Bangkok Diary

We are in Bangkok on a short getaway It is a city we have been visiting since the mideighties when the baht was half the value of the rupee Alas it is approximately the other way around now but no sweat The city too has evolved and is considered one of Asiarsquos top tourist attractions And whatrsquos best of all is that along with this transformation the fortunes of a few prominent Indians have also undergone a sea changeThe Hollywood ConnectionIt is emblematic of his newfound stature that when Deepak Ohri the charismatic Indianborn CEO of Bangkokrsquos most glamorous FampB outlets and hotel Sirocco Mezzaluna and Breeze at the lebua whips out his phone to show you a recently taken picture of himself with a high voltage Alister Hollywood star whom he dined with in Europe the standard response is lsquoWhich onersquos the starrsquoThe famous lebua Ball DropAfter all Ohri the Delhiborn Chennai catering collegetrained executive who stole a march over a slew of international heavyweights to make his luxury allsuite hotel lebua one of Bangkokrsquos most soughtafter destinations is also the man who recently lost 26 kilos over a period of three months only to take up a crushing regimen of professional kickboxing and competitive cyclingAnita and Deepak OhrildquoI came to this city for a holiday my wife Anita and I had such a great time I decided I would work hard and make this city my ownrdquo he says his lean face crinkling into a smile and his saltandpepper hair eerily matching that of his Big Cool Hollywood Friend We are in Bangkok for New Yearrsquos dining at Sirocco 64 floors above Bangkokrsquos breathtaking skyline a gathering of some of Thailandrsquos best and brightest around us to watch and the famous lebua Ball Drop and Ohri is very much the cityrsquos host with the mostBradley CooperHis story is wellknown but it bears retelling He had been hired by the motherdaughter team of the Thai owners of the property who put their weight behind the visionary young manrsquos plans to convert their rooftop into an ultraexclusive and expensive finedining experience built around its stunning view ldquoConvincing the board was not easy one of the top advisors said that if I did more than 30000 baht of business a night he would resignrdquo he says with the confidence that success brings sipping his cuvee R Lalou 1990 vintage in his bespoke Gucci suitldquoIn fact now we do business of millions of baht per nightrdquo he laughs It was also Ohri who was responsible for the exclusive marketing contract with Warner Brothers when parts of the lsquoHangover Tworsquo film were shot at lebua ldquoBoth Bradley Cooper and Mike Tyson had dropped in along with the executive producersI didnrsquot recognise them but Anita did and alerted me to their potential and the rest is historyrdquo Today the hotel proudly displays a lsquoHangover Suitersquo so its guests can recall the epic craziness of that blockbuster So how about telling us what his new plans are with the Hollywood hunk in the picture ldquoI canrsquot yetrdquo says Ohri ldquoHe has a pretty lawyer by his side who may sue merdquo he says smilingThe iconoclast chefldquoI had toyed with the idea of becoming a fashion designerrdquo says superstar chef Gaggan Anand when we meet for lunch at his favourite local Thai restaurant lsquoKalpapruekrsquoGaggan AnandFor a man whose eponymous restaurant Gaggan on an unprepossessing alley in Bangkokrsquos Soi Lang Suan has been named thirdbest on the prestigious Asiarsquos 50 best restaurantsrsquo list it comes as a surprise that food was not his first choice as a vocationCoconut Lassi with liquid nitrogenAfter all this is the man whose progressive Indian cuisine has been making international waves for the last couple of years and whose admirers include Biki Oberoi Sonu Shivdasani and the Ambanis they had flown him down to cook at the housewarming sitdown of their new home AntillaBut Gaggan is full of surprises and unpredictability is as much a calling card for his food as for his persona Not only does he take pleasure in surprising diners with dishes such as lsquowhite chocolate pani purirsquo lsquotruffle khichdirsquo and chaat in an edible plastic bag he also loves breaking every rule as he goes alongUnlike the welltrammelled path of the superstar chef he is playful and accessible in his kitchen has no issues with giving credit to his colleagues and whatrsquos best of all for all his schooling at the feet of the master chefs at the legendary El Bulli he loves to dine out at street stalls and Bangkokrsquos version of dhabas in his capris and Tshirts his long hair scruffily held back with a rubber bandBut make no mistake about it this Punjabi boy from Kolkata who drives a red Beemer and is celebrated in the worldrsquos food capitals knows his food like none other ldquoPeople like Jiro and the Quereshis preserve great cuisinerdquo he says referring to the legendary Japanese chef and Indiarsquos first family of North Indian cuisine ldquoI destroy it Both are required ultimately for greatness to emergerdquo And then he is off driving maniacally through Bangkokrsquos busy streets a star every inch of himBangkok veteransldquoWe have been visiting Bangkok since the late rsquo90s but since 2005 our visits have been more frequentrdquo says Mumbaibased businessman Sajjid Mitha avid globetrotter who writes a popular travel blogSajjid and Laveena Advani MithaldquoOur favourite spas are the Divana Divine where we usually do the Crystal signature treatment the Thann Sanctuary at Gaysorn Plaza and a mustdo the Yunomori Onsen the hot Japanese spring bathOthers we have tried and enjoyed are the Elemis Spa at the St Regis and the So Spa at the Sofitelrdquo says the man who had taken off with wife Laveena Advani Mitha for some RampR over the New YearrsquosldquoOur favourite restaurants in the city are the Siam Issaya Club by Ian Kittichai Sra Bua at the Kempinski Shin Taro for Japanese food at the Four Seasons Zuma Ku De Ta the Sala Rim Naam Terrace at the Oriental and a drink at Sirocco followed by a meal at Breeze at the lebua State Towerrdquo he saysLouboutin and palsAnd adding his infinite glam quotient to the Bangkok winter was fashion and media maven Mozez Singh whom we ran into on the return flightMozez Singh with friendsldquoI dined at DJ Station with Christian Louboutinrdquo he said ldquoAnd had dinner at Gagganrsquos the best food everrdquoPartying with Christian Louboutin in Bangkok at DJ StationNice