Feed all your senses at otherworldly digital feast

As the risotto arrived, a fluorescent jellyfish floated across the table and climbed up the walls. When touched by a diner’s fingers, the luminous creature shifted from green and purple to red. The same happens with a shoal of koi fish swimming atop the table or anytime diners tap, pinch or drag their fingers across the touch-sensitive tabletop. 

Diners at a new pop-up event running now through February at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit can enjoy great food and play with it too by interacting with the theatrics beamed onto their plates, tables and walls. 

Fine dining is no longer limited to matters of taste at “Digital Delicious,” but now technology for an experience that is equal parts gimmick and innovation – and maybe something not taken too seriously were it not for the incredible food.

Looking to offer something different at a time Bangkok’s hotels are running empty due to the pandemic, the Sheraton’s event delivers a four-course set menu equipped with cutting-edge digital art, immersive 4D-mapping and interactive multi-touchscreens. 

The four-dish offerings come under four themes and are created by award-winning Italian chef Gaetano Palumbo, a veteran with 20 years of experience. The show part is the second “digital art cuisine” installation by Doozy Digilab. 

The dining journey starts with appetizing Castle in the Sky which features a trio of bites – beetroot kataifi; rock lobster medallion, burrata and yuzu; and chocolate hazelnut foie gras matched with mozzarella cheese and black truffle.

The highlight though is undoubtedly Into the Woods, while the surrounding installations show trees, flowers, wildlife animals and butterflies, the plate comes super tender cuts of venison roasted with Romanesco cabbages, persimmon mustard and raspberries. The dish is served alongside a warm bowl of mushroom consomme whose delicate broth lends a tasty complementation to the steak in each bite. 

 

Move on to the third course, Deep Blue Sea, which is when the animated jellyfish and koi appear. The marine-focused dish glows specially with an intriguing, nontraditional ingredient: plankton. The sea organisms add an ocean saltiness to the risotto that mixes crispy black Venere rice, salicornia and red amaranth, topped with grilled octopus. 

The entire galaxy lies at the center of the last course: Space Odyssey. The dessert arrives with a round, colorful dark chocolate mousse dish that consists of apricot and caramel sauce. 

While the show is unique, exciting and fairly immersive, it would fall short if the food had not been top-notch delicious.

The experience doesn’t leave out vegetarian diners who can enjoy special dishes such as pumpkin and cauliflower with quinoa, goat cheese yogurt and basil pesto, risotto with roasted onion, artichoke, seaweed and more. 

Digital Delicious is available for lunchtime at THB3,050 and dinnertime at THB3,870. Afternoon tea is also on the offer at THB1,950, as well as kid-friendly menus at reduced prices.

Only 20 are allowed per round. Reservations and more details are available online.

Digital Delicious dining starts now and will run until the end of February at Basil, a modern Thai restaurant tucked on the first floor of Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. The five-star hotel is located on Sukhumvit Road and can be reached from BTS Asoke.

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FoodTech: Bangkok’s fine dining goes interactive at ‘Digital Delicious’



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