[Travel] In the Heart of Bangkok - Dinner at NAMA Japanese and Seafood Buffet @ Centara Grand Bangkok Convention Centre Central World

Made reservation for 7pm but traffic was bad so we reached around 730pm instead. Just head on up to level 24 for the buffet.

signage

Let the staff at the counter know which package for all the pax in your group. There were two price range to choose from, and we decided to go for the ฿999 package. 

Made payment and staff led the way to our table. The place was quite big and plenty of diners that night.

There's a QR code to scan for the buffet menu but none of us could connect to it. Asked the staff for help and turned out, we needed to connect to their wifi. So we practically handed over our phone to the helpful staff to help key in the wifi password. 

Even so, not sure why but only one out of three mobile phones were able to connect to the buffet ordering platform. So I was the de-facto 'orderer'.

Our package came with one-time order of Japanese oysters (3 pieces) with toppings, grilled wagyu cubes with foie gras and some sushi (3 pieces).

Japanese oysters (one-time)

steak cubes with foie gras (one-time)

Then, the rest of the stuffs came from the buffet. Besides the online menu, one could walk around to see the items already available at the counter for diners to take. For example, the deep fried section for fried dumplings, deep fried beef etc. Non-alcoholic drinks are included and one could just go  towards the drink counter to fetch your own glass and ice-cubes, and self-serve from the machines. There's milo, soda such as fanta grape, yuzu drink etc. 

Cold seafood section is also available with the usual oysters, prawns, mussels but I was too busy ordering from the online menu to walk around. 

deep fried stuffs

marinated seafood (scallops, salmon, prawns)

wagyu beef sushi

duck liver sushi?

beef sushi

beef steak

hamachi and salmon belly sashimi

Loved the sashimi here. Thick cut and fresh. 

hotate, anago and unagi sushi

I love hotate

Service was quick and the food arrived pretty quickly once you've successfully sent it to the kitchen. If your order didn't arrive, most likely it is because the order has yet to be confirmed to send to kitchen.

aburi sushi

grilled river prawns

The staff who helped with the initial wifi setup, came back to our table and showed me her phone. Turns out, she used the translation app on her phone to inform us the location of the dessert counter. So sweet of her!

tamago that was too sweet

unagi

honeydew

The dessert that one could take directly are mostly the cheesecakes. I only tried one type as the stomach ran out of space.

cheesecake

raindrop cake (order through the online app)

Looking back at the photos, I realised that I only ate a fraction of what I photographed. Mainly because the journey back to the hotel would take about 1 hour (due to the jam) and didn't want to risk an upset tummy.

Overall, good value and there's plenty of variety to satisfy Japanese food cravings. Thank you to the staff whose help had made our dining experience enjoyable, especially for first-timers to Nama.

NAMA Japanese and Seafood Buffet

Address: 24th floor Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre, 999/99 Rama I Rd, Khwaeng Pathum Wan, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Website: https://www.facebook.com/NAMAJapaneseandSeafoodBuffet/

Business Hours:

Daily: 11 am–10 pm

[Travel] In the Heart of Bangkok - Lunch at Biscotti @ Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel

It was my last day at Anantara Siam Bangkok and as am only going over to the next hotel to meet up with Hence and Tracy at 5pm, I do have time for lunch at Biscotti, an Italian restaurant within the hotel.

Decided to go for their ala-carte menu as I have eyed a dish that I wanted to try; Gnocchi Ai Funghi Selvatici. I like a good gnocchi. The best thus far, was at Club Street, a taste that I had aeons ago (translated as more than 20 years ago). Next was at Garibaldi but the gnocchi there was more of an accompaniment rather than a main.

There were two staff at the entrance of the restaurant and one of them led me to a table. The place was not too busy and I noticed that the table next to mine, was almost done with their lunch.

sparkling water

Also got myself a glass of red wine, as I couldn't resist when the wine list has Amarone by the glass.

2020 Amarone della Valpolicella, Villa Loren @฿680++ (per glass)

smooth, low tannin, berries

From what I've read, Amarone is not usually paired with pasta but the staff says, "Go for it. Up to individual preference!" And, so I did. 

housemade crispy bread, served with eggplant and pepper dip, olive oil with balsamic, sea salt

Was served the crispy bread (complimentary) right after wine was served. Initially surprised to see such a generous amount even for a solo diner, but I did enjoy this dish by quite abit and voila, none left by the end of lunch. Except some loose crumbs. It was that good.

Gnocchi Ai Funghi Selvatici @฿450++ (small)

Two sizes of pasta is available; small or large, and I opted for small. Just for a taste. 

Those cute little balls of pillowy dough were good. Overall, strong flavours, earthy tones from the wild mushrooms and perfumed by a little bit of thyme made a strong impression. I also loved it as the dish was served hot.

Spoonfuls after spoonfuls of deliciousness went in, and suddenly, there was only a few left. Then I had the idea to break some pieces of those crispy bread into the gnocchi dish, and yass to the contrast in texture with two equally flavourful counterparts. Is this what we called, carbs on carbs? Haha!

crispy and soft combined

looking at the open kitchen where the delicious foods came from

Next, it was time for dessert. Staff says the most ordered dessert is the amalfi lemon and so, that was what I had.

Amalfi Lemon @฿420++

Visually stunning and looked pretty much life-like, like an actual lemon.

Ivory white chocolate mousse, confit Amalfi lemons

Enjoyable dessert, served with a small scoop of icy limoncello sorbet. The green leaves on the lemon is for decorative purpose. Just saying.

Hmm, I think I still have room for another dessert and hence, asked Mameaw (one of the staff) for her recommendation. She said I must try the tiramisu. Alright, let's go for it!

By now (around 2pm), the restaurant was fairly relaxed but I was wondering why the tiramisu is taking its time to arrive... Then, a small table was setup next to mine. Eh, table-side service for tiramisu? Keke.

what's this?

Staff said he will serve a bigger piece for me. Oh, thank you~

Biscotti Tiramisu @฿450++

yummy

Tiramisu was lovely and by now, am feeling full. But then, Chef Giuseppe Bonura (Biscotti’s Chef de Cuisine) came by to the table again and we talked a bit on the food and he mentioned about his childhood summer food which happened to be on the dessert menu; Brioscia & Sorbetto Al Limone. He asked me if I wanted to try. 

Orange Brioche with lemon sorbet @฿300

soft and fluffy

Chef shared that one breaks apart the soft brioche, and scoop some of the sorbet inside to eat together. Orange brioche was served slightly warm, with sugar dust and combined with the icy tangy sorbet, I can understand why it's the perfect summer breakfast. Thank you Chef Giuseppe for the treat!

Overall, it was an enjoyable solo dining experience at Biscotti Bangkok. The service was good, food was delicious and appreciate Chef Giuseppe who took time to talk to guests when the kitchen is not too busy.

Spent around SGD94 and yes, even I couldn't believe that I had 3 desserts in one sitting. Wow.

Biscotti บิสก็อตติ

Address: 155 Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Website: https://www.biscottibangkok.com/

Business Hours:

Daily: 12–2:30 pm, 6–10:30 pm

[Travel] In the Heart of Bangkok - Lunch at Guilty @ Anantara Siam Bangkok

Was staying at Anantara Siam Bangkok and made a reservation for set lunch at Guilty for the next day. Originally priced at ฿900++ for a 4-course Set Lunch, and there was a reduced priced when reserved via Anantara Siam Bangkok upgrades.

interior

decor

open kitchen

I was the first table at 1pm that day. Already knew what to order and that surprised the staff a little.

Also got myself a glass of cocktail to enjoy with the set lunch.

staring at my table decor while waiting

Cantarito @฿420++

Tasted predominantly of orange and soda, with mezcal. Good alcohol strength.

GUILTY Lunch Set Menu

corn bread

to eat with corn bread - spice, herb and salt

I liked it with all the condiments

Home-Made Guacamole with Tortillas Crisps

The guacomole tasted rather healthy, hence added a pinch of salt to enhance the taste. 

Snack

Croquetas De Cangrejo

Crab Croquettes, Spicy Uni Mayonnaise, Coriander

The crab croquette was ok, and couldn't really taste the uni in the mayo. Still a nice bite.

Starter

BBQ Pork Belly Salad

I was impressed by the salad. The BBQ pork belly was tender and practically melted in my mouth. Not only that, the flavours in this dish came on strong! Tasted of soy in the dressing. The inclusion of pomelo flesh was lovely for that refreshing flavour.

Main Course

Brazilian Style Wagyu Picanha

The picanha was served with tempura baby corn and aji limo (the red pepper sauce). The meat was done medium rare and it was delicious. Loved the chimichurri sauce as well. Portion was just nice.

sip and eat

Dessert

Banana Latina

The dessert was done well visually. So lifelike. Hahaha! Oooh, discovered that its 'skin' was made of white chocolate. The inside was supposed to be banana cheesecake but it tasted pretty much like banana puree. The cake portion was a tad too little, maybe? Served with coconut ice-cream (my favourite!). The best bite is when all components; ice-cream, chocolate and banana cheesecake are eaten together.

chocolate, banana cheesecake

Loved the food here, and it made me curious of their other dessert. And... ordered some more dessert!

Signature Guilty Ice Cream “Popsicles” @฿425

Wow, the popsicles looked pretty and I think it is to be shared amongst 3 pax. Oops! Interesting to see that it was served on cold stones to maybe prevent the popsicles from melting too fast?

Mango passion fruit has chocolate shell too, and this was my second favourite flavour of the 3 popsicles.

Sweet Mango-Passion Fruit

Maybe am having popsicle fatigue but my tongue was not able to taste the lychee/mint flavours in the lychee-mint popsicle. But the pink sphere and the purple chocolate on it was nice.

Refreshing Lychee-Mint

My favourite popsicle was the chocolate brownie. Tasted of slight bitterness, some sweetness and whole lot of cocoa. Am guessing that was some salted caramel sauce on it.

Intense Chocolate-Brownie

In the end, the additional cocktail and extra dessert were on-par with the price paid for Set Lunch. But hey, what's life if there isn't a bit of indulgence every now and then!

Thank you to the Chefs and staff for pacing the lunch set adequately and I am satisfied.

Guilty Bangkok

Address: 155 Ratchadamri Rd, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Website: https://www.guiltythailand.com/guilty-bangkok/

Business Hours:

Closed on Sun.

Mon - Sat: 12–2:30 PM, 6 PM–12 AM