Straight from Mother Nature’s garden
A new Sunday brunch puts the emphasis on organic foods
HEALTHY ORGANIC foods play the starring roles in the brand new Sunday brunch being offered by Siam@Siam Design Hotel Bangkok’s PH1 restaurant from today. Dubbed “Naturally Delicious”, the buffet features hormone-free meats, tenderloin from grass-fed cows, preservative-free seafood, free-range eggs and organic vegetables from the Royal Projects.
Done up in trendy industrial loft style with a bare cement floor, unfinished concrete columns, exposed metal ducts and floor-to-ceiling windows, PH1 – the PH stands for Party House – seats about 120 guests comfortably. Diners are greeted with an ice bucket brimming with prawns, squid, mussels and babylonia snails freshly netted by a fisherman’s collective in the Southern province of Prachuab Khiri Khan, as well as Alaskan king crab legs, New Zealand mussels and oysters from Japan. Portions vary according to the number of diners but all come with dipping sauces that include red vinegar and chopped shallot and a spicy Thai-style sauce that will blow your socks off.
“We carefully search for artisanal produce that is local, organic and chemical-free. We are committed to supporting small and local producers who make responsible food choices. We select free-range eggs from Phetchaburi and these can be ordered poached, fried, scrambled or as an omelette. The seafood is wild-caught in small boats and freshly delivered,” says executive chef Gilles Poitevin.
The salad station comes with an extensive choice of fresh vegetables, most of them from the Royal Project, and an interesting variety of dressings made from Moroccan orange, pesto maple syrup, beetroot walnut lemon honey, Dijon mustard mayo and garlic chive organic yoghurt. Other tempting options are grilled cauliflower with smoked salmon, roasted beetroot and sesame smoked duck, waldorf quinoa olive, and tomato salsa.
There’s Thai-style spicy soup too made with local, grain-fed chicken as well as a range of veggie soups including miso seaweed, pumpkin and spinach, plus som tum, Northern-style chilli dips nam prik ong and nam prik noom, both best enjoyed with boiled vegetables and boiled eggs. Japanese smoked salmon roll, California roll and futomaki are also available. If you prefer pasta, just tell the chef at the cooking station and he’ll whip you up a dish with a sance of oil and garlic, tomato, carbonara, bolognese or pesto.
In addition to the wide selection of dishes on the buffet tables, the restaurant also offers each customer two choices of main dish, Western or Thai, cooked to order. The Western dishes include New Zealand Grass-fed Beef Tenderloin with grilled lettuce, tomato and caramelised onion and pepper sauce, Organic Chicken Breast with caramelised onion and rosemary sauce, Organic Pork with pineapple chutney, mustard and honey sauce as well as Mixed Grilled Seafood with arrabbiata sauce.
New Zealand grass-fed Beef Tenderloin also makes an appearance in the Thai Green Curry and Stir-fried Beef with Basil. Other Thai favourites include Stir-fried Organic Chicken with Cashew Nuts, Grilled Organic Pork Neck, Northern-style Organic Pork Curry (gaeng hang lay), Stir-fried Noodle (pad thai), and Chinese-style, Yang Chow wok-fried rice.
The dessert station might not look glamorous but the sweet treats are healthy. They include a Fruit Roll made with fresh strawberry, mango and dragon fruit slices dressed with passion fruit sauce and wrapped with thin rice paper as well as Apple Spicy Chocolate Soup spiced up with diced bell peppers. Pancakes and waffles are cooked to order and diners can dress them as they wish.
The price also includes free-flow drinks such as mango, banana and strawberry slushies as well as fizzy passion fruit, lychee and mint elderflower cordials.
WHOLESOME AND FRESH
The Naturally Delicious Brunch at PH1 of Siam@Siam Design Hotel Bangkok (opposite the National Stadium) is served every Sunday from noon to 2.30pm.
The introductory price through May 29 is Bt990 (adults) and Bt495 for children aged four to 12. After that date it will increase to Bt1,390 and Bt695.
Reservations are recommended. Call (02) 217 3000.
