For grand occasions at the Royal Cliff Grand!
by Miss Terry Diner
Miss Terry Diner is sure she was a foundling. Raised by
hardworking middle class parents, but in reality a person with the blood
of aristocracy in her veins. I was born for the finer things in life, and
so when Andrew Wood, the general manager of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort,
invited the Dining Out Team to the Saturday Grand Buffet it was a case of
saying yes immediately and cancelling all other appointments. After all,
the Royal Cliff has never failed to impress, but how did it go this time?
The seafood BBQ Buffet is held on the Larn Thong
Terrace of the Grand building and commences at 7 p.m. You can sit and
watch the end of the sunset over the Bay of Siam, surrounded by the
twinkling lights in the terrace gardens. A truly ‘magical’ venue. The
Saturday Grand Buffet is an enlargement of the Monday to Friday buffets,
with more fresh seafood and greater varieties, with stations set in the
middle and along the far wall. The price is slightly increased to 850 + +
from the weekday 750 + +.
The tables are all covered with thick starched linen
tablecloths, the glasses are top quality and huge, and the normal
veritable army of service personnel are in attendance to push the awaiting
chair under the bottom. Oh, I love being spoiled! To heighten the effect
of something special, a Filipino band is on the terrace playing easy
listening music.
We were joined by the resident manager of the Grand,
Ranjith Chandrasiri, and his wife Chitra, so the wines were chosen by the
expert. If you want to try his recommendation, we had some Grandin Brut
champagne as aperitif, and then followed that with a rather wonderful
8-year-old Leuwin Estate “Art Series” Riesling, and finally an
exceptional Chilean Escudo Rojo red.
Before you take anything from the buffet, do yourself a
favour and just walk around first, as the range of choices is phenomenal.
There was far too much offering to just write down a list, but let me
assure you that there is something there to suit every taste, be that for
Japanese, Thai, Mediterranean, European, or just plain hungry. Referring
to my notes, I made special mention of the roast duck, which was done in a
“Peking Duck” style, complete with the onions and cucumber and Peking
Duck sauce, and there was a very large selection of freshly baked breads
(try the cheese rolls - mmmm)!
I began with some fresh oysters and rock lobster, then
some smoked salmon, complete with onions and capers. Following that, there
were some steamed crabs that made their way to my plate, and then to get
away from the totally seafood theme, we dined on a beautifully tender
roast lamb, with mint sauce of course. I also had some steamed garoupa
with soya sauce which was done with shredded ginger. Madame, in the
meantime had tried the tom yum talay, which was given top marks and then
the very large fresh prawns; however, her pick of the night was the
roasted duck. Desserts? There were many on offer and I must admit to some
ice cream and chocolate mousse.
The Royal Cliff Beach Resort certainly did not let me
down. The Saturday Grand Buffet was a wonderful sheer indulgence. An
opportunity to sample the better side of life. The food was superb, the
wines spectacular, the service exemplary, and dare I say it, the company
was scintillating. It is not a cheap night out, but the best things in
life never are. You have to expect to pay for quality, and whilst B. 850
plus, plus, (hotel-speak, remember) may sound expensive - for the range,
standard, presentation and surroundings it is not. You can pay more than
that for up-market dining in Pattaya City for just three courses. To steal
someone else’s slogan - remember the Saturday Grand Buffet, “when only
the best will do”! Highest recommendation.
The Larn Thong Terrace, the Royal Cliff Grand, 353 Pratamnak Road,
Pattaya, telephone 038 250 421, ext 2007 or 2037 (Guest Relations). Secure
Parking and all usual credit cards.
