Overall Score 8/10
Taste 4/5
Ambiance 5/5
Service 4/5
Value 4/5
The Sunset on the Chao Phraya River is a picturesque
scene. Many tourists in Thailand would find
it very enticing, but for local Thais like me; it seemed to be an everyday
occurrence and I tend to not value its beauty as much in the past. To accentuate the Thai’s local beauty and
historical gems along the Chao Phraya River, the Peninsula Hotel Bangkok is
offering what they call, “A Journey to the Temple of Dawn.” It is the cocktail cruise at sunset, taking a
route pass the fascinating Wat Arun or we know as the Temple of Dawn. On the river ride, unlimited cocktails and
canapés are served. The trips are
happening every Friday to Sunday at 5.30pm (price is 1,250 baht per person). I was planning to spend romantic sunset hours
with a girl and I knew for sure that she would be really impressed. We were very excited and looking forward to
the cruise.
At first I thought about driving there since I was out of my
office for a meeting but it was a Friday and the traffic in Bangkok was
horrible I sensed that there was no way I could get it to the Peninsula at
5.30pm by car, so I parked near the BTS line and headed for the Taksin station
where my date was waiting. From there,
we had to catch to Peninsula boat at Sathorn pier to the Peninsula Hotel pier,
where the cruise starts. Unfortunately we got to the BTS Taksin around the time
that the cruise departs for the journey to the Temple of Dawn. Yep, sadly we missed the cruise but we didn’t
miss the gorgeous reflection of the red sky on the Chao Phraya River just right
before sunset. Skipping the cruise was
upsetting but it didn’t ruin the night.
The Peninsula Hotel on the Charoennakorn road has the River
Café and Terrace located right at the edge of the Chao Phraya River. There, the dinner buffet is served on Friday
and Saturday. The river terrace
atmosphere saved our night. We got the
front row seats of the river view. The
atmosphere was absolutely amazing. There
happened to be an event on the glass courtyard between the terrace and the
hotel. A lot of people were at the party
but it didn’t bother us because they had a live band playing soothing
music. The surroundings of our dinner
all turned out to be just perfect.
We were more than half-way content with our night just enjoying
the river phenomenon. For the rest of
our contentment, our mouth was the judge.
Surely the stomach would be happy since it was a buffet – I could fill
it up as much as I could. Personally I
am not a fan of typical buffets.
Luxurious hotel buffets are an exception, I guess. At first glance of my walk through, the
culinary pleasures at the River Café and Terrace @ the Peninsula Hotel Bangkok
were orchestrated with the line buffets of international dishes, western
specialties of steaks and seafood, authenticated Thai selections from Thiptara
(Thai restaurant by Peninsula Hotel), Cold cuts and cheese, Salads and canapés,
and plenty of dessert choices. The
dinner buffet at the river Café and Terrace offered a nice diversity but
certainly not as grand as what we would find at Sunday brunches. We were there just in time for the first
batch served, looking appetizing and fresh.
To get into details, I can list a few items. Let’s begin with food from the line buffet
set up indoor. For Thai food, there were
papaya salads, Larb (minced pork salad), Tom Yum soup, Chili paste with steamed
veggies, and a couple of different Yum (Thai spicy salads). The seafood cocktail section had steamed
river prawn, crabmeat, scallop cocktails, oyster shooters. There are a couple of small trays serving
Japanese sushi and rolls. On had basic
choices of sashimi; Salmon, Akami, Squid, and Saba. The other one was full of Maki rolls. At the center table were the European
starters; mix of green salads with all types of dressing; the cold cuts – Spicy
salami, Salami Milano, 14 months Italian Ham ; variety of pre-mixed salads –
Roasted beef with apple chutney, Duck with Beetroot chutney, Tuna with mango
salsa, and Shrimp with avocado. The rest
of the indoor area was full of the sweet selection; fondue fountain, ice-cream,
cakes, pastries, Thai desserts, fresh fruits, and more. It was quite a dessert heaven. I bet sweet tooth diners would go
berserk.
The two lines set up outdoor were comprised of hot food. First area had the oriental choices such as
stir-fried Broccoli, fried rice, Yakisoba noodles, and Thai Panang curry. The other was the western choices, which had
Wagyu rump, Lamb, Pork Sausages, Lamb Chorizo Sausages, Atlantic scallop,
Tasmanian Salmon, Pork loin with peppercorn sauce, Roasted corned beef. It all sounds like a great selection of food
for an international buffet, doesn’t it?
We didn’t try all of what were listed above. Honestly, I wasn’t disappointed with the food
at this buffet at all. In fact, I there
were a few choices I really enjoyed. The
Wagyu rump and the lamb were awesome.
Some of the seafood cocktails and the chutney were nice and
delightful. I really liked the Seabass
with caper sauce. The grilled shrimps
and scallops were wonderful. Pastas and
pizza were not as great. The roasted
corned beef was too chewy. Thai dishes
looked quite authentic but I didn’t try at all.
My girlfriend was happy with the dessert choices. The Tahitian vanilla crème brulee was a good
choice. The ice-creams had many
toppings. Other fabulous selections of
sweet were overtly eye-catching but steaks and seafood were more attractive to
me.
Overall, the dinner buffet at the Peninsula Hotel was an
enjoyable one. The food was prepared
with quality ingredients. Of course, the
atmosphere and the company made the meal so much better. In my opinion, I would prefer to stay at the
table and have the a la carte buffet served to me. I didn’t like walking back and forth to dish
up the food myself. This could be
something that the hotel should consider for improvements. Well – for missing out on “A Journey to the
Temple of Dawn” at sunset, the make up at the River Café and Terrace of the
Peninsula Hotel Bangkok was actually one of the most memorable and romantic
dinner for me. For 1,800++ Baht, it was
all worth it if you were to look for a special place to spend quality time with
your special someone. On my next visit,
I hope to catch the boat for river ride action on the Chao Phraya River at sunset
in time. Btw, this place is great for
the Valentine’s Day coming up.
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