For the Dining Out Team, Saturdays are always
thought of as the end of the working week. A time to relax, and a night off from
the kitchen for Madame, so when energetic Martine Klein, the food and beverage
marketing communications coordinator from the Pattaya Marriott Resort and Spa
rang to invite us to the Saturday Siam Grill, we jumped at the chance.
Now several of the better hotels also have a Saturday night BBQ grill, so we
were even more interested to see just how the Marriott’s event stacked up
against the others. One immediate plus was the venue in the Sala Rim Nam in the
grounds of the Marriott. This area is a veritable oasis from the hustle and
bustle of Pattaya, and it is amazing to think that the teak wood sala is within
100 meters of both Beach Road and Second Road, and there is almost no noise,
other than the rustle of the tree leaves and the tinkle of the water beside the
sala.
The only other noise is some very quiet Thai background music, interrupted only
for some young students who showed off their prowess in Thai classical dance.
These performances are sponsored by the Marriott as part of their ‘Spirit to
Serve’ project, and the school girls do a marvelous job to remind us that we are
in magical Thailand.
Being a BBQ, there are live cooking stations dotted around the area in front of
the sala, and there is a bewildering range of items, both international and Thai
and covering meats, poultry and seafood. This includes rock lobster, tiger
prawns, river prawns, tuna steaks, salmon steak, mackerel steak, sea bass
fillet, rib eye steak, beef tenderloin, rack of lamb, pork neck, pork ribs,
sirloin steak and vegetable skewers, all served with a large selection of sauces
and dips to accompany your choices.
There is one live cooking station for yam neua, yam talay and som tum, that
spicy Thai green papaya salad. Madame, who is more than just partial to som tum,
rated it very highly and had a chat with the lady who prepared it, probably
comparing recipes. The atmosphere is very friendly, and everyone appears to be
enjoying their job.
I was reminded of this by the young chap in charge of the quesadilla station,
which was offering beef tenderloin, salmon or vegetable quesadillas, served
correctly with tomato salsa and sour cream. He had such a beaming smile that I
had to order a salmon one, and it was fabulous. Do try it. Something different
from the usual quesadillas.
Being well practiced in the gentle art of BBQ evenings, we sampled many dishes,
rather than splurging on one or two favorites (though the cheese platter did see
me a few times and I even managed to lift a slice as we departed)!
The roasted tomato soup was excellent (in fact, our daughter remarked upon this
the next day), the Japanese table beckoned with the salmon and wasabi (I cannot
resist wasabi), the entrée of prawn wrapped in bacon served with sherry cream
sauce was excellent, while the BBQ area was severely raided for the rock
lobster(s)! A plate of ribs also went to our table. After all, endless BBQs such
as this do bring out the glutton in one, do they not?
At B. 950++ (it is a hotel remember) it is still good value, and it is half
price for children under 10 years. We certainly did enjoy our evening there, and
it filled our requirement of being somewhere to relax on the Saturday night. We
have absolutely no hesitation in suggesting you add the Saturday Siam Grill to
your list of choices for a great evening out. However, I do suggest you book, as
it was busy on the night we were there, and the number of tables in the sala is
not great.
Saturday Siam Grill, Pattaya Marriott Resort and Spa, 218 M. 10 Beach Road,
Pattaya, tel. (66) 38 412 120 ext. 1201, fax: (66) 38 429 926. Saturday BBQ 6
p.m. to 10 p.m. Secure parking in the Royal Garden Plaza (and remember to get
your parking ticket stamped by the Marriott staff).
Quiche Lorraine
They used to be a saying “Real men don’t eat quiche” but
that has long since been found to be incorrect. Quiche, both warm and cold
is a family favourite, and is one of the easiest dishes for you to make. The
addition of the onion and cheese just gives this quiche a little more flavor
and body.
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Cooking Method:
Roll the pastry and line a 22 cm quiche dish. Cut the rind from the bacon and
cut into 2 cm strips and fry gently - do not make the bacon crisp. Remove and
drain. Now press the bacon strips over the pastry.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks then whisk in the cream, onion, cheese, salt and
pepper.
Preheat an oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Pour in the whisked mixture and bake for
15 minutes. Reduce heat to 180 degrees and cook for another 20 minutes.
Serve warm, or allow to cool and serve cold later. |
PIngredients serves 6 for lunch
or 8 as a first course
Short crust or puff pastry 225 gm
Whipping cream
300 ml
Bacon rashers
8
Onion (fried and chopped) 1 small
Cheese (grated)
60 gm
Egg yolks
4
Salt
½ tspn
White pepper
½ tspn
