Avani+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel’s elevated dining, drinking, and views defined my stay there
My dinner at SEEN started with the appropriately named cocktail, Shaman. More magical portion than a cocktail, it mixed Remy Martin 1738, Michter’s US 1 Kentucky Straight Rye, Cinzano Rosso, Cacao, Cynar, Sandalwood, and tobacco. I sipped it while drinking in the view of the Chao Praya River and Bangkok’s jewel-like nighttime skyline.
Necklace of lights visible from SEEN
Bangkok is known for its street-level delights: from Chinatown food stalls to shops and shopping malls that invite you to step in from the sweltering heat of the sidewalks to the cooling comfort of air-conditioned retail therapy.
The Avani+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel, though, defines itself with its views of Bangkok’s nighttime necklace of lights. My 26th-floor meal was an aerial tour of uplifting South American and Asian cuisine by star chef Oliver da Costa. The SEEN group of restaurants started in Sao Paulo, followed by outposts in Lisbon, Rome, and Nice, and now Bangkok and Koh Samui.
My meal landed on my palate with a delectable wagyu beef carpaccio with arugula, pesto sauce, and pecorino. Bewitching mussels in a spicy bisque sauce, with scallions and a lemon wedge, followed. I took a well-needed breather before being served the Japanese Mystery Box with dry ice providing a veil of mist that gradually revealed its treasures, from salmon sashimi to tempura to Hamachi with fish eggs. The dishes were so layered and nuanced that I found myself pulled from the view of the river to the equally compelling view of the food I was eating. I finished with chocolate caviar: Belgian chocolate mousse, cherry compote, and chocolate crunchy with hazelnut ice cream.
To recover, I sauntered over to the infinity pool with the infinite view of the city. The pool’s startling sapphire blue colour jumped from the water to my consciousness. Yes, that Shaman cocktail was well into my bloodstream by now.
Found Lost & Found
Too young a night to retreat to my room, I sauntered over to the Lost & Found Club. Located on the third floor of the next-door Riverside Plaza, it’s also part of the Avani +.
Designed by Australian Ashley Sutton, who created Bangkok’s atmospheric Iron Fairies in Sukhumvit and Maggie Choo’s in Silom, Lost & Found looks like a decrepit spaceship from a high-concept sci-fi movie. Think of the spacecraft in Aliens. High-energy drag performers ignited the club’s vibe.
I retreated at last to my riverside suite with a panoramic, almost IMAX-like view of the Chao Praya River. Even the bathtub has a view and the hotel-provided bath bomb was a bomb along with the MALIN+GOETZ toiletries. A good soaking sent me off on a long, deep sleep.
Memorable AM to PM meals
Breakfast at Avani+’s Skyline restaurant is a mixture of dishes that are good for you and those that aren’t. To recover from the night before, I started with a healthy avocado toast with a revitalizing shot of orange, carrot, and ginger juice. But that soon gave way to Thai noodles. And who can resist coconut ice cream in the morning? I couldn’t. And didn’t.
For lunch, I dined at the Spice & Barley restaurant. Avani+’s Chinese restaurant was awarded best-designed restaurant in the brasserie category at the LIV Design Hospitality Awards. The Patrick Keane and Enter Projects Asia space uses swirling floor-to-ceiling rattan sculptures, a giant mural of an imperial concubine, and a gold-tinted color scheme to communicate a luxurious visual embrace. My chicken clay pot lived up to the high expectations of the setting.
After lunch, I had a pastry pick-up at The Pantry. The tarty lemon tart with coffee in the light, airy space was a chilled way to spend part of an afternoon and gather steam for what promised to be a long evening ahead.
On Bangkok’s Thon Buri side
The Avani+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel is located on the Thon Buri side of the Chao Praya River. Getting to the main part of Bangkok is easy: an hourly ferry runs from the next-door Anantara Riverside Hotel to the Saphan Taksin Skytrain station, where all of the city is accessible. On the Thon Buri side is the ICONSIAM mall — massive with literally all you could ever want. There’s also Wat Arun, the Royal Barges National Museum, and the Thonburi Canals that give a glimpse into an all-but-vanished traditional Bangkok life.
Experiencing SIN was sublime
In the evening, I strolled down a long, narrow corridor flanked by ribbons of red light to be greeted by a hostess who escorted me into the theatrically expansive 27th-floor rooftop bar and club, SIN. The effect of emerging from the narrow corridor into the outdoor area gave me a sense of “Wow.” I found out later that was the design intention. As someone who loves Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture, it’s a technique he frequently used in the homes he designed. I may have dined at SEEN the evening before, but now it was time to experience SIN.
With a table overlooking the river but not far from the bar, I was able to savor the view and experience the bar. For a kick-off, I had the Forbidden Nectar cocktail: Michter’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon, miso, caramel yogurt, carrot, and creamy bourbon. The drink was so complicated I imagined that the mixologist needed a chemistry degree to make it. With a cocktail that sublime I didn’t need rose-colored glasses to see the world in a more optimistic light.
Sinfully good dishes at SIN
My dishes soon followed. The starter piqued my tastebuds: scallop crudo with yuzu vinaigrette, yuzu gel, coriander oil, and Kaluga caviar. Following that was a more substantial open-faced sandwich — bluefin tuna, smoked tuna, fresh summer truffle mayonnaise, shaved truffle, and Uni from Hokkaido on a crispy brioche. Just one more dish to round out the meal: wagyu Miyazaki beef A5 grade, bulldog sauce, and a sprinkling of Kaluga caviar on a brioche. No exaggeration: the best food I’ve had in a bar ever. It’s not only the view that is stellar at SIN.
SIN’s atmosphere is somewhat otherworldly. Overlooking the elliptical-shaped bar and expansive terrace in an immense oval-shaped alcove with a giant golden “S,” a headphone-wearing DJ in a sleeveless purple gown presided over the eclectic, pulsating music and stylish crowd like a Mount Olympus goddess.
Sip to savor cocktails at SIN
Which brought me to my evening’s second cocktail. Given the bar’s name, the Midnight Sin was that moment’s go-to cocktail: Remy Martin 1738, Jameson Black Barrel, cacao nibs, cacao husk, coconut cold brew, PX. I like to sip to savor my cocktails, and this was a drink that I hoped would never end.
Bangkok is a hot and humid city. But at that hour and that elevation, I was cooling down fast. A few sips from a cocktail at SIN and Bangkok is transformed into a serendipitous and serene place. A cocktail bar doesn’t get better than that. And neither does a hotel stay like the one I had at Avani+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel.
Published in February/March issue of Asian Journeys magazine
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