Everybody loves an all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch. And in Bangkok, diners can choose from a mouthwatering plenitude of top-notch produce matched with gourmet recipes from all over the globe.
It is no small challenge, then, for a new weekend brunch operator to step into the city's highly competitive scene. Survival in this game might have less to do with quantity and more to do with originality.
Bangkok's newest buffet brunch venue, Praya Kitchen's Surf 'n' Turf Sunday Brunch at Bangkok Marriott Hotel The Surawongse, offers all this and more.
The Volcano Chicken trolley.
Held every last Sunday of the month (the next date is Nov 25), the monthly buffet features a comprehensive selection of cuisines -- from fresh seafood and premium meats to local and international fare, all prepared to well-chosen classic or newly-concocted recipes by the hotel's executive chef Attapol Naito Thangthong and his team.
Among the highlights here is the Thai cuisine corner, of which rustic home-cooked dishes are revived and prepared with world-class flair. For example, the khanom jeen gaeng kua, or fermented rice noodles with spicy fish curry, is prepared with whole Maine lobsters. Although the seafood centrepiece spoke to imported luxury, the flavour of the curry was authentically local.
The Volcano Chicken is the chef's upmarket rendition of rustic gai ob fang (hay-roasted chicken typically cooked in a rice field). Here he flambés the bird with rum on a trolley and serves the meat in the style of Western rotisserie chicken.
For those who prefer unspoilt local classics, they can always order from the live cooking station where dishes such as curry crab, phad kaphrao and phad Thai are prepared to order in a blazing wok over high flame.
At the seafood and butchery walls, an array of fresh meat, seafood and vegetables are on display for you to pick and bring to the grill station to be cooked to your liking. The seafood selection includes crabs, tiger prawns, rock lobsters and mussels. Among the meats are dry-aged Thai sirloin, kurobuta pork and New Zealand lamb. The best quality options at each are the river prawn and the Australian wagyu rib-eye, respectively. Due to their popularity, however, they tend to run out quite quickly.
The seafood and butchery wall with a selection of raw produce to be cooked to your liking.
Should you wish to partake in more Western fare, there's a selection of highlights on the gourmet menu. I really loved the pan-seared French foie gras with banana blossom and caramelised tamarind paste, the ravioli with pumpkin sauce and the lobster bisque.
On the day I visited, the Chinese and BBQ corners featured a number of signature dishes from the hotel's Yao restaurant. Highlighted items included hand-rolled lobster xiao long bao dumplings, Peking duck and honey-glazed barbecued pork. The first two were flawless and delicious. The last, though very juicy and tender, was overly sweet and lacked the charred aroma.
My seafood-loving friends found the selection on ice to be most satisfying. They likewise approved of the oyster bar, which offered three kinds of imported oysters.
One thing I really love about Praya Kitchen's buffet line is that all of its main cooking stations are clustered together in the middle of the room. So guests can cover everything relatively conveniently.
Down the hall, away from the main traffic, an extensive line of desserts and beverages are located, of which the varieties are very creative and comforting. Ya dong, a herb-infused Thai liquor, is offered at no extra cost.
There are kids activities to keep the little ones entertained. There is also a live band performing Western pop tunes.
The service, compared to other Sunday brunch venues in the town, was among the best.
The Surf 'n' Turf Sunday Brunch costs 1,588 baht per person. Children aged six to 12 receive a 50% discount.
The live cooking station where guests can have their favourite wok-fried local dishes cooked to order.
The international BBQ meat and poultry corner.
