Le Normandie at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok is certainly no stranger to the city's fine-dining scene. This French establishment at the long-standing hotel has navigated many eras, yet one element has remained constant: its luxurious European fare served in a gorgeous room overlooking the Chao Phraya River.

After a brief hiatus for a complete revamp, Le Normandie has stepped into a new era with Chef Anne-Sophie Pic. Known for her own three-Michelin-starred restaurant Maison Pic, the celebrated French chef has arrived in the Thai capital, bringing her signature flower-inspired aesthetics and a touch of Japanese influence to the city’s fine-dining enthusiasts.

For years, Le Normandie was spearheaded by a long line of distinguished male chefs. The arrival of Chef Anne-Sophie, however, is a breath of fresh air that evokes the feeling of strolling through a beautiful flower garden—which is precisely the ambiance the restaurant aims to conjure. Everywhere you look, you can sense the enhanced femininity in the decor and details, exuding the soft, sweet sensibilities of flowers, which are the chef's favorite motif.

In addition to the restaurant’s new look, Chef Anne-Sophie has also brought her expertise on French cuisine earned throughout her lifelong career to showcase here. While she has Japanese head chef Tamaki Kobayashi to assist with helming the kitchen, the unique Japanese twists come directly from Chef Anne-Sophie herself, stemming from the techniques and culinary culture she learned during her time as an exchange student in Japan.

The current offering at Anne-Sophie Pic at Le Normandie includes both à la carte dishes and multi-course tasting menus, with a three-course lunch set at B4,500++ and the seven-course Voyage dinner menu at B9,000++.

We were lucky enough to sample some of Chef Anne-Sophie’s signature dishes. We tried the Hokkaido sea urchin, served in a jelly form with the sweet addition of Normandie apples—an epitome of her fusion of French and Japanese cuisines—and also the chef’s iconic pasta parcel dish, Les Berlingots ASP, filled with smooth camembert cheese.

The Brittany Blue Lobster was a standout Japanese-influenced creation—an umami bomb that bursts in your mouth upon biting into the soft, smoked meat, which is topped with refreshing dashi and red fruit. To further boost the umami effect, the chef cleverly uses the tomalley (lobster paste), mixing it with fresh and dried seaweed, fermented strawberry, and dried beetroot. The result is a fabulous side that complements the lobster wonderfully.

Lamb lovers will appreciate the Aveyron Lamb dish, which the chef marinates with kombu, sakura leaf, and fig leaf. Once baked to perfection, the meat is served alongside a dynamic combination of lamb juice, mustard leaf, Japanese rice, blue cheese, genmaicha, tonka beans, and black olive. This was, without a doubt, the main star of our meal!

Be sure to wrap up your meal with White Lotus Millefeuille. You won’t find a layered puff pastry quite like this, thanks to its pomelo and rose tea-infused cream, not to mention its highly photogenic presentation.

The new chapter for Le Normandie is absolutely a must. The perfect combination of French and Japanese sensibilities that Chef Anne-Sophie delicately weaves into every dish here makes this an essential dining experience.