The Square buffet

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Turkey day in Bangkok

I was told that the first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 in the Plymouth Colony to mark a harvest feast. In 1941, Thanksgiving became a national holiday for all Americans on every fourth Thursday of November. Although it has no special meaning to Thai people, but we as expatriates in Bangkok did look for some good deal for this once-a-year Turkey dining. Friends arranged the Thanksgiving dinner served not only turkey but also seafood, since they understand that I am not a bird person.

I went to Novotel Siam Square that night, where my Thanksgiving dinner was arranged in the Square Restaurant of the hotel.

By first glance upon arrival I wondered it was a turkey night or seafood one. There was no time for me to figure it out before more acid melted my stomach. Indeed the seafood selections were tempting.

I started with organic greens and Phuket rock lobster, accompanied by black olive and olive oil dressing. My salad dish was a satisfied one. Followed was the cold appetizer included rock lobster meat in cocktail sauce, crab meat in shell, a portion of blue swimming crab, and half rock lobster with salmon roe, After two courses of cold fare, I was thinking of the turkey which was the star for the night. The 3rd course, however, was a hot appetizer. Still it made sense as hot appetizer followed by the cold one. I had soft shell crab in black pepper and seafood sauce, too hot for me!

Pumpkin soup served after the hot appetizer helped cleaning the taste of unwelcome spiciness of the seafood sauce, and it was rich and aromatic. Soon after I finished the last drop of the soup the main course arrived. I got a generous portion of a turkey drumstick accompanied with a bit of the stuffing and vegetable. The meat was tender and seasoned to satisfy my taste buds.

While I was about to conclude the dinner with the orange sorbet in iced orange, aroma of grilled seafood passed by so I decided to accommodate one more dish. The mixed grill seafood included a piece of red snapper, sea bass, salmon, grouper, and two pieces of tiger prawn. All grilled to perfection. Dessert time was the orange sorbet in iced orange and some tropical fruits.



If I was not really full I would have sampled the fresh oyster from south of Thailand, or done it the tempura way. There were also sirloin steak, roasted duck, roasted ham, seared whole salmon, Japanese sashimi and more .. The selection of the seafood dinner buffet was big.

The square is where Novotel Bangkok offer quality seafood buffet for food lovers. Cost is THB (Thai baht) 930 net per adult.

The Square ***
Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square
392/44 Siam Square Soi 6
Rama I Road
Pathumwan,, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.209.8888
Square

Open daily: 6:30 am - 10:30 pm
Pay (buffet dinner for two): around THB 1,800

What to Order & Where to Eat?

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
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WHAT TO ORDER and WHERE TO EAT?

coming soon ... stay tuned!

About out Locations Tags:

downtown Surawong : Surawong Road and sois between Soi Thaniya and Soi Decho
updown Surawong : Surawong Road and sois between Soi Decho and Charoen Krung intersection

downtown Silom : Silom Road and sois between Soi Saladaeng/Silom Soi 2 and Pan Road/Silom Soi 20
updown Silom: Silom Road and sois between Pan Road/Silom Soi 20 and Charoen Krung intersection

downtown Sathorn : Sathorn Road and sois between Sathorn Soi 1/Saladaeng Soi 2 and St. Louis 3/Sathorn Soi 20
updown Sathorn: Sathorn Road and sois between St. Louis 3/Sathorn Soi 20 and Charoen Krung intersection

Siam area : area of and the surrounding of MBK Centre, Siam Square, Siam Discovery, Siam Centre, Siam Paragon and Henry Dunan Road

Rajprasong and Chidlom area : area of and the surrounding of Rajprasong intersection, Ploenchit Road from Langsuan intersection to Rajprasong intersection, Rajdamri Road from Rajprasong intersection to Four Seasons Hotel

Ploenchit area : Ploenchit Road and sois between Langsuan intersection (incl. Soi Langsuan and sub sois) and Sukhumvit Soi 2/Sukhumvit Soi 1

more tags to come ...

MDS

THAILAND AND THE CUISINE

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THAILAND AND THE CUISINE

Thailand is one of the most diversified and exciting countries in the globe, with the contrast between quiet countryside living and the bustle and hustle of city life. So does Thai cuisine - it can be bland or so exciting that it burns people's tongues.

Thai cuisine has fallen into the limelight in the global epicurean stage for the past few decades, and developed into a permanent love affairs for gourmet lovers in recent years. Basically, Thai cooking is light, with the use of fresh and herbal ingredients, ensuring a balance of texture, color, spices, and five fundamental tastes blended seamlessly to create a range of unique flavors for people's appreciation and palate.

Thailand is primarily an agricultural society. The tropical country, granted with fertile soil and warm climate, is ideal for growing crops such as rice, fruits and vegetable; also for raising animals and catches from the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. Rice is central to the Thai culture and rice farmers are the backbone of Thai agriculture; glutinous or 'sticky' rice is popular in the north and northeast, while plain rice is common in the central plains and south. Kap khao, or various dishes, is eaten with rice.

To add flavor to the plain rice, a spicy, and fairly runny, varied curry dishes are the top choices among the Thais. During the sixteenth century, significant new ingredients were introduced to Thailand, such as chilies from South America, curries from India and Persia, and noodles from China. Since then they were subtly modified and refined to their own individual tastes, colors, and textures into the signature of being uniquely Thai.

Thailand has four regions, the North, the Northeast, the Central and the South. Each region has its own distinct ethnic people and culinary method. In the North, with a strong Burmese influence, curries are thinner and less pungent then those in central and southern, without the feature of coconut cream. Typical northern dishes are nam-prik ong, a curry dip served with vegetables and crispy pork skin and naem (sour pork sausage); khao-soi, a curry broth with egg noodles and meat; and gaeng-hang-lay, pork curry seasoned with ginger, tamarind and turmeric.

The Issan (or Northeast), with heavy Laotian influence, features the herby and down-to-earth recipes. Typical northeastern dishes are som-tum gai-yang, a spicy shredded green papaya salad eaten with grilled marinated chicken; laab, a spicy minced pork, chicken or beef dish eaten with glutinous rice; and haw-mok, steamed ground fish curried souffle in banana leaf wrapper.

The Central plains includes Bangkok, the center of culture in the country, with knowledge from all regions as well as the palace cuisine added with heavy Chinese influence made the central cuisine a celebration for all. All the classic Thai curries are eaten in the area; yum, spicy salad, mixed with any kind of ingredients such as vegetables, meat and seafood are renowned dishes; tom-yum, spicy and sour soup, of the popular tom-yum-goong or spicy and sour prawn soup is one of the national dishes; deep-fried dishes and stir-fried dishes that are commonly cooked with the best ingredients, served with the best long-grain rice, are popular. Fruits and vegetables carved with hours of preparation and artistic presentation into a dish decoration represented the delicacies of ahan chao-wang, palace cuisine, enhances the pleasantries of Thai cilinary arts.

The South, with close influence from Indian, Malay and the Muslim community, features furious curries with coconut cream incorporated with the yellow chilies and fiery birds-eye chilies; however, Muslim curries are usually cooked with ghee or yogurt without the present of coconut cream. The South is benefited from the long coast line of two seas, the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand, where fresh fish and seafood are best to be grilled, barbecued, fried or simply steamed. Poo-phad-pong-karee (stir-fried sea crab with yellow curry powder), goong-phad-prik (stir-fried prawns with chili) and goong-ob-wunsen (baked prawns with glass noodles in a clay pot) are southern traditional favors. Seafood is also fermented and preserved as a flavoring, such as kapi, the salted, fermented and sun-dried shrimp paste, and other fermented seafood sauces, are made in quality throughout the southern provinces. Khao-yum is a southern rice dish typically served with fermented fish sauce and fresh vegetables.

Cuisine from four regions mingle well in the country and regional fares are far more available than before; there are recently more elegantly decorated establishments specializing in the refined royal Thai cuisine awaiting the patronage from tourists.

Food is an appreciation. Thai cuisine is a celebration. For gastronomic adventures fit for all epicureans, Thailand is where you need your presence.

The writer can be reached at thaisclub@yahoo.com
Copyright (c) 2006 MDS. All rights reserved.