Bangkok Grazing final part 3

Home stretch now in Bangkok; let’s go against conventional wisdom and NOT eat Thai food......... just once. Hey, Tokyoites take me to Italian restaurants when I visit them! MA MAISON - Hilton International Bangkok at Nai Lert Park It was a quiet Saturday evening between Christmas and New Year. The farang (foreign) maître d'hôtel and chef were nowhere to be seen. Surely, the acid test of a restaurant would be to still "do the biz" at such a time? Rebel MTF thinks its time to test the house for rock and roll. The wines: (A - Sauternes 1992 Chateau La Bouade, Borie-Manoux. Sweet but not cloying; did well with the starters and dessert courses. B - Gewurztraminer 1999 Leon Beyer. 13.5% alcohol; rose petals, lychee and pineapple was a good choice with the "rainbow" colourful main courses and spices.) Even with 2 diners, its difficult choosing 2 bottles of wine (max) to go with starters, mains, cheese and desserts. What do you think of my using sweet wine for starters and desserts? His meal and (wine): (Alaska King Cab & Salmon mille feuille; cucumber aspic scented with dill, potato blinis and gazpacho dressing. (A) Fresh popping "ikura" salmon roe) (Scrambled eggs in shell, foie gras & black truffle ragout. (A) Heady aroma of truffles. The luscious egg as counterpoint to the creamy foie gras was enhanced by the Sauternes. This was my FAVOURITE of the evening. If I had known, all 4 courses would have been this dish and I would be in coronary critical care ) (Berry sorbet to cleanse palate) (Slowly cooked Phuket lobster, pan-roasted scallops & blue river prawns; minestrone of white & green asparagus with truffle-infused morel mushrooms. (B)) Blurry photo of my dessert due to excess -OH groups is not shown Strawberry soufflé. (A) Her meal and (wine): (Pumpkin soup with seared scallops & pumpkin seed oil. (A) Sweet pumpkin accompanied nicely by the sweet Sauternes) (Berry sorbet to cleanse palate) (Char grilled Striped Barramundi, Barigoule artichoke, purple potato Brunoise, sun dried tomato with curry & tarragon emulsion. (B)) ("Just another ice-cream dessert." (A)) ********************************************************* SALATHIP; Shangri-la Bangkok. As a final fling, we decided to try Khan Tok (Northern Thai) Tasting Menu at this restaurant within the grounds of the Shangri-La hotel..or should that be the waters of the hotel? The pavilion is on the bank of the Menam Chao Phaya river and filled to capacity with tourists and locals. Perhaps it was the special Northern Thai promotion on at the time which brought the crowds; but crowd in they did. Clockwise from 12 o’clock: Chiangmai Sausage, Spicy Green Chilli Dip with crispy pork skin. Spicy Grilled Catfish salad Northern Style. Chicken & Vegetable curry Northern Style. Pork Curry with young ginger. Rice noodles and beansprouts to go with (centre) Spicy Minced Pork in tomato sauce (Not your ketchup sauce J ) Steamed rice in banana leaf contained minced pork and herbs. Steamed glutinous rice (Simple dessert of longan stuffed with sweet jelly and yellow jackfruit julienne on crushed ice. Longan "dragon eye" fruit is smaller than lychee and with different aroma) We thought Northern Thai food was lighter than previously tried Thai food (no coconut milk) and had more emphasis on pork and tomatoes. It was spicier though..yum. As usual, Singha beer was the best drink to have handy. Here endeth the Bangkok Grazing Christmas 2002 series. Tune in next time for the Tokyo files ..... MTF ThePuristS.com Wine and Food Discussion Forum  |  ThePuristS.com Home Page We welcome comments, suggestions, and corrections. Copyright January 2003 - MTF and ThePuristS.com - all rights reserved