Le Pavillon des Boulevards

Review: Le Pavillon des Boulevards

Rating: ★★★★★

Awards: 1 Michelin star

Cost: $$$$

Date visited: July 2015

Le Pavillon des Boulevards is a little gem in Bordeaux. The chefs Denis and Nelly Franc have a lovely place that features indoor and outdoor seating in a verdant terrace.

The cuisine is best described as fine gastronomy using the best of the local produce in the area. The restaurant cuisine and service is excellent, and my experience reminded me whey they are a Michelin star restaurant.

I went with the Surprise Menu with a local Bordeaux wine, the next 2 and a half hours was a journey for the taste buds. The staff are very attentive and share a lot of information about the dishes presented.

A must when in Bordeaux.

Seafood Surprise

Egg Custard Dessert

Vegetarian Starter

Smoked Foie Gras

Seafood tartare & Oyster

Elements of the Sea

Fish

Quail, Quail Egg, and chanterelle

Local melons

Mojito Sorbet

Strawberry Meringue

French Pastries

Roi Thai Cooking School

Cooking School:Roi Thai
Location: Klong Nin Beach, Koh Lanta, Krabi, Thailand
Chef: Toey
Cost: Sunset Course is 1,800 bahts
Other Courses: Early Bird Course 1,200. Lunch Course: 1,500. Sunset Market Course: 1,900
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

View from the restaurant

Cooking Stations

Most of my holidays revolve around cuisine. Dishes from around the world will always connect to me at a deeper level than other cultural offerings. To experience the Thailand culinary culture is to taste dishes from the different regions, to distinguish the particular styles & flavors that makes it special. However to take it to the next level, it is best to enroll in a cooking class to learn some of the techniques and style.

Now there are several cooking classes offered in Koh Lanta and after reading several reviews of some of them, the thought of cooking right next to the beach was hard to ignore. So I booked at Roi Thai and they came picked us up on time and took us to the location.

Upon arrival my group of 4 were greeted with a welcome drink and shown the menu that we would be cooking that evening. We were in total 10 people for the course that evening. The menu for the night was:

1. Po Pla Thod (Deep Fried Spring Rolls)
2. Gal Pad Med Ma-Muang (Chicken with Cashew nuts)
3. Tom Yam Goong (Hot & Sour Soup with Prawns)
4. Red Curry Paste
5. Gaeng Phed Pla (Red Curry with fish)

The introduction to the course was done with a dish called Miang Kham. This is a Traditional Thai snack that involves many flavours wrapped in a leave to explode in your mouth with that one bite. The five flavours of Thai cuisine were represented in this traditional appetizer; spiciness (chilli, ginger, shallots, garlic),sweetness (the sweet sauce made with palm sugar and fish sauce), bitterness (lime, sour green mango), saltiness (small dried shrimp), and creaminess (peanuts, toasted coconut).

Introduction to Thai Ingredients

Chef Toey

Cooking the Soup

Thai vegetables and Spices

Po Pla Thod

Gal Pad Med Ma-Muang

Tom Yam Goong

The Introduction

Gaeng Phed Pla

Red Curry paste

While making these appetizers and introducing ourselves to the other guests, we ordered some drinks as well, and got comfortable. In the background the Roi Thai staff were setting up the cooking station for the first item on the menu.

Once we directed to the cooking station, it was at this moment when the Chef Toey broke out from his administration registry role from 10 minutes before into the flamboyant cooking maestro that was ready to light up the night with his entertainment.

After a very entertaining introduction to all the Thailand spices, we wiped away the tears of laughter and composed ourselves before the first dish. Toey was very informative about each cooking step & ingredient, he consistently interacted with the students and ensured everybody was up to speed and comfortable. The multi-tasking level of our group was fantastic as we managed to do photo sessions, and Q&A sessions in between cooking.

Learning to make the red curry paste was one of main objectives and the information offered was very good. So applying the same techniques and knowledge to the other curry pastes such as massaman, green, chu chee, and yellow paste was a walk in the park.

After each cooking session, we would take our dishes to the restaurant area and dine there with the group. The whole class lasted about 4 hours and at the conclusion we were dropped off back to our hotels by Toey himself, which was one of the most entertaining rides. The man should be acting on Broadway, the entertainment value is a bonus to the cooking knowledge he teaches during the class.

I would definitely recommend attending his class as a must do event in Koh Lanta. I give this cooking class a 5 out of 5. You get good value for the overall experience.