The dining treats include 18-month-aged Serrano ham, Catalonian bread with toppings, mussels escabeche, Wagyu meatballs, crispy calamari, Galician-style octopus and Valenciana paella.

These are complemented by free-flowing red, white and sparkling wine and refreshing sangria.

The feast costs Bt1,700-plus and is available every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6 to 10pm.

Meanwhile at Peroni on Jojo’s Terrace, premium Italian draft beer is being served every evening from 6 to 9.

It’s an al-fresco pleasure over pints of ice-cold Peroni Nastro Azzuro beer with its surprisingly fast and clean finish.

Buy two for Bt390 and you get a third at no additional charge. Assorted Italian snacks and mini-pizzas are also served starting at Bt200-plus apiece.

Book a table at (02) 207 7777 or fb.bangkok@stregis.com.

Learn more at http://www.StRegis.com/bangkok.

Mezzaluna was one of three Bangkok restaurants to obtain two stars. Its description in the Guide reads: “…on the 65th floor of the lebua Hotel, seemingly suspended in the clouds, the chef (Kawasaki) and his team deliver European delights executed with Japanese precision in five- and seven-course set menus.”

Indian progressive cuisine Gaggan on Soi Langsuan and French establishment Le Normandie at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok are another two restaurants that earned two stars.

“To be to be awarded two Michelin tars is truly incredible. I am proud and deeply humbled by the recognition from the Michelin guide. I cannot say enough about my team at Mezzaluna and the support we’ve received from lebua. They’ve encouraged me to indulge my culinary imagination and build the experience that is Mezzaluna,” said Kawasaki.

He has created an experiential menu that beautifully showcases how his Japanese heritage has informed his French culinary training. Using the best, locally sourced, organic Thai ingredients, as well as premium ingredients imported from around the world, the chef is able to create exclusive dishes, like his signature Murakami beef entree.

“lebua Hotels and Resorts is proud to have nurtured the talent of Chef Ryuki and to have earned the recognition of the Michelin guide. Mezzaluna is a spectacular restaurant and now the world knows it. With the arrival of the Michelin guide, Bangkok, already the number one tourist destination in the world, is poised to become the leading culinary destination internationally as well,” added Deepak Ohri, CEO of lebua Hotels and Resorts.

The first selection for the Michelin guide Bangkok featured a total of 98 restaurants and highlights Bangkok’s balance of embracing international cuisines without abandoning its own heritage and authentic cuisine – which draws millions of visitors worldwide. Only three restaurants earned two stars, 14 restaurants earned one star and no restaurants earned three stars. This year’s selection also featured 35 restaurants awarded the Bib Gourmand.

For more information or to make a reservation, visit http://www.lebua.com.

To view the full selection of the Michelin guide Bangkok 2018, visit http://www.Guide.Michelin.com.

Seeking to bridge the gap between Thai and Indian cuisine, Bawarchi has paired several popular dishes with newly conceived cocktails.

India and Thailand both have enduring food cultures that embrace and incorporate curries as a dietary mainstay. As comfort food or part of a traditional or holiday meals, curries have a revered status.

Bawarchi’s prawn curry, Tawa Jhinga Masala, has been mated with the Nri Iced Tea cocktail inspired by the famous Long Island Iced Tea.

It’s a formidable concoction of rum, gin, vodka, tequila, star fruit, grenadine, black pepper, red chilli, and kokum syrup.  This bright and refreshing drink never lets the alcohol dominate the palate and subtly enhances the well-developed ingredients and succulent shrimp in the tomato-based curry.

Guests can customise their own spice level, from mild to medium to hot. The curry is light and fragrant and utilises a whole peppercorn imported from Bengal that imparts a truly unique flavour.

The prawns are 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 they’re not overcooked.

The Hyderabadi Biryani, a Nizam-style dish of braised lamb and saffron-hued basmati rice personally selected by chef DS Rana, is cooked in a dum – a traditional brass pot.

This is paired with a seductive White Russian-inspired Masala Chai Martini 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, black cumin seeds from India and homemade rose water.

“Our chef goes out of his way to make incredible dishes that are all at once familiar yet tantalisingly exotic,” says Bawarchi International Group vice president Vinay Chawla. “It’s all about a delicate balance between the spices, combined with the high-quality ingredients that he painstakingly sources from India.

“A lot of time, preparation and knowledge goes into each and every one of these dishes, and when paired with our new and exciting cocktails, they’ll be remembered fondly.”

The buffet tables groan under an extensive selection of fresh seafood, sushi and sashimi, traditional Thai delights, homemade pastas, Western classics, a carving station, hearty main course options and a large dessert station.

A cornucopia of seafood features freshshucked French, Australian and US oysters plus mussels, prawns, blue crab and rock lobster served with a choice of condiments. The feast continues with a range of salads and delicious cold cuts, a selection of 10 different cheeses, various antipasti, a live pasta station, and a carving station serving succulent roast prime rib and marinated roast sea bass.

Local cuisine is represented with spicy Thai salads, chilli dips, wokfried dishes and piquant curries. The repast is rounded off with desserts including assorted Thai sweets, classic mango sticky rice and a selection of fresh fruits.

The Saturday Night Jazz Buffet is available from 6.30pm to 10.30pm and priced at Bt1,900 per person inclusive of soft drinks, coffee and tea. Book a seat at (02) 687 9000 or email upandabove@okurabangkok.com.

Inspired by the casual Izakaya dining style, the menu is designed for sharing and offers dishes from the sushi counter, the main kitchen and grill. After its launch in London in 2002, Zuma achieved global success and is now in 11 locations worldwide.

Highlights include spicy beef tenderloin with sesame, sliced yellowtail with green chilli and miso marinated black cod. Diners can enjoy dishes from the robata grill alongside the freshest sushi and sashimi. Local specialities on the menu are Phuket Spicy Crab Soup with seasonal mushrooms, Grilled Squid Skewers with umiboshi teriyaki butter, Shrimps Deep-fried with kataifi and wasabi mayonnaise, and Grilled Phuket Lobster with shiso pesto, ranging in price from Bt290 to Bt5,200. Also available are four new delectable Tiki Nachi cocktails including Garo, Yukiwa and Tadachi, a delicious way to complement a great meal.

As the sun dips over the sea an exciting entertainment programme featuring various guest DJ’s, from around the region, introduces a seductive, yet mellow ambiance.

The pop-up is open through March 15.

Find out more at www.Phuket-Layan.Anantara.com.

De Kromme Watergang is located in the tiny village of Slijkplaat, in the picturesque Zeeland region, in the south-west of The Netherlands. For the first time, Chef Vinke is coming to Bangkok to share his culinary expertise based on a cooking philosophy of three words – pleasure, passion and perfection.

“Let your heart speak, and your brain and hands do the work. And especially use all of your senses. Smell, feel, taste, over and over again,” said the chef.

The hallmarks of his cuisine are based on the briny, earthy flavours of his restaurant’s abundant surrounds, inspired by the breathtaking landscape of the Zeeland region, and the rich bounty of its cold salty waters.

He and his team search for the freshest, fairest and most planet-friendly products with the shortest possible journey from producers and suppliers to his kitchen. Sea life and salt for cooking comes from the waters nearby, and many vegetables, fruit and herbs come from a garden close to his restaurant.

At Jojo restaurant, he will present two menus for lunch and dinner, in six and eight courses respectively, with an optional sommelier’s wine pairing for each.

Set the taste buds tingling with a mojito ginger shot and spicy oyster, coupled with linseed and tapioca crisps and a pickle dip. Get a taste of the sea, when seabass and razor clams meet Mexican estragon, almond, basil and tomato. Poultry is paired with smoky carrot, while cuttlefish and pork make for tasty bedfellows, as do sole and duck liver with Jerusalem artichoke.

In the eight-course menu, diners also have the pleasure of sampling North Sea crab and scallops, served with avocado, pistachio, apple and huacatay, as well as turbot and sea snails, with potato, sea vegetables, seaweed and verbena.

For cheese courses, goat’s cheese is served with honey, thyme, beetroot, apple and pecan, before the Dame Blanche makes a dessert cameo appearance, to end on a sweet and salty smooth note, with a hint of rum.

The six-course lunch menu is priced at Bt3,800-plus with an additional of Bt2,000-plus for wine pairing. The eight-course dinner set is Bt5,800-plus with an extra of Bt2,500-plus for wine pairing.

For reservations and details, call (02) 207 7777 or email to fb.bangkok@stregis.com or visitwww.StRegisBangkok.com.

There’s also a New Year’s Eve Buffet at the Pavilion.

All of the events cost Bt3,988plus, including admission to the Countdown Party and a drink in the Lobby Lounge.

Hamilton’s Steak House will have a sixcourse set dinner including a bottle of sparkling wine in its “1920s New York”style atmosphere.

The 22 Kitchen & Bar offers a similar romantic evening, with a fivecourse set dinner including Champagne, overlooking Lumpini Park and the Bangkok skyline.

The Pavilion’s New Year’s Eve Dinner features international cuisine, fresh seafood and seasonal specialities, plus a bottle of sparkling wine.

Benjarong specialises in Thai contemporary flavours in its fivecourse set dinner paired with fine Thai wine.

Thien Duong and the Mayflower will have an alacarte menu of traditional Vietnamese and authentic Cantonese dishes made with fresh and premium ingredients.

Make reservations at (02) 200 9000, extension 2345, dtbkdining@dusit.com or http://www.Dusit.com/dtbk.

Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin is well known for its contemporary interpretations of classic Thai dishes. The restaurant was conceived by famed chef Henrik Yde Andersen, whose Kiin Kiin restaurant in Copenhagen also holds a Michelin star.

“It is the ultimate honour to be awarded a Michelin star,” said Chayawee Sutcharitchan, head chef at Sra Bua. “I’m very proud of my team. Since beginning our amazing culinary journey in 2010, we’ve worked hard to create and present outstanding modern Thai cuisine to local and foreign guests. This is the proudest moment of our lives.”

Hotel general manager Samir Wildemann praised the kitchen team for its outstanding achievement and also paid tribute to the inspiration provided by Yde Andersen.

“Henrik understands the significance of this award, since his restaurant in Copenhagen has enjoyed Michelin-star status since 2008. This is well-deserved recognition for a restaurant that provides the highest standards in fine dining.”

Chayawee, known as “Chef Berm”, fell in love with gastronomy in 2004 while working in the United States. He obtained a certificate in culinary arts at Collin County Community College, basically leaving behind the training he had in computer science from Texas A&M University.

In 2006 Chayawee returned to Bangkok, where he gained more experience and developed his culinary skills at several five-star hotels, including the Landmark in Bangkok (where he was chef de partie) and the Intercontinental Bangkok (he was junior sous chef).

Chayawee joined the Siam Kempinski in 2010 as sous chef at the Brasserie Europa. Two years later he moved to Sra Bua and within another two years was named head chef.

“Cooking is certainly my passion, and learning new techniques and implementing them to create our dishes is always fun,” he says.

“The gastronomy trend has changed rapidly these last few years, and you can never stop learning or seeking out new things. Nowadays, a dining experience is not just about the food itself – it first has to appeal to the eye of the diner, along with its scent and taste.

“Also important are the ambience of the restaurant and the service. Never forget that the consistency of the food and the presentation are also important. Thankfully, my knowledge in computer science helped in terms of scaling the ingredients and plating.”

L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon, upstairs in Bangkok’s MahaNakhon Cube building, has a brand-new Michelin star as well as a new four-course menu for autumn available at both lunch and dinner.

Bangkok is the ninth location for the restaurant chain, which wears the glittering aura of the celebrated French chef whose name is attached to gourmet palaces in Las Vegas, Macao, Tokyo and Hong Kong that share a combined 31 Michelin stars – 32 with the Thai addition. No other chef in the world has that much “star power”.

Conceptually similar to a sushi bar, L’Atelier puts diners face to face in conversation with the cooks. The Bangkok outlet, which opened in late 2014, spreads 36 upholstered high stools around the front of the open kitchen and keeps the lighting dim, the better to relax and enjoy.

The “atelier” in the name – referring a workshop – seems fitting enough, but how many actual workshops have the visual interest of a Japanese sushi bar and the vibrancy of a Spanish tapas bar – and serve great French cuisine besides? It feels informal and convivial. And you can leave the “work” to the chefs.

If stool perches don’t appeal, there’s a broad dining area and even two private chambers – the Crystal Room big enough for four guests and the MahaNakhon Room to fit eight.

Royale of foie gras 

“It’s a friendly restaurant where there’s no need to fear the traditional formality associated with Michelin-star establishments,” says general manager Quentin Arnould. “Here you can share large tasting portions to explore unfamiliar tastes, and you can talk to the chefs and the service team.”

The main man in the kitchen is Olivier Limousin, who’s worked for Joel Robuchon for 12 years. What he sends to our table is a generous series of treats for the nostrils, eyes and tummy.

First there is Royale de Foie Gras afloat in a shot glass layered with port and Parmesan foam, a dramatic Bt3,850 experience that’s on offer until January 10. On the side is a small ball of crisp quinoa topped with quinoa puree.

Next, a fat Burgundy escargot gets cooked fricassee-style with pine nuts and wild mushrooms in persillade sauce (parsley, garlic, herbs, oil and vinegar). It’s accompanied by toast topped with pesto sauce, Iberico ham and another snail.

Completing the starter set is a patty of seared, golden-brown risotto topped with a poached egg and shaved truffle and Parmigiano reggiano cheese.

Wild mushroom and escargot fricasse 

On to the main course, Le Lievre a la Royale – a classic, full-bodied French dish that takes at least three days to make, as well as rare ingredients. The bunny rabbit – a wild hare, of course – is marinated in herbs and spices, stewed and served with a thick red-wine sauce containing some of the rabbit’s own blood.

I found the meat too dark and strong-flavoured and wondered how the Thai palate could ever get used to it.

For dessert there was a pear poached in citrus juice and a chestnut emulsion, alongside tangerine-bergamot sorbet.

Diverging from the autumn menu, the lunch sets include an amuse bouche, choices of starters, cheese and desserts, and a main course for Bt950, Bt1,450 or Bt1,950, depending on your selections and hunger level.

Chef Limousin also laid some Sologne imperial caviar on us, as a starter to the tasting menu, an exquisitely photogenic assembly of lobster puree topped with dots of cauliflower and chlorophyll cream, the caviar in the centre on a bed of crabmeat.

Poached egg, truffle and golden rice with parmigiano reggiano

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon makes terrific use of seasonal produce from the Royal Projects. For Bt850 you can have roasted crayfish in lobster bisque and a vin-jaune (yellow-wine) emulsion, with summer vegetables like carrots and cucumber.

An a-la-carte main dish well worth trying is roasted sea bass on artichoke puree with cubed foie gras and a chickpea emulsion scented with turmeric. That one costs Bt1,350.

A nice zesty dessert is the white chocolate formed into a lemon shape, sitting on a bed of a refreshing yuzu granita and quinoa. It’s Bt600.

BACK FROM THE HUNT

>> L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Bangkok is on the fifth floor of the MahaNakhon Cube building on Sathorn Road (BTS: Chong Nonsi).

>> It’s open daily from 11.30am to 2pm and from 6.30 to 10pm.

>> Call (02) 001 0698 or visit http://Robuchon-Bangkok.com.

Popular Chinese restaurant Hong Kong Fisherman at Impact Muang Thong Thani adds colour to the festive dining scene with five new Hong Kong-style duck dishes that are available until January.

Tantalising dishes include Double Steamed Duck Soup with Bamboo Pith, Chinese Black Mushrooms & Chinese Herbs, a perfect combination of steamed duck with Chinese herbs bursting with healthy benefits.

Diners can also sample braised Duck with Chestnut, Taro & Black Mushrooms served in a hot casserole and Stir-Fried Roasted Duck pieced with Pickled Sichuan & Bell Peppers, chilled Smoked Duck Breast with Jellyfish served in unique ‘Shanghai sauce’ and Deep Fried Spring Roll is stuffed with smoked duck breast and Cantaloupe.

Hong Kong Fisherman is in the Lobby of Hall 8, Impact Exhibition Center, IMPACT Muang Thong Thani. Find out more at (02) 833 5434-5 or visit http://www.hkfisherman.com.