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Complementing the evolution of Visionary Journeys, the culinary experience at LV The Place has opened its doors.
Le Café Louis Vuitton will occupy the ground floor and the floor above as a new dining destination for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.
Chef Christophe Grilo, who already leads Le Café Louis Vuitton, will oversee the menu in tandem with local chefs, who join the Louis Vuitton Culinary Community. The menu brings together Louis Vuitton culinary signatures, dishes inspired by the brand’s destinations around the world and creations rooted in Thailand’s rich culinary traditions.
“Our menu concept is French techniques, French flavours but local-inspired. The inspiration is obviously Thai and we have tried to revamp Thai recipes a bit,” says chef Grilo.
Naturally, the amuse bouche is in true LV-style. “Tom kha is one of my favourite dishes. We decided to make this one that’s very classic. It has some sautéed mushrooms and the chicken is cooked into the soup, very slowly. Technically, it is like a soup and not only has coconut milk, but a bit of cream and chicken stock to intensify the flavour,” says chef Grilo of the amuse-bouche.
“The chicken pad krapao is reimagined. Instead of eating it with rice, we have switched the rice to basil bread. But, we keep the same style of serving it with a small egg and the first-ever Louis Vuitton phrik nam pla. It’s a little bit playful,” explains the chef of his standout dish at Le Café.
The Silk Road Wagyu draws on a Voyage creation from Saint-Tropez’s restaurant, pairing Wagyu beef with massaman. “For the beef massaman, the sauce is cooked in the same way we cook a massaman curry. Instead of cubes of beef, we make a horizontal mille feuille and serve it on a skewer. The beef takes about three hours just to assemble. When you eat it, its tender and comes apart in horizontal layers. The skewered beef has a little bit of massaman paste glazed so it gets a smoky taste. We also smoke the potatoes and tomatoes,” says chef Grilo.
Another one of the chef’s favourite dishes is kung chae nam pla, which has been transformed with carabineros. “Since the original dish is very spicy and we cannot do that level of spice at Le Café, we’ve worked out something a bit lighter in flavour. The garlic is a coconut-garlic cream with garlic chips,” explains the chef.
House signatures are reinterpreted through distinctly Thai flavours, from Monogram ravioli with lobster, coral bisque and tom yum, inspired by Tom yum kung, to the Caesar salad eclipse with khao man gai.
The menu changes every three months, though a few dishes will remain on the menu. “We will keep the ravioli but perhaps, change the flavours and ingredients. We will have a few seasonal dishes during Christmas and the festive season. We are also planning to make a sour sausage in the style of Sai krok Isan. We are going to make it with a croissant and truffle; so something a bit different,” adds chef Grilo.
The pastry selection similarly balances Louis Vuitton signatures with creations conceived specifically for Bangkok. Iconic pastries, such as the Chocolate Monogram, Vanilla Dream and Hazelnut Flower, showcase established brand creations.
Local interpretations, meanwhile, introduce Thai ingredients and flavours to familiar Louis Vuitton forms: the Mango Charlotte pairs cheesecake with coconut and mango, the Siam Petula combines rice, pineapple, coconut and pandan, and the Thai Tea Fleur brings Thai tea, orange confit and hazelnut praline to the emblematic flower form.
