The Reflections welcomes its first lady head chef.
THE REFLEXIONS MODERN FRENCH
Plaza Athénée Bangkok, 3/F, Witthayu Road. Closest BTS station is Ploenchit. Daily 6pm-until late (closed on Mondays) fb.com/thereflexionsrestaurant 02-650-8800
THE SETTING
When we heard that The Reflexions had recently taken on its first lady head chef, Dutch national Roxanne Lange, we headed on right over to the Plaza Athénée. After all, this marks a new chapter in the restaurant’s storied history. And, what a way to put a fresh interpretation on modern French cuisine — by adding some warmly welcomed feminine and Dutch flavours to the mix. Chef Lange, having previously worked under Michelin Star guidance at the Savelberg, brings with her a wealth of knowledge in French cuisine as well as her training from Rotterdam too. The restaurant itself, tucked away on the third floor of the hotel, has dim and intimate lighting. The notes of a live piano, played by Jean Francois, The Reflexions resident French pianist, grace the space with sounds of jazz tunes interwoven haphazardly with classical and romantic all-time greats.
THE MENU
We went for the six course recommended menu (B3,000 per person). We started off with an amuse bouche to cleanse our palates; quite possibly one of our most favourite amuse bouches in all our history of ever tasting them — a mixture of red and orange cherry tomatoes, with one of them filled with burrata cheese made by the chef herself. Loved it. The first course was King crab, with quinoa, edamame and citrusy droplets of yuzu. This was one of the highlights of the evening and gone swiftly in exactly two mouthfuls. Next was the Oyster. Never had we seen such a handsome thing, so beautifully prepared alongside shells and lime granite. It came with a slightly Thai twist, with chilli and a green curry sauce. However, we have had fresher tasting oysters. Looks can deceive; but we put that down to the day of our visit, a Wednesday. Oysters are usually delivered every Thursday.
Next up was the Joselito ham, with thin slices arranged around chanterelle mushrooms, house-made mustard icecream, pistachios and cucumber. Quite a departure from your usual parma or even chorizo, but very creative indeed. The main highlight was, of course, the John Dory — we genuinely loved this and could not get enough of it. A mini-fillet of the fish came surrounded in grapes, capers, a serving of finely chopped potato salad, green asparagus and to finish it off, a drizzle of potato sauce. We could have had a few more plates of this.
Next up was the Doe. Now, we’re not sure of anywhere else in Bangkok that serves up this rather peculiar choice of meat (apparently it’s a Dutch delicacy and also popular in many Thai circles — according to Chef Lange, that is). So, if you’re up for something even more unusual than eating game in Bangkok, head to The Reflexions. The slices were perhaps not as seasoned as we would have expected, and rather thick, but then again, we admit fully we are not connoisseurs of this type of meat.
Dessert was spectacular. Dubbed Pomelo, there was more to this dish than that fruit we love. There were also caramelised peanuts, house-made brown sugar ice cream, thin white chocolate snaps, mint leaves and pink petals. This looked very interesting and tasted pretty good too.
INSIDER’S TIP
We highly recommend you head to The Reflexions any night the resident French pianist is playing. So basically, any night between Wednesday to Sunday. Seriously, this man knows how to tap that (piano)! Also, pretty please save room at the end of your meal to try Chef Lange’s assortment of chocolates. Make sure you ask for them. There’s nothing better than enjoying live jazzy tunes while you’re scoffing some bomb AF chocolates — apart from the pistachio and the coconut, but these are very acquired tastes.
VALUE & VERDICT
We love what Chef Lange is doing over at The Reflexions and we really appreciate her inventive flair and the amount of creativity and thinking she puts into every one of her dishes. We feel the seafood dishes were the ones in which her talents shined most. As far as hotel restaurants go, this one’s certainly doing something quite different from the rest. And now you know where to go if you want some doe.