Diners at Conrad Manila’s award-winning buffet restaurant Brasserie on 3 will get to experience the acclaimed guest chef’s culinary Thai masterpieces until end of June.
Popularly known as Chef Mink, Waldorf Astoria Bangkok’s assistant executive sous chef Juthakorn Suraraksa adds yet another dash of excitement to Brasserie on 3’s already flavorful offerings — thanks to the five-star hotel’s “Legendary Chefs” series.
“This is authentic, real, Thai cuisine representative of all the regions of Thailand,” said Chef Mink of his dishes, during a recent lunch with members of the press. “Each one carries a delicate balance of salty, sweet, sour and spicy, which is what Thai flavors are known for.”
Well, actions speak louder than words, they say. And with that we went on to sample some of the Chef’s dishes.
We started off with the tom yum soup. The moderate heat of the broth, balanced off by citrusy flavors, certainly did not disappoint. Scooping deeper into our bowls, we found perfectly cooked seafood, whose slightly salty seasoning wrapped up the taste of the dish neatly.
This was followed by a medley of salads — green mango, papaya, pomelo, glass noodle — which are pretty much standard for Thai food.
And while these all tasted good, the standout salad, at least for this writer, was the beef salad with cucumber and tomato (Yam Nuea Yang). The tender beef, served on a bed of cucumber and tomato, could easily be mistaken as an entrée due to its heft and flavor. But word to the wise: it is a salad! So while it is easy to get carried away and just get portion after portion, we suggest a little self-control.
Chef Mink further showed off his “beefy” expertise with the Roasted Suea Rong Hai (Thai grilled beef), which was served with a tamarind dipping sauce. Here, the saltiness of the beef was balanced off by the sweet and slightly tangy tamarind sauce — in stark contrast with how Westerners tend to serve beef, which is often dipped in or glazed with saltier sauces.
The same sweet-meets-sour technique was also present in the beautifully presented deep fried sea bass and the very tender green curry beef stew. The beef stew was so fork tender that the meat sometimes felt gelatinous to the mouth.
Last but not the least, of course, there was the mango sticky rice, whose grains were soaked for 24 hours prior to being cooked, thus giving it a richer, more flavorful texture.
“Every day features different dishes from Chef Mink’s Thai menu, so guests are welcome to come back every day to taste them all,” said Conrad Manila general manager Fabio Berto at the end of the lunch.
And we agree. After all, who wouldn’t want a little more of Chef Mink?
Hot on Mink’s trail for Conrad Manila’s “Legendary Chefs” series are celebrity chef Jereme Leung, who brings his take on Chinese cuisine this July; and Chef Valerio Pierantonelli, whose Italian signature dishes will whet your appetite in August.
All these are available for weekday lunch at 1799 nett, weekend lunch at P2850 nett, and dinner buffets (Sunday to Thursday at P2850 nett and Friday to Saturday at 3250 nett)
