Latest Recipe, Le Meridien Review

This is my first review for the international lunch buffet at Latest Recipe, Le Meridien. I heard about this buffet through a few online forums and from what I know, it is frequented by quite a few buffet lovers on a weekly basis. The hotel is located near Silom, on Surawong road and is very close to quite a number of landmarks, making it a very convenient place to drop by for a meal.

The first thing I noticed about the hotel is that the design is very modern, clean and sophisticated. Lunch is served on the 3rd floor, Latest Recipe while the dinner buffet at the hotel is located at Bamboo Chic. According to the receptionist, Latest Recipe offers a more international variety of food choices while Bamboo Chic sticks to Japanese, Thai and generally Asian cuisines.

Hotel Lobby View

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On the way up I stopped for a short bathroom break, and although I had second thoughts at first, took a photo of the men's bathroom. It's simply put, great. The hand towels were a nice touch and even though I have been to many other 5 star hotels in Bangkok, the restrooms here are really a step up from the rest.

The Restroom

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We arrived a bit early for the buffet, which starts at 12:00PM, so I managed to take a few photos of the buffet setup. The table felt a bit empty, but that meant more space for our dishes! The staff were very welcoming and even came to check if we wanted our complimentary coffee/tea/soft drink while we waited for the buffet to be ready.

Our Table Layout

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Dining and Seating Area, Latest Recipe

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The first thing we noticed was that the selection of food was quite large. The buffet was separated into a few sections and during the course of lunch we didn't have to queue for anything.

Appetizers and Sashimi

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Cooking Station - Pasta / Noodles / Pizza

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Breads and Cheeses

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Roasts

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Hot Dishes

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Desserts

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When the buffet finally started and we had our usual first round food survey. We did notice that some things were missing. For example, the Caesar salad station did not have any bacon bits. or other usual condiments. There was not a single dish made with beef or lamb, or any chocolate desserts. I love my beef, I love my lamb and I definitely love my chocolate, so I was very disappointed. This also seemed a bit odd but we were hungry and started digging in.

Smoked Salmon

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Honey Glazed Duck, Chicken Tikka Masala, Pork and Roasted Chicken

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Pizza, fish, and other unmemorable dishes

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Spaghetti Aglio Olio

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To sum up the buffet at this point, it was very bland and lacked taste. If I enjoyed a buffet, I can remember a number of dishes that were served. I don't remember going back for seconds on anything here. However, the pasta quality was very good, and I managed to finish an entire plate even though I knew I shouldn't. The Squid Ink "Paht Kee Mao" Spaghetti is also very popular so give that a try if you're here. Pizza choices were also large. Sashimi wasn't very fresh and the cheeses tasted a bit off. The smoked salmon and parma ham were so-so as well.

I was ready to go home, unhappy with the results until it was time for desserts! Now, the cakes and tarts were nothing to shout about, what you would usually get at a 4 star hotel, but I would go back to Latest Recipe, Le Meridien just for the Ice Cream Teppanyaki bar.

Ice Cream Teppanyaki

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Choice of Fillings

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You can choose from 8 different flavors of ice cream, 20 or so condiments (Oreos, Butter Cookies, Chocolate Bits, Jelly) and have the "Chef" behind the bar mix them up for you over a slab of cold metal.

Oreos and Vanilla Icecream, To Which I Added M&Ms and Cookie Dough Later On

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Ice Cream Being Made

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Voila! Best Tasting Ice Cream Flavor in Bangkok

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Although the food here may be sub-standard, the Ice Cream Teppanyaki made up for all the things this buffet lacked. Would I come back here again? Not anytime soon, but whenever I feel like being 12 years old again, creating my own pastas, pizzas, and ice cream flavors, I will definitely drop by. Actually, just take your kids here if you don't have anything planned for lunch. 935 Baht Nett Per Person, (With KTC Credit Card, 2 for 1) 








Latest Recipe - Le Meridien (3/5) BBBB
(http://www.lemeridienhotelbangkok.com/)

02-232-8888
Surawong Road, Bangkok

40/5 Thailand 10500

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Lord Jim's, The Mandarin Oriental Review

Welcome to Lord Jims at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

Went to Lord Jim's Weekday Lunch buffet today, heard that it was good and was recommended by a quite a number of people. Took a few photos too this time!

They specialize in seafood, but they do have hot dishes and an international spread as well. Service was excellent and it seemed like the staff knew what we wanted before we had to ask. I tried to go for their buffet a few weeks ago but it was fully booked (even though I called 2 days in advance). I made reservations about 3-4 days ahead this time and still couldn't get a window table for 2, but went anyways. Their highlight is definitely the foie gras but since I'm not really a big fan, I didn't try any.

The Good: Cold prawns were very fresh, and they had a number of appetizers and seafood tid bits you could try. The prawn tempuras were also very crispy and almost always ran out within minutes. I enjoyed all the sashimi, the cuts were tasty and fresh. The desserts were delicious and there was a large variety to choose from. They serve the same ice cream and cakes from their oriental shop =)

The Not so Good: I Didn't enjoy their roasts. The Beef was tender but lacking taste, the chicken was passable and the fish I just refused to finish after taking a bite. Feel free to skip the pasta station, nothing special there. The buffet is almost always packed full during lunch so expect a crowd. The scene is filled with hiso big haired women and their incredibly rich families. Other than that, everything else went great.

Other than the dishes mentioned, there was also smoked salmon, assorted rice, lamb skewers, salads, thai noodles and appetizers, 3 types of soup and etc on the menu.

The total bill for two came to around 2860, about 1430 baht per person nett. This includes coffee and tea and you can have as much as it as you like. Believe me, you will want to just sit and relax after stuffing yourself so full. The Sunday Brunch is a bit more expensive, however I work on Sundays so I never get to enjoy brunches :/ If I ever get the day off its definitely Trader Vics or Four Seasons!

Overall it was a good experience. A nice place to have lunch with friends or for business, not really a place for a romantic get-together. Food quality and service top-notch.

Anther view of the aquarium while leaving.

Definitely a buffet you should check out if you're in town, reservations recommended 2-3 days in advance.

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Lord Jim's, The Mandarin Oriental (4.5/5) BBBBB

(http://www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok/dining/restaurants/lord_jims/)

02-659-9000

Charoenkrung Soi 40,

48 Oriental Avenue,

Bangkok, Thailand 10500