by Miss Terry Diner
Kim Fletcher, from Shenanigans Pub on Second Road, has
proved himself to be one of the more innovative landlords around. Probably
because of his own background as a chef, food has always had a very high
priority in the establishment, and the varying daily “specials”
(Monday steaks, Tuesday pasta, Saturday, Sunday carveries) have become
very firm favourites amongst the ex-pat community. However, for many Thai
companions, these specials held very little attraction, but the new Friday
night 395 baht (inclusive, not plus plus), and all you can eat,
International Buffet may just have changed all that.
We came as a team of three (one Thai, one American and
one Miss Terry) to sample the new offering. As I have said in reviews of
other restaurants, it is worthwhile taking some time to walk around and
fully understand what is being presented, though I must say that any of
the Shenanigans helpful staff would be more than happy to walk you around
the buffet table.
At the “bar” end of the buffet is the carvery side,
which had roast chicken and ham that evening (other nights can include
turkey, pork, beef or duck), along with the usual carvery vegetables of
mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts and carrots. In the hot bain marie there
was also the soup of the day (cream of mushroom) and another chicken soup,
a beef in red curry, steamed rice and some sausages wrapped in bacon.
From there you move to the “Thai” end of the buffet
table which has several Thai items, with tod mun pla (fish cakes), a spicy
fried egg and a crispy fish with cashew nuts on our night. Next is a cold
section with a ham salad, a garden salad, ham and salami cold cuts, and an
egg salad. There are also various sauces to go with these, such as plum
and a vinaigrette. The cheese platter is also in this area.
At the far end of the buffet there were food warmers,
with turkey breast in cranberry sauce, baked honey ham in an onion sauce
and snapper in a caper sauce, so there were certainly enough choices for
us all. Other nights may have steak in pepper sauce, grilled beef, pork or
chicken and even a cafe de Paris chicken as well.
We chose the quiet “library” area for its large and
comfortable settees and tables and Miss Terry had her usual Singha Gold
while preparing herself for the evening’s repast. There are wines
available as well, ranging in price between B. 690-1,200 per bottle, both
red and white from various international vineyards.
The decor has been chosen to give that warm feeling of
the British (and Irish) style of public houses. Dark wood, carpets,
subdued lighting, the background of people chatting quietly, heavy linen
napkins, solid cutlery - all add up to a laid back venue where one does
feel welcome and nurtured. Khun Beautiful and the other staff make sure of
that - at your elbow exactly when needed. Well done!
We began with the mushroom soup for all of us, which
was very creamy (and filling - so don’t have too much). From there we
chose some tod mun pla, which was not at all rubbery, as so many of these
are, and the red curry beef, which our Thai member thoroughly enjoyed (as
did Miss Terry, I might add). The snapper in the caper sauce was moist and
just fell apart on the fork and was excellent, and the turkey and honey
baked ham were also first class. Space precludes other detailed
descriptions, but we were not disappointed with our choices.
There was no doubt in any of our minds that this was
well prepared and restaurant quality food - make no mistake, this is not
‘pub grub’. The opinion of the (expanded) Dining Out team was that the
International Buffet represented excellent value and the range of choices
increased the attraction by its covering Thai tastes as well as the more
usual British/European palate. Definitely recommended and probably one of
the best places for ex-pat/Thai partnerships.
Shenanigans, 218/2-4 Second Road (just past Royal Garden Plaza),
telephone 038 710 641.
