Need no speaking, Water Library has been well-known for its yummilicious fine dining and pricey high end meal. Yet during the weekend 29-31 March 2013, Chef Juan Amador from Restaurant Amador in Germany who is famous for his innovative cooking style, gave Water Library Chamchuri a visit. We, hence, without mistake made a reservation right away. Upon being seated, the staff asked what kind of water we would like to have. Ahhh.....almost forgotten that it is Water Library, and Water Library must sure offer various kinds of water. We decided to go for the recommendation of the staff which was mineral water from Germany, Liz. Well, not really get the kind of wow impression though.
It was the lunch meal that we visited Juan Amador special meal. The meal was set with 4 courses which costs THB2,900 a person and if you would like wine pairing then there would an additional of THB1,200.
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| Amador Lunch at Water Library Chamchuri |
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| Menu for Amador Lunch |
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| Liz Still Mineral Water for the meal |
Just a quick illustration of Water Library Chamchuri in case you have not been there. Water Library Chamchuri is located on the second floor of Chamchuri Square on Rama 4 Road. It may be strange if it was your first visit as this such fine restaurant is situated within high street shopping mall. Inside, the decoration is rather modern with a touch of loft style in my feeling. The place is in circular shape allowing most of the seats could have a good view of outside. There is a circular shape bar in the middle of the floor with stacks of various mineral water shelf. The place may not be grand nor elegant but instead gives rather relaxing tone which we do like a lot.
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| the circular bar of Water Library |
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| round shape room expressing outside view to every seats |
As a tradition of Water Library, clients are served with
Croissant that flew all the way from France daily to start with. Yes, it was fabulous: one of the most flavourful croissant in town indeed. Fluffy and soft touch, can be eaten on its own wonderfully. Comparable to its rival
Le Beaulieu surely. (8/10)
The second kind of bread was
Manitoba with Truffle Butter (8/10). This one was home-made style instead of being imported. Chewy and tough texture but remain its softness. Combine well with the aromatic truffle butter.
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| French croissant (fly all the way in from France) |
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| Manitoba with Truffle Butter |
The first course of the meal was
Beef Tea in Texture, Parfume de Siam (8/10). It was beef tartar with ginger yuzu jelly that came along with beef tea. The tartar was supremely smooth that matched the aroma of fresh ginger and tangy yuzu: balance. Beef Tea was somewhat beef stock with herbs. Though it was delightful, it was a little salty to my taste. The problem was the portion to small and we just wanted more. (T.T)"
The course was matched with dry Riesling from Germany,
Dr. von Basserman-Jordan Riesling Trocken 2009 (91pts). The wine had yellow ornament colour. Nose of limestone and sea breeze that was fresh. On the palate, it was light touch of lime with fruity peach and fig. Medium bodied and elegant. It matched well with beef tartar somehow. Love it.
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| Beef Tea in Texture, Parfume de Siam |
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| closer look of beef tea |
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| von Basseman-Jordan, Riesling trocken 2009 |
It was then followed by
Norway Lobster, Boudin Noir, Sauerkraut, Granny Smith (10/10). The one was amazing. Love it, love it, love it!!!! The lobster almost melted in my mouth. So smooth, so tasty, and so complex. Grated granny smith apple, and sweet and sour foam of apple just brought out the other dimension of lobster taste. The creamy and brown sauces that you could see in the picture below were boudin noir and saurkraut. I know, I know, you are now saying "What!!! Saurkraut???? Boudin Noir????" Yes, that what was in my mind too. It somehow perfectly went with each other. Memorable dish.
For this course, the paring wine was
Frank Family, Chardonnay Napa Valley 2010 (90/100). Greenish yellow in colour. Aroma of passion fruit and pear giving light and fresh impression. Delicate acidity and light tangy of lemon with rich honey like touch. Smooth and fine.
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| Norway Lobster, Boudin Noir, Sauerkraut, Granny Smith |
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| Frank Family, Chardonnay Napa Valley 2010 |
The main course was
Lamb, Black Mustard, Roasted Onion Cream, Pak Choi (7/10). Well, well, well, this may be my least favourite of the meal. It was delicious but not a surprise given the standard of 3 stars restaurant. Medium-cooked lamb that was tender but could be juicier. The black mustard sauce was thick and gave slender sweetness. Nice but not so savoury from my perspective.
The lamb was matched with
Silvio Grasso, Barolo DOCG Turne 2005 (88/100). The colour was dull and opaque red with browning tone. On the nose, it was rose petal, spices, and cherries. Very dry type with flavour of cherry to dominant. Mid weight and traditional style. Need time to develop just yet to show its true muscle.
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| Lamb, Black Mustard, Roasted Onion Cream, Pak Choi |
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| Silvio Grasso, Turne Barolo 2005 |
The dessert was the highlight for me actually.
Spring Cocktail, Yoghurt, Cucumber, Garden Sorrel (10/10) was a combination of yoghurt espuma, cucumber sorbet, and parsley oil. Ahhh!!!! does not sound drooling, right? It was opposite instead. So yummy, so fresh and light, and even elegant. It reminded us of spring garden. The fresh taste of it just washed away all previous flavour and aroma in the mouth. What an ending course it is. Wish I could have more.
I was fortunate to be allowed to have Sauternes along with this Spring Cocktail,
Chateau Filhot 2005 (92/100) which is of course a combination of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. It was so dense and so sweet, almost honey like. Lively and lingering with balancing acid. Orange flavour in the background. The bouquet was wonderful. Though I am not a fan of sweet wine but this one is gorgeous, I have to say.
To end the meal, we were offered with coffee and tea. The coffee latte was well made give creamy foam and delicate aroma scent of fine coffee. Yes, that is the standard of Water Library.
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| Spring Cocktail, Yoghurt, Cucumber, Garden Sorrel |
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| Chateau Filhot 2005, Sauternes |
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| Cafe Latte |
All in all, this was such a fantastic experience. In term of food, we could not agree more with its quality and innovation. In fact, we were lucky to be there to experience the creation of Chef Juan Amador without having to fly all the way to Germany. Chef Amador is also lovely, friendly, and polite, he even came out to greet his clients at the end of the meal. Staffs of Water Library are also wonderful: good manner and friendly services. However, we still get the sense that some staffs still lack of knowledge when a more serious question popped up.
There were two points that we clearly noticed. Firstly, before wine is poured into the glass for the first time, normally clients should get the chance to taste a sip to see whether it is ok. It was not the case when we were there. Anyway, not a big deal this time as all wines were great. The second point was the speed of serving. This was just way way way too fast. One right after the other immediately. Ok....we appreciated it that it was not too slow. Nevertheless, some lacking time between each course will be more delightful. At least, to give me some time to breath (-_-)"
We say, wherever you are in the world, if you are given a chance to experience the gastronomic meal of Juan Amador, do not miss it.
