Bangkok Restaurant Launches Cutting-Edge Menu: 'China 2020'

Breeze, a Chinese restaurant located in the five-star Lebua hotel in Bangkok has launched a new, cutting-edge food menu called "China 2020." The innovative menu is a result of the "rise of China's affluent middle class," which in recent years is changing the way the Chinese dine, according to a press release.

Click here to see the 6 Cutting-Edge 'China 2020' Menu Items (Slideshow)

"The innovative China 2020 menu is inspired by the new level of sophistication we are seeing in the way the Chinese dine. With the rise of China's affluent middle class in recent years, the direction of dining is pointing toward a greater variety of healthful and medicinal cuisine, better quality ingredients, and a more experiential and experimental attitude," Breeze's master chef Sam Pang explained. "Many young professionals who grew up eating traditional Chinese dishes prepared at home by their mothers are now using their disposable income to enjoy the fun of dining out at upscale restaurants."

The idea is that the "China 2020" menu will be an interactive dining experience, where diners mix their own cocktails and roll a dice to determine their "lucky" sauce for steak. There are five entrées to choose from, all named after a feeling or state of mind; Discovery, Back in Time, Appearance, Excitement, and Youth. For "Discovery," diners must break open a block of salt to reveal a box hiding their entrée — a roast duck with water chestnuts, shitake mushrooms, and Chinese wine. If they choose "Excitement," guests will put their dinner in the hands of fate by rolling a dice to see which of six sauces will be served with decadent Omi beef. The most visually appealing dish — as the name reveals — is Appearance, featuring eight small dishes with luxurious ingredients, including lobster, foie gras, king crab, and sea urchin. 

To complete the "China 2020" dining experience, a separate cocktail menu is created by mixologist Ron Ramirez, playing with the same interactive concept as the dinner menu.

"The cocktail is the drink of choice for the future diners of China, and the China 2020 beverage menu was inspired by this trend," Ramirez explained. "The flavor combinations in the beverages challenge the traditional and invite diners to customize their cocktail, even allowing them to mix their own drink with all the ingredients provided."

Like the dinner menu items, the five different cocktails come with descriptive names; Fire, Aroma, Experiment, Life, and Sweetness. The groundbreaking flavor combinations include homemade Advocaat, vanilla, cinnamon, Chivas, lemonade, rose jelly, and jasmine marshmallows, blended together for the "Sweetness," and pinot noir, gin, cognac, marinated dried fruits, and soda for "Life."

Located on the 52nd floor atop the Lebua hotel, Breeze is Bangkok's highest open-air Asian restaurant. The modern décor, with water features and mirrors, reflects the goal to take traditional Chinese cuisine to the next level, by combining classic Chinese flavors with modern techniques and unexpected ingredients.

"The dishes on the China 2020 menu give diners the opportunity to enjoy both traditional and modern favorites through a highly interactive experience," chef Pang said.