Holiday TimeBangkok Post
Read more news at bangkokpost.com Monday, deceMbeR 25, 2017
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Saffron, Spice, and Everything NiceRing in the New Year with Thai delicacies high above Bangkok
Andrew Fowler
For years now, Saffron, located on the 52nd floor of the Banyan Tree Hotel in the heart of the Sathorn business district, has been a leader among high-end
Thai restaurants. Taking its name from the luxurious spice, the restaurant has proven itself to be innovative and forward-think-ing, while at the same time honoring Thai traditions. The cuisine is emphatically not fusion, but rather a progressive interpreta-tion of classic dishes.
Head chef Renu Homsombat is the brain behind Saffron, including its numerous international outposts at overseas Banyan Tree locations. Talking with her for just a few minutes reveals a passionate love of Thai ingredients. She pointed out that she sources her supplies of som sa, a highly aromatic bitter orange, direct from farmers in Ratchaburi, and she informed me that the taste of lemongrass varies widely from locale to locale. And this commitment to detail and locality, with a strong focus on locally sourced ingredients and immaculate plating, shines through in the cuisine.
This New Year’s Eve, Saffron will be cel-ebrating with a set menu, priced at B6,800 net per person, or Baht 8,600 net with wine pairings, highlighting some of the best the restaurant has to offer.
Dinner starts with the Chef’s Signature Appetizers, three bite-sized pieces served on spoons. To start, there is a light crab spring roll, with just enough meatiness in it from the crab meat to give it some bite. This is followed by a piece of grilled foie gras with an almost salsa-like mango topping, and a deliciously complex piece of roast duck with an Isan style jim jaew, in which the fiery Isan spice is balanced enough to not overwhelm the flavorful duck meat. This is followed by Yam Hoi Shell, Hok-kaido scallops piled high with cilantro, the aforementioned som sa, and an abundance of edible flowers, and with plenty of chili spice to match the dense scallops.
Following the appetizers and salad, diners are greeted with the soup, a tom yam kung. In keeping with Saffron’s ethos,
it’s a dish that gives a nod to the past while looking towards the future. Lightly cooked pieces of river prawn are surrounded with a roast coconut foam and a smoky roasted chili powder, before a clear tom yam broth is poured into the bowl. The result is some-thing that is neither a creamy nor a clear tom yam, but somewhere in between – the best of both worlds.
Next comes the ultimate Northern Thai classic, khao soi, but this time featuring salmon in lieu of the usual chicken, and thin, delicate Phuket noodles, garnished with fresh salmon roe and a prawn cracker filled with pickled cabbage. For a quick breather between courses, a sorbet is offered to cleanse the palate, made with passionfruit and som sa, served in an ice cup to keep it cold.
The centerpiece of the meal is beef slow-cooked for four hours with longan, all sweet and spicy and melt-in-your-mouth tender. Alongside the main to soak up the rich, reduced longan sauce, diners are offered
a selection of four styles of rice: a clas-sic jasmine, healthy brown rice, a hearty mountain rice, and the house specialty, saffron rice.
Finally, for a dessert plate, refreshing pieces of fresh mango are followed by kluay buat chee ice cream — a frozen reimagin-ing of the old-school Thai dessert featuring boiled bananas floating in coconut milk – and a roselle jelly topped with lychee foam and lychee ice cream.
Saffron’s signature cocktails make an ideal pairing, blending premium spirits with Thai flavors. Top choices include As the Wind Blows (vodka, Martini Bianco, kiwi puree, lime, kaffir lime, and soda) for something fruity, the Eastern Ginger (gin, Martini Rosso, roselle, lime, grape-fruit juice, and ginger) for something more spirit-forward, and the Garden Collins (gin, Chartreuse, lime juice, syrup, and soda) for a unique refresher.
Even if you can’t make it for dinner this New Year’s Eve, there has never been a better time to visit Saffron. You can sample
Saffron’s greatest hits, such as salmon salad, beef massaman curry, and gaeng kati puu, a much-loved red curry with crab meat, anytime you like.
Also, for a pre-dinner aperitif, an after-dinner digestif, or simply a few drinks with friends, check out the brand-new Saf-fron Sky Garden, featuring signature cock-tails, craft beers, and a menu of tapas-style modern Thai street food now occupies the outdoor deck just outside the main restau-rant, with stunning river views on one side, ideal for a sundowner, and a panoramic city view on the other side, the perfect match for a night out. Saffron Sky Garden is also going to be hosting its own New Year’s bash, with an unlimited drinks package priced at Baht 4,900 net per person, and a disco vibe to carry you into 2018.
BAnYAn Tree BAnGKoK 21/100 South Sathorn road. Tel. 02 679 1200 e-mail: [email protected]. www.banyantree.com.
2 I HOLIDAY TIME Bangkok Post I Monday, deceMber 25, 2017
Lezlie Harrison returns to Jazz-up
Christmas and New Year Celebrations
A unique healing experience at The Peninsula Spa promotes a deeper state of mental relaxation and reaps the benefits of
mind and body harmony
Achieve inner peace and tranquility with
Experience the holistic benefits of The Essential Mind, an immersive wellness programme designed to
combat the stresses and anxieties of urban living, improve mental serenity and pro-mote the ultimate synthesis of body and mind.
Created by Dr. Buathon Thienarrom, founder of the Sukkasart Institute of Heal-ing Arts in Hua Hin, The Essential Mind integrates the meditative benefits of ther-apeutic touch, bespoke blend essential oils and vibrational sound. This tranquil healing programme is designed to meet the needs of busy people who struggle to find enough time to unwind, clear their minds and find mental repose amid the hectic swirl of modern life.
Famous for her work with celebrities, Dr Buathon Thienarrom, (“Dr B”) is a cele-brated Thai holistic practitioner with exten-sive knowledge of Tibetan and alternative medicine as well as Taoist practice.
The Essential Mind healing programme enhances the balance of body and mind through the “essence” of Thailand. A gentle Healing Touch massage uses therapeutic essential extracts from indigenous Thai herbs and flowers to soothe tension in the muscles, encourage lymphatic drainage and stimulate the body’s natural energy flows. The result is greater clarity of mind and enhanced powers of concentration.
Small drops of the exclusively formu-lated oils are placed along the spine in three different layers: an invigorating blend of basil and peppermint oil to relieve muscle tension; kaffir lime and jasmine oil to open
energy channels, relieve stress and anx-iety and strengthen the natural immune system; cinnamon and clove oil relaxes the mind.
The healing journey is completed with a vibrational sound therapy. Seven chakras singing bowls help the body and mind become one, as each bowl creates a pure note that heals a specific chakra.
THE PENINSULA SPA The Peninsula Bangkok. 333 Charoennakorn Road. Tel. 020 2888. Email: [email protected]. www.peninsula.com/bangkok.
‘The Essential Mind’
AT THE RAIN TREE CAFÉ
A BRIGHTER FUTURE BEGINS WITH NEW YEAR’S DAY BRUNCH
Get the New Year off to a thoroughly appetizing start with a New Year’s Day Brunch feast for all the senses
at The Rain Tree Café, The Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, on Monday 1 January 2018.
Savour special dishes you rarely see and share them with your close associates or family. You will certainly love all the live stations and passionately prepped delica-cies from around the world.
Baht 2,888++ incl soft drinks and juicesBaht 4,888++ incl sparkling wine, house
wines, cocktails, beer, soft drinks and juicesBaht 15,888++ incl 1 bottle of Dom
Perignon and free flow of Sparkling wine, house wines, cocktails, beer, soft drinks and juices.
Children 4-12 Years Baht 1,444++.All including drinking water.Served: 12pm–3pm.SPG and Le Club Plaza membership
benefits apply.
THE RAIN TREE CAFÉ — Ground Floor. The Athenee Hotel A Luxury Collection Hotel. 61 Wireless Road. Tel. 02 650 8800. Email: [email protected] or visit website: www.theatheneehotel.com and theluxurycollection.com/theatheneehotel.
Following her much praised January performance, Lezlie returns to The Living Room from December 14 – 31, 2017 to jazz-up your Christmas and
New Year celebrations.Lezlie’s repertoire is deeply influenced
by the soul music of her formative years in Harlem and the gospel music she sang as a child in church. Today she is regarded as one of New York City’s finest jazz vocalists, but still draws deeply on her soul roots of Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Sly Stone, and Johnny Hartman. With her burnished, soulful alto voice, striking beauty and dis-tinctive blend of jazz, classic 70s soul, and her own compositions, Lezlie is a fixture on the New York jazz scene and has performed with luminaries such as Roy Hargrove, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Johnny O’Neal and Grady Tate. She also opened for Cassandra Wilson at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.
Whenever Lezlie performs, she receives high praise from critics and jazz aficio-nados. Broadway director, Count Stoval said of her, “Lezlie is enthralling, beauti-ful, soulful, stylish, warm and wonderful and irresistibly talented. To hear her sing or to see her perform is to love her and to be transported back to Vaughn, Simone, Holiday, Washington and McRae,” while Jim Morehand of Parlor Jazz said, “With her soulful, sultry style, Lezlie takes on the American Songbook, R & B and pop-ular tunes with panache, elevating them to new heights”.
At The Living Room, Lezlie will per-form with the sensational Randy Cannon Group. Renowned for his power-packed performances, Randy’s mesmerizing piano
playing is complemented by the outstand-ing drummer Willard Dyson, Thailand’s leading bass player, Therdsak Wongvichien or Alex Sergeenko.
Lezlie Harrison and the Randy Cannon Group will perform every Wednesday and Thursday from 21.15 hours onwards and every Friday and Saturday from 20.45 hours onwards.
In addition to nightly appearances at the intimate jazz venue, she will perform at the wonderful Christmas Eve Grande Jazz Dinner Buffet at Rossini’s and The Living Room on Sunday December 24 from 20.15 – 23.00 hours, and at the dec-adent adults-only New Year’s Eve Jazz Countdown Party at The Living Room on Sunday December 31 with The Randy Cannon Group from 20.45 – 00.45 hours. They will also take revelers to the count-down to 2018 and beyond with a spectac-ular jazz jam session — an experience not to be missed! Advance reservation is highly recommended to ensure entry to this unforgettable evening at Bangkok’s premier live jazz venue.
Don’t miss one of New York’s finest jazz singers, only at The Living Room!
The Living Room — It Simply Swings!From 20.30 hours, an entertainment fee
of 300 Baht per person will be applied. For guests spending 1,000 Baht per person at any of our dining venues as well as The Living Room, the entertainment fee will be waived.
SHERATON GRANDE SUKHUMVIT 250 Sukhumvit Road. Tel. 02 6498353. Email: [email protected].
Monday, deceMber 25, 2017 I Bangkok Post HOLIDAY TIME I 3
Celebration and social party by the river packages
Enjoy a host of benefits and exclusive deals for celebrations, thank-you parties, anniversaries or any occa-
sion that calls for a bash.Food and beverage choices include
cocktails, Thai buffet, International buffet and Chinese set menu. Prices start at Baht 1,400 net each.
The Celebration and Social Party pack-age with a minimum guaranteed attend-ance of 50 people features a standard venue arrangement and decoration and compli-mentary benefits, including free-flowing soft drinks and mixers, use of LCD projector
and screen and venue rental fee.Guest may enjoy additional perks, such
as signature welcome drink upon arrival, complimentary corkage charge fee, compli-mentary one bottle of house wine for every 20 paying guests, complimentary dinner voucher for two persons at NEXT2 Café and many more if the expenditure reaches a certain amount.
SHANGRI-LA HOTEL BANGKOK 89 Soi Wat Suan Plu. Tel. 0 2236 7777. x 6855/6859. Email: [email protected].
NEW YEAR FEASTS
At Latest Recipe31 December 2017, 18:00 – 23:00hrs. Taste of Discovery: New Year’s Eve Buffet Dinner | Baht 2,400++ per personMake the most of your 2017 with the most sumptuous buffet dinner of the year at Latest Recipe featuring extravagant Alaskan king crabs, Thai crabs and seafood on ice; Fine de Clair and Normandy oysters; Sushi, Sashimi; roasted lamb salad; assorted cold cuts, cold fish station; live pasta cooking corner; beef tomahawk, roasted turkey, 20 made-to-order Western and Asian favorites such as grilled duck breast with quinoa and orange sauce, foie gras, grilled BBQ pork ribs; Chinese station; fresh seafood and premium meats tossed on outdoor char-coal-grill corner; cheese selection with exquisite array of desserts by chef Hisaaki such as red velvet, Gateau St. Honore, berry cheese cake, poire belle Helena, chocolate truffle, Crêpe Suzette and many more.
New Year Festivities at Le Méridien Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Golf Resort and Spa
At Favola Authentic Italian Restaurant31 December 2017, 18:00 – 23:00hrs | B1,600++ per person Bella 2018! New Year Set Dinner, 05-course set dinnerLive your stories of a New Year celebration in the cozy Favola Italian Authentic restaurant and share with your family and friends. Enjoy the private or alfresco dining with chef Fabio’s 05-course Italian set dinner including beetroot, radicchio and Gorgonzola salad; lobster tortelli with buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes; crispy salmon fillet with potatoes and dry Martini sauce or Australian beef tenderloin with celery roots and Chianti sauce; Panettone with truffle ice cream and chocolate sauce.
NEW YEAR COUNTDOWN PARTY
At Infinity Lawn31 December 2017, 21:00hrs – 01 January 2018, 01:00hrs | FREE ENTRANCELe Méridien Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Golf Resort and Spa wrap-ups the year 2017 with a unique celebration to ring in 2018 featuring live entertainment overlooking the night-golf view of the iconic Summit Windmill Golf Club. Find your toast and favorite drinks at our exclu-sive Champagne and Spirits Bar at the Infin-ity Lawn. The party is free entrance. Guests who join dinner at Latest Recipe and Favola are welcome to the countdown party with 01 complimentary welcome shot.
LE MÉRIDIEN SUVARNABHUMI Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa. 789 Moo 14, Bangna-Trad Road (Km 10.5). Tel. 02 118 7722. www.lemeridiensuvarnabhumi.com/festive2017. Email: [email protected].
Planning a special celebration or social party this festive season? Look no further than the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, right beside the Chao Phraya River
Bring 2017 to a glorious end and wel-come the New Year in dazzling style in the glittering, romantic setting of
the Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok.New Year’s EveDining in the Garden: Celebrate the
final hours of 2017 under a starry sky by dining al fresco in the romantic setting of the hotel’s pool-side gardens. Guests will enjoy a special New Year’s Eve inter-national buffet with a BBQ grill and live cooking stations.
Entertainment is provided throughout the evening by a live jazz and swing band and all guests will countdown to midnight with a glass of complimentary Champagne.
Served: 20.00 – 1.00 hrsBaht 5,950++ ea. for dinner with free
flow juices/soft drinks and a glass of Cham-pagne to celebrate the countdown; Baht 2,950++ per child aged 6-12.
Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin: Bid farewell to 2017 by embarking upon a classic gastro-nomic journey featuring award-winning cuisine from renowned Michelin-star Chef Henrik Yde Andersen.
This incredibly crafted ten-course New Year’s Eve dinner includes tom yum prawn served with noodles, prawn cracker and prawn cake; trio of oysters; Maine lobster with frozen red curry; seared foie gras with ginger and plum sauce; mussels, tamarind carrots and Wagyu beef with krachai oyster sauce and corn flakes. This set menu is perfect reflection of Chef Henrik’s unique ability to prepare popular Thai dishes with amazing modern techniques.
Served: 18.30 – 24.00 hrs.Baht 6,000++ per person (dinner only)
and a glass of Champagne to celebrate the-countdown at midnight.
New Year’s Day (Monday, 1 January 2018)Brasserie Europa: Start the New Year
in style with family members, friends and loved ones over an extravagant New Year’s Day international buffet lunch.
Served: 12.30 – 16.00 hrs.Baht 3,900++ ea. with free flow selected
alcoholic beverages; Baht 2,900++ ea.with free flow juices and soft drinks; Baht 1,450++ per child aged 6-12 years.
Accompanied children aged below six years dine free.
SIAM KEMPINSKI HOTEL 991/9 Rama I Road. Tel. 02 162 9000. Email: [email protected].
Sparkling New Year’s Eve celebrations at Siam Kempinski
Hotel Bangkok
4 I HOLIDAY TIME Bangkok Post I Monday, deceMber 25, 2017
For The Love Of Cheese
What do France, Italy, Holland, Switzerland, and England have in common? Stinkin’ good cheese, a selection of which is served at SO Sofitel Bangkok. Enjoy two full hours of free-flow
wine tipples with 30 types of cheese nibbles alongside artisan breads, cold cuts, charcuterie, trimmings. Plus live DJ with Saxophonist.
Baht 1,399++ ea. (incl. free-flow cheese and wine) or Baht 1,999++ ea. (with premium wine). From 7–9 pm every first Friday of the month at MIXO Bar (9th floor).
SO SOFITEL BANGKOK 2 North Sathorn Road. Tel. 02 624 0000. Email: [email protected].
Hotels.com™ has introduced the first ever Hotels.com mascot-themed room in Thailand, that features the playful and friendly pug on
the interior design and in-room amenities, from bedding to pajamas at Hotel Once to celebrate the launch of their new brand ambassador today. The Hotels.com mascot brings to life the brand’s fun and quirky personality and commitment to help trav-elers book the perfect accommodation for their holiday!
Like Hotels.com, the mascot is passion-ate about travel and is a lodging expert, making it the obvious choice for travelers to reach out to for help on the best travel tips, to find the best deals and the perfect stay anywhere around the world through Hotels.com’s products and services.
The Hotels.com mascot themed-room activation is part of the “Obvious Rewards” campaign which includes a series of
lighthearted commercials, a dedicated mascot microsite and a “Name the Pug” Facebook contest where consumer can win Hotels.com rewards. Beyond that, the campaign will also engage Hotels.com mascot-approved local travel experts and tastemakers to share inspiring travel stories and useful tips with consumers via various social media channels.
Jessica Chuang, Regional Marketing Director, Greater China, SEA and India for the Hotels.com brand explains, “With the introduction of our new Hotels.com mascot, we wanted to showcase the brand’s fun and quirky side, while still emphasizing that we are the obvious choice with reliable service offerings, great savings and a loyalty rewards system that keeps on giving. We want to give our customers a one-of-a-kind experience when they use Hotels.com and remind them that we are the obvious choice the next time they’re booking for accom-modations online.”
Exclusively with the launch of the brand ambassador in Thailand, Hotels.com is offering a one night stay at the mas-cot-themed room for a lucky consumer at Hotel Once Bangkok through a giveaway on Go Went Go’s Facebook Page. They would have to guess how many pugs are hidden in the photo of the themed room and give
the best reason why do they want to stay in this one and only mascot-themed room in Thailand, with their friends or partners.
To celebrate the launch of the Hotels.com mascot in Thailand, we are also offering 8% off with coupon code 8OFF-PUGTH to help travelers with their last minute year-end or New Year travel plans. Whether it’s having a good time in famil-iar Japanese cities like Tokyo, Osaka or even Singapore — which are top favorite destinations for Thais — or looking for a new experience in top growing desti-nations like Fujikawaguchiko, Taipei or London, the Hotels.com mascot is here to show why Hotels.com is the obvious choice to book the perfect stay.
For more information, visit Hotels.com’s dedicated mascot microsite here https://th.hotels.com/hotel-deals/pug. Travelers will be spoilt for choice with hundreds and thousands of properties available with a price guarantee. Hotels.com also features genuine and trusted guest reviews and useful tools to help users plan their perfect trip, even offline
and on mobile. With Hotels.com Rewards, members can enjoy Secret Prices and col-lect 10 nights to get one night free at the same time. Consumers can also look for-ward to more features on the microsite in early 2018, where they can take part in games and stand a chance to win rewards.
Hotels.com officially launches ‘Pug’ Brand Ambassador in ThailandExclusively at Hotel Once to celebrate the first ever mascot-themed room
