Mediterranean Cuisine at INVITE Bangkok

November 10, 2017

Invite Bangkok is located inside a soi frequented mostly by tourists and local expats. Located a few steps away from NaNa BTS station, Sukhumvit soi 8 is now bustling with bars and restaurants offering diverse food choices from Italian to local Thai food. Invite Bangkok, which has been opened for a few months, magnifies this busy little soi with a welcoming Mediterranean touch. Scrumptious and reasonably-priced Mediterranean fusion cuisine carefully crafted by Executive Chef Mehmet Semet has drawn our attention.

Using as many local ingredients as possible, Chef Mehmet Semet devotes his modern Nordic culinary techniques to creating food that truly melts diners’ heart, at least our hearts. Taste of food is of utmost importance, but respect to the original flavour of ingredients is equally crucial. Each ingredient used in a dish bursts with original juice and taste; each individual taste constitutes a rounded flavour of the whole dish. It’s what I experienced when sampling four dishes prepared by Chef Mehmet at Invite Bangkok.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Burrata cheese

If you know someone who hates tomatoes, bring this person to try this dish! I was rather surprised to know that the heirloom tomatoes are sourced locally. The tomatoes had four different colours, each of which featured distinct sweetness, sourness and texture. Fresh, juicy and delicious was the exact experience on my palate. The burrata cheese itself was the superstar of the dish. Freshly made to order, this burrata cheese tasted fresh and pleasing. With the magic of lemon dressing, this salad tasted very appetizing and refreshing.

Grilled Octopus and Brown Butter

One of the prominent features of Mediterranean cuisine is the use of olive oil, but Chef Mehmet cast a twist on this dish by using brown butter, an ingredient commonly used in Nordic cuisine. We especially like the flavours of caramelized lemon and dill cream which enhanced the taste of char-grilled octopus.

Ceviche of Barracuda

This is a wonderful fusion dish using local Thai spices in a Mediterranean dish. The evenly-sliced Barracuda fish was perfectly marinated to leave the taste of the fish flavoursome! The charred corn and burnt lime salt enhanced the fish with an extra layer of freshness! It’s a lovely simple dish with a nutty flavour!

House Cured Beef Tenderloin

Three different flavoured beef – citrus, black pepper and Thai flavours, were served. Visually, the cured beef looks the same. On the palate, it’s effortless to taste three distinct flavours. We like the black pepper flavour, which was stronger in taste. The Thai flavour was milder but full of the aroma of Thai herbs. If the cured beef tenderloin is the king of the dish, the queen is definitely the housemade red wine fig jam. I’ve never tasted such delicious jam. Ripe, tasty figs are used, the jam is thick and viscous. It’s a mouthful of fresh sweetness of figs!!

White Chocolate

Following the overarching characteristics of Mediterranean cuisine, this dessert is not too sweet but tastes very refreshing and comforting. Thin-sliced celery casts magic on the palate, especially when eating it with the white chocolate mousse and dill granite.

Who in Gourmet Bangkok team reviewed Invite Bangkok?

Chelsea Chan ~ A food lover, golfer, fun lover, and adventurer
Chelsea was born in Hong Kong and is a genuine food lover. Her palate is especially sharp on Cantonese food, delicacies from Hong Kong and meat (especially beef, chicken and lamb). She is able to taste how the food is cooked and prepared. Besides, she is also a pro buffet gourmet because of her unlimited appetite. When she says ‘too sweet’, it may not be sweet for you as her preference for chocolate is 72++ dark chocolate.

Neng Srichaisak ~ A pro golfer, travel lover and photographer
Neng was born in Bangkok and is an enthusiastic photographer. Ever since joining the Gourmet Bangkok Team, he has developed an intense interest in food and food photography. He is good at searching the best angle for a dish. He likes spicy food and is able to tell the exotic spices used in Asian cuisine. He also acts as the Thai-Cantonese interpreter for Chelsea when reviewing restaurants in Bangkok. As he is a pro golfer, he reviews all golf courses for Gourmet International Team.