Whale’s Belly 9 Course Tasting Menu Vol 3
Whale’s Belly 9 Course Tasting Menu Vol 3
Whale’s Belly is one of the up and coming fine dining restaurants in Bangkok. The restaurant is located at 39 Boulevard Tower, 2 floor, Soi Sukhumvit 39( Soi Phrom Chit) and the best way to reach there is by car or taxi.
The restaurant is recommended by my best friend, Peter who has been staying in Bangkok for years. He is a great admirer of the head chef of this restaurant and also a loyal customer. The head chef, Chef Mai is a young chef who trained in the seafood section of Le Normandie at Bangkok’s Mandarin Oriental. Recently, he won the title of Iron Chef Thailand on TV and he is offering the Iron Chef Winning Menu in his restaurant. The restaurant offer modernist unique European seafood cuisine.
We took a taxi to Soi Sukhumvit 39 and the restaurant is located at the 2nd floor. At the entrance, you will be greeted by smiling waiters and waitresses. The service in this restaurant is second to none.
The restaurant’s ceiling design is a replica of the whale’s bones. The lighting is dim with blue colour walls and soothing music playing at the background. This is an ideal place to bring your partner or even your family and you will enjoy the mood. It is not hard to understand why you can fall in love with this place.
A quick glance at the menu, you will spot food like foie gras, caviar, wagyu and gold flakes used in most of their dishes. There is ala carte menu and also 9 Course Tasting Menu. I choose the tasting menu priced at Baht 1950 per person (around RM 200). For a 9 course tasting menu and for that price it is a steal. For wine pairing the price is additional Baht 1500 for 3 glasses (RM 150).
Chef’s Amuse Bouche
Chef’s Amuse Bouche is charcoal bread with pate and butter. Don’t be fooled by the dark coloured charcoal bread as it is soft in texture and it goes well either with pate or butter or both.
Sweet ‘n Sour
Sweet ‘n Sour is marinated Bismark herring, cape gooseberry, chicken paper and potato. You get different textures of the herring (tender), chicken paper (crispy) and potato (softness) and this is a unique combination of sweet and sour taste. What a great start.
It is best paired with Villarica 100% Savignon Blanc, Chile 2010
Blue Fin Tuna
Blue Fin Tuna is the combination of blue fin tuna, blue crab meat, cold capellini, caviar and Yuzu vinaigrette. This is one of the winning dishes during the Iron Chef Thailand on TV and the judges gave a very high mark on this dish. The base is the cold capellini pasta and then compliment with blue fin tuna and blue crab meat and topped with caviar. This is a very interesting dish to say the least and the taste is quite good but I find it a little bit too spicy for my liking. This is based on my preference only as I am not a big fan of spicy food.
Escargot and Ricard
Escargot and Ricard is hand rolled ravioli, parsley and parmesan. This is enjoyable.
It is best paired with Talamonti Moda Montepulciano D’ Abruzzo, Italy.
62 °C Onsen Egg
62 °C Onsen Egg is shiitake and bacon ragu, chieve, beurre blanc. I expected poached egg alike texture but this is definitely better than what I’ve imagine.
Refresher
Refresher is a version of jelly, granita and foam. The refresher acts like an interval in between dishes to refresh the taste palette. In short, it works like a commercial break.
Wagyu Beef Cheek
Wagyu Beef Cheek is complimented with sweet pea, radish, black garlic and pepper sauce. The wagyu cheek is cooked to perfection, the texture is soft and it is juicy.
Raspberry Panna Cotta
Raspberry Panna Cotta is mixed berries, sorbet and cocoa. You get a combination of sweet and sour taste for this dessert but this is not the end yet.
Mocha
Mocha is the last dish of the 9 course tasting menu and it is served in a wine glass and topped with melted mash mallow. This is an enjoyable dessert to end the tasting menu.
For every single dish, the waiter will explain in details the ingredients and taste of the dish. Since Peter can speak Thai, he explained everything in Thai but I am sure I spoke to an English manager or waitress.
The food at Whale’s Belly is good and I managed to meet with Iron Chef Mai after dinner. We had a short chat and talked about his menu and he is such a humble chef.
The services and professionalism of the restaurant is outstanding and it is interesting to see the quality and standard of fine dining in Bangkok. The most important of all, the most of the waiters and waitresses here have good knowledge in wine selections as well as their menu.
If you are not a big fan of 9 course tasting menu, you can order their beef steak with foie gras. It is one of the best in town. I will definitely come back again for more. This is not a sponsored or paid food review.
Whale’s Belly Restaurant & Bar Address and Contact:
39 Boulevard Tower, 2/F, Sukhumvit Soi 39, Bangkok (BTS Prom Phong Station)
Tel: +662 160 0333 / +6687 441 9545
Opening Hours: Everyday dinner 17.30 – 23.00 hours
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhalesBelly
Instagram: @whalesbelly
Website: http://www.whales-belly.com/
