Cuisine du Monde @ Dusit Thani Pattaya

by Miss Terry Diner

The Saturday night BBQ around the pool at the Dusit Thani Pattaya has had an excellent reputation, but we heard that it is even better under Executive Chef Adrian O’Herlihy. Having known Chef Adrian from his days in Chiang Mai nine years ago, we decided we should investigate.

The Dusit Thani is one of Pattaya’s landmark hotels, at the Dolphin Roundabout, where Second Road and North Road come together. Impossible to miss.

The BBQ is named Cuisine du Monde, a premium international BBQ buffet, held on Saturday evenings at the Dusit Thani’s Bay restaurant with seating indoors, or outdoors overlooking Pattaya Bay, or even seated around the pool. A difficult choice.

We suggest that rather than jump in with a plate of one of your favorites, you take the time to walk around and see what is on offer before you start. This will indeed take time at this BBQ buffet. There is the cold area in the Bay restaurant itself which has ‘shucked as you watch’ Fin de Clair oysters from Brittany, Alaskan King Crab legs, oyster vodka martinis, terrines, salmon and even marinated asparagus with truffle vinaigrette and egg. But it does not stop there. In the ‘charcuterie’ section there are many items including Prosciutto di Parma; Coppa; Paris ham; air-dried beef; South Tyrolean bacon; Salami Milano; Salami Genovese and much more.

And it continues - European salad bar items, Thai salad items, a Japanese station with a selection of premium house-made sushi and sashimi; sushi rolls - California Maki, Kani Maki, Nigiri sushi and more Japanese items.

And we are still in The Bay restaurant itself, where there is a Swiss station with premium Raclette cheese served over baby boiled potatoes with cornichons and balsamic cippollini, plus a shaved Tete de Moine cheese with pear salad.

Having looked over that, and made some mental choices, now descend into the live cooking stations area and continue to be amazed at the choices. Here are just a few - the carvery has roast leg of lamb Marie-Louise, roast rib of beef Bourguignon, and salmon en croute. The Western station has steak Diane, chicken Hibernia, saut้ed John Dory, pan-seared U.S. king sea scallops with saffron cream and Pernod (how could you walk past that?), oysters Kilpatrick and the modestly titled oysters Adrian. That is not the end, there are at least a dozen more items to the live Western station.

That is not the end of the live cooking stations either, as there is a live Thai section, a live pasta station and a live BBQ station featuring rock lobster; blue crab; river prawn; fish and seafood brochettes; pork chops; beef tenderloin; minute sirloin steaks; lamb chops; chicken drum sticks; Cajun chicken breasts; Thai marinated chicken; chicken kebabs; a selection of European sausages; South African pork sosaties and grilled Mediterranean vegetable brochettes. And still we haven’t come near the end of it, with a live Indian station and a live Chinese station.

If you leave room for dessert (which is highly unlikely) there are around 20 items to choose from including crepes Suzette cooked to your order, or perhaps you are an ice cream fanatic, so indulge yourself on six ice creams and sorbets with apple-Calvados; mixed berry; mango; lemon-lime; blueberry and raspberry. Still room for a final snack? Perhaps you might be tempted by the cheese board with Appenzeller; Gruyere Premier Cru; Stilton; Gouda; Emmenthal; Camembert; Yorkshire Wensleydale Richard III; Fontina val d’Aosta; English Farmhouse Cheddar; Gorgonzola and Tilsiter.

We tried several dishes, some so tempting we backed up twice. How could you go past pan-seared foie gras? Or Khao soy, or oysters vodka martini? Or, or, or …?

By the way, Dusit Thani’s own label chardonnay makes for good drinking at B. 1,500.

We can very much recommend the Saturday night’s ‘Cuisine du Monde’ at the Dusit Thani, and at B. 1490++ it is a very reasonable price for such a range of top quality items. Do try Chef Adrian’s oysters as well as the Fin de Clair if they are on offer.

Dusit Thani Pattaya, 240/2 Pattaya Beach Road, Saturday evening BBQ, telephone 038 425 611, Fax 038 428 239, secure parking within the Resort grounds.

“Baggy” omelets

Omelets are easy to prepare and cook, but if you are catering for a large and indeterminate number of guests, this is the easiest answer. Usually there are no choices with food for multitudes, but this easy omelet recipe can even be tailored to individual tastes, without disrupting the cooking line.

Ingredients Makes one omelet Eggs                                2 Ham, chopped                  2 slices Cheddar cheese shredded 1/2 cup Onion chopped                  1 tbspn Green bell pepper chopped 1 tbspn Fresh tomato chopped       2 tbspns Chunky salsa                    1 tbspnn Fresh mushrooms, sliced   2

Cooking Method

Crack the eggs into a large re-sealable freezer bag (Ziploc). Press out most of the air, and seal. Shake or squeeze to beat the eggs. Open the bag, and add the ham, cheese, onion, green pepper, tomato, salsa, and mushrooms. At this stage you can omit certain ingredients to ‘customize’ the omelet, but remember to write the recipient’s name on the bag before cooking. Squeeze out as much of the air as you can, and seal the bag.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place up to 8 bags at a time into the boiling water. Cook for exactly 13 minutes. Open the bag, and let the omelet roll out onto a plate. The omelet should roll out easily.