A very welcome surprise
by Miss Terry Diner
It has been some time since we went Dining Out at the
Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s Chinese restaurant, the Chrysanthemum Palace. In
fact so long that the restaurant has had a total refurbishment since our
last visit. Gone are the bright reds, now replaced by a less strident maroon
décor, with matching colour-coordinated service staff uniforms. Even the
chairs are more comfortable, while the terrace area outside has also had a
total make-over.
Another noteworthy fact, and the one that had interested
us, were the latest awards from the prestigious New York Wine Spectator
magazine. It seems as though the Royal Cliff’s Grill Room and Wine Cellar,
and the Rossini restaurant, win one of these each year, but in 2006, the
Chrysanthemum Palace won one as well! For a Chinese restaurant to win
something like this is almost unheard of, as it has always been thought that
Chinese food and wine do not sit well together. Let me (as well as the Wine
Spectator) tell you that this is no longer the case.
The reason can be simply put down to the Royal Cliff Wine Club’s president,
Ranjith Chandrasiri. Being one of Thailand’s leading wine judges, his
knowledge of wines is extensive, so he conferred with the Chrysanthemum
Palace’s Chinese Master Chef, Mr. Lim, and between them they began to
accumulate ‘wine friendly’ ingredients for the Chinese cuisine, and then
compile a list of suitable wines to go with the dishes.
Ranjith suggests, “When the dish contains pungent, powerful and often spicy
ingredients, a few textbook solutions apply. As a very general rule of
thumb, for most ethnic cuisines go for wines - both red and white - that
steer a middle-path with neither too much acidity, sweetness nor oak. The
same goes for tannin in the case of reds.
“This is not to suggest you to look to boring wines - heaven forbid that
anyone needs drink boring wine in this day and age. But if you are
unfamiliar with the flavours and textures of the dish in front of you, then
fruity, balanced and moderate wines will hopefully avoid clashes and will
complement the key ingredients.”
To make life even easier for the diners, the menu lists suitable wines in
these categories, and the prices were amazingly low, ranging from B. 950
through to a B. 2,100 for a 2003 Oakridge Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley
(Australia).
We were very fortunate in that we dined with Ranjith and his wife Chitra, as
he could then assist with any dishes/wines that we were unfamiliar with;
however, the highly trained staff under Suthi always pointed out the correct
sauce to go with each dish (try the Sianhai sauce with BBQ roast pork, for
example). It certainly takes the guesswork out of Chinese dining.
We tried numerous courses, as one does with Chinese food, and referral to my
tasting notes indicated we enjoyed an excellent Szechuan soup, with just a
dash of sauce to make it hot and tangy. Other dishes which stood out
included the fried Chilean snowfish with soya sauce and the sautéed duck
meat (from the Peking duck) done in an XO sauce. The Peking duck slices were
also wrapped for us and brought to the table. A nice touch.
There is now no doubt in my mind that wine complements any meal, even
Chinese food. The New York Wine Spectator award team certainly agreed. The
recommendations in the menu makes life easy, and to be honest, I would be
choosing one of the two special six course set menus (they change every
month and are B. 1,200 and B. 1,500) rather than wade through the very
extensive multi-page individual items.
This restaurant has been revitalized, in décor and in concept and I would
recommend that you now try some wine with your Chinese meal! By the way,
there are four private rooms if you wish to entertain a party of guests.
Chrysanthemum Palace, Royal Cliff Beach Resort level B2, 353 Pratamnak Road,
Pattaya, tel. 038-250-421 ext. 2037/2007. Open Friday-Wednesday (closed
Thursdays), from 6.30 p.m. until 10.30 p.m. Secure parking in the Royal
Cliff Beach Resort car park.
