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They called it a 'safari' but the only thing hunted was succulence.
For one night in Bangkok, as the song goes, the 's' words ruled – when ten splendid chefs combined for a singular celebration of our earthly sphere’s most sublimely scented citrus, two seasons of lockdown in waiting, and the spin-off of one sponsor’s accidental twenty-year seduction.
It all began when New Yorker Mason Florence, a Japanophile journalist and travel guide writer, was drawn to the verdant hills on the island of Shikoku to help restore a historic farmhouse. But things really got rolling when a knowing neighbor tipped him off to the fact that a mountainous slope of land Florence purchased on a whim contained a significant stand of trees bearing yuzu – the bright yellow buddings originally transported from Tibet and soon promoted throughout the world as Japan’s latest contribution to fine dining by molecular guru Ferran Adria and others. Explains Florence: “Once you get your first whiff of fresh yuzu, nothing ever compares.”
As Florence became expert in cultivating his rare orchard, he also became familiar with many aspects of yuzu-related culture in surrounding Kochi and Tokushima Prefectures, the prime growing region in the country. With each year’s brief yet brightly colored harvest period, from late October to early December, the erstwhile horticulturist - who in his day job had become a Chairperson for Southeast Asia of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and publisher of Bangkok 101, a quality monthly magazine with strong emphasis on the city’s exploding restaurant scene - began a ritual of inviting chefs and fellow foodies from the world over (“many having never seen the actual fruit,” as Florence points out) to explore and become exposed to his second home’s yuzu-related festivals, folklore, markets, specialised farmers and special dishes featuring the lemony accent, local delicacies like the kinmeidai fish (also known as alfonsino or golden-eye snapper, served eight ways from fin skins to eyeball), punctuated by dips in yuzu-laden hot springs. Hence the birth of the yuzu safari, sans high-powered rifles, but accompanied by plenty of high-powered kitchen experimentation, juice-making, hard drinking revelry and the hard work of hand-picking the vaunted crop (as well as hauling back a small sampling of special “souvenirs”).
Having painfully missed the last several years due to Covid restrictions, and with Japan reopening to foreigners just in time, Florence returned with his latest edible cargo - aided in his labours by Dustin Joseph, founder of Thailand’s sustainably hill-tribe-supporting Left Hand Roasters - and revived the pre-Covid concept to stage a dinner first broached when colleague Mark De Leeuwerk was General Manager at the Tokyo Park Hyatt, now transferred to Bangkok’s similarly skyscraping and futuristic Bangkok branch. All that was left was to draw on the former '50 Best' maven’s peerless ranks of contacts among the Thai capital’s most innovative culinary masters.
The setting may not have been quite a rustic as on Shikoku – the Hyatt’s impeccable, white tableclothed Embassy Room, currently the city’s sole Catalan restaurant, run by chef Ferran Tadeo. But the Omokase-style offerings on December 12 did more than enough to top even the most Japonesque atmosphere for the 40 lucky guests (paying a modest 135 euros for ten courses plus wine pairing). The festivities even began, Thai-style, with welcome drinks concocted by experienced house mixologist Sabine Delette Nakamura: an 'artist series' sake swirled with yuzu, chamomile, honey and a fizzy white wine as well as a high-level 'shandy' adding yuzu honey cordial to Peroni and ginger beers.
While most chefs around the world have to settle for bottled juice, packaged essences, or yuzu kosho - a fermented paste - access to the real fibrous deal provided exceptional inspiration (and a menu requiring knowledge of numerous arcane culinary terms). Dylan Jones, without usual partner, Bo, of the recently closed, uber-authentic Bo.Lan restaurant, placed a saeng wa, or chilled fish salad dressed in yuzu (of course) within a shell befitting his ethnic emphasis. Two perfect 'yuzu-cured' scallops on either side of smoked potatoes and something called 'scallop fudge' showed off delicate yuzu highlights in the hands of Mike Lerpisikul, creator of the lusciously casual/luxe Asoke Pi Shop. The British-trained Thai chef Top Russell contributed a fanciful foie gras chawanmushi (with hints of apple, Earl Grey and sudachi, a more acid relative of yuzu) topped with strawberries then ringed with a crown-like miso tuile). Tim Butler of Eat Me, always bold with his proteins and a veteran of several Shikoku outings, topped his wagyu tartar with yuzu kosho and sea urchin. And famed chef “Ice” from Sorn, Asia’s top-rated showcase of Southern Thai cuisine, turned his trademark, rainbow-colored khao yum wheel of salad offerings into a tribute to Japanese vegetables (plus yuzu dressing, of course). Elegant plating was the rule, though borne informally on trays and fussed over by the whole collective team. For relief, handmade buckwheat noodles were provided, especially hand-carried back from the Park Hyatt Tokyo kitchens.
For Spanish touches, home chef Tadeo went for monkfish done in a saffron-tinged Mediterranean suquet while the team from Vaso, Bangkok’s high-end tapas bar, brought out a dollop of ultra-rich surf-turf paella. Fellow countryman chef Pepe Dasi, a partner in Vilas, the recently-opened showcase of gourmet Thai, proved how Shikoku’s yuzu and kinmeidai catch could go splendidly in a yellow curry. A finishing pastry elevated the star of the evening into a golden orb centrepiece, while Malaysian chef Michelle Goh of the French-based Mia added exceptionally painterly petit fours (to the organisers’ chagrin, three other distinguished female participants had to drop out at the last minute). Co-host and coffee whiz Joseph finished it all off with a cold brew informed by honey spun from his unique by-product of feathery coffee blossoms.
The chefs even topped their presentations with tableside gratings of the most prized yuzu zest, much in the manner of fresh truffles or Parmigiana. And they stayed long after clean-up to mark the occasion with a copious downing of beverages, with or without yuzu spiking.
“The hotel took a risk to let ten chefs run wild in their kitchen,” Florence observes. “But even the young Thai apprentices got to get more creative than peeling potatoes. Everybody pitched in to finish one another’s courses. Everyone I asked was excited to try something fun.”
No sourness here. The resulting cavalcade of dishes served as a multi-national testament to both the Japanese ingredient’s versatility and Thailand’s dining diversity. The experience also proved one big extension of the camaraderie of the original safaris based at Florence’s hilltop - with planning already begun for taking next winter’s edition to a whole new level (as well as subsequent ingredient-themed occasions at the Park Hyatt).
According to the chief yuzu guru: “This was one cooking conclave with no drama. The whole idea was just to spread the love.” Along with the most exotic of aromas.
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