Marriott’s Saturday Seafood and Sauvignon Buffet :
by Miss Terry Diner

Oysters, lobsters, caviar, Alaskan crab and salmon

If you enjoy oysters, lobsters, caviar, Alaskan crab and salmon don’t hang about, go directly to the Marriott Resort and Spa Garden Cafe next Saturday and indulge yourself to the point of gluttony. We did! It was wonderful!
The Marriott has heralded the start of the high season with undoubtedly one of the best buffets in Pattaya, whimsically called their Saturday Seafood and Sauvignon Buffet commencing at 6 p.m. at the Garden Cafe. The interesting title comes from the fact that along with the seafood buffet (and more in detail later) comes a carafe of Sauvignon Blanc per person, or if it is a couple, you are just given the complete bottle to wash down your selections. A Chilean wine, and eminently quaffable and Sauvignon blanc certainly does go with the different flavors of the seafood delights.
I presume everyone knows the Marriott, but if you are new to Pattaya it is the resort next door to the Royal Garden Plaza (the place with the aeroplane stuck in the first floor on the 2nd road side). There is a large secure parking station under the resort, but remember to take the ticket with you when you go to the buffet so you can get it stamped by the resort when you leave, so your parking is free. (I did not and had to walk back to the car to pick it up and then return to reception, get stamped and walk back to the car again!)
The choices available for the connoisseur of seafood is just amazing and chef Watchara Gamhanghanpanich is to be congratulated on the way he has presented such a diverse selection of cold and hot foods, and the presentation of different cuisines. For example, there is poo phad phong karee (stir-fried crab with curry powder), koong ob woonsen (baked prawns with soya glass noodles), pla phad priew waan (deep-fried sea bass with sweet and sour sauce) and khao phad talay (sea food fried rice) from the Thai kitchen. However there are other items such as Tandoori prawn and fish tikka from an Indian selection and steamed sea bass with soya sauce and marinated baby octopus with sesame oil in the Chinese station but if Japanese/Korean is your taste, then dine out on sashimi tuna, blue snapper, salmon, octopus, sea bass, yellow tail kingfish, assorted sushi, maki and California rolls, soba noodles and Korean kimchi, or if you wish to stay with a western menu you can have BBQ squid, Akami tuna, Phuket lobster, tiger prawn, Tasmanian salmon, rock lobster, coral trout or NZ green mussels.
We began quietly with some cold salmon with capers and onions (naturally) and then stumbled across the oysters - Fin de Claire and Tasmanian. It was a wonderful opportunity to contrast the two types, one being larger and sweeter, the other smaller but more intense in flavor. These were fresh and shucked for us and then brought to the table.
I passed on the caviar, but went straight to the BBQ section, leaving three half rock lobsters for grilling before they found their way back to our table. In the meantime, Madame had discovered the Alaskan king crab legs, which is also a favorite of mine. All were pre-cracked as well, making it easy to extract the sweet crabmeat.
We just kept on going, finding the table with five different cheeses, finding the most delicious selection of desserts, finding ourselves smiling with contented joy!
Really this was almost a never-ending delight. The only reason we stopped was we were just unable to fit any more in - not even one more chocolate strawberry from the chocolate fountain. A sensational evening, and one that is not too outrageous as far as cost is concerned at B. 1,499++ per head (children 6-12 half price), when you factor in the fact that the wine would be at least B. 1,000 in the B. 3,000 bill for two people. Very highly recommended. We are already looking at returning with friends. A superb culinary evening.
Garden Cafe, Pattaya Marriott Resort and Spa, Beach and Second Roads Pattaya, telephone 038 412 120, Saturdays from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. secure parking in Royal Garden Plaza.

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Khrong Moo Sam Rot (Sweet Sour and Salty Spareribs)

Spareribs are a favorite in most cuisines and can be done in many ways. However, spareribs are also seen in Thai cuisine, with one of the main differences being more in the size of the ribs, with the Thai preference being for much shorter pieces, than say in the Cajun varieties. This recipe gives you an alternative to try one weekend, and you can leave the ribs at ‘western’ lengths if you wish. All supermarkets have spareribs so you don’t even need to chop them yourself.

Ingredients                   serves 4-6 Spareribs                                       1 kg Flour                                       3 tbspns Salt                                           2 tspns Pepper                                        1 tspn Pineapple juice                            ½ cup Light soy sauce                         1 tbspn Brown sugar                              1 tbspn Vinegar                                   2 tbspns Pineapple chunks bite-size               10 Cooking oil

Cooking Method
Chop spareribs into 5 cm lengths. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper and roll the ribs in the flour mixture then fry until golden brown, and drain.
Place spareribs in a pot with the pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar, and light soy sauce and cook over low heat until the spareribs are done, stirring to prevent sticking.
Place the spareribs on a platter with pineapple chunks and serve with rice.