Hot New Restaurant Redefines Asian Cuisine In Bangkok, Thailand

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Hot New Restaurant In Bangkok Redefines Asian Cuisine

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Hot New Restaurant In Bangkok Redefines Asian Cuisine

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One of the hottest new restaurants in Bangkok is located in one of the newest hotels – actually a new hotel and convention center – the Centara Grand Hotel that’s attached to the CentralWorld Shopping Center in downtown Bangkok. The restaurant is Ginger and it’s on the 24th floor of the hotel, providing diners with sweeping views through the mostly-glass walls. The décor is modern and slightly eclectic – there’s a large aquarium built into the bar, for example – and there’s quite a spacious feel to the place.

The food could be described as modern Asian with bits of western influences here and there, much like the Japanese chef, Kenji Shindo, who worked in a number of countries outside his native Japan before gracing us with his presence here in Bangkok. And graceful is not a bad word to use in describing his cuisine, either, as he treads a fine line between east and west, taking  ingredients from both sides of the divide and combining them in innovative ways that draw on both modern and traditional methods.

His signature dish for the restaurant embodies the essence of his food philosophy very well. A simple piece of snowfish is steamed right on the teppanyaki grill after being wrapped in sasa leaves, doused with some sake and then covered. When it’s been perfectly cooked to a moist and tender consistency, it’s placed in a dish and sakura sauce is added to it. Sakura comes from cherry blossoms and somehow the chef converts these into an incredibly delicious sauce. Cherry blossoms are, of course, a symbol of traditional Japan and having them as part of this most modern of dishes illustrates the thinking behind Chef Kenji’s methods.

Another favorite dish of the chef is grilled Australian tenderloin with mushrooms paired with pan-fried foie gras that has a balsamic-red wine glaze. The tenderloin is topped with an imported Japanese sprout that lends it a unique yet subtle flavor and the glaze on the foie gras provides a tangy counterpoint to the richness of the foie gras.

Many of the rest of the chef’s menu are equally inventive – and delicious – and there are too many different influences and individual dishes to list here. There are, since the basic theme of the restaurant is modern Japanese and pan-Asian cuisine, many Japanese entries, including sushi and sashimi offerings but many are updated versions revealing Chef Kenji’s personal tastes. Also, he tends to blur the line between Asian cuisines, creating dishes that can’t be tied to any one country.

There are, however, a number of dishes that are presented as authentic Thai and that adhere faithfully to the basics of Thai cuisine. These dishes, along with the Japanese and, let’s call them Asian-fusion menu items, offer diners a wide choice of flavors to enjoy in one of Bangkok’s newest havens of creative dining.

See http://bangkokdining.ning.com/profiles/blog/list for info on Bangkok restaurants.