Mediterranean Restaurant At The Swissotel Nai Lert Park In Bangkok

A Mediterranean restaurant in Bangkok is not a common sight but there are a few and the best one may be La Dolce Vita at Ma Maison. This restaurant has an interesting pedigree, starting out in the early 90s as a high-end French restaurant that for years was considered one of the top two in the city. Its present incarnation draws on that heritage as well as a strong Italian influence – hence the Italian name – to produce a dining spot that serves a mix of cuisines with the common thread being ingredients from Mediterranean countries.

A survey of the menu reveals exactly that: rabbit and truffles and gorgonzola cheese mix with olive oil, mussels and yellowtail tuna to offer diners an eclectic mix of dishes that is as varied as it is interesting to people with a real passion for fine food. The dishes themselves are mostly fusions of Italian and French dishes that are contemporary and innovative. There are also sections of risottos and pastas that are primarily Italian in nature.

On a recent trip I sampled four dishes that ran the gamut of the different styles and ingredients presented here. From the appetizer menu I selected a Caesar salad, even though there were many other interesting dishes in this section, primarily because I wanted to see it made from scratch at the tableside. This is something that few restaurants do anymore and it takes a good bit of training for a waiter to be able do it properly at the table. The waiter here was very knowledgeable and quite accomplished, creating a Caesar whose dressing had just the right amount of garlic, anchovy and mustard, at least for my tastes.

A black truffle soup, which leans far into French territory, was topped with a cannellini bean foam and a couple of slices of truffle, giving it both a lightness and yet a very rich flavor to top off the delicious essence of the soup. A spaghetti dish with Maine lobster and a tomato cream sauce was also successful, most likely because the acidity of the tomato sauce was softened by the cream and didn’t intrude upon the delicate flavor of the lobster as much as it might have otherwise.

My final dish was a veal loin topped with foie gras and, again, some black truffles that displayed the true richness of French cooking at its best. The thick, perfectly cooked loin was served on a bed of spinach with some other vegetables also. This dish represented the true roots of the restaurant – a pedigree of fine French cooking – that manages to co-exist with the lighter fare on the menu that uses Mediterranean ingredients in different styles of cooking. Uniting these styles together into a consistent menu is not an easy thing to do but La Dolce Vita at Ma Maison seems to have accomplished it easily ad gracefully.

Don Giovanni Italian Restaurant In Bangkok

Don Giovanni, the Italian restaurant in the Sofitel Centara Hotel, is indeed named for what may the greatest opera of all time. At least, that’s what the menu introduction here says and not being an opera buff I can’t comment on that one way or another. However, I do know that they orchestrate some very nice dining experiences as I’ve had dinners and lunches here on a number of occasions over the years and have always been satisfied with the food and service.

Some parts of the menu have changed over the years and some have stayed the same as different chefs have come and gone. However, the basic philosophy has remained in place and that involves serving top-quality food and wine with formal service and attention to details. Also, the menu always has always had many traditionally-based dishes as well as some updated versions of classic dishes from the chefs’ own repertoires.

One thing that is definitely classic at Don Giovanni is their strict adherence to the traditional way of making a Caesar’s Salad. This is, I believe, the only place in town where you can get a Caesar’s Salad made at your tableside. This may not seem like a big deal but to some purists a Caesar is not a Caesar unless it’s made at the table. I’m not that strict about it personally but I do think that the original recipe should be followed or it’s really not a Caesar Salad is it? Many times I have eaten in a trendy Italian place, or others too, and the chef in the restaurant decides that his interpretation of a Caesar Salad is superior to that of Chef Caesar Cardini who originated this creation in his Tijuana, Mexico restaurant in 1924. The results sometimes are ludicrous with the chef throwing in everything but the kitchen sink in a vain attempt to put his personal mark on this signature dish. They should just do themselves a favor and follow the original recipe as they do at Don Giovanni’s. It will taste better, the purists will be happy and the gastronomic gods will smile upon them.

There are other dishes here, though, where the chefs have used their own ideas as to how certain dishes should be presented. I don’t always agree with them: carpaccio, for example, should be made of beef and not tuna or veal, but usually we’re on the same page, so to speak. In the appetizer section there’s a great example of mixing top-end ingredients when they serve a goose liver creme brulee with pan-fried foie gras, apple mousse and black truffle sauce. The richness of foie gras and truffles together is just plain delicious and only on the edge of overdoing it.

The rest of this ample menu contains enough choices to keep anyone happy whether you want something simple like spaghetti with an oregano and tomato sauce or something a little more elaborate like a baked rack of lamb with black pepper crust and tarragon-infused lamb sauce. My own favorites include the deep-fried seafood plate, the Australian sirloin and the pan-roasted tenderloin wrapped in pancetta bacon with foie gras. There are many more that I like from all the sections of the menu – risottos, pastas, soups, appetizers and the meat and fish entrees – but these are the ones that have left the deepest impression.

There are plenty of good wines to accompany your meal here as well in the enclosed wine cellar inside the restaurant. These, along with the service and the food here, will have you singing Don Giovanni’s praises yourself, perhaps not in an operatic style, but joyously nonetheless.

ISO International Restaurant In The Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel

Tom Aikins visits the ISO international restaurant in the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel in Bangkok.

La Dolce Vita Mediterranean Restaurant At Ma Maison In The Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel

Tom Aikins visits the La Dolce Vita Mediterranean Restaurant at Ma Maison in the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel in Bangkok.