Surprise Menu

The Bed Supperclub is always on the hitlists for places to go for a night out in Bangkok, so we decided to go and check it out for ourselves. From the outside it looks like a giant simulator, all aglow in pink and once you make it up the ramp, a sliding door leads you into a minimalist space, with beds lining the walls, and pink lighting washing the walls.

We were led to our ‘bed’ upstairs on the balcony, the ideal location for a spot of people watching. Here, we were encouraged to kick off our shoes, lie back, order a drink and makes ourselves at home. We were a little early arriving, which gave plenty of time to get acquainted with the cocktail menu and the place soon filled up and we were then shoulder to shoulder with our fellow supperclub members. The idea of the supperclub is that everyone eats together, the same meal, at the same time.

Tonight, it was a surprise menu, so we had no idea what was coming. We were a little apprehensive about this, as one of the fun parts of eating out is perusing the menu and agonizing over the choices, but happily everything that was handed over was delicious. As there is no room for tables on the beds (a small platform is provided at each seating area for your drinks), every course was designed to be eaten off your knee as if at home curled up in bed.

We started with a Roasted Bell Pepper and Basil soup with a Mozzarella Noodle.

This was followed by a Seared Duck Salad (with some kind of Asian-inspired dressing)

Followed by Beef Fillet, served with Buttery Mash (I seem to remember there was some Foie Gras in their somewhere too)

Then a Mango Sorbet with Ginger Foam palate cleanser

And ending with a Chocolate Brownie with Ice Cream (oops, too many cocktails consumed by this point to be able to take a photo in focus!)

It was a fantastic meal and much fun was had tasting each dish and deciding what we thought the ingredients were before it was flashed up on the screen. What made it such a memorable evening though was the entertainment provided – from the DJ spinning his chill-out tunes, to the lion dance, Chinese acrobats, masseurs and tarot card readers and even a feather duster-weilding ‘cat’- this was certainly an evening we won’t forget in a hurry.

Bed Supperclub, Bangkok - http://www.bedsupperclub.com/

Thai Lunch

After a wander around the vast Chatuchak market, we felt we deserved a sit-down and some good food! So we sought sustenance and relaxation in the Blue Elephant, housed in an old colonial building, away from the madness of the dusty dual carriageway outside its front door.

We were glad we did, the food was delicious and beautifully presented and the waiting staff warm and attentive. They have a cooking school here too, which might be a good option for a future visit.

We were offered an amuse bouche while we waited; a mini fish cake, a tofu square and some dried shrimps in a tangy dressing.


Then our selection arrived:
Paper Prawns – Tiger prawns wrapped in rice paper with minced chicken and crushed peanuts, served with a homemade plum sauce.


Thai Fish Cakes


Som Tam – Green papaya salad with grilled chicken and spicy crushed peanut dressing


Spare Ribs – marinated in honey and Thai herbs.


We left the Blue Elephant very relaxed and very satisfied… the only stress being the hard decision of whether to go for a massage, or lie by the pool for the rest of the afternoon… life is tough when you’re on holiday…

The Blue Elephant, Bangkok - http://www.blueelephant.com/bangkok/

How Much?!

It's always nice to have dinner with a view, and so we made our way to the top of the State Tower, and the much-hyped Breeze restaurant.

We started off with a drink on the 63rd floor at the vertigo-inducing Sky Bar. Wow, this place is incredible, underneath the up-lit dome and at the bottom of a large sweeping staircase, you feel as though you are suspended above the city as you sip your cocktail at the glowing neon bar. If you want to feel like you are in a Hollywood movie, this is the place to come.

Unfortunately it pretty much went downhill from there, literally and figuratively, as we descended 10 floors to Breeze for dinner. The horror began when they handed us the wine list, and the cheapest bottle on there was £50/$150 - but the problem was it wasn't even for good wine, it was for the type of wine you would pick up at the supermarket on the way home to accompany a Tuesday night bowl of pasta. I know there is a 400% (!) import tax on wine in Thailand, but even the Peninsula hotel bar was 4 times cheaper than Breeze!

Things didn't get much better with the food menu, I'm afraid. Average-schmaverage dishes for exorbitant prices. If they had been offering really creative dishes with exotic, sought-after ingredients, I wouldn't have minded paying the prices they were asking, but it really grated to pay that kind of price for stir-fried local ingredients.

We tried to stick to dishes that were under $50/£15, which, believe me was a challenge (with many dishes being well over $100), and with careful choosing ended up with a nice selection, starting with Chicken in Pandan Leaves



and continuing with Stir-fried Prawns,



Roast Duck



and some Baby Pak Choi.



Thankfully the food was tasty... although really nothing special, and certainly not worth the ridiculously over-inflated prices.

I was even reprimanded by the waitress for photographing their menu - little wonder, they're probably worried that other people will see how ridiculously priced their food and drink is and not want to go. I was told to 'contact our PR department'... yeah, ok, whatever, get over yourselves... They call themselves 'Asia's finest Asian Seafood Restaurant'... I'm not sure who decided that, but if you replace the world 'finest' with 'overpriced' you might be somewhere nearer the truth.

So for anyone planning to go here, my advice would be... enjoy a cocktail or two at the stunning Sky bar... and then get the hell out of there and go find somewhere else for dinner...

Breeze, Bangkok - http://www.breezebkk.com/

Thai Snacks

We had spent the morning exploring the very impressive Grand Palace and Wat Pho and felt in need of a sit down and some sustenance. We chose The Deck at the Arun Residence as our pit-stop, as the guide books told of its unparalleled views across the river to Wat Arun. Well, someone had only gone and parked their booze cruise boat outside the restaurant, so we were barely able to make out the tip of its spire!

But never mind, we had a comfy seat, and they served food and drink. Strangely we weren’t really up for a proper meal, but we couldn’t resist the starters they had on offer and ordered up some Spring Rolls and Chicken Satays to see us through the afternoon.



The Spring Rolls were crisp and tasty and the Satays were juicy and came with a lovely peanut sauce… just what was required to fuel us on our way to explore another part of town…

The Deck, Arun Residence, Bangkok - http://www.arunresidence.com/main.htm

Hotel Breakfast

I love a good hotel breakfast and by that I don’t mean the pathetic excuse of cereal, greasy bacon and congealed eggs you usually get served at most hotels in the UK (and believe me I've suffered a few of those during my years working in the conference industry)... I mean a good Asian 5* hotel breakfast buffet.

At the Bangkok Peninsula, breakfast is served on the terrace, overlooking the bustling river, which makes for a pleasant start to the day. Unfortunately the hotel was fully booked and we actually had to queue for a table, which I have never experienced before, and my first cup of coffee was cold… but we were on holiday, and chilled enough not to worry about these things for too long.

First stop on a breakfast buffet for me is always the fruit section, makes me feel like I’m being healthy even though I know I’m just about to gorge myself on other less healthy options later…



… just like pancakes and bacon in fact.



Life is full of little pleasures, and for me a plate full of pancakes, drizzled with maple syrup and accompanied by some crisp bacon is one of them. Ah bliss, now I really know I’m on holiday…

Do you know, I actually stopped after that… which is most unusual… a breakfast buffet like that will usually turn into 3 courses or more for me… hmmm… the Greedy Glutton must be losing her gluttonous touch…

River Cafe & Terrace, Bangkok Peninsula - http://bangkok.peninsula.com/pbk/dining_08.html

Riverside Thai

We were in Bangkok for the Chinese New Year weekend. As we were treating ourselves and staying at the Peninsula, and had just been for massages in the very swish spa, we didn’t fancy venturing very far on the first evening... so lucky for us the Peninsula has a riverside Thai restaurant, Thiptara.

It was a lovely setting, with candle-lit tables dotted amongst little wooden salas, live traditional background music and a view across the river towards the city, with only the odd booze cruise flashing “We love our King” in neon lights and blaring YMCA from their upper decks to disturb the tranquility.



They brought us some cashew nuts to nibble on while we perused the menu – wrapped in newspaper, these had a sticky sweet coating on... and were particularly more-ish. We then kicked off with some Poh Pia Savoey (crispy shrimp pancakes with a sweet and sour sauce), which were delicious and equally more-ish.



These were swiftly followed by a Moo Grob Phad Nam-Prik-Phao (stir-fried crispy pork with chilli paste and young peppercorn),



Phad Phak-Boong (kang kong with oyster sauce and chilli)



and a Gaeng Khua Pla-Kra-Phong Bai-Yee-Rah (yellow curry with sea bass, turmeric and coconut milk and fennel leaves).



This curry was so tasty I continued to slurp up the juices well after I was full… well, no changes there then…

So, all in all a thoroughly enjoyable meal… a memorable welcome to Bangkok… and a great start to the Lunar New Year... Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Thiptara, Bangkok Peninsula - http://bangkok.peninsula.com/pbk/dining_07.html