Street food with a luxurious twist

THE VERY best of Asian street food can now be found under one roof with the opening of the Amaya Food Gallery at the Amari Watergate Bangkok. 

Part of a major refurbishment of the hotel, which has been around for the last 23 years, the new look includes a smart and spacious lobby lit by a chandelier featuring 847 drop-shaped pieces of hand-blown Murano glass. The guestrooms have been overhauled too and now boast a trendy oriental style that will appeal to young travellers. Up on the fourth floor, Promenade Cafe and Thai on 4 Restaurant have been cleared to make way for the new Amaya Food Gallery and its market-style culinary offerings. 
The new restaurant has a vibrant contemporary decor complemented by iron panels, classic teak balustrades, vintage movie handbills and exposed brick walls.
“Our aim was to give the hotel a more modern makeover. We’ve renovated our guestrooms, the lobby, business centre and library, where customers can take advantage of two-hour free Wi-Fi. Our customers are middle class and often think that food in a hotel is expensive. So, we want to offer quality dishes that everyone can afford and street food is what people love,” says Nisara Khamphong, director of marketing communications.

“Amaya is an ideal place for families and friends to enjoy a meal. We offer both a la carte dishes and an extensive buffet.” 
We start by sampling some of the a la carte choices, starting with pad thai (Bt320), which comes wrapped in super-thin omelette and is topped with a river prawn, and yellow-gold Pork Satay (Bt220) for two, which is served on a small grill and accompanied by rich peanut sauce and refreshing ar-jard dip. 
We follow up with Lamb Cutlets (Bt800), four racks of juicy Australian lamb served with three sauces – jaew, red wine and Hollandaise – to help enhance their flavour. Light and healthy, I also order a tender, 200-gram Salmon Steak imported from Tasmania adorned with pan-fried vegetables. 
An elegant copper bowl of Seafood on Ice (Bt3,500) is big enough for four persons and a real treat with mantis shrimps, crabs, fresh Korean oysters, river prawns, tiger prawns, squid and Alaska crab on ice, served with balsamic, thousand island and spicy seafood sauces. 

Seafood on Ice

Another best-selling main dish is the Hong Kong BBQ Platter (Bt390) boasting juicy roasted duck, crispy pork belly and mouth-watering red pork neck. I refresh my palate with the Chocolate Sphere (Bt320), a creamy, white chocolate mousse ball topped with rum, raspberry and hot chocolate sauce. 
After a break, we move to the Friday Seafood buffet (Bt1,500-plus). For this themed buffet night, the food gallery is divided into six live cooking-theme stations. Judging by the queue, the Amaya Grill corner is the most popular thanks to a wide selection of imported top-quality seafood such as giant rock lobsters and Alaska crabs from the US, fresh oysters from Ireland, France and South Korea, tender beef and lamb from Australia. 
“We use top-grade ingredients in both the a la carte selection and buffet line. The pasta is freshly made and the seafood is grilled to order to ensure the best flavours,” Nisara adds. 

Hong Kong BBQ Platter

The chefs also grill the meat to order and it is delivered to the table with a choice of zesty and buttery Western sauces. 
The Amaya Thai & Neighbours station combines Thai and Chinese cuisine offering dim sum, noodles in broth, green curry with fish balls, som tum with sticky rice, sour Isaan sausage and stir-fried Szechuan squid. 
Fragrant with an aroma of herbs and spices, the Amaya Indian kitchen boasts a wide range of authentic Indian delicacies like vegetarian curries, Indian breads with Mughlai Chicken Bhartha and Paneer with a choice of daal. The rich sauces are best enjoyed with roti, naan, paratha and kulcha breads and Halal-certified meats. 
The Amaya Deli station has a mixture of West and East recipes offering such cold cuts as sushi, sashimi, breads and cheeses. But the highlight is the seafood on ice counter featuring river prawns, crabs, rock lobsters, fresh oysters, sea bass and New Zealand mussels.

Chocolate Sphere 

Standing in the middle of Asian kitchen is the Amaya Italian zone, where diners can choose from penne, fusilli, linguini or chilli spaghetti topped with customised sauces from bolognaise, pomodoro, mushroom, carbonara, frutti di mare, aglio e olio or pesto.  
The meal comes to the end at the Amaya Treats corner, which has Thai-style shaved ice with 40 colourful toppings such as pandan vermicelli, mock pomegranates seed, gingko nut, lotus roots and seasonal fruits. There is also a selection of ice cream and home-made layered cakes on offer.
For an additional Bt650, guests can choose wines from the Amaya Bar & Cellar, which features varietals from France, Italy, Spain, Germany, South America and Australia. Also worth sampling are the signature cocktails like Art & Craft blended with young coconut, fresh lime, rose apple, orgeat syrup and fresh mint leaves. Sarong is another palate pleaser, mixing gin, fresh lime, paprika syrup, young coconut puree, kaffir lime juice and pomegranate seeds.
  

FRIDAY NIGHT IS SEAFOOD NIGHT
>> Amaya Food Gallery is on the fourth floor of Amari Watergate Bangkok. It is open daily from noon to 10.30pm. The buffets are priced at Bt950 (lunch), Bt1,200 (dinner) and Bt1,500 for Friday Seafood Night. 
>> Book a table at (02) 653 9000 or visit www.Amari.com.