BEST DINING IN BANGKOK AND BALI

There are no Michelin 3-Star restaurants in Bangkok or Bali.  So off I went to Mezzaluna, which is located on the 65th floor of Iebuna (above).  The view from my table:

The decor was extravagant, with the ceiling three stories high.  There was a string quartet providing rather loud classical pieces, but enjoyable nevertheless.   Here is my cheese ravioli:

Absolutely exceptional.  Duck:

Fabulous.  This might have been my best meal on this trip.  Two floors down is Scirocco, probably the most romantic restaurant in Bangkok.

However, tonight drizzled with lightning, so inside was safer.  Nom, my tour guide today:

Nearby there is another sky-high (sixty first floor) cuisine experience in Bangkok called Vertigo and Moon Bar on the top of the Banyan Tree Hotel.  I've dined there in the past.

There are two outstanding restaurants at the W Hotel in Bali.  The first night I ate at Starfish Bloo:

The cuisine is Pan Asian fusion, and the chef is Kevin Chung, originally from Mauritius:

He recently arrived from Australia, and gave me a few hints about Sydney.  My first course was

An assortment of seafood with a Chilean cabernet sauvignon and New Zealand sauvignon blanc.  Good start.  I then had barbecued foie gras and unagi (I think--I failed to take any notes and will be challenging my memory):

The third course was wagyu beef, grilled at the table.

A truly outstanding dinner.

Fifteen hours to Kevin's signature Sunday brunch.  More correctly, lunner, for I started at 1PM and left at 3:30PM.  This posting is already too long, so let me summarize by showing you the courses, where the wines were unlimited.  I had a Chilean cabernet, Argentinian merlot, New Zealand sauvignon blanc and Italian prosecco:

I was given a personal tour of the stations by Chef Chung.  My W lunner experience was excellent, but I think the Sunday brunch at the W Hotel in Seoul was better, although it did cost more.  There, if Kevin is reading this, they serve Veuve Clicquot champagne (and an assortment of white and red wines), you can select the cut of meat and fish from a refrigerator, there are stations for the salmon, crepe, etc., and someone comes around every five minutes or so with a new hot appetizer.  However, Chef Chung has only been here in Bali for two months, so I fully expect improvements the next time I return.  Jean-Marc Ma-Poon, the hotel manager, came by to say hi, and I found out he also was born in Mauritius.  The resorts on Mauritius are superb, on the order of this W, but perhaps even more over the top.  This is Jean-Marc's first month at the W Bali.

This is not all, as the second night I had dinner at Kevin's grill, called Fire.  But, I might add that I qualified for an almost free 3-hour spa experience, so after lunner, I walked a couple of miles on the beach, then had two kinds of massage plus a facial.  Probably my last time I do this, as  I found the treatments somewhat claustrophobic.    About my late dinner, let me just show what I ate:

A kind of Caesar salad and wagyu beef with asparagus and broccoli, plus a Bintang beer.  I was still not all that hungry from lunner and I suffered from several mosquito bites.  Next time I will not wear shorts to dinner at Fire.  There is a large can of insecticide, plus a spray-on insect repellent, in my room, so that's a negative about the W in Bali.

But this is not all, yet.  I met Ian Love, director of cuisine, during my Fire breakfast, found out he is from Edinburg, which brought back my memories of their Arts Festival in August, golfing at St. Andrews and Lagavulin.  Anyway, he highly recommended that I try Sarong or Mamasan tonight for dinner, so their concierge is doing her best.

Mamasan came through.  My meal:

Wolf Blas Chardonnay and a Bordeau, with S Pellegrino sparkling water.  Steamed Barramundi with ginger and shallots on the right.  Stir fried black pepper beef with asparagus, shallots, ginger and sugar snaps in front.  Stir fried water spinach with garlic in back.  That's Mamasan in the background.

All is well here, except I fear I'm getting larger.  Tomorrow, a grand overview of Indonesia, with a focus on Bali.

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