‘BETTER THAN PERFECT’
The Allium presents contemporary European cuisine at its finest
‘This is better than perfect,” I told Madhukar, The Allium’s assistant restaurant manager who came to check on our table of three as we were finishing the seventh lovely dish of our 11-course dinner.
My comment was genuine and voluntary, even I didn’t expect to hear myself saying it. But for such a parade of tasty dishes one after another, what I said felt most logical.
The Allium is The Athenee Bangkok’s new European haute cuisine restaurant. Location-wise it has taken over the space that once housed The Reflexions. Culinary-wise the two-monthold restaurant is led by chef de cuisine Roxanne Lange, who also helmed The Reflexions from 2016 to 2018.
Here at The Allium, Lange switches her craft from ultra-modern French cuisine to contemporary European fare prepared with utmost respect to fresh seasonal produce.
She sources only the finest ingredients from Europe, and marries them with locally grown organic produce as well as botanicals freshly picked from the restaurant’s garden. Thus the inspiration behind the name “allium”, a flowering plant that encompasses various species of garden vegetables including onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, chives and scallions.
The high-ceilinged restaurant, lulled by slow-beat background music, resembles an upscale Parisian living room with solid white and red walls, lots of light and very little accessorising. Warm yet breezy. Cosmopolitan yet casual.
To go with the crisp setting is an eclectic line-up of newly created dishes that reflects chef Roxanne’s passion for fresh natural ingredients. The selection changes seasonally and is offered both à la carte and through multi-course degustation meals.
If you’re in for an all-out experience, settle on Memoirs of Home (3,280 baht per person), an 11-course feast inspired by the chef’s culinary reminiscence of her Netherlands home.
Dinner here begins with a welcome drink and a complimentary trio of delicately-crafted amuse bouche.
Marking the first season are Japanese edamame green pea with pesto; banana prawns with salmon roe and ponzu citrus soy sauce in crispy thin pasty shells; and a warm sphere of pork cheek rillettes that comes with pork liver mousse ice cream and pickled beetroot.
All dining guests are also treated to a free-flow helping of house-made sourdough bread with lemon-oil infused butter. Bread buff beware, they are so spongily fluffy and deliciously irresistible that you might overly stuff yourself.
A helping of Normandy’s naturally sweet La Speciale Jolie Mauger oyster with Oscietra caviar, sour cream, apple and dill started off the three-hour-long dinner beautifully.
It was followed by Chiang Mai tomato salad, which proved a delicious exhibition of colours, textures, tastes and temperatures.
This super refreshing dish showcases local tomatoes in various forms and preparations. On the plate, fresh heirloom tomatoes were given a crispy complement by dehydrated tomatoes chips, accompanied by small pliable pearls that revealed a spicy tomato soup inside.
There was also a tiny scoop of tomato ice cream and morsels of lightly sweet and airy tomato meringues.
A cold platter of Surat Thani mud crab with super tasty cucumber salad made with translucent strips of cucumber, sour cream and cucumber broth came next and proved on point.
The dinner continued to proceed marvellously with a warm plate of supple and springy Hokkaido scallops cooked in dashi broth and served with pumpkin gel and confit pumpkin.
Red snapper, sun choke and chorizo — the fifth course and one of my most favourites — promises to make connoisseurs of white fish cry tears of joy.
A neat hefty fillet of fish meat was extraordinarily firm yet silkily supple. It was enhanced by a frothy beurre blanc white wine sauce, specks of spicy Spanish sausage, bell pepper purée and paper-thin sun choke chips to lend a nice crust.
Chef Lange’s rendition of seared foie gras is one of the best I’ve ever eaten. A firm slab of French Moulard duck liver is served with caramelised apple, apple gel, biscuit crumbs and brittle sea salt.
Just when you thought you had had the best part of the meal, a serving of Spanish Pyrenees Iberico lamb arrived. And if three stars were the highest accolade, this platter of oven-cooked lamb rack with green asparagus deserves a four. It is to thanks to the extraordinarily tender lamb meat and slightly crispy crust that boasted an enticing flamegrilled character to match with potato purée and crunchy spears of asparagus.
For the cheese course, organically made young Chiang Mai goat’s cheese comes in various styles, including creamy, flaky, spicy and as a filling in brioche crackers.
Following the cheese bliss was the best palate cleanser one could have ever asked for. Dubbed “Pineapple And Lime”, it’s a super light and refreshing rendition of the classic piña colada with a sharp tangy twist of Thai lime and an effervescent mouthfeel from coconut cream foam.
The Allium’s first season of dessert boasts house-grown calamansi, Madagascan vanilla ice cream and white chocolate cream roll.
And because the orange-centric delicacy proved so heavenly, it’s almost unimaginable that the most memorable dessert was yet to come. I’m sure you’ll be soothed by chef Lange’s extra cold platter of milk, organic honey and hazelnut.
Each of the above mentioned dishes is also offered as à la carte, and in a seven-course (2,480 baht per person) and nine-course meal (2,980 baht per person).
To cater to diners with vegetarian preferences, there’s a listing of plantbased dishes designed keenly to correspond with the main menu. Guests can enjoy the vegetarian creations as à la carte and also in a multi-course tasting menu priced at 1,800 baht, 2,200 baht and 2,600 baht per person for a sixplates, eight-plate and 11-plate dinner.
Service was definitely of five-star quality, blending world-class efficiency and attentiveness with cordiality.