Le Normandie review with amazing photography might be our top selection for this month. We are happy to include a two-star Michelin rated restaurant that we believe really deserved to make it to the Michelin list: Le Normandie. It is located on the top floor of the Mandarin Oriental's garden wing, which offers a view of Bangkok’s always-so-busy Chao Phraya River.
After the elevator, we stepped into the luxurious neoclassical restaurant, and we took a few minutes to admire the bright space with floor to ceiling windows. The elegance is presented not only by the interior itself but also in the floral arrangements and table settings. It is not a secret that we were very excited to experience the creations of chef Arnaud Dunand - Sauthier: his contemporary approach to French cuisine with his own personal touch sounded intriguing.
Amuse-bouche
Right from the beginning, the chef revealed a strong connection to his roots. As in a typical French lunch, a set of canapés, bonbons, and paté was brought to the table by a very knowledgeable waiter. The waiter presented every dish as well as how it's meant to be eaten. Our first single-bite was a lemon carrot bonbon with cumin and parsley. The liquid inside burst to the surface with the gentle touch of a tooth and quickly filled the mouth with complex flavors, like an explosion of vegetable soup.
The second amuse-bouche was a canapé, topped with Buffalo cheese sorbet and trout caviar. This savory piece had a good crunch in its citrusy crust, which put this canapé on our list of top canapés ever. It also prepared us for the light foie gras mousse, with the classic addition of raspberry jam.
We liked that the serving metal container had a bump that enabled us to dose the combination of mousse and jam topping. Here I would compliment a nice pearl shell spoon, which makes this experience unforgettable. The creamy texture quickly melted away and caressed our taste buds.
Chef truly knows how to pamper his patrons. They served us another amuse-bouche, a mushroom tea with bacon foam. The shape of the bacon foam was surprisingly deceiving and the mushroom consume matched the flavor intensity. All our compliments to the chef for this amazingly clean and tasty soup with extra bacon cubes.
Starters
First on the tasting menu was a slightly sour marinated mackerel from Brittany, accompanied by fennel, dill and licorice. It was amazing how the combination of those strong flavors made the mackerel shine, and each component in this dish helped develop the others. The sweetness of the licorice complimented the roasted fish and the fennel to perfection. This dish might look simple, but its flavors are complex and great connected.
Caviar Osciètre et Oursin
I think Le Normandie review got to its climax right here. This is Arnaud Dunand - Sauthier's signature dish. Another dish that we liked mixed with all the ingredients was the Caviar Osciètre et Oursin: sea urchin from Hokkaido with potato foam and champagne sauce. This is the chef’s signature dish and now we know why.
We could taste the sweetness of the sea urchin, with the creamy potato foam base. The champagne sauce served as a delicate seasoning, which enriched the dish and made it creamy. What about the caviar? Champagne, caviar, and sweetness: need I say more?
Main dishes
My main dish was a roasted milk-fed lamb with zucchini and basil, seasoned with a touch of cardamom. The perfectly cooked lamb was spot on with the warming touch of cardamom and crunchy zucchini. On the other side, Ian’s dish was the distinguished pigeon from the Pornic region, which deserves all the praise.
It was tender pigeon meat accompanied by an aromatic and sweet Japanese melon, which made for a tasteful and healthy combination. The Chef's creativeness was evident by his use of seasoning with the rare Timut pepper, its vibrant aroma of grapefruit complimented the watermelon and pigeon greatly. Tender, juicy and tingling sensations in every bite was a great finale before our desserts.
Desserts
In Michelin restaurants are well aware of the importance of dessert. Our Le Normandie review is not short here, for sure. Our first dessert was a nice combination of crunchy layered biscuits with carrot confit and famous Bronte pistachios quenelle. This pistachios from Etna have a distinguished flavor due to the volcanic soil and altitude where they grow.
A rich and balanced taste with a long aftertaste is a component for great ice cream. This ice cream was creamy, denser and more buttery than your average kind, but it was still light. In the first place, the flavor of pistachio paired well with a delicate carrot taste and a bit of a stronger Bronte pistachios sauce. A job well done. My only complaint is that I couldn’t buy a pint of the ice cream to take home with me!
Le Normandie review Conclusion
Le Normandie review is our first of its kind. It is not in our habit to visit French restaurants here in Asia. Our belief was that such an establishment must be visited in its country of origin, not where it is possibly only imitated. However, our experience at Le Normandie showed us how wrong we were.
The food was more than amazing and Chef Arnaud Dunand Sauthier brought France to our table. As a matter of fact, the maître d’hôtel is from France and his speech, with his lovely French accent, was the cherry on top for the evening. For a moment, we thought we were looking at the Seine River instead of the Chao Phraya River. Amazing!
Anyway, there is only one suggestion. Some plates could be a little bit more colorful. For example, the pigeon dish would be more catchy with the addition of deep violet Lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Not only that, it's citron taste would be a great match for Japanese melon.
Six-course degustation menu without wine pairing will cost you about 215 USD per person.
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Restaurant Information
Le Normandie
Mandarin Oriental, Khwaeng Bang Rak, Khet Bang Rak, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10500, Thailand
This post participated in the Tasteem contest Your weekly choice
Wow! What a feast! And congratulations, incredible the pictures as always!
#tasteem-curation
Thank you very much. I am glad you like it. Thank you for stopping by
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I enjoyed reading this. Tasting menus always look beautiful and they are a great opportunity to try out lots of different dishes and flavours ... but ... it occurs to me that you mustn't be too hungry when you start the meal! I would be frustrated with the tiny delicate portions!
Lovely review, thank you.
You are much welcome. Thank you for stopping by. Well, it is always like this at fine dining. Portions do look smaller, but when you eat slowly you are fuller at the end. You know about brains and guts...
Wooow! Beautiful place! Their food looks so nice and tasty. I like colorful food and I can say this is my "cup of tea". 😊
H hi. Thank you very much. Can't wait for next one
Great contents and amazing photos, bookmarked!
I'm so glad to hear that. We try our best to bring a vivid impression through the medium. Hopefully, you'll like the next articles as well even if they are not food related. 😊