Debut edition of Michelin Guide Bangkok - restaurants awarded

Anything and everything about Thailand
Post Reply
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21458
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1305 times

Debut edition of Michelin Guide Bangkok - restaurants awarded

Post by Gaybutton »

Image

Street food and fine cuisine awarded

December 07, 2017

The Nation

The debut edition of Michelin Guide Bangkok has awarded one star to the famous street food eatery Jay Fai, which serves up high-quality seafood dishes, while three luxury establishments – Gaggan, Le Normandie and Mezzaluna – have earned two stars. No restaurant has achieved the coveted highest three-star rating.

The inaugural edition awarded 14 restaurants one star, highlighting the quality of local cuisine, as seven of them – Bo.lan, Nahm, Saneh Jaan, Chim by Siam Wisdom, Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin, Paste and Jay Fai – offer Thai food. The other one-starred restaurants are Japanese eatery Ginza Sushi ichi, three French establishments – L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, J’Aime by Jean-Michel Lorrain, Savelberg – as well as Suhring, Elements and Upstairs at Mikkeller.

Jay Fai, located in the Samranrat area, is a street-food eatery that can accommodate about 50 people. Despite its humble ambience, Jay Fai is known for premium local seafood dishes, such as crabmeat omelette priced from Bt800 to Bt2,000, and abalone noodle in gravy, which is priced up to Bt10,000.

“I still cook with a charcoal oven and carefully select only the best local ingredients,” says 72-year-old owner, Supinya Junsuta, known as Jay Fai. “Although my eatery always welcomes high-profile figures and international chefs, I didn’t expect to get a Michelin star. It’s beyond my expectations to get one star and it’s my greatest honour.”

During the past eight months, Michelin’s full-time food inspectors have made anonymous visits to restaurants to gauge their food. Restaurants are rated on such criteria as the quality of ingredients, consistency, cooking technique and flavour, the chef’s personality and value for money.

“The first edition of the Michelin Guide dedicated to Bangkok highlights the richness of the city’s diversity of gastronomy,” said Michael Ellis, international director of Michelin Guides during yesterday’s official announcement at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok.

“Thai food is recognised around the world. Everyone knows tom yum, pad thai and satay. The intense seasoning is unique to Thai cuisine, as it mixes all tastes to the palate. Thailand also has incredible street food that should be included in the selection. The first-ever Michelin Guide Bangkok will shine a spotlight on Thai foods and their dynamic culinary evolution.”

The Michelin Guide Bangkok makes Thailand the second country in Southeast Asia after Singapore and the sixth in Asia to have its own culinary reference. Recognised as the bible of culinary excellence, the red guide was first published in France more than a century ago to promote automobile travel and now covers 28 countries.

This year’s selection also features 35 restaurants that have been awarded a “Bib Gourmand” – a distinction that is as popular with chefs as it is with gourmets. It recognises favourite establishments selected by the Michelin inspectors for their good value for money, as they serve a quality menu for a maximum of Bt1,000.

On the ground, the inspectors unearthed all kinds of delights: from street-food places such as Baan Yai Phad Thai, one of the best place for pad thai, and Guay Tiew Kua Gai Suanmali, a long-standing stir-fried chicken noodle shop, to more traditional restaurants offering local and delicious Thai cuisine.

For example, Jay Oh, which serves local-style seafood and dishes in a very rustic, casual ambience and where long queues are seen every night, obtained a Bib Gourmand. Also recognised was Baannai, located in a beautiful Thai-style wooden house with a well-decorated garden serving traditional and delicate Thai food, and Soul Food Mahanakorn, which focuses on a modern cuisine.

The Michelin Guide is available in both print and digital versions. It can be found online at https://guide.michelin.com/th/en/bangkok in English and Thai.

Story and photos: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/tasty/30333350
fountainhall

Re: Debut edition of Michelin Guide Bangkok - restaurants awarded

Post by fountainhall »

I have never understood the massive popularity of Nahm, the Bangkok branch of the famous London Thai restaurant. I went with friends about a year after it opened. We all vowed never to return. The welcome was distinctly cool, we were seated at very wide tables that were so wide they made conversation difficult. They were also too high for fine dining. We chose a tasting menu and were asked about how spicy we would like the dishes. We asked for mild. All were so spicy we could hardly eat any! Throughout, the service was perfunctory with not one of the older (age-wise) waiting staff smiling. The young maitre d' admitted they had made some mistakes and confirmed the table sizes were all wrong. He could not explain why that had not been corrected earlier or why no-one smiled!

Yet, the restaurant has gained its place in a lot of "Top . . ." lists. I remember talking to Darren, the Australian owner of Eat Me, about his favourite Bangkok restaurant. Unquestionably Nahm, he replied!
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21458
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1305 times

Re: Debut edition of Michelin Guide Bangkok - restaurants awarded

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote:I remember talking to Darren, the Australian owner of Eat Me, about his favourite Bangkok restaurant. Unquestionably Nahm, he replied!
I'm surprised he didn't say his favorite restaurant was his own.

Just to show how unsophisticated I am, I've never heard of any of the restaurants on the list above.

I have heard of Eat Me, but haven't gotten there yet.
fountainhall

Re: Debut edition of Michelin Guide Bangkok - restaurants awarded

Post by fountainhall »

I have only been to Nahm, Mezzaluna and Le Normandie. The last is admittedly a very special French restaurant atop the old wing of the Mandarin Oriental with great views of the river. It requires a very healthy bank balance unless you can persuade someone to invite you! My one visit to Mezzaluna was also as guest of friends. Although the food was extremely good, the entire atmosphere for us was totally ruined by an over-loud string quartet playing considerably out of tune! If ambience is included in the Michelin assessors' chart, I cannot believe this restaurant gained two stars. But then this was about 4 years ago and perhaps that quartet ended up in the river soon after our visit and complaints!

Eat Me is a perfectly lovely restaurant with a great menu. It used to have great looking young waiters until about 2 years ago when it started replacing many with young ladies, alas! It has also become a lot pricier in recent years, unfortunately.
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21458
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1305 times

Re: Debut edition of Michelin Guide Bangkok - restaurants awarded

Post by Gaybutton »

Before anyone tells me this post belongs in the restaurant reviews forum, maybe yes, but I'd rather see your own reviews on that forum - reviews coming from YOU from personal experience when you're the one who ate at a particular restaurant.
_____________________________________________

Image

Jay Fai Restaurant welcomes the Prime Minister after the Michelin award

By Nnkhiaokam

December 8, 2017

The only Thai street-food eatery to have won a Michelin Star, Jay Fai, will soon have an opportunity to cook up some dishes for Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha.

“The Michelin Guide team will arrange the occasion,” Jay Fai owner and chef Supinya Junsuta said yesterday, one day after she picked up the Michelin-star certification. Supinya Junsuta, who has won a Michelin star for her roadside restaurant, cooks her famous crabmeat omelette yesterday.

Her shop is Thailand’s only street-food eatery to have won Michelin recognition. She plans to serve Prayut her famous dishes such as a crabmeat omelette and dried congee. “I’ve heard the prime minister loves Thai food,” Supinya said

The 72-year-old woman said that if she got the opportunity to speak to Prayut she would tell him to take good care of fishermen and to ensure police are not too strict with people who are trying to earn a living. “It’s difficult for sellers to not raise their prices, if their cost increases,” Supinya said. She said that several high-profile figures were already among her customers, including HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. “I was working in front of my stove one day and suddenly the Princess turned up. I cooked stir-fried noodles for her,” Supinya said. Her simple restaurant serves delicious food although the price tags are way more expensive than normal street food.

A crabmeat-omelette dish, for example, starts at Bt800 and the most expensive item, abalone noodles in gravy, is Bt20,000. “I have set reasonable prices. My ingredients are premium quality and very fresh,” Supinya said. Her restaurant is known as “Jay Fai” because Supinya has a noticeable mole on her neck. Fai means mole in Thai. Supinya said she inherited the food shop from her parents, who started serving stir-fried noodles more than seven decades ago. “I started helping my parents following the closure of the factory I worked for,” she said.

After working for some time at the restaurant, she started diversifying the menu by creating new dishes. Supinya said she believed that aside from quality ingredients, charcoal-based cooking is the key to her successful business. There is a constant flow of customers despite the restaurant’s relatively high prices, compared with other street-food eateries.

A 41-year-old customer at Jay Fai yesterday said he started frequenting the restaurant 25 years ago. “I was just a school student when I heard this place served really yummy food,” he said. He believed most people would forget the relatively high price after tasting the food. “I can tell you that the taste is exactly the same every time, so whenever you come back, you are not disappointed,” he said. He believed the prices set by Supinya were reasonable because the ingredients were of such high quality. Phirada Cheepsattayakorn, 29, said when she first went to Jay Fai, she found the prices shockingly high. “But after the food arrived, I thought it was money well-spent,” she said.

She said she used to visit with her boyfriend and now that it has won a Michelin star, she hoped to soon take her parents too.

http://pattayaone.news/en/jay-fai-resta ... lin-award/

Location map: https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/327 ... 8034?hl=en

GPS coordinates: N 13.752761, E 100.504705

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Raan-Jay ... 9443524422

More reviews:

http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/ban ... ws/jay-fai
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_ ... ngkok.html
http://www.restaurantgirl.com/place/raan-jay-fai
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21458
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1305 times

Re: Debut edition of Michelin Guide Bangkok - restaurants awarded

Post by Gaybutton »

Who’ll have the hare?

December 10, 2017

By Khetsirin Pholdhampalit

The Sunday Nation

The autumn menu at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon goes for game, goose and (why not?) escargot

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.

“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.

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.

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.

Story and photos: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/tasty/30333520
fountainhall

Re: Debut edition of Michelin Guide Bangkok - restaurants awarded

Post by fountainhall »

I'll await GB's personal recommendation before hoping to be entertained at this one. At between Bt. 10,000 and 13,000 all in for the set dinner with wines, I reckon christianpfc could dine out on that fortune for about 6 months!
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21458
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1305 times

Re: Debut edition of Michelin Guide Bangkok - restaurants awarded

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote:I'll await GB's personal recommendation
Don't hold your breath. They say if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.

I have to ask the price . . .
Post Reply