Ask the concierge CORPORATE DINING When it comes to that special offsite


meal for your conference or corporate group, one of the best people to ask fora restaurant recommendation is your hotel concierge. Here Nimit Maneekit, an assistant chief concierge at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, offers his five recommendations for the tops in taste in Bangkok...


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Gaggan Chef Gaggan Anand arrived in Thailand from India in 2007 to head the kitchen in Indian restaurant Red Bangkok. With three friends, he decided to create Gaggan, and while the old wooden building was being renovated he went to Spain to intern with the research team of El Bulli, under Ferran Adrià of Catalonia. He was the first Indian chef to be admitted to the laboratory. Gaggan has two private rooms for groups. CUISINE: Progressive Indian. WHY IT IS SPECIAL: From Kolkata, Gaggan Anand presents many of his mother’s homestyle recipes. He started his career in the Taj Group, and at 22 years old had cooked for formerUS President Bill Clinton. He has also travelled as private chef for former President of India Abdul Kalam. LARGEST GROUP SIZE: 25 guests. INFO www.eatatgaggan.com


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Face Bangkok Face Bangkok offers Thai, Indian and Japanese cuisines, and diners can mix andmatch.Therearetwoprivate roomsfor groups. Face has sister restaurants in Beijing, Jakarta and Shanghai (two). CUISINE: Thai, Indian and Japanese. WHYIT ISSPECIAL: In a classicalThai extended- family house, withmany changes of floor levels, Face Bangkok use shade and thermal mass for cooling.The complex is regarded as a “caravansary”, as on the silk route, a secure, welcoming and multi- culturalmeeting place featuring antiques and artifacts from trader cultures. LARGEST GROUP SIZE: 50 guests. INFO www.facebars.com/en/bangkok/restaurant/


Issaya Siamese Club Chef Pongtawat “Ian” Kittichai’s international approach to traditional Thai ingredients and flavours is showcased at Issaya. As a child, he pushed a food cart through his Bangkok neighbourhood, and became Thailand’s first international celebrity chef. He had his apprenticeship at Sydney’s French fine-dining restaurant Claude’s, and was the first Thai national to become the executive chef of a five-star hotel (Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok). As well as a terrace, the restaurant has a lounge area that can be reserved for groups. CUISINE: Modern Thai. WHYIT ISSPECIAL: Chef Kittichai is a pioneer in farm-to-table dining in Thailand, and guests can see Thai herbs being grown in the Issaya chef’s garden. LARGEST GROUP SIZE: 200 guests (sole use). INFO www.issaya.com


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Blue Elephant Master chef Nooror Somany Steppe and her husband Karl, along with Thai partners, opened the first Blue Elephant restaurant in Brussels in 1980, expanding later to London, Paris and Copenhagen. Today there are 11 Blue Elephant Group restaurants, the others being in Beirut, Dubai, Jakarta,Kuwait, Lyon, Phuket and Malta. The group also produces and exports Thai sauces, curry pastes and powder to 32 countries. CUISINE: Royal Thai cuisine. WHYIT IS SPECIAL: In a century-old building, Blue Elephant offers three private roomsfor groups andhas itsownevents team.Thereis alsoacook- ing school (plus anotherathePhuket restaurant). LARGEST GROUP SIZE: 115 guests. INFO www.blueelephant.com


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Naj Exquisite Thai Cuisine Luckananaj Markawat opened


her first restaurant in 1984, introducing Thai fine dining in 2004 with the launch of award-winning Naj Exquisite Thai Cuisine in a prime area of Bangkok. It offers four private rooms for groups. CUISINE: Authentic Thai. WHYIT IS SPECIAL: The house once belonged to the royal family and dates back to King Rama V’s era.Thai classical music andtra- ditional dance is presented every evening. LARGEST GROUP SIZE: 80 guests. www.najcuisine.com


INFO


E Our thanks to Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, www.fourseasons.com/bangkok.


AUGUST/OCTOBER 2013 | WWW.EXECUTIVEPA.ASIA 37


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