BELGA BOSSES BANGKOK ROOFTOPS

Riding high amid the uptown fray of elevated bar-restaurants, Thailand’s first and only Belgian brasserie lights up the night like a beacon of chic and cool

Suddenly level 32 of one of central Sukhumvit’s swankiest hostelries is all the rage.

With its Bangkok bling-interfacing wraparound terracing, risqué red splashes, alchemistic mixology and pink-tints lady DJ “Nana” January 7-11, 2020, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit’s Belga is a super-magnet for savvy sybarites.

Add to this easily-relatable upscale gastronomy that perfectly pairs with awesome wine and beer cellars and kellers and who among liberal gourmands can resist a culinary tryst?

The Belgian brasserie concept has barged its way to the summit of the rooftop rankings with all the bravado of “In Bruge”, the 2008 tragi-thriller that put the lie to any lingering notion that Belgium is boring.

Au contraire, if hosting the European parliament isn’t exactly exciting, the country of 11.5 million punches well above its weight in Michelin-starred gastronomy and nifty soccer stars, to name but two compelling causes. Moreover, it once owned the entire Congo.

What it’s really good at, though, on the strength of Belga (5 Belgian franc coins in pre-Euro money that equalled 1 beer), is keeping people happy with food, drink, music, and equally intoxicating panoramas.

Perhaps the Thai-Belgian amity cemented in Rama IV Bridge also partly explains the fervent mutuality infused in this unofficial culinary ambassador.

But we digress. More to the point are beers invented 200 years ago by Trappist monks who’d never heard of chemicals let alone polluted their amber nectar with any.

Belga’s “wall of beers” arrays nearly 40 craft specimens B280-450++ including blondes, bruins, wits, IPAs, fruit beers, lambics and the trap brews those mendicants still make.

Plus another 10+ premium items on draft (B250-390++), including Maredsous Blonde & Bruin, De Koninck and, exclusively, Duvel. It takes a resident Irish expert, Peter Laird, to make sense of it all.

Several are exclusive in Southeast Asia and all come highly recommended by their collective recently bestowed UNESCO World Heritage laurels.

Our Sampling Flight B560++ of five draft brews served in 150ml tasting vessels was a cerevisaphile’s dream-journey of flavour notes ranging caramel, banana and fermented darkmalt liquorice.

Gastro brasserie indulgences are often paired and indeed made with said.

Par example Moules Hoegaarden, white beer, pancetta, cream B590++ sm / B1,090++ lg. But of the four “Moules Frites” (sautéed mussels) options, we chose the most classic Moules Marinière, a dreamily aromatic hot pot of tenderest Zeeland mussels infused with white wine, shallots, parsley, onion, and entirely absent of oceanic pungency.

The Belgian way is to accompany these with signature Frites Maison B250++ (“fries” doesn’t cover it). Made from premium Monalisa potatoes, the golden shoestrings are triple-fried in a vegetarian house-blend of sunflower, rapeseed and soya bean oil, producing a texture and flavour to rival Robuchon’s mash.

And the fritz are even more irresistible with a dip of black truffle, tom yam, or mustard mayo created fresh on the spot by the “Maître Mayonnaise”. Mayo, explains Finnish-French Head Chef Nicolas “Nico” Basset, is a very big part of Belgian cuisine. (Having toured the brasseries and breweries of Belgium extensively, he should know.) Thick and rich, the truffle type was perfection equally derived of the tubers, house-pasteurized organic egg and dash of Worcestershire.

And while we’re on the starters, Grey Shrimp Croquettes B350++ blended with lobster bisque and Cheese Croquettes B290++ stuffed with a pungent quartet of curds (Gruyère, Emmental, Mozzarella, Parmesan) both go gorgeously with a twist of lemon and spicy cocktail sauce.

Then there’s the Belgian classic waffle blended with finest fresh crab meat seasoned with kaffir lime and chilli paste B290++. Leavened with mesclun salad and umamified with spicy cocktail sauce, one could call it an evening on eats right there.

RING MY BELGA

However, if you’re coming for three courses, start instead with a warm winter salad of fried smoked pancetta, jacket new potato halves, radicchio, cherry tomato and a marvellous honey-sweetened white wine and ultralight Samos olive oil vinaigrette.

Follow with a return to the beer cuisine theme, Carbonnade à la Flammande, Australian wagyu beef brisket braised four hours in stout, pancetta and mustard B790++, described by Nico as “the Belgian Boeuf Bourguignonne”. Belgians lurve lots of gravy and, elevated with red currant and mustard, it’s a great one. All of which goes a treat with “stoemp”, Belgian-style mashed potatoes beefed up with root veggies, here celeriac, swede and leak.

Equally simply awesome is Waterzooi B650++, “slow-cooked to the perfect moist and tender point” chicken breast, with white wine sauce sporting leak, carrot, celery, champignon and, hallelujah!, Brussels sprouts.

Another lip-smacking option is PanSeared Hokkaido Scallops with Braised Endive B690++ sweet, firm-textured shellfish and lettuce hearts browned and crunchy.

Or for a total blowout, turf with Cote de Boeuf, Bone in Rib-eye 1kg B2,950 for 2-4 and surf with classic Dover Sole à la Meunière B1,950++, brown butter, lemon, parsley.

Belga’s Brussels Waffle B290++ is every bit as stellar. The light, crispcrusted yeast-based griddle cake is served with chocolate sauce that seductively fills the signature portcullis of indents. This in contrast to brioche-like Liège waffle, also on the menu. With fresh vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries and Belgium chocolate sauce, it’s to-die-for.

Boasting similar star wattage is La Damme Blanche (White Lady), homemade vanilla ice cream, whipping cream, dark chocolate sauce, crunchy almonds and schooner sales of tuile.

Interior décor-wise, plucky Belgian icon Tintin photo bombs in full colour monochrome studies of the grand old architecture that graces the major cities, largely thanks to controversial Congo coloniser, King Leopold II.

The panels grace white brick walls. Wood furniture, polished marble tops, copper beer taps, incandescent wall lamps, pub posters, and panelled windows collectively resonate vintage brasserie, graced with crystal ware, porcelain and cotton finishes. The furnace-red open-plan culinary laboratory injects live improv theatre.

Transformed from its original incarnation as a period Parisian apartment, the terrace has been vastly expanded (94 seats) while still doubling dining seating (52). The view is mesmerizingly cinematic and, facing west, ideal for catching kaleidoscopic sunsets.