The original Okinawa Brown Sugar Latte combines the taste of Starbucks espresso shot with milk, brown sugar then tops it with foam and dark brown sugar sauce while the ever-popular Salted Caramel Mocha Crumble blends an espresso shot with milk, original mocha sauce and toffee syrup, tops it with whipped cream smothered in caramel sauce and a little sprinkle of Smoke French Sea Salt and cane sugar from Hawaii, and finishes it off with crunchy brownies. Also available is the refreshing Chocolate Black Tea with Earl Grey Jelly Frappuccino blended beverage, a sweet, refreshing and pleasing combination of Jawa Chip Chocolate and Black Tea Frappuccino served with chocolate and black tea whipped cream and topped with mocha sauce. Start your year with these delicious beverages at Starbucks stores nationwide.

They are available from today until February 26 along with a Pandan Custard Brix, a square light brown cake filled with pandan sauce. The cake is tenderness itself and when heated offers a satisfying outer crunch and smooth, melt-in-the-mouth green pandan interior.

Chefs from 25 Degrees triumphed with their delicious Knockout Burger at the culinary competition held at the annual American Food Fun Fest at CentralWorld. The burger was served in a mini barbecue with aromatic apple-wood smoke, a pillowy bun, a succulent patty and gourmet ingredients.

Throughout this month and next, this award-winning burger will be on the menu at 25 Degrees together with the restaurant’s 2017 best seller, the Dry-Aged Beef Burger.

The Knockout Burger has a 200-gram beef patty made using 60-per-cent chuck roll and 40-per-cent short plate meat in a soft brioche and rye and raisin burger bun. The succulent burger is complemented by spicy aioli, apple burritos, sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, and tempura Washington apple. It is served with a side dish of stacked hash browns with spinach and Jalapeno Jack cheese and grilled apple with butter, all held together with a skewer of fresh rosemary.

The best-selling Dry-Aged Beef Burger includes a 200-gram beef patty made using 28-day aged USA striploin in a homemade rye bread bun with Canadian bacon, Cheddar cheese, green pepper mayo and is served with a side of potato wedges.

The Knockout Burger and the Dry-aged Beef Burger are priced at Bt450-plus each.

25 Degrees Burger, Wine & Liquor Bar is the new sister venue of the legendary burger and wine bar in Los Angeles. Named after the precise temperature difference between a raw and well-done hamburger, 25 Degrees introduces a new twist on the traditional American burger bar concept, complete with funky music and a cool decor. Open 24 hours a day, diners can enjoy an enticing menu of succulent burgers, salads and sides, pancakes and desserts, and an excellent selection of beers, wines and cocktails.

For more information or to book a table call (02) 352 4192, or join the conversation at Facebook.com/25DegreesBangkok.

THE SECOND major chapter in Pinit Ngarmpring life-changing transformation has begun in the kitchen – Pauline Kitchen, to be exact.

Pauline is the name Pinit adopted after undergoing gender reassignment in the United States, fulfilling a childhood dream of being a woman.

On her return home, Phase 2 began and a second dream came true – opening Pauline Kitchen on Rat Pattana Road in northeast Bangkok’s Saphan Sung district.

The 60-seat restaurant – rustic/industrial in metal sheets and chic in black and orange – offers a tantalising fusion of Thai and western cuisine that really shows off Pauline’s talents as a cook.

The newly opened Pauline Kitchen is located in northeast Bangkok.

Pauline was still Pinit when she taught herself to cook and learned kitchen management while working at restaurants in New York and California.

That was decades ago, Pauline hiding behind faux masculinity, a guise she maintained as a business reporter with the Bangkok Post.

Next came the acquisition of marketing knowledge at Ogilvy Public Relations, Mazda Sales and Mitsubishi Motors. In 2001 Pinit founded the Cheerthai Power Club, which supported the national football team, and became a popular fixture on the scene.

He was successful in every endeavour – but there was still a dream unrealised.

Pinit knew from an early age that there was a Pauline inside him.

“My father was a professional boxer,” Pauline says now, “and, after he saw me holding my spoon in my thumb and forefinger with the other fingers sticking daintily up in the air, he devised a daily training programme for me. Since then I always hid behind masculine characteristics.

“I’ve enjoyed huge success in my career and with Cheerthai, but my heart could no longer be refused. In 2012 I left the club and opened my first restaurant, the Cheerthai Steakhouse in Chumphon, where I learned to cook by watching the celebrity chefs on YouTube, like Jamie Oliver. It was a way to disengage myself.”

In childhood, Pauline learned basic cooking skills from her mum, who made pad thai to sell. Years later, while working at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Pauline had a food stall of her own, peddling fish-maw soup in clay pots.

“It was just a hobby, but a great way to relieve stress.”

Pauline Kitchen opened three months ago with a wide selection of tempting and easy-to-eat dishes, including pizza, pasta and noodles and fried rice.

The Thai-Western twist takes the form of local spices and herbs combined with modern foreign cooking techniques to create different textures and keep the flavouring mellow. Among the top-notch ingredients are sweet Thai pumpkin, Brazilian beef and New Zealand lamb.

Nam Phrik Oong Pizza

“The best cooking uses science and art together in creating different layers of textures and flavours,” Pauline says.

“I noticed how male chefs tend to be bold in their creativity, whereas women chefs usually stick to tradition. It also seems to me that Western cuisine has continuously developed, but Thais eat the same dishes their ancestors did. In the past we used whatever ingredients were around us, but today we have a much greater choice to play with and create interesting new tastes.”

Pumpkin Soup

A traditional recipe provides the basis for her lemongrass-tangy Yellow Pumpkin Soup (Bt100). Pauline gives it sweetness by deploying onions and carrots rather than sugar. Aromatic and spicy Omar Wings (Bt150) blend in garlic and chilli sauce.

Pauline Beef Salad

Perfect for sharing, the Pauline Beef Salad (Bt180) has a refreshing herbal dressing that harmoniously mingles cream of tartar, orange sauce, lemongrass, mustard and Brazilian rib-eye that’s been marinated and grilled.

Thai meets Italian in the super-thin and crispy Nam Phrik Oong Pizza (Bt240). The topping is homemade northern-style chilli-tomato sauce, minced pork and herbs.

Pauline Duck Basil Pasta 

We have to try the Pauline Duck Basil Pasta (Bt240), she says. The duck breast is marinated in Chinese herbs to eliminate the gamy odour, roasted for six hours and finally grilled until the skin is crispy. Presented in a sauce made from fresh Valencia oranges, it’s delightfully smooth on the palate.

Recent additions to the menu include favourite Chinese and Thai delicacies, such as Beef Stew, Fish Maw Soup and Shark Fin Soup, all served in clay pots, and Red Wine Isaan Sausage.

Peakpoon, a pandanus-leaf pudding

Desserts command our attention, led by her homemade Peakpoon (Bt120), a hot, green and soft pudding made from pandanus leaf. This is paired with cookie-and-cream ice cream and the whole is served in caramel sauce and coconut milk.

No one goes thirsty. There’s an admirable wine list spanning Spain, Australia, France and Chile, with servings starting at Bt160 per glass and Bt1,060 for a bottle.

MAGIC IN EVERY MEAL

Pauline Kitchen is at 259/1 Rat Pattana Road, off Soi Mistine. It’s open daily from noon to 10pm.

Call (095) 403 8341 or visit the “Pauline Kitchen Bangkok” page on Facebook.

Available through March 31, the piquant curry dishes include Massaman Nuea Wagyumade with tender wagyu beef rump, Choo Chee Goong Louis-Suan with fried tiger prawns and sweet curry and crispy Panaeng Moo Krob, a delectable thick red curry with crispy pork belly.

Khao Soi has been a classic Northern-style favourite since time immemorial and Up & Above is serving it as Nong Gai (egg noodles with yellow curry paste and chicken drumstick), Jae (egg noodles in yellow curry served with vegetables) and as Prawn Tempura (noodles with yellow curry paste and Japanese- style fried prawns). Prices start at Bt270-plus.

Up & Above Restaurant is on the 24th floor of The Okura Prestige Bangkok. Book your table by calling (02) 687 9000 or visit http://www.OkuraBangkok.com.

Spring harvested, shade grown and stone ground, organic matcha tea is best served in a centuries-old Japanese tea ceremony called chanoyu, a preparation technique known for its centring meditative qualities.

“The launch of Tea Forte’s Matcha collection represents our continued commitment to wellness and cultivating all the potential mental and physical health benefits of tea,” says Tea Forte CEO Michael Gebrael. “In addition to our high quality pure Matcha, we’ve also blended four distinct matcha varieties. Prepackaged for single servings, our Single Steeps Matcha is ideal for the office, travel or to keep with you for a boost anytime.”

The tea comes with a handcrafted ceremonial tea bowl, handmade bamboo whisk and measuring ladle to encourage enjoyment of the gluten-free and vegan matcha blends.

These include Pure Matcha, Chocolate Matcha, Coconut Matcha, Ginger Matcha and Chai Matcha and they’re available now in selected stores and online at http://www.teaforte.com.

Plying his trade on the heights of the Grisons Alps,Wassmer embarked on his personal triumphal march through the traditional channels of gourmet critics two years ago. Barely eight months after first taking charge of the Restaurant 7132 Silver, Gault & Millau was already celebrating him as the “discovery of the year 2016”, bestowing a lavish 17 points on the stellar newcomer.

He has now wowed the prestigious testers a second time and is thrilled to have received 18 Gault & Millau points plus the title “Newcomer of the Year 2018”.

“Sven is the biggest talent among Swiss chefs,” Gault & Millau wrote in 2016. “An evening with him is, in culinary terms, a veritable explosion of the senses.” This year, they are once again in full agreement: “We stand by every word. And because Sven and his clever cuisine are getting better by the year, we are sending the 18th point down to the valley. Sven is thus approaching Champions League level.”

The atmosphere in Wassmer’s kitchen is one of relaxed professionalism. He and his team are a good-humoured bunch who clearly know the ropes as they fillet fresh char, pick fermented vegetables from bulbous jars and chop energy-packed herbs.

Wassmer works with ingredients from the immediate vicinity: Nettles and Good King Henry from the lush mountain meadows, Pomeranian ducks looking for the same herbs on the edge of the village, and even wood ants, which the head chef himself marinates in olive oil and salt.

Now, this whole wealth of practical knowledge flows into his copious menus, some of which run to 19 courses. Last year, Michelin Guide testers reckoned that was worth a second star and their counterparts at Gault & Millau would seem to be equally convinced.

Find out more at http://www.7132.com

Among the highlights is the signature prawn curry Tawa Jhinga Masala along with Nri Ice Tea cocktail. Inspired by the iconic Long Island iced tea, this is a formidable concoction made with made with rum, gin, vodka, tequila, fresh star fruit, grenadine, black pepper, fresh red chilli, and kokum syrup.

Despite sounding lethal, it’s an amazingly bright and refreshing drink that never lets the alcohol dominate the palate and subtly enhances the well-developed ingredients and succulent shrimp in the tomato-based Tawa Masala Curry.

Guests are invited to customise their spice level from mild, medium or hot in the curry to match their own personal preferences. The curry itself is light and fragrant and incorporates a special whole peppercorn imported from Bengal that imparts a truly unique flavour.

The prawns are also marinated and cooked separately in the tandoor oven until they take on a gentle smoky aroma and are added to the curry at the last minute so that the prawns are never overcooked.

Hyderabadi Biryani is a famous Nizam style braised lamb and rice dish made with saffron-hued basmati, hand-picked by chef DS Rana to find the longest grains, and cooked in a Dum (traditional Indian brass pot). It is paired with a seductive white Russian inspired Masala Chai Martini cocktail made with chai tea, Bailey’s Irish Cream, vodka, nutmeg and a cinnamon stick.

The biryani is a labour-intensive dish inspired by Punjab cuisine and incorporates unique touches such as ghee instead of oil, special black cumin seeds imported from India and home-made rose water.

“Our chef goes out of his way to make incredible dishes that are all at once familiar yet tantalisingly exotic. It’s all about a delicate balance between the spices, combined with the high-quality ingredients that he painstakingly sources from India. There is a lot of time, preparation, and knowledge that goes into to each and every one of these dishes and when paired with our new and exciting cocktails, our guests will be sure to have a meal they will remember fondly, and hopefully come back to experience again and again,” says Vinay Chawla, vice president of Bawarchi International Group.

Made by the Cheesecake Factory Bakery and brought here by Bank of Bakery, it’s now on sale at Gourmet Market in Siam Paragon.

Recognised with the Best Desserts in Casual Dining Award by the Zagat Survey for 5 consecutive years, these cheesecakes stand out for the composition of the concentrated premium cheese as well as the numerous exotic flavours and scent. Here they are available in the American size of 5 pounds so there’s no excuse not to have a second slice.

Thirteen flavours are available and are priced as follows: Original Cheesecake (Bt159, 9-inch, Bt189 10-inch) Key Lime Pie, Triple Vanilla, Dulce de Leche, Banoffee and Chocolate all at Bt189; Bananas Foster, Dutch Apple, Crazy Red Velvet, White Chocolate Raspberry, Tuxedo Mousse Cheesecake, all Bt199, plus Blueberries and Cream  and Wild Strawberries and Cream, both Bt219.

Find out more at Facebook: BankofBakery.

The Gozen lunch platter includes five-coloured marinated vegetables, shrimp and smoked duck with egg yolk vinegar and okra, sashimi, simmered yellowtail, radish, carrots and snow peas.

The Kaiseki dinner menu begins with tofu skin in soy sauce, herring roe, crab-meat, eggplant and maitake mushroom. That’s followed by monkfish-liver dumpling soup, tuna, yellow-tail, clam and shrimp sashimi, and grilled Spanish mackerel and scallop with yuzu confit and sansho pepper.

Then comes a dish of simmered salmon with sake lees, turnip, carrots and shiitake mushrooms and tempura of shrimp, snow crab, pond smelt, elingi mushrooms, sweet potato and green pepper.

And finally there’s hot vermicelli with oyster, shimeji mushrooms, honewort and a hint of yuzu.

The Winter Gozen lunch costs Bt1,300-plus and the Kaiseki dinner Bt4,500-plus.

For reservations, call (02) 687 9000 or email yamazato@okurabangkok.com.

Throughout January and February, the prized crustacean is the centrepiece in a series of dishes that combine the best culinary traditions of the East and West.

On the menu is lobster tartare with smoked potato ice cream, soba, fennel flowers and nori wafer; chilled lobster salad with avocado, organic herbs, dashi jelly, orange and miso sauce; poached lobster and sauteed Hokkaido scallops served with grilled white asparagus sauce, lemon and yuba; lobster and sole a la nage accompanied by potato ribbons, fennel, zucchini, shimeji and mitsuba; and meaty whole chargrilled lobster with white miso and young vegetables baked in a salt crust.

The lobster promotion is available at Elements restaurant Tuesday and Saturday from 6 to 10.30pm. Prices start from Bt490-plus.

Elements restaurant is on the 25th floor of The Okura Prestige Bangkok. Book a table at (02) 687 9000 or email elements@okurabangkok.com.