[Travel Thailand] Buffet Dinner at The Square Restaurant @ Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square

First night at Novotel and we decided to 'eat in' at the restaurant located at Level 2 of the hotel. The Square restaurant is also the hotel designated breakfast place and they have a dim sum & river prawns buffet menu for dinner. We went to recce the place to check-out the food before making a reservation for 4 pax for 7pm the same evening. However, when we went back at 7pm, the same staff who attended to our queries earlier, can't seem to remember us and wasn't able to find the reservation as well. Nevertheless, another staff on duty managed to get us a table.

let's get the Premium

Tonight was a celebratory dinner and I get to eat FOC thanks to my lovely travel kakis; Tracy, Hence and Ivan. Thank you very much!

The System for Premium Items

We found these pegs at our table. Deduced that it is to order for the premium items. Only thing we need to find out, is the amount of food per serving.

table number pegs

deposit the pegs into the basket to order

So we deposited one peg per different basket to get a sense of the serving size. The wait for the premium foods, really depends on which kitchen counter and if they have an existing batch or is preparing the next batch. On average, we waited for about 10 minutes per batch and some 15 minutes.

premium items

Serving Size

One peg almost equated to 1 serving for 1 pax. Hence, if you have a table of 4 pax, place 4 pegs to order.

2 pegs 2 servings

Happy to report that we were satisfied by the size of the river prawns. However, do note that the prawns seemed unseasoned, so you could utilize the salt and pepper shaker on the table, or just get some seafood sauce (green coloured) from the crispy pork counter.

The prawn flesh was firm and meaty.

peeled river prawn

scallop - 1 serving

suckling pig (skin) - 2 servings ( 1 serving was 2 pieces of crispy skin, with one bun and pickles)

Oh, the pickles I super loved!

eat it together

Staff would help to bring the premium items that you had ordered to the table. No need to wait at the counter. We had some mix-ups with our orders being sent to the wrong table and vice-versa. 

Buffet - Self Service

dim sum menu

popular dim sum pending to be replenished

Tried some of the fried and steamed dim sums. I liked it. 

prawn toast, prawn beancurd, prawn dumpling

shu mai, chicken yam dim sum, custard bun

with a hint of yellow curry

just a regular custard bun

The group agreed that the must order of that night (besides River Prawns) was the crispy pork!

crispy pork

super thick fish maw soup

boat noodles from live noodle station

I didn't try the noodles nor the soup as I was still feeling full from lunch.

my sampler plate; roasted duck and crispy pork

coconut ice-cream with chocolate brownie?

Once again, thank you my travel kakis for the lovely treat! No one went back to the room, hungry.

The Square Restaurant

Address: NOVOTEL BANGKOK, 392 44 Rama I Rd, Khwaeng Pathum Wan, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Website: https://squarerestaurantbangkok.com/

Business Hours: 

Daily Breakfast: 6–10:30 am

Sat - Sun: Lunch: 12–2:30 pm

Fri-Sun: Dinner: 5:30–10 pm

[Travel Thailand] Sala Lakorn - Theatrical Dining Experience @ Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort

Sala Lakorn is a riverside theatre restaurant located within the Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort. Made reservation for 630pm on my first night in Bangkok, recently. It is not often that one gets to enjoy a cultural performance in a buffet setting.

signage

Staff was friendly and welcoming. Was ushered to the outdoor table where it was pretty near the stage.

solo dining

close to the stage

Was attended to by Rich and she has a motherly vibe. I asked for recommendation on cocktails and she recommended Singapore Sling. Hehe, noOooo.. I wanted something local in Thailand, not local to Singapore! She did mention that it is popular. Keke, ordered a Burapha instead where it uses Issan rum.

Burapha @฿490++

There wasn't many diners at 630pm and the Chef's stations were rather relaxed. So went around the various outdoor stations for the food available. There are more food options in the indoor dining as well.

roast lamb, grilled sausages and sirloin steak

Was disappointed that they didn't have rib cap that was listed in the buffet menu. Instead, there was sirloin and flank instead for the beef options. Most of the order to prepare stations will require the guest to come back after 5 minutes to prepare the food.

roast lamb and sirloin steak

Though the sirloin was medium rare, it was rather chewy. Enjoyed the roasted lamb much more for its tenderness and the absence of the gameyness.

welcome drink of longan tea and a mini canape of crispy seabass

cold towel to freshen up

The longan tea was sweetened and nicely chilled. Nice start to cool down in such a hot humid weather. The beverages included in my buffet package was water and soft drinks. 

scallops in beurre sauce

foie gras in pumpkin sauce

I was pleasantly surprised by the aesthetically pleasing plating for the scallops and foie gras. Unfortunately, the scallops texture was not as expected and while the outer layer was fully cooked, its center was undercooked.

Rich did ask on the reason why I didn't finish the scallops, and gave her the feedback and she asked if I need the Chef to cook another one. I declined.

The foie gras was awesome. Wobbly and flavourful.

foie gras - closer view

The Burapha cocktail was nicely refreshing but one could hardly detect any tamarind flavour in it. It tasted like lime soda with alcohol. But it did help to cut down the richness of the foie gras and the grilled lamb.

closer view of Burapha

The sky was getting darker as it approaches 7pm and there were some flicker of activities near the stage, almost as if signaling that the show was about to begin.

Went back to fetch the grilled prawns that I ordered but the Chef was no where to be found. So, went for the BBQ pork ribs instead as these were already cooked.

grilled BBQ pork ribs, crab omelette, pad thai and pomelo salad

 Soon, the announcement informed that the show would be starting.

show commences with energetic drum beats

The narration of the show is in English, but sometimes the audio was not really audible. Not an issue as I was in awe with the costumes and expressions of the performers.

bravo to all the performers

Somewhere in between of the performances, Petche who had been kindly topping up my drinking water and bringing the soda over, suddenly delivered the plate of 2 grilled river prawns to my table. I was surprised as there was no table number indicated to the Chef when I made my order, so how did he know. 

grilled river prawns with spicy dipping sauce

yums

Thank you to the performers for the lovely performance and to Rich and Petche who had been attentive and kind throughout the dinner.

Do I recommend this? Yes, come and experience Sala Lakorn Theatrical Dining Experience when you're in Bangkok.

I spent ฿2158.54 (~SGD87) for the experience.

Sala Lakorn - Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort

Address: 257/1-3, Charoen Nakhon Rd, Samrae, Khet Thon Buri, Bangkok 10600, Thailand

Website: https://www.anantara.com/en/riverside-bangkok/restaurants/sala-lakorn

Business Hours:

Daily: 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Show starts from 7:00 pm onwards

Meat & Foie Gras Dinner Buffet @ Ellenborough Market Cafe Paradox

One of those rare occasion where we opted for buffet. I think Tracy saw it from some viral post in insta and decided to try. Thanks to Shermaine for making the reservations!

first plate

I was a tad hungry, so went to the counters where there were less people. There were long lines to the foie gras and grilled meats, so I went elsewhere instead.

Took some babi tau yu (soy sauce braised pork), nonya chap chye (braised vegetables), wagyu beef something, pasta bolognese and bendi (blanched okra) paired with sambal belachan.

recommended

The okra was tender and tasted lovely with the chilies. Pasta was good too and I saw the kids at the neighbouring table enjoying the pasta. Braised pork and the cooked wagyu were enjoyable too.

foie gras and rilettes

The Chefs decided to do thin slices of foie gras during that round, so the presentation wasn't great.

grilled pork and lamb chops

grilled chicken

wagyu beef

Thank you Tracy and Shermaine for getting us the grilled meats. Best in the lot was the grilled wagyu. It was more tender than the lamb chops. Chicken breast was firm. The satay sausage was interesting for its yellowish hue and sweet taste.

wagyu beef shoyu ramen

Singapore nonya laksa with prawn

The wagyu beef ramen tasted like sweet shoyu while the nonya laksa broth was good.

kueh pie tee

Thank you Shermaine for constructing the kueh pie tee for us. 

cold seafood - prawn, salmon sashimi

pineapple and rock melon

I liked the taste of sweet pineapple with a dab of wasabi soy sauce. Yums.

hot cross bun with butter

ice-cream

reconstructed

And of course, can't miss the durian pengat (which got replenished). Tasted intense.

durian pengat

Thank you Tracy, Hence, Ivan and Shermaine for the get-together! 

Side note: Do check with staff on which credit card that has the best promo for the buffet before payment as Citibank was the highest at 50% off during the date of visit.

Buffet Info:

Website: https://www.paradoxhotels.com/singapore/dining/ellenborough-market-cafe

Thursday to Sunday & Public Holidays

$98++ per adult | $42++ per child

1st Seating: 6:00 - 8:00PM

2nd Seating: 8:15 - 10:15PM