The restaurant and its cooking school are having a promotion from July 15 to August 15 that features a nine-course banquet of dishes prepared by executive chef Chumpol Jangprai and perfectly matched with Thailand's "new latitude" wines.

"The Marriage of Thai Food and Thai Wine" promises to be an education in how Thai cuisine and wines have evolved, and should be of great help promoting our wines overseas, where the cuisine is already well known.

"This type of food-and-wine-pairing event is very popular in the Thai restaurant business now," Chumpol says. "We're sure our guests will thoroughly enjoy the experience."

Chumpol's kitchen innovations will be matched by vintages selected by Blue Elephant International sommelier Philippe Bidaine, himself a wine critic, who's come from Belgium to help with the preparations.

The first dish on the menu will be a Chef's Surprise of fresh spring roll, caviar and fishcake served with Monsoon Valley Rose '03.

This light and crispy wine is a mingling of the Pokdum, Malaga blanc and Muscat grape varieties that's ideally versatile as a starter thanks to its red-wine-like fruitiness and the refreshing appeal of white wine.

Next up is a quartet of appetisers - pan-fried French foie gras, Thai pomelo salad sweetened with tamarind sauce, crispy caramelised rice noodles (mee krob) and a grilled giant river prawn with banana flower salad.

All four go well with Chenin blanc Pirom PB Khao Yai '04, which is 90 per cent chenin blanc and 10 per cent colombard. It perfectly complements the sweetness of the foie gras as well the acidity of the balsamic vinegar Chumpol uses.

The soup is shark fin tom kha served in a fresh young coconut and perfumed with galangal and kaffir lime leaves. Guests will savour this with Monsoon Valley Colombard '05, an award-winner made with the same colombard grapes found in France's renowned Armagnac.

It's well balanced to match the deep taste of the coconut milk in the tom kha, and can in fact go with any spicy food.

The main dishes are chicken braised with Thai herbs, served with white asparagus; Thai sea bass fillet with chillies, sweet sauce and fried brown rice; and a grilled New Zealand lamb chop in a green curry sauce and roti pancake.

The chicken and the fish are being paired with Monsoon Valley Pokdum '03, made from Pokdum grapes plus a sharing of Shiraz and black Muscat. The medium-bodied red wine is wonderful with the aroma of the herbs and the spiced taste of the sea bass.

The lamb will be served with Chateau de Loei Shiraz '03, which presents the essence of cooked red fruit to match the dense flavour of the lamb and green curry.

Chumpol's dessert is a warm Belgian chocolate tart stuffed with kaffir lime and accompanied by passion fruit sauce from the Royal Project Doi-Kam.

Allied with Chateau de Loei Chenin Blanc '03, it's a terrific mix of sweet, fresh and fruity with little acidity.

The feast will be delightful in the traditional Thai ambience created by displays of antiques and old photographs.

The restaurant's ground floor can accommodate about 60 diners in Baan Thai, Khan Toke and a private room for 15 to 20. The second floor is designed for special functions for 60 to 100 guests. On the third floor is the cooking school, which has a lecture room and a kitchen.

Juthamas Cholthavornpong

The Nation