We had the pleasure of meeting Chef Jean-Michel Lorain in Joigny back in 2013 and even got a private tour of his kitchen following our wonderful meal. That was a very special night that we would never forget for the rest of our lives.
So as soon as I sorted out my itinerary, I immediately contacted J'AIME and my reservation was quickly confirmed by nobody other than the Chef's daughter, who's running the restaurant in Bangkok on behalf of her dad.
We were getting a little hungry after an afternoon filled with shopping and massage so we decided to come early and check out the restaurant. This was a lot more glittering than what we've expected.
Look who we've got here tonight - Mr. Men In Black Tommy Lee Jones was in the house!
They didn't have an a la carte menu available which was just fine with us as we went straight with their 6-course tasting menu.
Our first course was a smoked salmon and guacamole bonbons with mango vinaigrette. It was probably the first time I experienced French dining with small sushi plates! Very interesting. They later explained that it's part of their "sharing" concept.
Next up was one of the chef's many signature dishes - ocean oyster terrine with shallot confit, red wine gelée and baby spinach. Lovely sea water flavor combining well with the richness of the oysters and at the same time offset by the shallot confit and what I thought was eggplant. No doubt, one of my favorite dishes of the night.
The next course was a small bowl of country-style Burgundy snails with a tomato fondue and parsley spume. The tomato fondue and parsley spume formed a very nice partnership in providing the snails an amazingly refreshing twist.
Fried sea bass with beetroot-scented quinoa and pomegranate froth was one of the least impressive dish on the evening that was otherwise filled with wonderful food.
One of the few times I had pan seared foie gras with olives but the execution was close to perfection. It was served with lightly mashed potatoes and a Gaeta olives sauce.
Seared scallop with chestnut purée was next. I completed lost count on how many dishes I had at this point but I distinctively remembered that it's not on the menu. Perhaps it was a bonus dish?
Anyways not bad at all. I recalled having a similar dish back at their flagship restaurant in Joigny. They love matching scallops with chestnut around here and the result was fairly satisfying.
Chicken and wild mushrooms served with Parisian vegetables and Champagne cream sauce was one of the tenderest chicken I've ever had and the creamy Champagne added yet another dimension to the mix.
If there's an area that needs improvement, it's probably their dessert department. I thought the mille-feuille was just OK but could've been better with a more flaky texture.
Same for the layered choux pastry with hazelnut cream.
The chocolate and coffee gateau opera cake was probably the weakest link in this trio of bite-size dessert.
A fun-filled night with good food and perfect ambiance without a question. The chef's daughter Marine came up to us on a few occasions and we had a lovely chat with her about this place comparing to his father's Joigny restaurant. I am wishing the Lorain family all the best in this latest venture and look forward to visiting them again very soon.
Food Rating: 6.8/10
Price: ฿฿฿฿
Address: 105 Soi Sathon 1, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Closest Metro Station: Lumphini
Tel: +66 (0) 2119-4899
Website: www.jaime-bangkok.com
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