(L to R) Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s
Deputy General Manager and the Royal Cliff Wine Club President Ranjith
Chandrasiri, Royal Cliff Beach Resort Executive Director Vathanai Vathanakul,
Royal Cliff Beach Resort Business Development Manager Vitanart Vathanakul,
Regional Manager, Constellation Wines Asia, Fiona Darby, Chief Winemaker of Simi
Winery Steve Reeder, and Global Premium Wine General Manager, Tassanee
Assawagovitawong.
The Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s Grill Room and Wine
Cellar was chosen as the venue for the March Winemakers Gala Dinner, and as a
setting it was most appropriate. For anyone who has not been there, it is
probably the most wonderfully understated dining place on the Eastern Seaboard.
Steve
Reeder
A few words about the Grill Room before we go ahead with the Wine Dinner. It is
downstairs in the Royal Cliff’s main building, with the glass walled Wine Cellar
on your left as you enter the restaurant. With the Royal Cliff’s wine cellars
being arguably the most comprehensive in Thailand with around 36,000 bottles in
stock, the ‘showcase’ cellar adjoining the Grill Room is being enlarged to run
along one complete side of the restaurant. Teak wood abounds in the Grill Room,
giving a sala-like atmosphere, with comfortable dining alcoves providing private
dining as well as some larger tables for groups. The service staff deserve a
mention. They move effortlessly from kitchen to table, pre-empting your every
need. I took off my jacket to hang on the back of the chair, but it was whisked
away to be hung correctly, and was returned as I stood up to go.
The wine dinner was to present the wines available from California, and Tassanee
Assavagowitwong, the GM of Global Premium Wines (the importer) and Fiona Darby
from Constellation Wines (the owners of the Simi label) were in attendance. The
Simi Winery was represented by its GM and head winemaker Steve Reeder. An
interesting, softly spoken third generation Californian, he looked as if he
should have been on stage with the similarly long-haired Arlo Guthrie, complete
with a guitar in his hand, rather than a wine glass.
However, he is a winemaker who has accomplished securing the number one and two
spots on Wine Spectator’s prestigious Top 100 Wines of the Year list in 1999 and
2002, so Steve Reeder was obviously at home in the Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s
Grill Room, which itself has won a Wine Spectator award every year since 2003. A
winning combination.
Another ‘winning combination’ was produced by the Royal Cliff’s executive chef
Walter Thenisch whose carefully selected dishes complemented the carefully
selected wines. Wine Club President Ranjith Chandrasiri mentioning that the Wine
Club was now eight years old, and Walter had not repeated any items in the
extensive menu in all that time.
An example of his cooking was the second item, a baked halibut fillet on grilled
green asparagus spears and wholegrain mustard froth. This was simply superb, the
halibut melting in the mouth. The wine chosen to go with this was the Simi
Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. Yes, a red. As Steve Reeder said in
his address, wine is meant to be enjoyed, and not just drunk while ‘obeying’ old
rules. This wine was also called Reeder’s “entry level” cabernet sauvignon.
During the course of the evening, we sampled three more cabernet sauvignons - a
Simi Landslide Vineyard 2005, a Simi Alexander Valley Reserve 2004 and a Simi
Alexander Valley Reserve 1999. The last one being priced (wholesale) at 4,500
baht plus VAT. These were very special wines indeed, and for me, the 2004
Reserve was the pick, but opinions seemed to be evenly split throughout the Wine
Club members.
As Steve Reeder explained to the diners, “The primary purpose is to enjoy
ourselves.” There was complete agreement. Everyone did!
It is difficult to fault the Grill Room and Wine Cellar in any way. The food and
the wines (even on non-wine club gala dinners) are excellent, and there is even
a set menu for those looking to save some money in these troubled economic
times. If you enjoy wine, then you should consider joining the Royal Cliff Wine
Club. If you enjoy dining in an exclusive fashion, then you should consider
going to the Grill Room and Wine Cellar one evening. They both receive our
highest recommendations.
The Grill Room and Wine Cellar, Royal Cliff Beach Resort, 353 Pratamnak Road,
Pattaya. Tel: 038 250 421, secure parking in the hotel grounds. Open 6.30-10.30
p.m. closed Tuesdays. Smart casual (no shorts). All major credit cards accepted.
To contact the wine club, email
[email protected].
Crème Glacée d’Asperges (cold asparagus soup)
In our current swelter, this is a most refreshing soup,
similar to the Spanish Gazpacho in many ways. With asparagus being easy to
procure, you can either cook the fresh variety, or even use tinned asparagus
spears for this soup which is easier. The cooking is simple but requires a
blender.
|
Cooking Method
Cut off approximately 4 cm pieces of the tip ends of the asparagus
and put aside. Cut the remaining stems into 2.5 cm pieces and put in
a food processor until pureed, about 1 minute.
With the processor running, pour in the asparagus cooking liquid and
process for 5 seconds. Add the heavy cream, yoghurt, sour cream and
seasonings and process to combine, for about another 5 seconds.
Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the asparagus tips. Cover (Glad
wrap is fine) and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice. Adjust the seasonings
and divide among four serving bowls. Garnish with the diced
cucumber, parsley and chives and serve over ice for a further
effect. |
Ingredients serves 4
Thin asparagus spears unpeeled, cooked
32
Asparagus cooking liquid (reserved) 180
mls
Heavy cream 60 ml
Plain yoghurt 60 gms
Sour cream 2 tbspns
Lemon juice 2 tspns
Cucumber diced 30 gm
Pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
Chopped parsley and chives, for garnish
