The Spanish tradition of bite-size snacks with wine gets a tasty translation and some added Asian flavour on Sukhumvit

What happens when a down-to-earth Spanish street bar wanders into Bangkok? After journeying thousands of kilometres from its homeland, Tapas Y Vino at Sukhumvit's Grand Millennium hotel has stayed true to its roots but also gained an air of worldly sophistication.

The tapas-bar concept of a glass with bite-size snacks translates as more upscale here, where wine is not traditionally part of the culture. But snacking is something most Thais have no problem with, so the hotel is sticking with the formula.

Originally, tapas were leftovers cut up and served with wine before dinner. At Tapas Y Vino, they've taken the bite-size-snacks idea but left out the leftovers - everything is made fresh.

The tapas menu features both traditional and Asian flavours and snacks hot and cold. Traditional cold dishes include such sausage varieties as chorizo and Lomo Iberico, as well as serrano ham and Spanish cold cuts with Manchego cheese and capers.

The Asian list is interesting. If you like wasabi, feast your eyes and palate on the salmon skewer with black sesame and wasabi mayonnaise. Other tongue teasers include the scallop with XO sauce, and lamb sheek kebab.

The hot seafood choices include crispy soft-shell crab with fennel and saffron aioli, and deep-fried squid rings ramana with lime aioli.

Sounding less like tapas but equally recommended is the seared foie gras on sangria-poached pears. Forget about the cholesterol for a moment and just let the foie gras melt on your tongue.

Don't let the posh decor put you off - the prices are not intimidating. Wines from Spain and around the world are poured for a few hundred baht a glass and tapas start from Bt70++ for the simple dishes. Foie gras of course isn't simple, reflected in the Bt450 price.

If the a la carte menu is too much, try the set menu, available 6.30pm to 8.30pm one Friday every month. Priced at Bt1,100++, it offers five different wines paired with 10 tapas dishes including dessert. On October 10 it features Spanish and Chilian wines while on November 7 Banfi wines from Italy's Tuscany region are being uncorked.