• 
• 

Published on July 22, 2007

The newest chef to oversee the kitchens of Lord Jim's at the Oriental, Robert Stokes might be young - he's only 27 - but his experience, training and talent take the restaurant's menus to places you'll definitely enjoy visiting.

Born in Pembury, England, Stokes has worked in various restaurants in England and recently completed a tour in Dubai. Lunchtime diners are already familiar with Lord Jim's deluxe buffet, but things will be even better when you by in the evening to check out Stokes' a la carte menu.

He's created two, in fact. Until the end of September, he's offering a "Summer Menu", five set courses (Bt2,120 including tax) featuring some unique, memorable dishes.

His saffron paella bar, for instance, takes all the elements of paella - seafood, shellfish, Parma ham, chicken and chorizo sausage - and frames them in aspic flavoured with saffron-lemon mayonnaise. The chef turns the chicken and chorizo

 

 

 into a terrine that brings out the smoky flavour.

The menu also offers spiced pumpkin and ginger soup as well as your choice of steamed sea bass fillet or herb-roasted Australian lamb. That sea bass is simply lovely served on top of a green-pea risotto that's sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts and decorated with fresh vegetables. Each taste, from the asparagus to the hazelnuts combines beautifully with the mildness of the fish.

The a la carte menu is designed to please both seafood and meat-lovers. One page offers a range of fresh and live seafood and oysters

 

prepared any which way you want. The menu also has a "carnivore page", offering grilled wagyu beef and Australian rack of lamb. Several more pages offer Japanese specialities like sushi, sashimi and maki.

For the adventurous, however, Stokes has his own offerings in the form of appetisers, soups, main courses and desserts. For an appetiser, you may want to go for "Lord Jim's Collection" (Bt890), portions of marinated yellow-fin tuna, slipper lobster and abalone balontine, Thai gravalax and scallop, black pudding with apple foam.

One favourite, however, is the marinated yellow-fin tuna (Bt710), with white crab meat and pickled baby mushrooms. The dish may look simple but the tastes are unquestionably complicated - chef Stokes layers the crab with a sesame-lemon vinaigrette.

For the main course, you could go for Lord Jim's Seafood Basket (prawns, lobsters, crab, mussels and clams for Bt1,300 per person), but you must leave room for Stokes' other elegant creations, such as his seafood and squid-ink linguine (Bt1,100). This dish might look effortless, but is actually quite labour-intensive. The tiger prawns are grilled, the salmon is ginger-roasted, the white crab meat is steamed and the endives are caramelised.

Another favourite is his barramundi fillet with pan-fried foie gras (Bt1,300). The foie gras provides a surprisingly tasty complement to the fish, while the risotto with smoked garlic and squid ink gives the dish extra support.

There's a lot more on the menu, of course, and should give every dinner ample reason to return to Lord Jim's again and again.

Laurie Rosenthal

The Nation