmas cheer.

The Signature Themed Sunday Brunch at VIU is priced at Bt2,850-plus per person inclusive of non-alcoholic beverages. Adds Bt1,299-plus for freeflow wine, beer, Siam Mary and martinis. It takes place from 12.30pm to 3.30pm.

Book your seats at (02) 207 7777.

The winner of Asia’s 50 Best Bars and ranked #10 on the World’s Best Bars 2019, The Old Man is located in a discreet corner of the buzzing Soho district in Hong Kong. Agung Prabowo, the head mixologist and bar forerunner at The Old Man, has accepted an invitation from Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok to co-create a highly-styled “Pop-Up” concept in the hotel’s lobby.

The co-founder of The Old Man and cocktail aficionados, Prabowo, James Tamang, Roman Ghale and their crew will take turns working the bar in the Hotel Lobby to showcase the themed-cocktail experience. Each cocktail draws inspiration in some way from Ernest Hemingway, the legendary American author who once was a resident at The Oriental Hotel. Hemingway always appreciated an awe-inspiring space, and the beauty of the colonial architecture motivated him to write passionately.

The Old Man will sweep Hemingway fans and cocktail connoisseurs into a world tailored to the beautifully complex mind of the iconic writer. With its name, drinks menu and overall concept paying tribute to Hemingway’s Pulitzer Prize-winning fictional work, The Old Man and the Sea, Prabowo has concocted a range of inventive cocktails with a culinary and scientific approach. His new cocktail menu provides fascinating backgrounds on the various drinks, their ingredients, their histories and the characters – real and fictional – associated with them.

The Best of the Old Man offers a unique take on Hemingway’s oeuvre that showcases the tastes, smells and colours of the cocktails he enjoyed and placed so prominently in his stories. A Moveable Feast #1964 uses a rotary evaporator to extract elements of the sea, taking memorable aromas of the sea and concentrating them into liquid form. It pays homage to a Hemingway book set in the idyllic south of France in 1927.

“Mandarin Oriental is no stranger to us, as we used to shake and stir drinks at Oriental Bar at Mandarin Oriental, Jakarta, MO Bar in Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong and The Chinnery at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong. We are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work again with the hotel group that we keep close to our heart. Although we are running our own bar now, we feel grateful for the opportunity and the meaningful experiences we have had – and continue to have – with the hotel,” Prabowo says.

“Hemingway’s storylines are good not only for sight and thought, but also for taste and smell. Come and see how The Old Man translates great works of this great author into a delightful array of spirits. As we transform the River Wing, it is a wonderful occasion to embrace this “Pop-Up” experience in our Lobby, while its upper floors are on the way to a complete refurbishment in October,” adds Greg Liddell, the hotels’ general manager.

For more information and reservations, call (02) 659 9000 or email: mobkk-restaurants@mohg.com.

Stretching from the basement to the sixth floor, the seven dining zones include Sook Siam on the G Floor, the Veranda on the 4th Floor, Siam Takashimaya Rose Dining –Dining on 4th, Dining on 5th and Alangkarn and Tassananakorn on the 6th Floor.

Sook Siam zone on G floor offers authentic Thai street flavours from all four regions including heritage recipes that have been passed down through the generations as well as revived rare local menus. The vast array of food choices sits alongside by a wide selection of local handicrafts.

Up on the fourth floor, the Veranda zone is packed with Asian cuisine offered by 10 restaurants and 12 dessert cafes. The interior boasts a Midsummer Night Dream theme with a lush vertical garden and artificial waterfall. Among the gourmet outlets are Singaporean seafood restaurant Jumbo Seafood, Nippon Kai Market with authentic Japanese cuisine, fusion creations at Hub Cafe and Eateries, Tapas by Nan Charcoal Grill, beef and pork noodles at Neur Koo, Hong Kong-style dim sum at Zeng Tao and Thai cuisine at Taling Pling.

Japanese food lovers can indulge themselves at Siam Takashimaya Rose Dining, located in Siam Takashimaya department store . Kamui Hokkaido Dining serves sizzling fusion teppanyaki from Hokkaido while Katsukura is a legendary tonkatsu eatery from Kyoto. Kissyan offers premium shabu-shabu and Masa by Otaru Masazushi serves premium omasake sushi.

Dining on the 4th combines well-established everyday favourites such as Bar B Q Plaza, Evaime Shabu Shabu, Food Republic, Fire Tiger Bubble Milk Tea and S&P.

Occupying the balcony of the fifth floor is the Dining on the 5th with a view of Chao Phraya. The cuisine choices range from Cantonese by Hong Bao, seafood by Laem Charoen Seafood and Thai cuisine by Kab Kao Kab Pla, Nara Thai Cuisine, and Baan Ice as well as hot pots by MK Live.

On the sixth floor, the Alangkarn zone offers a wide selection of international restaurants and cafes, ranging from Thai, Chinese, Japanese, to Indian and French. Eat buffet style at CP-HiLai Harbour Restaurant or treat yourself to a bowl of noodles at Yuzu Ramen. Yayoi brand launches its first Yayoi Chef Experience and Sushi Bar offers terrific sushi and Lay Lao is a good stop if you’re looking for Thai specialities with authentic flavours. Contemporary Indian menus can be found at Masala Art.

Also on the sixth floor is Tasana Nakorn Terrace where gourmands can both enjoy food and the river view. Hobs and Fallabella River Front offers perfect dinner with good food and live music every night.

From tomorrow (June 12) until July 21, every Bt1,000 spent per receipt at the seven dining zones will get Bt300 cashback while VIZ members also get Bt100 gift card. One Siam Kasikorn Thai credit cardholders will also receive free Bt200 Starbucks gift card. And for every Bt2,000 spent per receipt on June 17 and 27 and July 7 and 17 you get a Bt700 Siam Gift card, plus a Bt100 Takashimaya gift card exclusively for One Siam Kasikorn Thai credit cardholders.

The first 120 top spenders in the dining zones win a chance to join an up-close meet-and-greet with four celebrities from TV series “Krong Kam” namely Jirayu Tangsrisuk, Thakrit Tawanwong, Chanatip Pothongkam and Vachirawit Paisarmkulwongs on July 31.

The venue, famous for its contemporary culinary creations, whimsical cocktails and views of the Chao Phraya River is setting the SEEN for Bangkok’s hip crowd, as its music scene amplifies. Holding trhe reins in the hot spot’s resident music director Scotty B, a talented writer, producer and DJ from the UK,

With more than three decades of music production and DJing to his credit, Scotty B is renowned for his versatile and innovative style. He previously held the position of director of entertainment for Starwood hotels and resorts then further developed his career as music curator for W Hotel Beijing. His passion for exploring expressive styles of genres and his ability to read crowd reactions ensure a memorable night for all.

“The music at SEEN is unique and captivating. We want to create an atmosphere that’s hip, cool, yet interactive. Our music ranges from soulful, deep, funky, nu disco, house, urban, eclectic, alternative, diverse, and upbeat with a feel-good vibe that allow guests to experience the sonic identity of our venue.

“At SEEN, we work with a handful of talented taste-making DJs to craft the best beats for each night. Setting the ambience with eight-hours of non-stop DJ tunes, along with the amazing skyline where guests can relax, watch the sunset over dinner and stay all through the night,” he says.

Highlight performances this month include Liquid Groove on Wednesdays, In2deep on Thursdays, Urban Vibes on Fridays, Funk Synergy on Saturday and Behind the SEEN on Sundays.

There is also the new edition of monthly SEEN Sessions parties, where a special international DJ guest is flown in to star at the exclusive rooftop playground.

“The first SEEN sessions brought Sandy Rivera of Kings of Tomorrow, one of our generation’s finest DJs and producers. The event was joined by over 200 music enthusiasts,” Scotty B says.

SEEN Sessions Vol 2 on Friday night (June 14) features Kraak & Smaak. The fun gets underway at 8pm with opening acts from FunkyGangster, Scotty B himself and Kinky D. Guests are invited to come early for dinner overlooking the Chao Phraya River, before heading to the rooftop for cocktails and daybeds overlooking the skyline. Tickets are Bt600 net, including a welcome drink.

SEEN Restaurant & Bar is open daily from 6 to 1 am. Make a reservation by calling (02) 431 9120.

ONE OF THE most popular choices among Asian families looking to eat out is the Hong Kong-style hot pot restaurant. Enthusiasts will wax lyrical over the mouth-watering anticipation as dish after dish of fresh chilli and spices and such raw healthy ingredients as chicken, vegetables and noodles are brought to the table and fried in front of them.

One place that’s likely to quickly become a firm favourite is Hong Kong’s famous chicken hot pot spot, Ah Nam, which recently opened its first Thai branch at J Avenue on Soi Thonglor 15.

Hot Pot Pork Set 

The restaurant’s signature, “Ah Nam Chicken Pot” offers the poultry cooked to a different format, one it refers to as “frying before boiling”.

Prairpun Tumwattana, marketing director, Food Project (Thailand), explains.

“First we pan-fry the chicken to our original hot pot recipe with spicy Sichuan sauce, adding egg noodles and condiments like fresh coriander, spring onions and garlic to enhance the flavour. Once these have been eaten and only the nutritious broth remains, step two is to boil the clear soup and select other ingredients from the set to add flavour. We highly recommend dipping fried curd bean in the soup for just four to five seconds. It tastes delicious.”

Hot pot has long been a big part of Chinese dining culture, Ah Nam, Hong Kong’s top pan-fried chicken brand, was established in 2012 at the junction of Prince Edward Road and Fa Yuen Street. The restaurant is famous for its signature shared dining experience and its pan-fried chicken in Sichuan sauce.

Prairpun says she travels to Hong Kong several times a year and always finds time to stop at Ah Nam restaurant. “I was impressed by its delicious flavour and distinctive style. I like the idea of both pan-fried noodle and adding the soup, which turns it into a special hot pot. To please the Thai palate, we serve rice to mix inside the pot, so it becomes like boiled rice. It tastes really good,” she laughs.

“For those who like their food spicy, we provide extra sauce on the side so that they can use it as a dip for the meat and vegetables.”

Prairpun Tumwattana

We try the Ah Nam Chicken Pot and are immediately impressed by the aromatic scent of Chinese spices, a fragrant blend of Sichuan pepper, cardamon, star anise, cinnamon, and a secret ingredient – peanut butter.

The heavily flavoured pot of stir-fried chicken topped with a healthy handful of coriander is placed on top of a gas stove to keep warm. And while the skin makes it thick and slightly oily, this is quickly remedied by adding egg noodles to the chicken pan.

Sets featuring rib eye beef (Bt289) or pork (Bt279) can be ordered to dip in the soup while seafood fans should definitely opt for the “Ah Nam Seafood Pot” (Bt389), which features prawns, squids, and clams in a secret Sichuan sauce.

If you like more of a chewy texture, follow Prairpun’s recommendation and add fried bean curd to the pot. It cooks in just a few seconds and tastes really great.

Additional menu items include preserved egg spicy salad, cucumber salad in Sichuan sauce made to an original Hong Kong recipe, and crispy fried beef with mustard dip. The side dishes are priced between Bt95 and Bt115.

And if you still have room left for dessert, don’t miss the Salted Egg Hong Kong Waffle, served with special original milk tea from Hong Kong.

FRY AND BOIL

>> Ah Nam is on the second floor of J Avenue Thonglor.

>> It’s open daily from 11am to 10pm

>> Make a reservation at (091) 461 4962