February 14, 2006

The Sirocco at the Dome

Sirocco
THE DOME AT THE STATE TOWER
1055 Silom Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500.
Phone 02 624-9555
Website

I think that Sirocco is one of the few restaurants that most of Bangkok's residents have heard of by now. Its location, perched on the 64th floor of the State Tower makes it a guaranteed spectacle. Furthermore, I had heard nothing except good about it. Time to go nit-picking I thought! So I summoned Lord Toad.
Booking here is essential, and initially I tried using the website. But that seemed to let me book only at set hours, and I suspected they had a two-sitting policy with the option of an early 6 or 7 sitting, or a later 9 or 10. Needless to say I wanted to book my visit on or around 7.30/8pm, so I telephoned after their website had done its best to sabotage my computer, after I proved reluctant to give it my ‘phone number. In fact the girl who took the booking was first class, and there was no problem with my booking time. I suspect on busy weekends they do operate those double sitting times. They even rang back on the day of the booking to confirm it.
My next problem was getting there, at least in time. Traveling from the Sukhumvit area I had to travel the length of Silom Road. In the end instead of arriving early as planned, I arrived on the dot and found Toad safely ensconced in the bar that juts out of the Tower overlooking the lights of Bangkok. To get to said bar, and indeed the restaurant, is a minor assault course. There is a sweeping flight of steps that looks vaguely reminiscent of the outside of a pyramid. Fine for those with plenty of youthful mobility on their side, but any movement restrictions make it a nightmare. To be fair, the manageress saw my problem and when we left we used the freight elevator. I do not normally get on to the subject of handicapped access in this city, as mentioning the subject is slightly less effective than beating one’s head against a brick wall. However The Dome is amazingly well planned and managed and I am surprised they had not dealt with that one properly. So if anybody does have movement problems when booking, request the use of the freight elevator! That also provides an opportunity to inspect the kitchens!
Once at our table, the service was quick and attentive and as far as I could see, all the front of house staff were Thai. My complaint at this stage - the menu reading bit - was the lack of light. This is an outdoor restaurant and the stars may be nearly 700 feet closer than on the ground - but that is still not enough. We had a candle that marginally helped, but a torch would have really helped. The wine list is very well thought out and constructed with a very good range of the top wines of the world. However it is not for the light of pocket, with very little wine at less than 3,000 Baht a bottle, which with the usual plus plus means over 3,000 Baht a bottle. We drank Gewurztraminer, by Hugel, to start and then moved to a Red Rhone, and finally ended up with a decent desert wine. What I did appreciate was when we asked for the wine to be by the table, rather than confiscated and thus out of reach, they obliged without a mutter. Although in the end their service was good enough to keep our glasses suitably charged.
The menu was full of modern foody speak that leaves one wondering exactly what is going to arrive. For starter I had Comfit of duck in olive oil with mesclun greens, poached figs, gorgonzola and a warm red wine-pancetta vinaigrette. Toad had nicely pink fresh foie gras and the girls had crab cakes, all excellent. For mains we ordered beef tenderloin, lamb rack, Chicken and duck breast, all described with suitable panache, served attractively and not faulted by any of the assembled jury. The food was served with remarkable speed considering the standard, and the nearly full restaurant. But if they intended to often squeeze in two, or more, sittings, that would be a kitchen requirement and the kitchen is big, compared to the restaurant size: and of course it would have to be. However there was nothing untoward about the speed of the food’s arrival and there was a suitable break between courses. The one bitch was the table size. The table on which four of us were dining would have been fine for two. When the crab starter courses arrived, they were on massive plates that simply did not fit on the table until we had cleared bread plates and the like away. We made this comment to the ever present manageress, and she assured us that if we called her next time, we would get a double table.
On a platform overlooking the restaurant a jazz band played with Mandy Gaines, a very accomplished singer. She sang with gusto and the band played with verve. The one problem was when we sent in a request, the band could not supply the backing. We spoke to Mandy and she was clearly frustrated at the band’s lack of range. In fact I asked for exactly the same six numbers from the band at the now lamented Fabb Jazz Cafe and they did them all! Here they could only do one!
In summary, Sirocco is a fascinating restaurant with slick service and good food. The view is spectacular and jazz well worth the trip. This really is a great restaurant for a special event, or to take and impress people. It is of course an expensive restaurant, however generally speaking, it is worth the money. And just to end the story, a day later I received an email from the PR department thanking me for my visit and asking me to make any comments I might feel necessary. All in all it completed my impression that Sirocco is more New York than Bangkok - and that is meant as an accolade!

Posted by Sam at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2006

Mes Amis

Mes Amis
102/3 Sukhumvit 53, (Thonglor Soi 5)
Bangkok 10110
Tel: 02 260 6445

This restaurant is in an attractive house about one hundred-plus yards into Thonglor Soi 5 from Sukhumvit 53. There is a good sized sign on the main road. It looks like a top-end restaurant being in a house with a proper drive, usually full of expensive cars. The disappointment was inside however as it was nearly empty. It was a Sunday night and despite the elegant room, I found a distinct lack of atmosphere. The staff were competent enough but lacked sparkle, and the music machine remained silent until the pudding stage. I think the tape just ran out.
The wine list was well thought out with some good Chilean wine as the house wine, and strangely enough, a couple of well-priced Alsacian wines - a Riesling and a Gewurztraminer. Well I am a sucker for the wines of Alsace so that made the decision easy and I had a very pleasant bottle of Riesling before the excellent house red.

So to the menu, which had many standard dishes as well as a few interesting ideas. I opted for crab cakes which came with extra crab. It looked good and the extra crab, on top, had a nice hint of horseradish in it. It was a good sized portion with four crab cakes, and while they may have looked small, they were in fact thick and substantial.
For main I went for the veal loin with tongue - certainly a new idea to me. I had been tempted by the beef dish of tongue, ox-tail and chunk (I suspect cheek), but thought I had better conserve my appetite before taking that on. My veal was very attractively presented on a bed of shaved courgettes and carrots, with pieces of tongue in a rich sauce around it.
For pud they managed to catch me with the oldest trick in the world. I was dithering and undecided as to what to eat until I saw a mixed dessert offering for two. The other half was suffering from a surfeit of frogs’ legs and then pork, but was roped into the pudding course and denied her ration of ice cream. It was, in line with all the other food, first rate if not a little chocolate-centric.
What I missed in this restaurant was the sense of caring that comes from a proper maitre'd or with the chef cruising for plaudits. Sunday night it may have been, we were unknown and the staff generally did their job, but for me, it lacked that little bit of je ne sais quoi!

Posted by Sam at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)