The gastronomic world is full of amazement as in a very unexpected way, I met chef Carlos Gaudencio for the first time in 10 years.
It was during a recent lunch at Pacific City Club, a prestigious establishment that occupies the top three floors of a hi-end Sukhumvit building.
Encompassing a wide range of services and facilities, including restaurants and bars, the club, established in 1995, serves only members and guests.
However, as a business also affected by the pandemic and lockdowns, the club is trying to expand its membership and make itself approachable. Thus, for the first time ever, it is allowing non-members to try the service, particularly its long-treasured F&B, during special trial months from now until the end of February.
I was there as a guest, of course.
A friend, a long-time member who invited me, kept saying that the European cuisine here was superb.
"But the club is famous for Cantonese food," I made a counter-suggestion, hoping I could check out the Chinese restaurant.
"That's a long time ago. Believe me, now Western cuisine is the real champion."
So there we were, at the Dining Room, a 70-seat fine dining eatery on the club's upper floor.
The setting was discreet and classic, somewhat resembling a restaurant on a luxury cruise ship in the 80s.
And, frankly, I had not expected the meal to be striking. But almost every dish turned out so flawless I asked to meet the person in charge.
And then appeared Gaudencio.
He first arrived in Thailand in 2005 as a young assistant to the great French chef Guy Martin, who at that time was a consultant to Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok's Le Normandie restaurant.
Gaudencio, who had worked at Martin's three Michelin-starred Le Grand Vefour in Paris for three years, was later entrusted as Le Normandie's head chef.
For six years, he was a key person who upheld the culinary flair of Le Grand Vefour for epicures in Bangkok.
He moved to Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai in 2011 to take the executive sous chef position.
And since March 2016, he's been the Pacific City Club's executive chef. That explains why the cuisine here has such a palpable 5-star stamp.
The Dining Room's hardcover a la carte menu features 40 items of contemporary haute cuisine dishes.
The starter section lists the likes of duck leg confit with aged balsamic vinaigrette, Bourguignon-styled escargot with garlic butter, warm artichoke salad with caramelised walnuts, blue crab remoulade with banana shallots, and roasted Hokkaido scallop with chardonnay sabayon.
The line-up looked impressive. But more inspiring was the very reasonable pricing. Prices start from 250 baht, for a beetroot salad with burrata, and up to 1,050 baht for pan-fried Rougie foie gras.
Our lunch kicked off with homemade pâté de campagne et cornichons (390 baht). The neat slice of country-styled French pate -- a subtle balance between liver, spices and cream -- came garnished with gherkins, pickled mini mushrooms, dollops of mustard and fresh micro greens. Together they offered a gourmet pleasure.
There was also a lovely plate of prawn cocktail (390 baht), enhanced in taste by Marie Rose sauce that had been brilliantly infused with fresh chillies. The palatable quality of the dish proved flawless.
Before the main course, there was a selection of pasta, perhaps for guests looking for quick gastronomic comfort.
The ravioli ricotta (400 baht) I had featured plump pasta dumplings, freshly made and filled with ricotta curd, and served with a generous helping of hand-sliced Iberico ham, Pecorino cheese and parsley. The dish was very delicious.
Forest mushroom risotto with truffle (490 baht) is highly recommended should you want something aromatic, creamy and filling.
For the main course, there is a variety of meat and seafood to choose from.
The meat menu encompasses options such as Florentina-styled steak au poivre, roasted lamb rack with chocolate-coffee sauce, sous-vided pork belly with Pinot Noir reduction and beef cheek stew with saffron risotto.
Meanwhile, seafood options include Atlantic lobsters cooked to the guests' liking, confit salmon, steamed sea bream, grilled tuna and oven-roasted snow fish.
Dover sole Grenobloise (1,750 baht) was suggested to me. The fish came in an expansive filet pan-fried until it developed a golden crusty exterior, and was blanketed with capers-lemon sauce. I found the dish enjoyable although not much my style as frying is not my most prefered choice for cooking fish.
If I have to choose again, I would definitely go for the steak.
My dining companion let me try his MB9 Australian Wagyu striploin (2,590 baht) and I was absolutely thrilled. The thick, sizeable steak was cooked to perfection and exhibited a slight charred exterior encasing a tender pink centre. The meat offered full beefy flavour imbued with sweet fatty juice that was nicely enhanced, and not overwhelmed, by the peppercorn gravy.
Nicely wrapping up the meal was chocolate cake with vanilla sorbet. The dessert choice seemed somewhat limited.
There's also a three-course lunch set (1,050 baht per person) of which options for main courses include the likes of gambas shrimp confit in spiced garlic, stuffed jalapeno chillies and habanero jus reduction, steamed sea perch with Bellevue sauce, braised oxtail in red wine with polenta crémeuse and beetroot. Vegetarian sets are also available.
The restaurant also has a wine cellar that can accommodate a private party of up to 10 dining guests. Non-members are required to make advance reservations.
- The Dining Room at Pacific City Club
- Two Pacific Place, 28th floor
- 142 Sukhumvit Road
- Call 02-653-2450/1
- Open daily for lunch and dinner (only upon reservation for non-members)
- Park at Two Pacific Place’s car park
- Most credit cards accepted
