One of the highlights of worldwide travel is having the opportunity to sample a unique selection of foods not often found in your home country. Yes, you can visit a Sushi bar in London, an Indian restaurant in Birmingham and sample some south east Asian cuisine at your local takeaway, but nothing beats dining on local, authentic delights while abroad.
LLM contributor Raj Gill headed to Thailand to eat her way around some of the most tantalising menus found in restaurants across Bangkok and Khao Lak, while staying at some top hotels. Here’s what Raj got up to.
Bangkok
We were on a whistle stop tour of Bangkok, staying at the Athenee Palace Hotel which has eight in house bars and restaurants from Japanese to French and, of course, Thai.
The hotel’s location previously hosted a former royal residence, Kandhavas Palace, then resident Princess Valaya Alongkorn is still an inspiration for the majority of the hotel’s exuberant features and design.
The welcome package was fabulous, a chess board housed in a glass cage, with edible chocolate chess pieces, macrons and figs, almost too good to eat. My suite was roomy with a lovely large ensuite, with a tub I was looking forward to having a soak in at the earliest opportunity, a large queen size bed, and a relaxation area and work desk area. The bed was super comfy and I just knew that it would be impossible to drag myself out of it in the mornings.
We lunched at American celebrity chef Jeff Ramsey’s Kintsugi restaurant, which is located in the hotel. Chef Alvin produced one culinary delight after the next. Kintsugi translates as ‘connected with gold’ and is a reference to the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with gold lacquer. The pottery isn’t repaired to cover the damage, but rather to highlight it with gold. The refurbished pottery is considered beautiful, regardless of the fact that it is imperfect. Chef Ramsey uses this as a metaphor for his style of Kaiseki cuisine. It is a classical Japanese Kaiseki cuisine that remains true to its ancient roots.
At our pre-dinner drinks we were treated to ‘Mieng Dok Bua’, a Siamese royal lotus herbal snack, and we also had the opportunity to make our own. Before we knew it we were being seated for our mini cooking class and dinner. Head chef Montri gave us an informed and interesting lesson in creating our very own Thai dish, a traditional salad, which was rather scrumptious. Tired and suitably stuffed it was time to curl up in my comfy queen size bed.
Breakfast was served at the all-day restaurant the Rain Tree Café. The café serves a wide variety of signature international dishes. It’s great to see the chefs at individual stations plating up piping hot fresh dishes. The café is the first hotel restaurant in the world to achieve 100% All-star the Pledge on food waste management and also sourcing organic produce from the local farmers.
As we were limited on time, we only had forty eight hours to explore and eat our way round Bangkok, and for lunch we decided to head out of the hotel and check out what was available locally. We had an exhilarating ride on one of Bangkok’s famous tuk tuks (three wheeled taxi) through the city, which is crazy busy with traffic across town to Paii, the House of Sathorn, which is located next door to the W Bangkok hotel.
The House of Sathorn is one of Bangkok’s most iconic traditional historic landmarks, and is a sharp contrast to the skyscrapers that surround it. It really did feel as if we were being transported back in time. Be warned the portion sizes served at the restaurant are just enormous, ranging from octopus to lobster claws, there’s a fabulous selection to choose from.
Khao Lak
All too soon it was time for us to leave Bangkok and embark on the next leg of our journey. A short domestic flight later and we found ourselves in Phuket, and after a ninety-minute car journey we arrived at Khao Lak, which wasn’t quite as crowded with tourists. We were staying at the JW Marriott Khao Lak, and with a heavenly beach stretching 25km, I knew exactly where I would be spending the majority of the trip.
The poolside suites are stylish and comfortable, there’s a 2.5km long lagoon pool winding around the resort, and as I stepped out of my suite onto the terrace I had direct access to it. This sure beat walking along the paths, arriving to lunch directly from the pool was a novelty that didn’t wear off!
The resort is home to seven restaurants and four bars, ranging from Thai to Italian, meaning there’s something to please everyone. With all this on offer it was so tempting just to stay put at the resort and never leave!
Being a foodie, a big highlight for me was the cooking class that we participated in at Ta-Krai. The chef and his team guided us around the hotel’s herb gardens explaining each herb and what it would add to the dish. We collected everything we needed to add flavour and headed back to the restaurant where we (under the watchful eye of the chefs) whipped up our own Thai creations. The dishes were simple and easy to put together and I hope I can find the ingredients and whip this up when I get back home. Or maybe I should have just smuggled chef back in my suitcase so he could continue to delight us with his culinary creations!
We also ate at Olive, the Italian restaurant at the resort, and we chose to dine on barbecue night where were serenaded with live music. Being a cheese lover I was in heaven, as the cheese table was heaving with delicious Italian delights. There was an abundance of pastas, salads and all sorts of barbecue meats and fishes to choose from. We did not go hungry.
Sala was a firm favourite; it is a fine dining restaurant that specialises in traditional Thai cuisine. The décor of the restaurant is modern yet traditional, with dark wood furnishings, Thai artwork, and ambient lighting, creates a warm and inviting atmosphere. I’m from Scotland and dining al fresco isn’t usually an option, therefore when I’m abroad I do so every chance I get. And dining al fresco at Sala was a lovely treat as we had stunning views of the resort’s landscaped gardens.
The menu at Sala features an extensive selection of Thai dishes, prepared using fresh and locally sourced ingredients. The chefs at the restaurant are highly skilled in the art of Thai cooking, using traditional techniques and flavours to create delicious and authentic dishes.
Some of the standout dishes at Sala include the green curry chicken, pad Thai, and tom yum soup. The restaurant also offers a range of vegetarian and gluten-free options.
The service at Sala is impeccable, and the attentive and friendly staff made us feel welcomed and comfortable throughout our meal. The restaurant also offers a range of fine wines and signature cocktails, and we tried our hand at mixing some, too.
Sala with its beautiful setting, delicious Thai cuisine, and exceptional service, it is a true highlight of the resort’s dining options.
After an outstanding experience it was time for us to leave Thailand, but rest assured we will be back. The Marriot group have created a simply wonderful resort and, overall, the JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort is a luxurious and relaxing destination for those seeking a beachfront getaway in Thailand. With its stunning location, comfortable accommodations, and excellent amenities and services, and outstanding service, we were happy with our experience at the resort.
Image at the top is a seafood salad served up at Paii in Bangkok.
