Guilty Bangkok: Where You can Indulge in a Fiesta of Flavours Guilt-free
Guilty Bangkok was first inspired by the restaurant Guilty by Olivier London, created by the mastermind chefpreneur Olivier da Costa. Like the original, Guilty Bangkok has become a go-to-place for those who want to indulge their gastronomic desires, but here, rather than burgers, sizzling wings and scrumptious pizzas, you will be treated to a Latin American “Fiesta of Flavours”.
Why? Well, I was told because Bangkok is a tropical climate and here, they can recreate the tantalising, piquante flavours of the South American continent using locally sourced ingredients to add a little spice to your dining experience.
After walking through the annexed lush, tropical garden courtyard of the Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel, you enter a very vibrant, yet cosy, dining venue. The décor continues with the exterior tropical greenery seen through mammoth picture windows with pastel green upholstered couches just below. These are matched with dark green marble tables and dark wooden round-backed leather and flat-backed green upholstered chairs. There is also an open kitchen that lets you watch as your dishes are prepared. Juxtaposing the soft lighting are four digital panels with bright, colourful images of tropical flowers and birds, periodically changing. And then, the Latin background music helps to transport you to America del Sur.
We were quite lucky to be greeted by the restaurant’s manager, Spanish-Peruvian Bruno Fuentes and Mexican Chef de Cuisine Axel Correa, who have been adding innovations and developing a new menu of selections to satisfy hedonists and pleasure seekers. Again, their desire is to help all their diners feel they have found a haven to satisfy all their cravings while erasing any sense of guilt by the zesty, medley of flavours.
Before we began our meal, we were served a variety of drinks. I, myself, chose a more conservative, but very tasty, brut Proseco. My friends all decided to experiment and try something new. One had the signature Pico Sour. Made with the grape-distilled pisco, Demonio de los Andes; fresh lime juice and bitters, it offers a somewhat tart and sweet, complete flavour. Another had the cocktail, Pico de Gallo Negroni, translated as Rooster’s Peak. Prepared with Espolon tequila, bell peppers, ancho verde, coriander, the Italian aperitif, Cocchi Americano, and the classic French aperitif, Suze, there are ancient tales that tell when first drunk, people would hold their noses and lips, forming the shape of a rooster’s peak. And, our third member of the group indulged in an Agave Club. Agave is the plant the mescal is made from, and this cocktail combines Siete Ministerios Mezcal, Altos tequila, fresh lime juice, raspberry puree, the Italian bitter, Aperol, egg white foam and salty saline for an explosive flavour.
As manager Bruno explained, one of their themes of the restaurant is a Sea-style. And so, we began our meal with a rendition of Holy Guacamole with very lightly deep-fried softshell crab and crispy, colourful, homemade tortilla chips that get their colours from corn, spinach and beetroot. The taste was authentic and reminded me of my days staying in the beachside town of Mazunte in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. As a second appetiser, we indulged in the Peruvian-inspired fresh Mixed Seafood Ceviche with Spanish octopus, locally sourced shrimp, red chilis, and very tender, cured seabass in red tiger’s milk, a very bright and spicy citrus-based marinade used in classic Peruvian ceviche.
In a Thai and Latin American tradition, meals are a combination of dishes that are shared. And so, we treated ourselves to one more appetiser, Stuff Jalapeño Peppers, stuffed with mozzarella and feta cheese and a seven-spice Japanese chili blend that is then deep fried to create a crispy crust, and covered with a delicious, traditional Peruvian Huancaina cheese sauce when served.
Next, we were brought Guilty’s signature Smoked Hibachi BBQ Spiced Marinated Pork Belly with spicy Spanish Padron and Japanese Shishito peppers and the chef’s secret sauce, which I thought was the sweetest and most tender pork belly I have ever had.
We were also served tostadas made with homemade tortillas in the corn, spinach and beetroot colours. These were topped with very zesty chorizo made on the hotel premises, cheese and the most tender, ‘hunger’, similar to flank, steak with the most intensely, flavourful pico de gallo sauce, traditionally made from chopped tomato, onion and serrano jalapeños, salt, lime juice and cilantro.
Finally came the Grilled Seabass with a mouth-watering Chipotle dressing and served with sautéed baby clams, asparagus and pickled onions, which was the perfect dish to complete this indulgence feast.
But I was wrong. We still had the dessert as a final indulgence, the traditional Trez Leches. Prepared with three milks, evaporated, condensed and cream over and between layers of almond sponge cake with a very sweet mango-coconut-passion fruit sauce poured into the middle, which drenched the cake in a fiesta of flavours when first cut into to truly conclude this gastronomic festival.
Guilty Bangkok is open Monday through Sunday with lunch served, including a set menu, 12.00 to 5.00 pm and dinner, which can also be enjoyed with a set menu, from 5.00 to 11.00 pm. Since our visit, Guilty has prepared a new menu with even more innovative creations that fuse Asian, especially Japanese, influences with those of Latin and South America, keeping in mind Thai sensitivities and savours as well.
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