Le Journal issue 4

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Babette’s brings a real taste of 1920's Chicago style eatery to Bangkok

National Geographic lensman Mike Yamashita is hooked on Myanmar’s Buddhism and pagodas

Pairing wine with Thai food in the summer can be tricky, but exhilarating

Chef Michael Owens sources the best ingredients from around the world to create the best steak

Le Journal No. 2 Issue 4

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dining with gangsters babette’s the steakhouse bangkok brings prohibition-era glitz to life STORY MANOJ TRIPATHI PHOTOGRAPHS SAMATCHA APAISUWAN

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abette’s the Steakhouse Bangkok, which has just opened its doors on the 19th floor of Hotel Muse Bangkok, is likely to remind one of 1920s glitz, Prohibition and Chicago-style jazz. Named after a favourite Prohibition-era haunt of gangsters of the same name in Boardwalk Empire, Babette’s sets out to bring affordable, top-quality classic steaks to Bangkok. While dining at Babette’s is a ritual of comfort and conviviality, it’s tempting to imagine yourself sitting next to a table with mobsters in pinstripe suits boasting about their last heist. Well, they could be Nucky, Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. Regardless, what you’ll find here for sure is a great selection of classic steaks, fine wine and jazz music.

Nicolas Peth, General Manager, gives us the low-down on what promises to be Bangkok’s jazziest steakhouse.

What’s the concept of Babette’s?

It was essential that the new concept blended in with the rest of Hotel Muse Bangkok so vintage it had to be.

Prohibition along with its gangsters was at its height during 1920-1930 in the US so we started to think “Chicago”, “Steakhouse” and “Cabaret” as we were looking for a more crowd pleasing concept.

In what ways is Babette’s different from other steakhouses in town?

First of all, the magnificent views on the 19th floor at night. You have this lovely skyline backdrop. Then the restaurant itself is just the perfect size with beautiful décor, amid the dim glow of lamps and candlelight. And you get better value for money. Well, a meal at some of the big-name steakhouses in town is so expensive. I wanted Babette’s to be more affordable, yet still serving delicious food and wine.

Finally when it is all finished, go up to the Speakeasy on the hotel’s rooftop for a last drink. No other steakhouse can offer you such a combination.

How does Babette’s enhance one’s dining experience?

Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, talented singers

entertain with live jazz and piano music. It feels and sounds so good; the entire atmosphere feels so “Muse”. Then look for the small details that make the difference. Don’t want to say more, just go and experience it for yourself. Choose your weapons carefully.

Tell us the story of Babette’s steaks?

Michael Owens, our Executive Chef from New Zealand, is quite particular about his meat. We tend to source our beef from local family producers that control all the elements of the food chain so we get consistency in our products.

Take our Sher Wagyu for example from the Sher family in Australia. They have been rearing cattle since 1991 and have won a multitude of awards. We know exactly the journey of the animal, the type of steak we are getting and where it is coming from. Traceability of our product is essential.

ON THE MENU australia • Sher Wagyu • Jack’s Creek Black Angus japan • Wagyu Beef from Miyazaki usa • St Helens Black Angus Beef classics • Pork spare ribs • Kopbuta Pork Chop Chargrilled surf and turf • Jack’s Creek Black Angus Striploin with baked lobster gratin • Australian Greenham Beef Tenderloin

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Le Journal

RIB EYE TO DIE FOR Sizzling slabs thrive on classical cooking at Babette’s The Steakhouse STORY MANOJ TRIPATHI PHOTOGRAPHS SAMATCHA APAISUWAN

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abette’s The Steakhouse Bangkok has a retrojazzy 1920s vibe to it, but the man who grills the steaks there is more into the cowboys than Boardwalk Empire gangsterism.

“Mention steak and what comes to mind? For me, it’s the cowboys.

The steak has been around since the cowboy days,” says Michael Owens, the hotel’s new executive chef who designed the new steakhouse’s menu.

Mind you, Owens doesn’t come from Texas, but New Zealand, which has been well known, to a lesser degree anyway, for its jackaroos and cattle ranching culture.

Though grilling may be regarded as the ultimate American art form, Babette’s is not an oasis of Wild West vibes, but a clubby chophouse of premium cuts that will easily please even the most finicky Nucky and Scarface.

To Owens, steak is not a new concept, but an old concept with simple ingredients done properly.

“At Babette’s I just keep it nice and simple. I never want to mess around too much. Here you’ve got top steaks from renowned breeders l i k e [ A u s t ra l i a’s ] Ja ck ’s Cre e k , Greenham and Stanborough.

There’s also [Australia’s] Sher and [ Ja p a n’s ] M iya z a k i wa g y u b ee f known for its marbling, texture and flavour,” he says.

Before coming to Hotel Muse Bangkok, Owens worked for five years in Australia at Republica in Melbourne and other eateries, and another five years in London at the renowned event catering company Payne and Gunter.

Melbourne’s dining scene is just as competitive as London’s but more enjoyable, he says, even though it means dishing up 1,100 plates a day from 12 noon to 10pm at Republica.

“No one can keep up with that really. Luckily there was no throwing tantrums in the kitchen. Everyone thrived on hard work and direct communication. Everyone’s so focused

on what they’re doing. They can only hear the people that they need to hear,” he says, adding that working in Australia was a great joy with its sheer abundance of fresh goodquality ingredients.

When it comes to cooking, Australia is classical in approach, forward-thinking with f lavours and fusion in style, he says. The food scene there is one big melting pot of culinary cultures from Italy, Greece, Russia and Asia. It was in Australia that he discovered great fun with food.

“MENTION STEAK AND WHAT COMES TO MIND? FOR ME, IT’S THE COWBOYS. THE STEAK HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE COWBOY DAYS,” “The chefs over there always try to push it not to be over the top. But they just want to be different. When you go out for a beautiful night, and you want to have a really nice meal, and it’s warm and hot, you don’t want to sit there afterwards. You don’t want your palate to feel like it just weighs a ton. You won’t feel very well with a heavy meal. So the meal there tends to be healthy and light. They have their own way of cutting the richness by squeezing lemon juice, or something else. I’d like my palate to feel clean,” he says.

He found London competitive and downright aggressive.

At Payne and Gunter, Owens teamed up with head chef Joanne Bell and other chefs to create sumptuous meals for functions in and around London in various settings from castles to hotels.

Ove r t i m e , h e d eve l o p e d a cooking philosophy inspired by one of the head chefs he worked with: “If you have a strong foundation, your house won’t fall down.” “ Wi t h a s t ro n g f o u n d a t i o n , anything you make would come out right. I take that with everything that I do, whether it be in my home or my kitchen. A good foundation is what you’re taught. You can do a

simple braise, the process is still the same, but you can always add the flavours. The Brits like to keep every dish simple. Overcomplicate it, and you risk posing yourself as a bit of a problem,” he says.

W h i l e t h e U K i s c r e d i te d with its classical taste level and increasingly uncomplicated food, it’s almost impossible to withstand the rigors of its kitchen frenzy.

“It’s very aggressive in London.

One of the chefs threw a [small] pan at me and it hit my head. He thought I overcooked the fish. But I didn’t. The fish was fine really. Many chefs do the similar. These things happen, but you don’t need it,” says Owens.

After five years, Owens reckoned it was time for him to leave as he didn’t like the English weather.

He brings classical cooking methods from the UK, Australia and New Zealand to Bangkok.

Techniques like slow cooking (the pork chop here is cooked for 16 hours) and paupiette, one of the oldest classical methods of cooking a fish, are introduced to Babette’s along with Asian flavours.

“My sea bass is coated with coconut milk. Black sticky rice is used as a savoury rather than as dessert,” he says.

U p to 1 0 s te a k s t y l e s a r e available plus healthy options for the ladies such as five-grain salad of berries with dukkha and cucumber yoghurt, pan-seared scallops on a bed of caulif lower purée with caviar and pancetta, and the sweet “Textures of Meringue” with summer berries, offered as one of the steakhouse’s dessert tray selections.

“T h ey b rou ght me i n to run the kitchen. It’s good fun to run the kitchen again. Now I’m more grounded on what I am doing and how I want it,” he says with a grin.

GLORIOUS CHAR MAKE PLANS AT (02) 630 4000 OR BY E-MAIL AT H7174-FB1@ACCOR.COM

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

“Wine is one of the most civilized thing in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.” Ernest Hemmingway.

Welcome to the fourth issue of Le Journal!

Let’s welcome this summer with some small tips for picking a bottle of wine in our tropical weather by the Hotel Muse’s new sommelier at our brand-new steakhouse, Babette’s.

The Chicago-style steakhouse – in place of our former Thai restaurant on the hotel’s 19th floor – is certainly Bangkok’s jazziest fine dining extraordinaire inspired by 1920s gangsterism.

Another special column is an exclusive interview with the legendary National Geographic lensman Mike Yamashita, here sharing his 30 years’ experience behind the lens.

See you next issue. Enjoy reading!

Anne Poonnika Editor-in-chief

Le Journal

Editor-in-Chief: Anne Poonnika Editor: Manoj Tripathi Art director: Chanut Husbumrer chanut@workisworkagency.com

Photographer: Samatcha Apaisuwan Coordinator: Thitipa Chansukri Nattiya Sangkuttiya Hotel Muse 55/555, Lansuan Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand Tel: (02) 630 4000 Fax: (02) 630 4100 E-mail: H7174-RE@accor.com For general inquiries, please contact H7174-MK1@accor.com For reservations and booking amendments, please contact H7174-RE@accor.com © 2014 Hotel Muse Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.

Le Journal No. 2 Issue 4

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a day at siam

Siam Square is rightfully Bangkok’s shopping paradise that has been doing a roaring trade since the 1970s. With everything under the sun available here, it’s the best place to indulge in a little retail therapy.

Better yet, it’s within walking distance of Hotel Muse bangkok. That means you can spare yourself the hassle of haggling with a cab driver. But then, there’s the Skytrain. Here we’ve compiled a selection of lovely stores in Siam Square that you wouldn’t want to miss while out on a shopping spree.

STORY MANOJ TRIPATHI PHOTOGRAPHS SAMATCHA APAISUWAN ILLUSTRATION CHAINAD WATTANARARUTHAI

Siam Paragon BACC

Central World

Siam Center

mbk Lido Scala

Siam Square Hotel Muse

1. i remember

2. do re me

3. london brown

This store stocks huge collections of vintage clothing and accessories that are sure to make you stand out from the crowd. There’s quite a range of similar shops in the area, but this one is the best starting point as it’s easy to find.

A favourite destination among Bangkok’s hardcore indie and alternative music fans, Do Re Me stocks an eclectic mix of CDs in copious quantity that you can’t find elsewhere in Bangkok. The owner seems to know everything in the music world if you happen to have a question or two.

Tired of wearing shoes that look just like everybody else’s? Then make a beeline for London Brown.

Its highly experienced shoemakers make classic shoes that ensure you stand out from the crowd in an age when traditional shoemaking is increasingly a dying art.

Location: Siam Square Soi 11 Phone: 02 251-4351

Location: Siam Square Soi 2 Hours: Open everyday 12.00-21.00 E-mail: contact@london-brown.com Facebook: londonbrownshop Phone: +66 86 332-1544

Location: Siam Square Soi 1, 1st floor, Scala Theatre

4. selvedgework, custom handcrafted denim With 30 years’ experience in the denim business, the tailors here celebrate simplicity and individualism with meticulous attention to detail.

The shop attracts both local and foreign customers all looking for a good pair of jeans that’s just a perfect fit.

Location: Siam Square Soi 2 Phone: 02-658-0486

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HISTORY OF SIAM SQUARE The birth of a shopping paradise Siam Square is nothing if not a stronghold of Bangkok trendsetters that dates back to the mid1960s. The area known as Siam Square started life as a shopping district in the late 1960s. An economic boom in Thailand from the late 1960s to 1970s further transformed the area, giving rise to larger buildings. These included Siam Centre (1973), one of Bangkok’s first shopping malls, and three movie theatres: the now defunct Siam Theatre (1967), Lido Theatre (1968) and Scala Theatre (1970). With shopping and entertainment existing side by side, Siam

Square became a new hangout for the hip crowds in the 1970s and continued to thrive through the decades with the advent of the Skytrain in 1999. It still remains the beating heart of Bangkok’s shopping landscape with even more shops springing up every month to keep everyone happy without breaking the bank.

5. oscar denim

8. unik

11. outcast

14. papaya watch & galley

This store is a repository of terrific jeans from Japan in different styles and sizes for both men and women plus ranging accessories to match your style.

Location: Siam Square Soi 2 Hours: 11am-9pm Phone: 02 658-3016 Facebook: oscardenim2015

Unik is special because it’s the sole distributor in Thailand of the legendary Tart Optical Enterprises.

The store is renowned for its stylish handmade, vintage-style and rare eyewear. Don’t miss the gorgeous glasses from Effector, Platoy, GLCO, Hardy Amies London and much more.

Outcast sells much-prized sneakers, clothing and other accessories that you can’t find even in the the sport section of even the most glamorous mall of Bangkok. Here you find limited-edition sneakers and clothing from around the world though it seems most come here for rare trainers.

Many people go to Papaya Watch & Gallery for its used watches though the store has new collections that are worth checking out if you have time to spare and some cash to flash. But the rare pieces here would seem to win over even the most jaded timepiece collector.

Location: 2nd Floor Lido Theatre Phone: 02 658-3833

Location: 2nd Floor Lido Theatre Hours: Monday to Sunday, 1pm-9pm.

Phone: 094 456-6626 E-mail: hkfbkk@gmail.com

Location: Siam Square 1, 1st floor, Siam Square Soi 5

6. eyes concept

9. sak lai studio (tattoo)

12. tew’s barbershop

This is one of the more popular eyewear stores in Siam Square that counts celebs, fashionistas, superstars and style stalwarts among its loyal patrons.

Sak Lai Studio has been in business since March 20, 1997. Prior to that, it was based in New York.

Making hygiene its top priority, Sak Lai uses hospital-standard equipment to design tattoos that reflect the character of its customers.

Positioned as a traditional barbershop, Tew’s Barbershop is simply one of the best in Bangkok popular among the trendy men with style and character. The barbers are so friendly and polite that you might end up being served a free beer.

15. bangkok art and culture center (bacc)

Location: 2nd Floor. Lido Theatre Phone: 081 830-8325 Email: saklaitattoo@gmail.com

Location: Siam Square Soi 7 Phone: 02 252-3989.

Location: Siam Square Soi 2

After a day out in the sun, BACC is well worth a visit for its cool air and wonderful art exhibitions.

There’s a coffee shop and lovely eateries that serve Thai-style Western food if you wish.

Location: Rama I Road, Pathumwant Intersection, opposite MBK and Siam Discovery

how to get there

7. boy hair salon,

10. lee public

13. marco tailors

Boy Hair Salon, originally from Tokyo, is not only wildly popular with the fashion-conscious teenyboppers, but also adults who love Japanesestyle hairdos, which this salon specialises in. The services provided by Boy go beyond the haircut.

The shop is probably one of Bangkok’s best-kept secrets as it’s tucked away on the extremely quiet second floor of the Lido theatre. But here you find yourself lost in a world of Lee jeans where you could end up spending hours finding your favourite denims from its huge collections.

Exclusively specialising in men’s suits, Marco Tailors is popular among the high-flying bunch: from bankers to grooms-to-be. Be sure to spare a week or two for multiple fittings.

Location: Siam Square Soi 1, 2nd floor, Scala Theatre Phone: 02 658 - 4544

Location: 2nd floor, Lido Theatre

Location: Siam Square Soi 7

Siam Square is only three kilometres from Hotel Muse Bangkok. The best way is by hopping on the Skytrain at Chit Lom BTS station for a jaunt to Siam station.

If you want to avoid the commotion, take a stroll along the Sky Walk that runs above the congested traffic all the way from Chit Lom to Siam stations.

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Profile

IN LOVE WITH THE GOLDEN SPIRES

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Michael Yamashita couldn’t resist the temptation to revisit Myanmar and save a slice of its history

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STORY MANOJ TRIPATHI PHOTOGRAPHS SAMATCHA APAISUWAN

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sia’s hottest destination at the moment in the eyes of most international photographers is in fact not Thailand or China. To award-winning National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita, the numberone destination is none other than Myanmar — still in fine fettle with its unspoiled innocence, rich spirituality and welcoming people.

After four trips to the land of pagodas, Yamashita is intent on making yet another to quash his thirsts for its oldworld charm that’s fading fast, yet largely undocumented amid the onslaught of tourists.

“It’s such an easy place to take pictures of people. For example, nobody rejects the camera. They are totally welcoming, easy-going. It’s what Thailand used to be like in the 1970s – fledgling and unspoiled,” he said.

We met one morning in late November last year at Hotel Muse Bangkok a day after his return from his fourth trip to Myanmar. He showed up with a copy of “7 Days in Myanmar” that formed the subject of our conversation. The new book offers different photographic interpretations of the “new Myanmar” by a team of 30 world-class photographers from 11 nations. They visited different parts of the country from the pagoda-dotted plains of Bagan and the reflected glory of Inle Lake to the hilltribe villages and remote border outposts.

“Well, I have more pictures than anybody else in this book.

Up to 30 photographers took these pictures. Most of them are my friends. It’s a small world of photographers that we live in.

Everybody knows everybody,” he said with a grin.

The book reminds him of a Myanmar he used to know and the new Myanmar that’s undergoing a transformation after more than four decades of isolation from the world.

He first visited the country in 1999 when it was usually off-limits to foreign journalists just to see those golden spires of Bagan as witnessed and documented by Marco Polo whose silk-road travels would later inspire Yamashita’s 2011

tome entitled “Marco Polo: A Photographer’s Journey”.

“I came to Bangkok to get my new passport and flew in on a tourist visa. As you know, it was difficult to get in as a journalist then,” he said, adding: “I was one of the first who was in Myanmar at a time when tourism was still in its infancy. There were very few tourists. There was just one hotel in Bagan, which was the Bagan Hotel.”

In Bagan, he met Brett Melzer and his wife Khin Omar Win, both regarded as the pioneers of tourism of that city who ran a company that operated hot air balloon flights over the pagoda-rich landscape. His first pictures of Bagan were taken from a balloon.

“National Geographic needed to have pictures of Bagan that nobody else had ever seen before. Our job is to make pictures that come alive, that hopefully astound you. When we heard there was a balloon, I went there to take pictures over Bagan in a balloon. From there, you get an unusual perspective. So the story came out and we published that picture. Ever since, I’d been dying to get back, but couldn’t,” he said.

Bagan itself has a habit of luring him back though. And the photographer has no qualms about making as many repeated visits to Bagan and a few other places as possible.

And it’s not always for the balloons.

“Every time you go back, you get something different. At the Shwedagon, you’d always see something great. Everywhere you go, you shoot monks. But I have to admit I’m peripherally interested in Buddhism though, the Myanmar type of Buddhism.

You keep going and trying to do pictures you have never seen before. I do love Bagan, Yangon and Inle Lake. Bagan is where you can spend time more than a few days. I’m more interested in history and culture. Myanmar is rich in culture. And a lot of it has not been well documented,” he enthused.

Indeed nothing beats Bagan’s magical layering as created by clouds of smoke billowing from the cooking fires at sunrise. The best way to capture its beauty is to identify as many locations as possible for shooting the pagodas, he explained.

On his first day in Bagan, Yamashita would check out all possibilities: “Maybe 10 or 12 locations. I’d go, look and decide, well, this is good, this is not so good. Then I’d come back for sunrise. So this is not random, not like tourists coming upon a scene somewhere and suddenly they’d say ‘oh that’s a nice place. But this is very tactical and planned.

“I go to a place because I’m gonna make a picture, I don’t go to a place to wander around and take a look. Of course that’s what I’m doing, but I go because I know I need to make a picture there. I have a location to shoot in this case, the spires of Bagan.

You get the wonderful softness because of the layering created by the cooking fires in the morning when the smoke comes up.

This is what you’d not see with your cellphone. This is what photographers do: it’s about your vision. My image is something I have here in my head before I have in my camera. You see the picture before you shoot. So I do a lot of previsualising,” he said.

Inle Lake is no less fascinating, with “great reflections, light, lots of action going on and people on stilts.” However, he envisages tourism’s two-pronged effect on the country: it improves the standards of living for people while changing their lives forever, not always in a positive way. He doubts the local ways would survive its ill effects in the next 10 years.

The fishermen on the lake, for example, are fakes.

One problem with working in Myanmar, he pointed out, is the fact that so many things are set-ups paid for by tour operators to give tourists something to photograph.

“So they are not real fishermen. Why would they want to go fishing when they get more money posing for tourists? But we don’t work that way. We shoot real people, real things in real time. I love shooting what’s not changing. I just want to make a good picture. The value of this work [‘7 Days in Myanmar’] is saving a piece of history,” he said.

Given the influx of tourists into Myanmar, perhaps Yamashita might want to quicken his pace a bit.

Le Journal No. 2 Issue 4

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CHILLED BLISS ON THE BEACH Wine Talk

Certain rules apply when it comes to choosing your wines in the hot season STORY MANOJ TRIPATHI PHOTOGRAPHS SAMATCHA APAISUWAN

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ith summer upon us, it’s time to hit the beach, sip some classic drink and enjoy the tropical sunshine. For many, the season is almost immediately a pretext for a terrific feast complemented by a bottle of fine wine, whether you’re at home on the couch or frolicking in the turquoise sea. However, a bit of knowledge about wine and its flavour profile can maximize the pleasure gained from both buying and drinking it, says Peerajit Binsomprasong, assistant restaurant manager and sommelier at Hotel Muse Bangkok.

To enjoy the full potential of wine, one should start by debunking the myths surrounding the way wine is appreciated in this country. Many Thais still drink wine the way they drink beer or whisky — that is by, eh, adding ice cubes to the glass.

“Exactly that’s the way they drink beer or liquor. They want everything chilled given Thailand’s hot climate. But adding ice to the wine is a complete no-no,” he says.

Ice simply kills the magic in the wine: flavour, aroma and balance, he notes. A red with ice is an irreversible disaster.

The point is they continue to commit that wine faux pas, and until they kick the habit, they’re not going to discover the sheer bliss derived from wine, he warns.

A good grasp of the wine practicalities — temperatures, decanting, serving and tasting — promises the best tasting experience, says the sommelier.

The correct temperature is extremely important to the taste of wine, says Peerajit. Many wine drinkers in this country still believe it’s okay for every red wine to be served chilled just like white wine. That’s not right, insists the sommelier.

“White wine can be served chilled at the right temperature.

Too cold white wine tastes like chilled vinegar. In the case of chilled red wines, their aroma risks disappearing,” he explains.

But to say that red wine cannot be served chilled would be theoretically wrong. Peerajit explains that reds that can be served a little chilled must be very strong or full-bodied such as Shiraz from Australia or Malbec from Chile.

Peerajit says whites can be chilled between 12° and 14° Celsius in the fridge. His recommendations include Pinot Grigio (Italy) and Burnt Spur Sauvignon Blanc from Martinborough, New Zealand.

The former is an everyday wine that’s not strong, easy to drink, refreshing, fruity and low in alcohol. The latter has juicy acidity with passionfruit and citrus aromas on the nose.

“It has a soft textured creamy and buttery background. All this combines to make a refreshing, balanced and very drinkable style of Sauvignon Blanc,” he says.

These two whites go well with cured salmon, spicy shellfish salad and raw dishes, he adds.

“Remember, the wines make hot dishes slightly hotter. But they are far from overpowering,” he insists.

As lots of Thais love to cool down in the hot season

with the savoury khao chae (chilled rice with assorted side dishes), the wine that matches the dish must be a little sweet and Peerajit thinks of Caprice Chardonnay, full-bodied and mildly sweet with a rich mouthful of fruits.

“Be sure to drink it chilled,” he quips.

If you’re planning to holiday on the golden sands, bring along these bottles: Shiraz from Australia (good for BBQ), Prosecco (great with nibbles and canapés) and Grosset Springvale Riesling from Australia (best at 7°-8° Celsius for chicken and seafood). The ladies would do well to have the last two on tap, he says.

As for red wine, go for Forest Ville Merlot (California, USA), which displays an aroma filled with the sweetness of cherries, raspberries and a touch of spice and vanilla.

If you wish to have both reds and whites in a meal, there are a number of generally accepted rules to serve wine.

Peerajit says white is served before red although a light-bodied red can be enjoyed before a full-bodied white.

Another rule is dry before sweet whites; this avoids making the wine taste excessively acidic. Then light should come before heavy reds.

And remember, certain high quality wines (mostly reds) opened before their peak, can benefit greatly from exposure to oxygen in the air — or breathing — before drinking.

Simply pulling the cork on a bottle and allowing it to stand open is unlikely make much difference, according to the sommelier.

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GLITZ AND GLAMOUR AT BABETTE’S

The grand opening of Babette’s the Steakhouse, held on March 24, attracted a huge turnout of distinguished guests from a cross section of Thailand’s high society. Taking its cue from the hit HBO series Boardwalk Empire, the steakhouse on the hotel’s 19th floor, combines Prohibitionera glitz with fine dining to create a superb, yet highly accessible dining experience. Spotted at the party included singers, actors, celebrities, superstars and denizens of Thailand’s fashion and business worlds.

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07 01. Vasu Sangingkaew (Singer Actor and MC), Varavut Laohapongchana (PR and Communications Direcor - Christian Dior Thailand), Krit srichawla (CEO of FICO Corporation and Owner of Hotel Muse Bangkok), Nicolas Peth (General Manager of Hotel Muse Bangkok), Jesadaporn Pholdee (Actor), Dr. Somsak Chalachol, Nuchanart Raveesangsoon 02. Varavut Laohapongchana (PR and Communications Direcor - Christian Dior Thailand), Mark Tarwin (Owner of Mark Tarwin Barber) 03. Actor Jesadaporn Pholdee 04. Srisuphang Morris, Marisa Chew, Nuchanart Raveesangsoon, Panichanart Yampika (Editor-in-Chief Priew Magzine) 05. Patrick Basset (Chief Operation Officer Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar), Nicolas Peth (General Manager of Hotel Muse Bangkok), Gilles Cretallaz (Vice-President Operations Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar & Phillippines Opertions Department) 06. Srisuphang Morris, Jetana Pongpanich , Supee Pongpanich (Senior Vice President, Advertising and Promotions Director – Siam Commercial Bank), Panichanart Yampika (Editor-in-Chief Priew Magzine) 07. Onchuma Durongdej (Managing Director – H2O Hydro Co., Ltd.

SOCIAL SCENE

Hotel Muse Bangkok General Manager Nicolas Peth recently welcomed the renowned Thai model and actress Bee Namthip during her visit to the hotel.

MEET THE FABS from Green Channel is here for filming their “Summer” episode!

Khun Aun Poowanart and Khun Scene Pimchin, visited our new steak house, Babette’s!

Stay tuned for a full episode!

Pichai Chirathivat, CEO of Central Marketing Group and, luxury watch brand Chopard, joined hands to organise an exclusive dinner for high-end watch collectors at the Hotel Muse Bangkok. During the dinner, the brand unveiled its latest watch collection with the Tourbillon system. From left, Chayaporn Phornprapha, Chris Neff, Christopher Proffitt, Pichai, Korsak Chairasmisak, Dr Pramote Riencharoensuk and Olivier Gudin.

Hotel Muse Bangkok General Manager Nicolas Peth gave a warm welcome to ItalianJapanese short-film director TAK Kuroha, who won the Gold Lion Award for Young Director at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

P&G Salon Professional recently launched their new products at Medici Kitchen & Bar Hotel Muse Bangkok. The event had a touch of Broadway as guests toured five rooms, each representing a brand, to watch scenes from a play inspired by the off-Broadway show, Sleep No More.

The management of the Hotel Muse Bangkok and H.E Joan Boer, Netherland Ambassador to Thailand, gave a warm welcome to Adrie Braat, the conductor of Amsterdam-based Biggles Big Band during his arrival at the hotel. Founded by Braat in 1985, the 25-piece jazz orchestra performed a concert at the hotel in March.