The unique farm-to-plate a la carte gastronomic experience uses ingredients sourced from Thailand, which underline Western and pan-Asian inspirations that match the exquisite interior decor and the stunning skyline views from the restaurant.

Diners can start their meal with oysters, half-boiled goose eggs with caviar from the Royal Projects, the 137 Pillars-style whole avocado in shrimp crust, and Thai burrata served with tomato chutney, whitebait fish tempura and grilled Royal Project baby cos.

Made-to-order main dishes include a Duck cocotte smoked in rice stems and served with a sweet and sour kumquat sauce, and Braised beef ribs in a mulberry and green pepper sauce. Seafood aficionados can opt for the Giant River Prawns accompanied by a papaya salad.

The tempting line-up of desserts will satisfy even the most demanding sweet tooth. Choose from a Pandan Crepe Suzette flambed with Grand Marnier, a Cacao nib pancake with a passionfruit-mango Chantilly, and a Roasted baby pineapple, flambed with Isaan rum and served with caramel angel hair and vanilla ice cream.

Free-flow wine, Bloody Marys and Mimosas can be enjoyed for Bt899 per person.

The a la carte Weekend Brunch at Nimitr is available every Saturday and Sunday from May 18. As space is limited, advance reservation is highly recommended. Calll (02) 079 7000, or email sales_ambassador@137pillarsbangkok.com.

BORN INTO a family of restaurateurs, Dreerut Pichanusakorn never really thought about doing something different with his life. For almost six decades, the Pichanusakorn family has operated Neil’s Tavern, Bangkok’s oldest steakhouse, but Dreerut decided to step out on his own, opening his first Bangkok restaurant in 2014 and a second branch a couple of years later on Soi Asoke.

The talented chef, who earned his degree from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in San Francisco, spent several years gaining experience at different restaurants in the US before returning home five years ago to launch Jann Bistro on Chan Kao Road in the Sathorn area. Aiming to attract young office workers and expatriates, he offers a variety of tempting easy-to-eat dishes at wallet-friendly prices and a relaxing dining space to chill out after a day of hardat work.

Two years ago, he expanded to busy Asoke, serving more culinary creations with a focus on East meets West. Located on the ground floor of Prime Building, the second branch is cosy with bright yellow walls and modern wood furniture.

Larger but still relaxing, this 70-seat bistro combines a dining space, bar counter and a mini supermarket called Bakers Barn selling a full range of good-quality pastry ingredients from aboard. The menu includes appetisers, soups, salads, main dishes, pasta, steak, seafood, some popular Thai specialities and home-made desserts from Neil’s Tavern.

Salmon Skin Salad with sesame-miso dressing

Dreerut makes his own sauces and curry pastes and uses premium imported lamb from New Zealand, scallops and USDA prime corn-fed beef as a guarantee a good flavour and quality.

“Jann Bistro is actually under the Neil’s Tavern umbrella. The idea is to offer easy-to-eat dishes that everyone can afford. But while Neil’s Tavern is a traditional steakhouse, Jann Bistro is a relaxing hangout for the younger crowds to enjoy light meals and tailored drinks,” he says.

“We offer more than 100 dishes of which 80 per cent are Western recipes including spaghetti, burgers, steak and grilled seafood.”

Inspired by the popular Spanish speciality Gambas al Ajilio, aromatic Garlic Prawn (Bt295) is served crispy bread. Salmon Skin Salad (Bt225), meanwhile, is dressed in a sweet sesame-miso sauce that’s as refreshing as it is tasty.

Garlic Prawn

Tender grilled Organic Pork (Bt365) is served on a bed of corn, carrots, mushrooms and peas and comes with a creamy but light honey-mustard sauce. Beef lovers can order steak with a choice of different sauces ranging from truffle, red wine, teriyaki, garlic and mushroom.

Grilled seafood comes with a choice of sauces that include garlic cream, garlic butter, cajun spice, spicy tomato, Thai seafood and teriyaki.

The Thai kitchen presents Spicy Duck Confit Curry with Roti (Bt295), an interesting fusion of French and Thai cuisine, Roasted Pork Salad, Stir-fried Beef with Chilli and Basil, Crab Meat Yellow Curry and Papaya Salad with Sticky Rice that can be paired with such side dishes as deep-fried pork, grilled chicken and grilled steak.

Lunch set of Cauliflower Soup, Chicken Pesto, Thai Iced Milk Tea and Viennese Praline 

Popular with office workers, the bistro offers Western-style set lunches priced at a very reasonable Bt315 and featuring a choice of more than 20 appetisers, main dishes and drinks. They include Duck & Cheese Spring Roll, Calamari with citrus-garlic sauce, Fish & Chips, Sea Bass with garlic butter or spicy tomato, Chicken Schnitzel and Penne Pesto with clam, chicken or prawn.

I opt for creamy Cauliflower Soup, soft Chicken Pesto and Thai Iced Milk Tea and pay Bt80 extra for a Viennese Praline. There’s also a Thai lunch menu, starting Bt175.

Lunch set of Cauliflower Soup, Chicken Pesto, Thai Iced Milk Tea and Viennese Praline 

Despite being pleasantly full, I let myself be tempted by yummy Green Tea Lava Cake (Bt195) served with chocolate ice cream. Every day, the bistro offers more than 10 kinds of homemade cakes from Neil’s Tavern kitchen, including orange cream, chocolate truffle, black forest, Thai tea, espresso and oreo cheesecake.

The best sellers at the bar counter, are red Fruit Punch (Bt105), a mixture of orange juice, pineapple juice, lime and grenadine syrup and yellow Honey Jann (Bt195) blended with dark rum, apricot brandy, lime and honey.

MAKE A DATE TODAY

>> Jann Bistro is located on the ground floor Prime Building, Sukhumvit Soi 21. It’s open daily from 11.30am to 2pm for lunch and from 5.30 to 10pm for dinner.

>> Call (02) 260-4391 or visit http://www.Facebook.com/JannBistro

KNOWN AND LOVED for its tempting European cuisine, 4 Garcons restaurant on Bangkok’s Soi Thonglor has closed its doors after nine successful years. Fortunately for its fans, founder/chef Ayusakorn “Van” Arayangkoon and his partners are back in another incarnation and in another area with the opening of Second Edition on Sukhumvit Soi 31.

The now defunct French brasserie 4 Garcons is reincarnated as Second Edition with a lively and younger look at a new location on Sukhumvit Soi 31.

Situated on the ground floor of the residential property Siamese Exclusive, Second Edition has a lively and playful vibe that’s far removed for the calm and elegant setting of 4 Garcons. The new space, which seats 60 diners, flowed from the pens of local design firm Studio Act of Kindness and boasts the kind of mid-century interior that’s become popular around the world.

“The interior plays with geometric forms and seamless lines and an exploration of different and contrasting materials. Brown and deep orange palettes dominate, with pops of blue, green and gold adding the contrast,” says Van. “We want to offer a completely new look with a new name without any references to our former property. Our aim is to appeal to the new and younger group of diners who live in the nearby condominiums.”

Van and the design team worked together on the collage-like wallpaper, mixing fashion pictures from vintage magazines and posters and redesigning them by adding sketches and changing the colour palettes of the clothes.

“While 4 Garcons was generally perceived as a formal dining venue, Second Edition aims to become a casual place for home-cooking and comfort food. The cooking still follows French tradition though without using the now popular sous-vide technique. Seasonal ingredients from sustainable local sources are used wherever possible and we use less seasoning to bring out the natural tastes. Imported ingredients make up 20 per cent or less,” he continues.

 Grilled Fig in Bacon with Mascarpone 

In line with the new concept, the menu has completely changed, though a few 4 Garcons favourites can still be found, among them the French Onion Soup (Bt300) and Truffle Cream Soup (Bt350). Grills are also highlighted in a nod to the healthy lifestyle.

Figs from a small and sustainable farm in Ratchaburi province are used for a warm starter – Grilled Fig in Bacon with Mascarpone (Bt280). The sweet and juicy figs are wrapped with bacon before char-grilling. Besides the char-smoked odour, the bacon helps maintain the juiciness of the figs that go well with the creamy taste of the cheese.

Grilled Squid with Thick Bacon and Bell Pepper

Bacon is also used for the next dish – Grilled Squid with Thick Bacon and Bell Pepper (Bt280). Wild-caught squid is wrapped in bacon and char-grilled and served with bell pepper, cherry tomato and thick bacon pieces stir-fried in olive oil in Mediterranean style.

Grilled Whole Sea Bass in Fig Leaves 

A whole wild-caught sea bass is lightly seasoned with olive oil and salt and wrapped in fig leaves before char-grilling. Priced at Bt650, the fish goes well with Greek-style lemon oil sauce.

Grilled Chicken Thigh with Porcini Cream Sauce and Rice Pilaf

Another 4 Garcons’ favourite – Grilled Chicken Thigh with Porcini Cream Sauce and Rice Pilaf (Bt480) – also returns. The chicken is grilled to juicy perfection and is served with porcini sauce and rice pilaf cooked in well-seasoned chicken broth and light cream.

Perfect for sharing with family and friends as well as large parties is the Grilled Flatbread with four different toppings from which to choose. The regular portion ranges in price from Bt440 to Bt620 and can be divided into 12 pieces. Enjoy it with cherry tomato, mushroom, caramelised onion, mozzarella and blue cheese toppings or with parma ham, egg and feta cheese, caper, anchovy and black truffle.

Grilled Flatbread with Tomato, Parma Ham, Feta Cheese and Eggs

“The flatbread is like a backyard BBQ for a family party. The wheat flour is thoroughly kneaded into a flat dough and grilled. Health-conscious diners will feel less guilty about eating this than pizza,” he says with a grin.

The main imported ingredients are beef from Argentina, Japan, France, the US and Australia, cod from the UK and salmon from Australia.

Thai Aged Ribeye Wagyu Steak 

Van is also promoting Thai wagyu beef from Nakhon Ratchasima. The wagyu beef is aged for 60 days to improve its juicy texture and flavour. The 300-gram Rib-eye Steak (Bt1,920) has a melt-in-the-mouth quality and pairs well with the butter sauce.

For pasta lovers, there’s spaghetti and fettucine with a choice of five sauces. The portions are offered in regular or sharing options.

Spaghetti Seafood with Tomato Sauce 

For Spaghetti Seafood with Tomato Sauce (Bt480 for regular and Bt660 for sharing), the tomato sauce is cooked using different types of tomatoes for a great combination of tastes that go well with fresh seafood.

Despite all the goodies on offer, do keep room for the tempting desserts of Grilled Pineapple with Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream (Bt180) and the seasonal Peach Crumble (also Bt180).

Grilled Pineapple with Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream

“People today are concerned about eating healthily and we try to use organic ingredients as much as possible. Vegan diets are also becoming increasingly popular and though we don’t yet have a section for vegan food, we can serve what you like,” says Van.

NEW PLACE, NEW TASTES

Second Edition is on the ground of the residential property Siamese Exclusive on Sukhumvit Soi 31, Bangkok.

It’s open daily from 11am to 10pm.

Call (02) 163 4648 or visit “Second Edition BKK” on Facebook.

Known for their high protein and calcium content, the fish are also packed with magnesium and zinc and relatively low in fat and sodium. While some like to eat shirasu fresh and raw, most prefer to eat them either sundried or, in a similar fashion to tempura, coated with a seasoned wheat flour or potato starch mix and lightly fried (karaage).

The chefs are serving a delicious, zesty appetiser of shirasu-karaage. First the tiny fish are lightly fried in light oil and placed in the paper bag before the wasabi powder, dried seaweed and Shichimi Togarashi are added. The bag is secured tightly and shaken well to coat the fish, which is then plated and enjoyed with the citrusy yuzu mayonnaise. Light and bright with flavour, it is the perfect way to begin a meal. The prices start at Bt350-plus.

Reserve your table at (02) 687 9000 or visit http://www.OkuraBangkok.com.

A tropical jungle setting, the sounds of the nearby river, and long summer nights set the perfect stage for an evening of revelry. The fun begins at 7pm, with a shot for everyone. Head straight for the buffet of seafood, barbecue and Caribbean dishes, accompanied by freeflow Mai Tais and mojitos.

The evening’s entertainment heats up at 8pm, with a theatrical twirl of fire dancers. The games then begin, with beer pong and the Limbo as chilled reggae tunes play in the background. The stakes are high, with a shot for everyone who passes and a double shot for those who fail. It’s then danceoff time, with the DJ spinning hiphop and a surprise finale of the conga.

Prices start at Bt999 net for the buffet, with freeflow addons for cocktails, house wines and beer. Buckets and bottle service are also available; Bt1,499 net for buffet with freeflow beer and soft drinks; and Bt1,899 net for buffet with freeflow cocktails, house wines, beer and soft drinks.

Free river shuttles run between the resort and Saphan Taksin every 20 minutes. For more information and reservations, please call (02) 476 0022 extension 1416, or email: riversidedining@anantara.com.

All dishes and meals are carefully selected and imported from various parts of the world, the hotel said in its press statement.

An unlimited international and Thai dishes are also available with great highlight such as grilled premium seafood and roast beef carvery, to be grilled and cooked on the spot.

Fresh and crisping cold Seafood on ice includes blue crab, slipper lobster, river lobster, fishes, 4 kinds of oysters from various international waters, sushi, fresh sashimi and other various cuisines delicacy, delicately craft and cook.

After the feast, patrons can also enjoy dessert menu including numerous cakes, ice-creams and seasonal fruits while enjoying the stunning landscape of the Chao Phraya River embracing the city of Bangkok with its spectacular beauty.

The special Seafood Buffet “3 for the price of 2” 6pm to 10:30pm throughout the month of April 2019. The regular price is at Bt1,589 but the promotion price the price for each person would be Bt1,060 nett (VAT and services charge included).

Skyline Restaurant is located on 11th Floor, nearest to the main Lobby at AVANI+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel. For more information and reservation, please call 02 431 9100, or email. skyline.vriv@avanihotels.com.