Red Sky at night, diner’s delight

Travel blogger Deborah Dickson-Smith recently sampled the fine dining at Red Sky Centara Grand at Centralworld.

There are many Bangkok rooftop restaurants, but none, perhaps, quite as grand as Red Sky. While it’s not riverside or overlooking one of Bangkok’s grand temples, it is 55 floors up and has 360 degree views of the city – which is particularly photogenic at night.

Up practically at cloud level, it’s incredibly peaceful watching the bustling city go about its business far below you. The streets are a constant flow of headlights and it’s a pleasant feeling to be looking down on the stream of traffic instead of stuck in it.

Because of our rather sophisticated surroundings, it seems only right to start the evening with a martini. A glamorous drink to go with a very glamorous setting.

We’re seated right next to the edge, with a reasonably high clear glass wall next to me. If I stand up I can look over and down to the street below, but it gives me vertigo so I decide to concentrate on the food in front of me. Which is pretty magnificent too.

I start with a tuna tartare, seasoned with delicious chili-infused sesame oil, pine nuts and crunchy pear. The texture and taste is wonderful. My dining partner opts for the Trento beef carpaccio, topped with rocket leaves and Crutin truffle cheese.

For mains, I manage to find room for wagyu beef tenderloin, served with wild mushroom and truffle sauce (they must go through a small fortune’s worth of truffles in this place), while Simon opts for the French duck confit, served with a Cabernet red wine sauce, Sarladaise potatoes and sautéed spinach.

And all this quaffed down with a rather exquisite Argentine from Red Sky’s extensive cellar, which stretches from the 55^th floor down to the 54^th. The Malbec BenMarco, all the way from Mendoza.

This is one of the most impressive wine lists I’ve ever seen – a reflection of what a sophisticated and cosmopolitan city Bangkok has become in the past 20 years. The selection includes a wide range of champagne and sparkling wines, red and white wine from as far afield as Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina to Italy, Austria, Spain, Greece, Portugal, USA, Netherlands, France, Germany, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and… Thailand!

We savour ours slowly, enjoying the balmy weather and bright city lights.

More information: centarahotelsresorts.com