Dining on the Roof of D2

D2 is hosting a limited season of “Romance Jazz at the Rooftop”, an energetic and stylistic live jazz performance featuring the Kenny G. of Thailand, Aht Gunlayanakupt.

The dusitD2 baraquda pattaya has always tried hard to carve a rather different niche for itself in Pattaya’s sometimes crowded marketplace at the “better end” of the city’s hotels. That goes most of the way to explain the jumble of lower case letters and unique spelling in its name.
Fortunately (for him) the new chef Parthomrat Rakkanam is called the “chef de cuisine” and not something silly like “cooking whizz”. Whatever, this young Thai chef has set to and revamped, not just the menu, but has even changed the concepts in the dining areas.
The dusitD2 baraquda has certainly livened up Pattaya since its grand opening in February 2009 and the rooftop Sunset Lounge has undoubtedly been one of its best features. After all, is there anything better than relaxing while the sun goes down with a cold drink in one hand and some dusitD2 baraquda tapas in the other? Well, chef Parthomrat felt it could be improved upon and has added relaxed Sun Set dining to the rooftop.
The Dining Out team descended on the d2, and then ascended to the rooftop. Whilst we were too late to catch the sun drowning in the Gulf of Siam, we were visually delighted with lanterns on the tables and high spot lights over the tables.
There were also areas on the roof with just the relaxing wicker chairs and in one corner a DJ console and along one side the Rooftop Bar. It is a self-contained dining and relaxing venue.

Is there anything better than relaxing while the sun goes down with a cold drink in one hand and some dusitD2 baraquda tapas in the other?

The cocktail and drinks list is extensive and includes beers (local at B. 140) and such mixes as d2 flava (vodka, crème de banana, crème de cacao, white orange, pineapple, grenadine lime juice and Red Bull) and ‘mocktails’ for those who do not like heavy alcoholic drinks. (There was also an interesting “Eau de Perkier” which was listed after Red Bull. We wondered what would happen if you mixed the two together!) We began with aperitifs with Madame selecting a glass of house white and a caipirinha for myself. The rather ‘tart’ cocktail being an excellent palate cleanser, I have found.
A good selection of wines are on offer, and we chose the Stonefish Shiraz - a great drop.
The Rooftop Sunset Dining has its own menu, quite separate from the offerings in the s.e.a. restaurant around the D2 pool. The starters are very interesting and varied, with seared foie gras with jelly rainbow, berry emulsion; a US tenderloin carpaccio with Parmesan shavings, olive oil, capers and lime dressing; and some seared US scallops with aromatic Thai herbs, banana blossom salad and chilli jam, but we ended up selecting the Nicoise salad of grilled salmon, potato sticks, egg, French beans, Kalamata olives and bell peppers. A wonderful combination of flavors all on one plate.
We followed that with a soup at the suggestion of chef Parthomrat, which was the Gulf of Siam Bouillabaisse. This was a very robust soup, with many seafood and crustacean items and even a couple of mussels in the shell lurking in the depths.
A clever selection of mains, with our choosing the “Sun, Moon and Stars” which was a 120 day grilled Angus beef and a NZ lamb chop plus grilled king prawns with a trio of sauces.
The Sun Set Rooftop dining is certainly another venue for you to experience. We enjoyed the rather romantic concept, and it was a very pleasant cool breeze from the bay. During the upcoming winter season D2 is hosting a limited season of “Romance Jazz at the Rooftop”, an energetic and stylistic live jazz performance featuring the Kenny G. of Thailand, Aht Gunlayanakupt the 2011 Thailand’s Got Talent’s award runner up. The performances will be held every weekend on Friday and Saturday at the Rooftop Sunset Lounge until 31 January 2013.
Guests will be treated to the sound of solo saxophone while sipping their favorite cocktails on the Rooftop Sunset Lounge.
Aht Gunlayanakupt plays from 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings with a DJ on the other evenings.
dusitD2 baraquda pattaya, 485/1 M 10 Pattaya Second Road, tel 038 769 999, fax 038 769 900, email www.dusit .com/d2pa, www.dusit.com. Secure parking in the hotel car park.

Cucumber and Lemon Sauce Chicken

This recipe is an interesting variation on Chicken in Lemon sauce.

Ingredients	Serves 3-4
Cucumbers, peeled, sliced	2 large
Butter	7 tbspns
Flour	1/2 cup
Pepper	1/8 tspn
Chicken breast halves skinless, boneless	6
Olive oil	1 tspn
Chicken stock	1 cup
Whipping cream	1 cup
Lemon juice fresh	3 tbspns
Salt and Ground black pepper to season

Cooking Method
Place cucumbers in colander. Sprinkle with salt, toss, and let drain for one hour. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan over medium heat. Add cucumbers and sauté until light brown, then set aside.
Mix 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of butter to smooth paste, set aside. Place the remaining flour in shallow baking dish with pepper and season with salt. Coat the chicken with the seasoned flour.
Melt the remaining butter with oil over high heat. Add the chicken and sauté until brown. Add ½ cup of the chicken stock. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through (about 4 minutes).
Add remaining ½ cup stock to chicken. Increase heat to high and boil until reduced to ¼ cup (about 3 minutes). Add the cream and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened to sauce consistency (about 2 minutes), stirring frequently. Stir in lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon sauce and cucumbers over the chicken.