I looked forward to unwinding after a day of touring and really enjoyed Jojo’s Italian Restaurant inside the St. Regis Hotel. It was exciting to experience an Italian restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand.
The hotel impressed me with their sincere dedication to offer some of the most authentic Italian cuisine beyond what you would find in most Italian restaurants.
Holger Jakobs, the St. Regis Hotel’s General Manager, felt, “Our only thoughts are to see that Jojo’s Italian Restaurant delivers traditional simple Italian food with very, very high-end ingredients.
We purchase four- year- old vinegar, fantastic hams from northern Italy, special spices from southern Italy, extra virgin olive oils, and many other foods not found in Asian countries. Around 90% of Jojo’s food is imported from Italy.”
We were served a buffet of eight Antipasto Misto Appetizers: Octopus & Potato salad, mixed seafood salad, fried calamari, Italian Frittata, Caprese, grilled vegetables, cold cuts and cheese selection. These appetizers could have been a light meal in itself but there was much more!
The chef prepared their signature Fettuccini Alfredo with Castelmagno cheese, a special rare Italian cheese which was absorbed into the flavor of the sauce. The cheese is mixed tableside in a wheel of Castelmagno cheese.” This is a semi-hard cheese which is produced from cow’s milk with small amounts of sheep or goat’s milk.
Dating back to the 12th Century, the Castelmagno Cheese is aged from 2-5 or 6 months in naturally cool and humid caves. In early times, people paid their rent in wheels of Castelmagno cheese rather than money and by the 1800’s Castelmagno cheese was being served in famous European restaurants. The production of Castelmagno cheese had been restricted to three communes where only 12 dairies produce from 6,000-7000 wheels annually.
Next the rack of lamb was so tender and such a large portion, I wanted to take time to savor every bite.
Holger Jakobs explained, “Our executive chef sourced some of the best lamb from New Zealand and presened a rack of lamb the way it should be served in a great portion size. The lamb rack was dusted in 5 spices then oven baked.”
Lunch has some interesting offerings like a choice of Angus beef Carpaccio Cipriani-style, Carbonara traditionale with egg yolk, parmesan and crispy pork bacon, Schiacciata pizza, wild rocket, Parma prosciutto, and mascarpone cheese baked in wood burning pizza oven for a set lunch, around $20 US.
The exchange rate for the Thai Baht is now at 29 to $1 U.S., Thailand is a country where our money goes further.
www.stregis.com/bangkok
Thailand:
Thailand has a variety of attractions to suit couples, families, business travelers, adventure seekers, honeymooners, unique settings for weddings, theme tours, hotels in all price ranges, and even thrilling elephant rides! Look on their website for suggestions. www.tourismthailand.org/lv