Modern French Restaurant Review - Water Library, Chamchuri Square, Samyan, Bangkok

Water Library Chamchuri Square Branch - Modern French Restaurant at Samyan Bangkok Review

Overall Score  9/10
Taste   5/5
Ambiance  4.5/5
Service  4/5
Value   3/5

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The Water Library – Chamchuri Square Bangkok is serving Modern French Cuisine.  Chef Mirco Keller, who has three Michelin stars restaurant experience.  I did ask the staff to define the meaning of the Modern French and he describe it as the kind of French cooking with the use of variety of ingredients to represent the variety of flavors through the delicate technique of plating arrangement.  Basically it is the culinary art of combining the variety of ingredients into unison, in terms of look and taste.  For a Thai person like me, French is not my favorite because of its blandness.  Until recently I have gone to a few good French restaurants and these ones actually made the French quite tasty.  So, I am now more interested in the French cuisine.

In Bangkok, there are a couple of places that I know for sure to serve Modern French; Reflexions @ Plaza Athenee, Le Normandie @ Mandarin Oriental, and Artur @ Soi Tonson.  There are two branches of the Water Library; the first one is at the Chamchuri Square and the other one is in Thonglor.  Both serves Modern style cuisine but the one in Thonglor is superbly upscale with the 12 course menu serving only ten guests per night.  The price is around 7,000++ baht and with the wine, it is 10,000++ baht.  All customers are to arrive at the exact same time to start the dinner and none of them get to choose what to have.  Everything is planned out by the chef.  The chef at Water Library Thonglor is an Asian Chef from Singapore.  On this occasion I was at the one in Chamchuri for the lunch set, which would be more affordable for most people. 

Everyone may wonder about the name, Water Library.  It is named after itself.  This restaurant has a great stock of mineral water from all over the world, all shelved in the cylindrical chamber at the center of the restaurant, reaches all the way up to the tall ceiling.  The owner of the Water Library also takes part in the distribution business of mineral water.  One of the secretly best choices of mineral water is the ISKILDE (http://www.iskilde.dk/).  It is from Denmark and it is available at the Water Library. 

First bite of the food at the Water Library at Chamchuri Square was the Croissant.  The doe was imported from France and baked here in the kitchen to serve.  Many customers come for the croissant to take home.  It cost 45 baht per piece, when sold separately.  The texture was rich and buttery, not overly, just delicious enough.  I wanted a dozen of it to take home.  The Appetizer was the Pan seared Foie gras on panpernikle (German Bread) with pineapple in vanilla cream and parmesan froth + ham cheese (this one was a special appetizer that costed 250 bath extra).  The size of the foie gras was worth the addition.  Its presentation was effortless yet modern, though lacked of lively colors.  Chef Mirco recommended me to enjoy the variety in the dish in one bite to fully experience the unison of matching ingredients.  The Foie Gras was wonderfully complimented; it came with fresh sweet from the pineapple and creamy sweet from the vanilla.  The Panpernikle gave a contrast with the crispy texture to the mushy texture of the foie gras.  This was one super delicious French appetizer.

For the main course, it was the Whole Boston Lobster with Petite Pour (green pea), porchini mushroom, truffle vinaigrette, carrot puree, and hazelnut butter foam (additional 350 baht).  Its exquisite presentation was breathtaking.  I didn’t know where to begin since I didn’t want to ruin its beauty.  With the complex flavors of different ingredients, my tongue was telling me “yes,” I was lost in the fantasy land of Modern French.  The combination was amazing, as if I was lying to you.  You really have to try it out yourself.  Lastly the dessert, it was the Sainte Domingue Chocolate Brownie with apricot jelly + jam, coconut crisp + ice-cream.  Again, this dessert was a work of art.  It came with multiple levels of sweetness.  Contrasting of white and black was charming.  With the white being fruity sweet from the coconut ice-cream + crisp and the black from the chocolate brownie.  Both had the apricot jelly and jam as the stylish sides. 

My executive lunch set at the Water Library Chamchuri Square was truly impressive.  I couldn’t wait to bring a special someone there for dinner.  And for once, I will reach to the point where I could afford to experience the Menu Degustation at the Thonglor branch.  I haven’t seen any reviews of the Water Library in Thonglor yet.  It would be great if any of you who have been there could share with me of your ideal experience.    

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French Restaurant Review, d'Orsay at the Portico Langsuan, Bangkok

d'Orsay - French Restaurant at The Portico Langsuan Bangkok 

Overall Score  9/10
Taste   4.5/5
Ambiance  4/5
Service  4/5
Value   3/5

d'Orsay - French Restaurant on BumRes.com

In the past few months I have been going to a few French restaurants in Bangkok but most of them didn’t impress me as much, in terms of the flavoring.  I don’t know if it’s my Thai palate or what, but fortunately I still found a few delicious French joints, such as Indigo @ Convent road, Chez Pape @ Sukhumvit 11 (a French bistro, homemade style), and this one that I am reviewing now, the D’Orsay @ The Portico Langsuan.  This French restaurant, the D’Orsay is quite new since it has only been in business for about 7 months (The same time that the Portico Community Mall opened).  The D’Orsay is located on the third floor.  There are both indoor with A/C and open air seating on the terrace.  For being in the community mall, the classy atmosphere was wonderful with the wall murals and the bar at the center.  The view of the night light of the buildings nearby also made the atmosphere special.  The service was great; attentive and caring.  

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To be honest, I never thought about going to this place at all because I have come by the here during lunch time and the place was almost empty, which I thought that it would be a good location for the office crowd at midday.  The fact that I kind of thought that it was expensive also kept me second thought about trying it out.  About two weeks ago I found a couple of good reviews of the D’Orsay.  Each reviewer seemed to be so fond of the place, so I had to check it out for myself. 

I got to talk to the owner who was a Thai origin but lived in France for over 20 years.  He told me that the food was inspired by a variety of French style cooking that he had experienced during his time in France.  In general French cuisine is divided into four main levels; Café > Bistro > Brasserie > Restaurant.  I asked the owner which level would his food fall into and he didn’t know.  In my opinion, it would be about a Brasserie to a Restaurant level.  There weren’t too many selections in the menu, about 20 items.  Not know much about French; when I looked at the name, I had no idea what the food would look like when it comes out.  I only knew that the selections weren’t cheap for me, lol… (Standard price for most French restaurants in Bangkok, I guess)     

The meal began with the cold beer, the Schneider Weisse –Berline White Beer, which tasted rich and smooth.  I don’t think I have seen this brand anywhere in Thailand but I’m sure that it can be found elsewhere also.  The Happy Hour is Monday and Tuesday from 17.30 to 21.30; three for two specials for the selected choices.  My friends and I happened to be there on Monday, so of course we didn’t miss the promotion. 

The second dish was a popular one, the Moules en persellade – Steamed mussels in pernod, garlic, butter, and parsie (890 baht).  Basically it was mussels in a bucket, which were so amazing.  Its light flavor was just right and so savory.  The mussels were from Spain I remember; they were so fresh and tasty.  My friends and I couldn’t stop fighting for them.  The mussels at D’Orsay also came with French fries, which was an incredible hand food on the side.  It was such a Happy Meal to have the mussels in bucket to enjoy with the good German beer.  

The third menu at the D’Orsay was the main course.  This choice was what I had seen in other’s review.  The Filet Mignon d’Agneau aux herbes  - Australian lamb eye of loin with its herbs crust (945 baht).  What a tasty lamb meat it was, grilled to about medium.  The fillet’s skin was covered in herb and some crisp flakes, which added a great contrast of texture to the lamb meat.  On the side were the mushroom and asparagus nicely sautéed.   

The fourth dish at the D’Orsay was the Plat de Cote de boeuf mijote – 45 hrs slow cooked Australian short rib in red wine 500 g (1,025 baht).  The meat was unbelievably tender with the redness at the core.  Good sauce and good veggies side just like this earlier dish.  Quality meat; it is all I could say.

The fifth dish at the D’orsay, the last main course, Legine Australe Fumee – Pan seared Chilean seabass smoked with cherry wood (675 baht).  It was the Snowfish steak; white, fine textured, and puffy; must be sous vide possibly.   We needed a more tasteful special sauce here to compliment the fish here, I thought.  However, the fish still fantastic with just the rich yellow creamy paste underneath all. 

To end this (costly) French meal at the D’Orsay @ Portico Langsuan, we had the Profiteroles (195 baht), which was also as impressive, no less than earlier meat dishes.   The presentation was stunning, arranged tall with nice dimension.  Ice-cream, the flour, and the cream; all were not too sweet and yet so great altogether.

For the pricey French meal for a party of three at the d’Orsay @ The Portico Langsuan, I honestly couldn’t complain a thing about.  My point of view of French cuisine changed a bit.  I don’t know if it’s the Thai owner who made the difference in French cooking, but I sure enjoyed his creations.   Let me know what you all think about this place once you have tried.   

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