by Miss Terry
Diner
China is a very large land-mass, and so it should not
come as a surprise that there are many different styles of Chinese cuisine
as you cross from west to east. Yet people still have in their minds that
Chinese food is that bland greasy stir-fry so well known in British
“Chinese” restaurants which have menus with 350 items and you place your
order as “two number 36’s, a 174 and a 237.” Let me tell you from the
outset that the Montien’s Marco Polo Chinese restaurant is nothing like
that.
To
begin with, the cuisine is an interesting mix of Schezuan and Shanghai
styles and the menu has just over 60 items, including the desserts. The chef
in charge of the Marco Polo kitchen, Khun Khajorn, lived and worked in Hong
Kong for many years, and still makes trips back to see what the latest
directions are as regards the varied Chinese styles. You will not find the
ubiquitous “Chicken Chow Mein” (which did not even come from China, by
the way) anywhere in the Marco Polo menu.
The restaurant itself has had a make-over recently and
certainly has a very pleasant ambience. The heavily starched white
tablecloths and the deep red carpet make you feel you are dining somewhere
special, and the new lime green cheong-sams on the waitresses are very
fetching.
The wine list is not very extensive, but both old and new
world wines are represented, ranging from a Chateau Haut Guillon Bordeaux
AOC at B. 1,600, through to a Nuits St. Georges “Louis Jadot” Burgundy
at B. 6,000, but the Chinese flower tea which was continually refilled by
our attentive waitress was such that we did not even look for wine (and
probably was more healthy anyway!).
For
all those who also equate Chinese food with mono-sodium glutamate (MSG),
Marco Polo’s menu assures its diners (in three languages) that MSG is not
used.
The menu begins with hors d’oeuvres which come in three
sizes (S, M, L) depending upon the size of your party (and the waitresses
are happy to advise). Small portions range between B. 200-600 covering items
such as Chinese spring rolls and one of my favorites, deep fried shrimps
with sesame cream salad.
Big ticket items are next, with the shark’s fin,
swallows nest, abalone, goose webs and sea cucumber with the range B.
500-2,400. Soups, with seafood items predominating are B. 160-250, followed
by scallops, prawn and fish dishes, with most around B. 500.
From there it is into the duck, chicken, pork, beef,
vegetables and bean curd, rice and noodles. Enough choices for everyone.
We began with a delightful luminescent green spinach soup
with crabmeat, served hot to the table. The carousel in front of us then
became loaded with different items, including shrimp spring rolls (crammed
with shrimps and quite wonderful) and an interesting ham, egg, spring onion,
bean sprout and fish maw mixture eaten wrapped in a lettuce leaf.
Dinner at the Marco Polo would not be the same without a
Peking Duck, and Khun Khajorn and the Montien’s PR lady, Pornpimon Geybui
did not let us down. Chef Khajorn had previously told me that one Peking
duck offers 22 pieces of the roasted skin, enough duck soup for four people
and another duck meat dish as well. A complete meal for four for B. 1,200,
making it a very inexpensive item on a ‘per head’ basis in an up-market
facility such as the Marco Polo.
Despite all our different dishes, it was insisted that we
have desserts, and Madame was particularly impressed with the sweet flour
balls with sesame seeds, Shanghai style.
I must say that we have never had a bad meal at the Marco
Polo. It is always a delight to go there. There are culinary surprises every
trip and with the ease of secure parking in the hotel grounds it makes for a
great night out. The Marco Polo is open for lunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and
again for dinner 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Highly recommended.
Marco Polo Chinese Restaurant, Montien Hotel, Pattaya
Second Road, Central Pattaya, telephone 038 428 155, email
[email protected], www. Montien.com
