March 23, 2005

Rockfish: idyllic location on Kamala Beach

Rockfish
Overlooking Kamala Beach from the Patong end.
33/6 Kamala Beach Road,
Tel: 076 279732

I saw the sign on the main road and followed it to the Rockfish. The language of the sign saying ‘awesome views’ suggested I would find a farang manager when I got there. I did and he was a friendly Aussie.
The Rockfish is only a small restaurant on a covered terrace about 15 feet above the beach. The level above has a bar, the kitchen and the loos. This is one of those idyllic locations that people go to Phuket for. However I tend to find that restaurants with this kind of view are normally very much a local operation serving so-so Thai food. That is not the case here. The menu is fairly limited but it was made clear that if they had the ingredients, they could cook it. Thus the menu was more about showing the ingredients available and an indication of the cooking style. That style I must call ‘fusion’: but as that is getting an iffy reputation let me say ‘good fusion’. Or should I say ‘sensible fusion’. This is not somebody putting a strange spice with an unlikely meat just to prove it can be done. This is much more about taking local products and putting them together in a genuine cross between Thai and European cuisine. My main problem with fusion menu items is that you do not really know what you are going to get. On the Rockfish website they list: Tuna and salmon ceviche with green mango, Thai herbs and lemon wasabi jam: QED.
We started the proceedings with a bottle of white wine from Alsace and later had a Bourgogne Grande Ordinaire, neither of which I had ever seen before in Thailand. Both were good, sensible drinking wines at around a 1,000 Baht. The wine list was interesting and well chosen with more than enough choice and range without being a catalogue.
As for the food, I had prawn spring rolls with coriander from the menu and J had a prawn and avocado salad off the menu. For mains I had roast duck with Szechwan spices and J had salmon with saffron. The food was difficult to fault but for me the sauce of the duck was a touch too spicy as it killed any taste the duck may have had. But the coriander in the spring rolls was fresh, and it was a clever little dish. All our food looked very good as you can see from the photos. I suppose the point about fusion is that you are saying to the chef: feed me, surprise me! The test is then “is it a pleasant or unpleasant surprise?” I am sure that at Rockfish the former is the norm.
An excellent lunch in a great location with some interesting food, and there was never any suggestion that we should not hang about untill late in the afternoon and happily it was well passed 4 pm by the time we left.

Rockfish Website

Posted by Sam at 1:41 PM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2005

Sacz Jazz restaurant in Sukhumvit Soi 2

Sacz
Majestic Grand Hotel
Sukhumvit Soi 2
Bangkok
Tel: 02 262 2999
Website

This update is dated May 31st 2006.

I went to Sacz when it first opened about a year ago and I have to say I was less than impressed. It had all those bugs associated with an opening run by people who did not know what they were doing. I felt sorry for the luckless Italian chef/manager. I suppose the main point that made me go back was the survival itself - I did not see it lasting six months as it was. Also I wanted it to be good. The reason for that is that Fabb has gone. Fabb was my night-out spot and the little band often fronted by a octogarian xylophone player, who also played the sax as well, was a joy.
So on Sunday night I caterpillared across the Rajah Hotel and into Sacz. I was greeted by one of the ex-Pomodoro managers as an old friend and I suppose from that moment on service was assured. In fact the whole operation has improved dramatically from my last visit, when the staff seemed to be straight off a rice farm. Now there is a genuine air of professionalism and confidence in the service. The one thing that has not changed of course is the décor. It is still retro communist 60’s brown with the high ceiling, brown square bits and brown curtains and only the odd big flower arrangement has softened the hard edges. The menu is a well chosen Italian one and the wine list is as extensive as it needs to be. Although I must say the prices are in line with the general standards - high.

But I had gone to see the band. Last time I went, the band was as new as the restaurant, and although they were obviously all competent musicians, one felt they need an awful lot more time together. There is one survivor of the original line up and I was pleased to see him as I liked him last time. As you will shortly appreciate this is a true multi-ethnic band. Malcolm the piano player is from South Africa although his relatives obviously came from the sub-continent. How he came to Bangkok I am unsure. Maybe he was heading to the land of his ancestors and over shot! But he is a great guy and good piano player. The bass player is Nong from these parts and he never stops smiling. The sax player is William from the USA, and needless to say Judai the singer is from the Philippines. Sadly with all those backgrounds the band could only come up with the name - the Gig Band. Maybe the hotel management choose it for them.
Clearly with that line up this would be called a cocktail band although I would prefer the handle ‘light jazz’ band. All the players are talented and they all look happy and seem to be enjoying themselves. All the instruments played solo, with the piano and sax providing good solid improvisations in virtually every number. Judai has a good voice with a decent vocal range and was able to cover virtually every type of song from old standards such As Time Goes By and Night and Day to the more contemporary songs of current stars. I suppose somewhat unfairly I started making requests which the band seemed be able to play but Judai could not. That was one thing about the Philippine girl at Fabb, she had a massive repertoire and she and the band once covered my entire six song request which included: Summertime, Yesterday, Mac the Knife, The Saints and as a real spoof Satisfaction. I did not try that list here although I asked for Mac the Knife and the the band did an instrumental version!
So my conclusion was that this place has come a long way in a year. The food and service were good and the music was fun. I always think that this type of band need audience participation to help them along. On Sunday night it was not busy but those there were willing supporters. There is a problem with the room when not full in that with a high ceiling and stone floor there is the inevitable echo but it was not too bad listening to it, but a recording I made showed just how real it was!
One of my bitches is when the singer sort of lumps on you for requests and generally trying to get you into the show. The singer last year did that, and it was something the girl at Fabb used to do until she realised I would not play. There is a fine line between asking for requests and getting those who want to stay anonymous involved. I do not like singers who chase round the tables. Maybe that comes from fending off scrounging gypsy bands in Eastern Europe where you would suddenly find a six piece band had upped and left the band stand to surround your table and refuse to go away until a suitable tip was offered. Pay too much and they were your friends for the night!
I suppose the final question is: Does Sacz offer a true replacement for Fabb? I believe it does, so next time you want a musical night out and decent dinner try Sacz.

Posted by Sam at 12:47 PM | Comments (1)

March 2, 2005

Man Ho Chinese Restaurant Dim Sum weekend special

Man Ho Chinese Restaurant
JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok
4 Sukhumvit Road, Soi 2
Bangkok, 10110 Thailand
Phone: 66 2 6567700

I am always a bit suspicious of Dim Sum. Probably because in my time I never have eaten that much of it and all those little baskets suggest the contents may not be what one really wants to eat. Of course that just is my perception and I know I routinely eat things that others shudder at!
I was invited to lunch at the Marriott where they have an all-you-can eat Dim Sum menu on Saturdays and Sundays in the Man Ho Chinese Restaurant. As you would expect in an opulent hotel, it is an elegant restaurant and is located on the first floor overlooking the busy Sukhumvit Road.
The concept is really quite simple and in preference to all those other “you can eat ” deals at least here there is no wandering off to the buffet. The menu has 37 Dim Sum options. They are: Steamed (16 options); Deep Fried (7); Baked (2); Special (6); and Vegetarian (6). In addition there are five soups and six rice and noodle options. And if you still have any room at all, there six desserts to choose from. The price for this vast array is 670 Baht plus plus.
With only two of us, the selection was a question of us both ordering items that we fancied, making certain we did not duplicate our choices. I ordered deep fried spring rolls with shredded chicken and they brought that as a starter. At that moment I realised I was really going to enjoy my meal. Clearly too much of my time has been spent in the wrong kind of Chinese restaurants! Everything was very good, from the steamed Phuket lobster dumpling to the poached egg noodles with barbequed honey pork. However the dish I enjoyed the most was the deep fried prawn dumpling with mayonnaise; clever because it was crisp on the outside with a soft centre. We had that in our second selection or I would have reordered it. I finished off with the Mango pudding.
The food arrived reasonably quickly bearing in mind everything was cooked to order. I really do want to go back but next time take a few more people and start a little earlier: the finish time is 2.30 pm. That is a pity because I can imagine nothing better than having that menu in front of you all afternoon. A little food, a little wine and a little conversation. That could go on for ever! So finally, maybe I am beginning to appreciate Chinese culture just a little, the old clichè being “the way to a manlsquo;s heart is through...!”

Posted by Sam at 4:00 PM | Comments (0)