It has been a couple of years since we attended the BBQ
at the Mercure Hotel in Pattaya. This was not because we had forgotten about
the experience (which was very positive), but because there are so many
other dining out venues for us to cover.
The Mercure is a little hidden away on Soi 15, so you can be excused if you
are unsure of the location. Many diners do not even realize this Accor hotel
is there. However, with all the surrounding building finished with the new
condominiums like City Garden on Soi 15, the Mercure precinct is much busier
than it used to be. And with the access to the Mercure and Soi 15 from
Second Road through The Avenue, it means the Mercure is actually very
central.
Before descending upon the buffet, we sat back with a glass of house wine
and just took in the ambience of the Mercure venue around their pool. We may
live here, but overlooking the Mercure pool instantly made us feel as if we
were tourists too, relaxing on our tropical holiday.
I will also admit that GM Alex Chakrabarti reserved a table for us right
next to the pool, very nice. Best seats in the house! Thank you, Alex.
The wine list is predominately French (after all, the Mercure is part of the
French Accor group, and we even had a French trainee looking after our
table) and also inexpensive, with bottles ranging in price between B.
850-1500.
The buffet items are arranged outside (but covered), plus an area for cold
cuts, cheeses and desserts inside.
Taking the interior items first, there is a cold cuts
platter with bologna, salami and coppa, plus Asian salads such as the spicy
pork yam moo. Salad items include potato salad with bacon, Mexican salad
with bologna and bell peppers and a Caesar salad.
There are three cheeses, emmental, brie and Gouda with dried fruit
accompaniment. There is also a correct cheese knife - a small thing but so
often missing at other buffets we have been to.
Outside in chafing dishes we found roast potatoes, a Thai style pork with
ginger and garlic, corn on the cob, sautéed mixed vegetables, Jasmine rice
and fried rice.
Next to these there were two hot kettles with tom yum talay (spicy seafood)
and a pumpkin cream soup.
On the other side from the chafing dishes there was a carvery with marinated
chickens, a grill with pork ribs, chicken steaks and beef steaks, veal and
pork sausages.
Also in this area was a crepe station and ice cream, great finishes for any
buffet.
However, in one corner, there is a Mongolian noodle which
is easy to miss, but it is in the far corner. Here you select your noodles
and meats and stir-fry vegetables and the young chef quickly stir-fries as
you watch, adding splashes of different sauces as he tosses the noodles.
After our glass of house wine, we toured the buffet. This is something I
always recommend - have a good look around first before selecting something
just to later find an even more favorite item!
I began with some roast potatoes and small pork steaks from the grill, while
Madame began with the marinated chicken. Good starters from us both,
remembering to keep room for more items.
We followed those dishes with fried rice for Madame and Jasmine rice with
the Thai stir-fried pork for me.
After a suitable breather and a second glass of well chilled house white I
approached the Mongolian noodle area. Some chicken fillet pieces, the
noodles and some vegetables, stir-fried and flamed and this was my dish of
the night. Great taste. Madame went with ice cream!
When looking at a buffet of this style, price becomes a major factor in
comparisons and the Mercure Friday BBQ Buffet is only B. 300, with children
between 5 and 12 half price (under 5 is free). This makes it a very
inexpensive evening, and take my tip - the stir-fried Mongolian noodles were
wonderful, and I ate more than one plateful!
Mercure Hotel, Soi 15 Pattaya Second Road, telephone 038 425 050, fax 038
425 080, email hotel@ mercurepattaya.com. Secure parking in hotel car park.
