One of the resorts in Pattaya that has gone through a
continuous program of upgrading is the Dusit Thani Pattaya. Their latest
restaurant that has had the make-over is the Cascade. Once called the
Cascade Café, it has been totally refurbished to become the Cascade
Restaurant. To go along with the ‘new’ Cascade, its menu has also been
totally revamped, and the Dusit Thani’s bubbly PR lady Cristina de Vera
invited us to try their buffet lunch. Having had good experiences in all the
other Dusit outlets, we looked forward to our lunch.
First, a brief description of the venue. Whilst the Cascade is in the same
geographical location overlooking the Dusit waterfall, the inside has been
totally rebuilt. Gone are the café-style alcoves, with the restaurant now
opened up with individual tables and settings. With white predominant, it
gives an airy feel to the restaurant, and one side looks out into a tropical
greenery. In the middle are two islands holding salads and Japanese items,
whilst along one side at the rear are hot food live cooking stations and
food warmers. We chose a table by the window and refreshed ourselves with
lemon sodas, something that really perked up the taste buds.
Each day there is a different menu, and having perused the entire week’s
items, it is more a case of trying to find something that is not available,
rather than looking for specific items. For example, on the Wednesday we
went along, there were the following items as appetizers - poached shrimps,
poached cockles and clams, assorted sushi, sashimi, cold cuts, salami, Paris
ham, black forest ham, smoked pla krapong, grilled marinated vegetable,
balsamic shallots, roasted garlic, chili pickles, dill pickles, black
olives, green olives and sun-dried tomatoes. And that doesn’t include the
Thai salads of chicken salad with lemongrass or a crispy catfish salad.
The central buffet station also had potato salad, cucumber salad, carrot
salad, coleslaw, beet root salad, sweet corn, bean and peanut salad, tomato
salad with basil leaves, Chinese noodle salad, quail eggs, cherry tomatoes,
boiled asparagus, boiled broccoli florets, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce,
mixed hydroponic greens with micro herbs and sweet basil leaves, bacon bits,
spring onion, chopped eggs, grated parmesan, onion, paprika croutons, pesto
croutons and plain whole wheat croutons.
As I said, what isn’t on offer? Perhaps pelican eggs, but don’t ask the
Dusit Thani chef or he’ll have some for tomorrow!
In the hot sections, there are also very many choices. These included bowtie
pasta with tomato cream sauce, pizza, deep-fried fish in beer batter with
rémoulade, Spanish potatoes, potato dumplings, roasted beef tenderloin on
balsamic shallot sauce, sautéed chicken with mushroom sauce, crispy pork
knuckle, lemongrass chicken breast, stuffed pork chops, shrimp skewer,
marinated fish in banana leaf, fresh pork sausage, massaman beef curry,
steamed fish on lemongrass, chicken in pandanus leaf, stir-fried fish with
three-flavored sauce, stir-fried pork with ginger and pork noodle soup.
And yes there are several desserts, both Thai and European.
We tried several items, taking a little of each, but there was no way we
could sample everything. Madame loved the lemongrass fish, whilst I was very
impressed with the massaman curry (and incidentally, the Dusit Thani
prepares its own curry powders for all its resorts), but I can honestly say
that we liked everything on offer. Nothing was limp and warm, everything was
fresh and flavorsome.
With the enormous selection of excellent items, the B. 500++ price (it’s a
resort hotel, remember) is more than justified. Even if you have an enormous
appetite and you could sit there for the three hours you would still not get
through everything. If you are looking for an up-market venue to take your
lunchtime guests, the Dining Out team can highly recommend the Dusit Thani
Cascade restaurant’s buffet lunch.
Cascade Restaurant, Dusit Thani Pattaya Resort, 240/2 Pattaya Beach Road
(enter from the Dolphin roundabout intersection of Pattaya Second, Pattaya
North and Pattaya-Naklua Roads), Pattaya City, telephone 038 425 611, fax
038 428 239, email pattaya@dusit .com. Open seven days, 11:30 a.m. until
2.30 p.m. for lunch (but also open for breakfast and dinner). Secure parking
within the Dusit Thani grounds.
Japanese Gourmet Chicken
This is another lightly done dish which takes only a few
minutes to cook, but there is the downside - a couple of hours in the
marinade. The easiest way to accomplish this is by using the plastic bags
with a zip top (Ziploc). Use large ones, so that the meat is not all stuck
together in the bag - the concept is to let all sides of the chicken meat to
come in contact with the marinade. The original recipe calls for Japanese
rice wine (sake), but Thai rice wine (sato) can be used.
Cooking Method:
Place chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag. In a bowl, mix the Soya sauce
and sake to make the marinade and pour into bag, seal and place in
refrigerator for two hours, before removing from bag. In a heavy based pan,
heat the butter and vegetable oil and sauté the chicken breasts for two
minutes. Turn down the heat and pour in the marinade and simmer for four
minutes, turning the chicken breasts frequently until they are cooked
properly and then remove and drain. Now add the bell pepper and sauté
quickly.
Arrange chicken breasts on a plate and garnish with sliced, sautéed bell
pepper.
Ingredients Serves 6-8
Chicken breast fillets
1 kg
Light soya sauce
1/2 cup
Sake (or sato)
1/3 cup
Butter
1 tbspns
Vegetable oil
2 tbspns
Green bell pepper sliced
1
