| A Mediterranean restaurant in Bangkok is not a | | | | properly at the table. The waiter here was very |
| common sight but there are a few and the best one | | | | knowledgeable and quite accomplished, creating a |
| may be La Dolce Vita at Ma Maison. This restaurant | | | | Caesar whose dressing had just the right amount of |
| has an interesting pedigree, starting out in the early 90s | | | | garlic, anchovy and mustard, at least for my tastes. |
| as a high-end French restaurant that for years was | | | | A black truffle soup, which leans far into French |
| considered one of the top two in the city. Its present | | | | territory, was topped with a cannellini bean foam and a |
| incarnation draws on that heritage as well as a strong | | | | couple of slices of truffle, giving it both a lightness and |
| Italian influence - hence the Italian name - to produce a | | | | yet a very rich flavor to top off the delicious essence |
| dining spot that serves a mix of cuisines with the | | | | of the soup. A spaghetti dish with Maine lobster and a |
| common thread being ingredients from Mediterranean | | | | tomato cream sauce was also successful, most likely |
| countries. | | | | because the acidity of the tomato sauce was |
| A survey of the menu reveals exactly that: rabbit and | | | | softened by the cream and didn't intrude upon the |
| truffles and gorgonzola cheese mix with olive oil, | | | | delicate flavor of the lobster as much as it might have |
| mussels and yellowtail tuna to offer diners an eclectic | | | | otherwise. |
| mix of dishes that is as varied as it is interesting to | | | | My final dish was a veal loin topped with foie gras and, |
| people with a real passion for fine food. The dishes | | | | again, some black truffles that displayed the true |
| themselves are mostly fusions of Italian and French | | | | richness of French cooking at its best. The thick, |
| dishes that are contemporary and innovative. There | | | | perfectly cooked loin was served on a bed of spinach |
| are also sections of risottos and pastas that are | | | | with some other vegetables also. This dish |
| primarily Italian in nature. | | | | represented the true roots of the restaurant - a |
| On a recent trip I sampled four dishes that ran the | | | | pedigree of fine French cooking - that manages to |
| gamut of the different styles and ingredients presented | | | | co-exist with the lighter fare on the menu that uses |
| here. From the appetizer menu I selected a Caesar | | | | Mediterranean ingredients in different styles of cooking. |
| salad, even though there were many other interesting | | | | Uniting these styles together into a consistent menu is |
| dishes in this section, primarily because I wanted to see | | | | not an easy thing to do but La Dolce Vita at Ma |
| it made from scratch at the tableside. This is | | | | Maison seems to have accomplished it easily ad |
| something that few restaurants do anymore and it | | | | gracefully. |
| takes a good bit of training for a waiter to be able do it | | | | |