Water Library

A long time ago; we were in Singapore and ate at a popular restaurant called Ember. The chef was an expert at the delights of European cuisine with a tinge of Asian flavor. The food was so good that we said the next time we are back in Singapore, we have to return. Then one day we hear that Ember was planning to open in Bangkok. How can we be so lucky?

Of course; we ate at Ember in Bangkok and the food was equally delicious as eating in Singapore. But to our surprise; the restaurant did not work and the chef left.

Then a few weeks later; we were happy to hear that the chef of Ember was cooking at a new & stunning restaurant called the Water Library in Bangkok.


The Water Library at Chamchuree Square is Bangkok’s newest fine dining café and premium water bar...yes, you read right. Bangkok's first water bar. Opened in 2008, Water Library offers premium bottled natural mineral waters from around the world.

When we walked into the restaurant; the center of the restaurant had this modern & enormous interpretation of a shelf to display the waters (photo above). It was incredible and beautiful. At first we were skeptical about the water menu because we thought the water would be so damn expensive. But to our surprise the 'waters' were very affordable and there was even a special where you buy one and get one free (the water we ordered was from Scotland and it only cost 140 baht for two).


The restaurant itself was enormous & had a round shape. The space had huge volume & height. Every table had a view due to the unusual structure & design.


The amuse bouche was...fresh croissant flown in from France. This has got to be one of the strangest amuse bouche in town! A croissant? But some how it, kind of, works. The croissant was amazingly flaky & crispy. The inside was warm, tender & soft. The croissant was sweet with a slight salty after taste. Apparently, the croissants are so popular that customers reserve or order croissants to take home. Oh, the freshly baked bread was so so good.


The first dish was Scallop tartar with wasabi ice cream. The scallop was so so fresh and tasted so so good. The wasabi ice cream was a totaly cool idea and it worked perfectly. The wasabi ice cream gave the dish the needed acidity, sourness & spiciness to balance the sweetness of the scallops. Very original & creative.


The next dish was Tofu & mushroom with fois gras & shitake emulsion. The fried tofu was slightly crispy on the outside and velvety soft on the inside. The Japanese mushrooms added colour, texture & flavour to the dish. The fois gras sauce was thick and rich in flavour. All we could say about this dish was WOW!


The next dish was Kurobuta pork tenderloin. The pork was stunningly tender & flavourful. I truly hate it when restaurants use thick & sweet sauce to go with the pork. But not here, the caramelized jus was light, tasty and did not overwhelm the pork. The pork was accompanied with sweet potato gnocchi. A lovely dish.


The next dish was Confit of Victorian lamb rack. The lamb was of the highest quality and was cooked perfectly. The meat was still pinkish, the meat was so tender & juicy. Amazingly good.


For dessert was Apple tart. After our main courses arrived; we were asked if were in interested in the apple tart for dessert because it would take 25 minutes to make it. Definately... was my answer. The pastry was flaky & crispy, the apples were soft & tender. The tastes of sweet, sour & tangy were evident. The apple tart was out of this world.


This was not part of our meal. I just wanted to show how good the service was at Water Library. Typical, I splashed some sauce onto my shirt, I was trying to wipe off the sauce with some water. To my surprise; the waitress arrived with a glass of sparkling water & a towel to help get off the stain. That what I call service!

The service was friendly and professional. They were trained very well and you can see that they knew what they were doing. Not only in terms of service but also how to handle our wines in terms of decanting, etc.


Overall; a really good experience in terms of ambiance, service & food. The chef truly knows how to cook western food with a lovely Asian twist. They use the highest quality products. The food is beautifully presented and the portions are big. So you actually feel you get your money's worth. I am so sorry, I forgot to write down the prices of our meal. I promise to find out the prices of each dish and post them.

Since the restaurant is in the Chamchuree Square shopping mall, there were tons of parking. The only strange issue for me that since the restaurant is in the shopping mall; the mall closes at 22:00 sharp. So when we finish dinner (we eat late), the shopping mall was closed & empty. However; the security guard was very helpful in telling us which door was open to enter the garage to get our car. I look forward to having another great meal at Water Library.

Chamchuree Square
8 soi Krunghep Kreetha 8 Yaek 8,
Huamark, Bangkok 10240
Tel.: 0-2160-5188-9

www.mywaterlibrary.com