Saturday, November 3, 2012

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

Water Library - Modern French Restaurant on BumRes.com




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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