Imagine drinking champagne (or even Prosecco!) overlooking a tropical beach, with palm trees gently waving as you sip and enjoy succulent salmon with capers and cocktail onions. Imaging being able to leave the children in the care of someone else while you lounge there licking the chocolate from fresh strawberries. Well, imagination is not needed – this is the scene at the Pullman Pattaya’s Sunday Brunch. A feast of pure hedonism from noon till five in the afternoon, and one that we enjoyed last Sunday.
So where is the Pullman? Go to Soi 18 on the Pattaya-Naklua Road, go down to the bottom and turn right alongside the Centara Grand Mirage and keep going for another 500 meters and the Pullman Pattaya Aisawan (to give it its full title) is there on your left. Plenty of parking and then go down to the Beach Club where the buffet is spread around the pool.
Ocean Terrace.
You can sit around the pool, or on the ocean terrace looking out over the Gulf of Thailand, or indoors with air-conditioning. The seating is comfortable and the cutlery and glasses are of high standard. This is hedonism with ‘class’.
Last Sunday was very hot, so we chose the air-conditioned section, though many of the other diners from Europe were more attracted to the Pattaya warmth after the freeze of the European continent.
A complimentary drink comes next – a Bloody Mary, with or without vodka. Warning – the fully loaded one is strong!
Smoked Salmon.
The next choice is whether to have the brunch with sparkling water (Perrier) at B. 1,200, or with sparkling wine (Prosecco) at B. 1,800 or with champagne at B. 3,200. We chose the ‘sparkling wine’ option with the brunch (Follador Italian Prosecco), which arrived wonderfully cold in a clear plastic ‘carry bag’ ice bucket. By the way, there is also a ‘smoothies’ bar where you choose your fruit and the barman does the rest. The attentive waiters are decked out in white fisherman’s trousers with white T top and orange sashes.
We had our two children with us who were more than happy to get rid of their parents and enjoy all the offerings in the supervised kid’s corner, including burgers, fish and chips, coloring pencils and plasticene! Not only are children catered for, but children under 12 are free and between the ages of 12 and 16 they are half price.
Lamb Leg.
The brunch offerings are very extensive and run from the air-con area for the cold items to around the pool, including live cooking stations. There are regional cuisine stations covering Thai, Indian and European. Live seafood BBQ and meat skewers. Chef Thierry was hovering, making sure everything was in its place, and it was.
Inside, in the cool, there was a laden cheeseboard with a superb blue that had me coming back for more. In addition, there were several styles of shaved hams and Italian meats. Round the corner from them there was smoked salmon, then herrings, and then into mussels, Alaskan king crab and beautifully sweet French oysters.
But it didn’t end there either, a foie gras station was pan-frying generous sized foie gras, then lamb leg with mint which was just so appealing, plus others and even a pizza. There was more, but I began to run out of pages in the reporter’s notebook, but mention must be made of the desserts, with the chocolate fountain beckoning, plus different parfaits and sundaes.
Hedonism around the pool
This was simply a superb Sunday Brunch, and the venue just elevated the event to ‘out of this world’ proportions. With the time slot (noon till 5 p.m.), it was an unhurried, all-afternoon idyllic gourmet brunch. OK, I’ll come clean, it was an unhurried, all-afternoon idyllic indulgence.
Do make a booking, you will not be disappointed. The biggest decisions are whether to go sparkling water, sparkling wine or champagne. And please remember to pick up your children afterwards. Ours were enjoying themselves so much they didn’t want to leave.
Pullman Pattaya Aisawan, 445/3 Moo 5, Wongamart Beach, Pattaya-Naklua Road, Soi 16, telephone 038 411 940-8, www.pullmanpattayaaisawan.com. Sunday Brunch from noon until 5 p.m. Plenty of secure parking within the resort grounds.
