Sparkling Sunday

Sparkling Sunday

Experience sun, sand, sea and breezes at the InterContinental Hotel Hua Hin's Sunday Chill & Grill Chandon Brunch

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

In Thailand, particularly in its gourmet-raving capital, the sumptuous weekend brunch buffet has become a gastronomic ritual among fervid gourmands and ordinary diners alike. And as five-star dining establishments have continuously come up with more lavish additions for their late breakfast line-up, it has come to a point where brunch and sparkling wine are inseparable.

Chilled seafood is represented by Hua Hin’s best harvests and prime-grade imported produce.

And the joy of a bubbly weekend feast isn’t confined to the urban eating scene of Bangkok alone.

Hua Hin, the resort town on the Gulf of Thailand’s west coast, too, has enjoyed five-star culinary bliss. Although Champagne-complemented brunch has been offered at some five-star resorts in the vicinity, it was just recently that an affair officially featuring Chandon, the premium sparkling wine from Domaine Chandon wine house in Napa Valley, Californiam, was the talk of the town.

A collaboration between Chandon and the InterContinental Hotel Hua Hin, “Sunday Chill & Grill Chandon Brunch’’ offers a breezy new experience in buffet dining.

Hosted at the hotel’s beachfront restaurant Azure, the three-hour brunch indulges guests in Hua Hin with a fresh and fun culinary line-up in an open-air setting graced by the resort’s swimming pools, lush green yard and a panoramic view of the ocean.

French bouillabaisse soup.

The venue offers international cuisine, designed and prepared by a French executive chef, in a casual all-you-can-eat style with barbecued and grilled items as highlights. From live cooking stations, diners can find the likes of grilled suckling pig (from an al fresco fire pit), sizzling Australian Wagyu tenderloin steak, pan-seared foie gras with fruit chutney, grilled squid, grilled tiger prawn and grillled chicken. While a variety of Japanese sushi and sashimi freshly sliced and expedited upon your request at an “okudasai” (meaning “please give to me” in Japanese) window of a temperature controlled sushi station.

For this relaxing brunch, seafood is represented by the coastal town’s best and the world’s prime-grade catch, including tiger prawns, rock lobsters, blue crab, clams, New Zealand mussels and French oysters, all offered chilled on a bed of crushed ice.
And celebrating the chef’s European roots are French bouillabaisse and Spanish seafood paella.

To confirm its fun-filled dining concept, plenty of treats also come with a theme. For example, from the “Shake Me” corner is Italian penne carbonara in a shake cocktail bottle, which diners can take to their dining harbour — whether it be by the poolside or in the lawn area — and eat, as they can do with the “Grab Me” phad Thai noodles in a takeaway paper box.

The dessert counter may not be extensive but offers a diverse selection of sweet delicacies from mango pana cotta, mini éclair, chocolate feuillantine, crème brûlée, tiramisu and à la minute French crepes and waffles to the very scrumptious mango sticky rice.

Savoury and sweets are complemented perfectly by the premium sparkling wine — in a free flow manner, of course.

As Christopher Kennedy, marketing director of Moet Hennessey, said: “With a soft, generous palate and crisp finish, Chandon pairs nicely with food. This fresh and elegant aperitif-style wine is also perfect for a beach setting as it will keep you refreshed as you enjoy your meal with the ocean breezes.’’

“We are delighted to offer a new delectable and ultra-chic brunch buffet that’s as impressive as any you’ll find in Bangkok,’’ Britta Kutz, general manager of InterContinental Hotel Hua Hin, said. “The only difference is that here you can dine while listening to the ocean waves.’’

The affair offers an international cuisine menu from live cooking stations and pre-cooked counter in a casual allyou- can-eat style.

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