Following a short ride on the shuttle boat to the Old Customs House on the opposite side of the river, I took a rather uncomfortable 10-minute walk through a shady part of the city before finally arriving at the lobby of Lebua at State Tower.
Arriving half an hour early means I have enough time to check out Sirocco at the rooftop.
As a city, Bangkok continues to add to its impressive number of rooftop bars and restaurants over the last few years but none had come close to matching the stunning view and amazing vibe of Sirocco. Let's hope I'm still up for a drink or two here after my dinner at Chef's Table.
It's been at least 5 years since I last saw Chef Vincent Thierry in action. The opening chef of Caprice at Four Seasons Hong Kong who guided the French fine-dining restaurant to its three-Michelin-starred status between 2010 and 2014, arrived in Bangkok's dining scene back in 2015. He joined Lebua late last year on a new project, Chef's Table which has been recently unveiled in the first quarter of 2019. It was an ambitious attempt by Lebua's ownership to add more stars to the premise after Mezzaluna picked up two Michelin stars in the 2019 guide. Could Chef's Table be the first restaurant in Bangkok to garner three stars? If there's ever a chef who could propel a new restaurant to a three-star debut, Chef Thierry is THE guy.
At Chef's Table, they are taking the open kitchen concept to a whole new level. A fully opened cooking station that looks like a spaceship from certain angles.
Better yet, I was handed the best seat (and table) in the house! Not only did I get the front-row seats to the open kitchen, there was also a gorgeous city view behind my back. Too bad my family wasn't here to enjoy it with us (children's policy again!).
Located on the 61st floor of Lebua at State Tower, Chef's Table opens from Tuesday to Sunday for dinner only. Dinner service starts at 6PM which is always a good thing for a family man like me. At the moment, the restaurant only offers a 7-course tasting menu but one gets to choose from two options for each of the courses except for the cheese course.
It was so nice to see Chef Thierry stepping out of the kitchen into the dining room. We had a nice chat before the meal and he promised to come back with his introductions on some of these dishes throughout the night.
I took my doctor's advice tonight. NO wine and cheese for tonight...
I was offered a trio of small nibbles to start the meal.
Poached oyster from Normandie with pickled vegetables and vinaigrette started me off with some nice briny flavors. It was followed by Norwegian salmon with potato wafer, potato emulsion and a hint of yuzu. And then a small duck foie gras terrine served on a crunchy tart beautifully decorated with pink radish. Very nice intense flavors from the foie gras backed up nicely by a fine touch of horseradish.
The housemade bread was next. It was served with a very special butter made locally with organic milk. This was very very soft and not surprisingly very silky. I wasted no time sampling some with the bread and it was very very yummy.
As I often say, part of the reason I enjoy eating bread is because of the butter!
The first course of the night was a familiar one. It's one of Chef Thierry's signature dishes at Caprice.
The chef's brilliant king crab tiramisu (no Tourteau crab in Bangkok?) is back. The king crab was again matched with layers of marinaded tandoori fruits and rich mascarpone cream. A spectacular and elegant dish with a wonderful synergy of sweet and fruity flavors, offsetting the richness of the mascarpone cream beautifully.
This latest version of crab tiramisu came in a more gracious and refined way thanks in part to a more artistic presentation and there were subtle changes like the coconut (white) and bell pepper (red) sauce that worked out splendidly.
Next up was Scottish langoustine and sweetbread lasagna, another specialty from the chef's Caprice days but he made some minor tweaks to it replacing chanterelles with tomato and fennel.
Honestly, I have never had this dish at Caprice before so it was a whole new experience for me all together. I thought the delicate langoustine was very tasty combining well with the tomato, fennel and light shellfish emulsion for a sublime buttery finish.
Despite my love for a thick slab of pan-seared foie gras, I must admit I haven't had one for years because of my self-imposed dietary restrictions. But if it's coming from this talented kitchen, perhaps I could consider making an exception.
The foie gras was cooked to pinpoint perfection but what made this dish special was the sumptuous mosaic made with pomelo, finger lime, lime caviar, kumquat and diced green mangoes, cutting through the richness of the foie gras beautifully with its lovely acidity. The heartwarming dish was finished off with a carrot velouté for a nice touch of comfort (and heat).
For my fish course, I have chosen the chef's line caught sea bass delicately crusted with chorizo on top. It was served in an aromatic broth made with squid and fresh herbs.
Another perfectly executed dish with the sea bass feeding off the flavorful bouillon and bed of diced red capsicum and squid cubes beautifully.
The temptation of the highly coveted duck from Challans was obviously way too much for me to turn down. The skillfully cooked duck fillet was complemented nicely by various textures of red and white beetroot, celery purée and potato gnocchi while the ginger sauce brought some nice heat.
It was a remarkable dish full of interesting and contrasting textures. The crispy duck skin (Just lovely!) and succulent duck meat were wonderfully matched with crunchy beetroot delivering a terrific textural contrast while the celery purée and potato gnocchi provided some softness to the dish.
The parmentier made with braised duck leg, celery purée and diced celery rounded out this rich flavored Challans duck dish before jumping to my desserts.
Pre-dessert was chilled strawberry soup with a small strawberry salad hidden underneath a strawberry flavored meringue disc.
There was a scoop of sour cream sorbet there to complete the palate cleansing.
Petite fours came with the signature dome on the plate!
The final course of the meal was lemon yuzu sphere with a tarragon lemon candy and vanilla mousse centre, served on a pool of lemon jelly and shortbread. With all the lemon zesty flavors, they tried to balance it with their homemade tarragon olive oil ice-cream though without much success (the olive oil ice-cream was seriously good though!).
My decision to skip the cheese course ended up netting me a second dessert. It was a much appreciated bonus dish from Chef Thierry and I must say, I enjoyed this one a lot more than my first (and original) dessert.
The creamy 80% dark chocolate was wonderfully paired with soft biscuit and caramelized pecan nuts praline but what tied everything together so nicely was the scoop of ice-cream made with old whisky.
Another bonus dessert on on top of the bonus chocolate dessert, a chocolate tart served with Chartreuse flavored marshmallow.
I insisted I've had enough wine for tonight (from the whisky ice-cream) so I ended up having the liqueur-less marshmallow with the super rich flavored and creamy chocolate tart instead.
I forgot how many times I used the word "beautiful" to describe tonight's dishes but it had to be more than a handful. It was truly great to see Chef Thierry again and although 10,000 Baht (after factoring in all the surcharges) was a little steep a price to pay for a meal in Bangkok, it was money well spent considering the unique (chef's table) experience, exemplary cooking and incredible vibe (and view).
Would Chef's Table have enough to become the first-ever three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bangkok? I am not entirely sure if it will happen this year but as a long-time admirer of Chef Thierry's exquisite modern French cuisine, I'm certainly rooting for it.
Food Rating: 9/10
Price: ฿฿฿฿฿
Address: 61/F Lebua at State Tower, 1055 State Tower Si Lom, Bangkok, Thailand
Closest BTS Station: Saphan Taksin
Tel: +66 (0) 2624-9555
Website: www.lebua.com/chefs-table
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