Steak and wine: A PERFECT COMBINATION
Hamilton’s Steak House special series of dinners should light up the palates of carnivores and oenophilias alike
Hamilton’s Steak House at the Dusit Thani Bangkok is to hold a series of special wine dinners on July 20 and 21. The dinner, represented by a five-course gourmet menu by the hotel’s French executive chef Philippe Keller, is a collaborated culinary affair between the city’s well-loved steakhouse and Napa Valley California’s renowned winery Robert Mondavi.
Set amid a sophisticated and exclusive ambiance of the 50-seat restaurant, the evening starts off with a welcoming glass of the US vineyard’s 2014 white zinfandel.
It is followed by a cold and refreshing plate of crab salad with pineapple, deep-fried calamari rings, grapefruit jelly and microgreen herbs. Chunks of crab meat come tossed with tiny morsels of pineapple on a bed of jellied grapefruit consomme and garnished with thin and crispy calamari rings. The chilled salad matches perfectly with Robert Mondavi Private Selection sauvignon blanc 2015, known for its crisp citrusy-melon taste.
Homemade Maine lobster ravioli with light lobster foam and avocado chips arrives next. Three pieces of the pasta dumpling stuffed with well-seasoned lobster meat are graced with frothy bisque and sweet firm meat from the claws. Pairing with the crustacean is Private Selection chardonnay. It’s a setting of ripe apple, melon, citrus and tropical fruit aromas enriched by creamy malolactic tones, spicy French oak and baked bread scents.
The third course, which is one of the evening’s highlights, showcases the prime quality of Alaskan wild keta salmon, a sustainable harvest from the US. The fish, also known as silverbrite salmon, is known for its high-quality meat with extremely firm texture, less fat content and mildly sweet taste.
A neat rectangular filet of the keta salmon with its skin intact is pan-fried before being lightly smoked with four spices upon serving. Enhancing the supple and flavoursome fish are sauteed green fava beans and steamed French white asparagus — all with a dash of the smoky spice. Private Selection pinot noir 2015 provides to the salmon a spicy berry, medium tannic complement.
Representing the main course is a duo of USDA beef tenderloin and short ribs.
The tenderloin steak is charcoal-grilled to a perfect medium, yielding a lean, tender but pleasantly chewsome quality. Equally scrumptious yet offering a different mouthfeel is a hefty cube of accompanying braised short rib. The short rib is slow-cooked in red wine infused beef jus until the meat becomes very soft and absorbs the flavours of the intense gravy. The beef is served with a creamy spread of parsnips mousseline, steamed baby turnip and drizzles of red wine reduction sauce.
Complementing the prime steak is Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon. The complex-flavoured red allows diners to indulge in a soft and silky dense tannin with a rich setting of dark plum, vanilla oak, dried herbs and violet, as well as a subtle hint of leather.
The dessert chosen to complete the dinner is an artistic creation showcasing three layers of chocolate mousse with pastel-green morsels of 40-second sponge cake, droplets of chocolate mirror glaze, fresh raspberries and puree of cherry.
The chocolate delicacy is served with Woodbridge zinfandel, the cultivar that has earned its reputation as California’s own grape wine variety. The refreshing aroma and flavor of the full-bodied red wine portray characters of wild cherry, blackberry, cranberry, vanilla and peppery spices.
Guests are promised not only with a fine gastronomic evening but also nostalgic indulgence thanks to the steakhouse’s 1920s-inspired vibe. The warm and subtle dark wood interior adorned with framed images of old Bangkok is enlivened by American tunes from the same era.
Robert Mondavi Wine Dinner is on July 20 and 21, 6.30pm, at Hamilton’s Steak House, Dusit Thani Bangkok. Dinner is priced at 3,500 baht per person. For reservations, call 02-200-9000.