Bangkok Banquet Beckons For Rich

[PhilHarries]

I must admit I missed this tail bit on the first read, still had my head in the bucket after the Mousseline of pattes rouges crayfish with morel mushroom infusion, and there's some real crackers in there (the article not the bucket - you just don't want to see what's in there!).

I got no problem with the bash nor the money, people are entitled to spend what's theirs any way they like, it just cracks me up the bovine scatology that they spout trying to justify it. These people must be living in some kind of parallel universe, probably the same one politicians inhabit.

Oh well I suppose I'm only jealous, but I'll think of them when I'm scoffing my mee goreng mamak washed down with Tigers, followed by one or two Carlsbergs and maybe a couple of iced teas (Long Island type).

"Some of these guests have never come to Thailand, and will see this city and maybe in future they will invest here," he told BBC News.Oh yeah, so you are some well heeled city slicker and you come to Bangkok for a slap up nosh and suddenly, out of the blue, you think "Crikey old chap, must invest a pretty packet in this country. I'll buy a few rice farms as there's obviously a fortune to be made".

"One of the guests has recently invested substantially into Thailand but has never come here. He is coming and bringing a guest. This is good for Thailand and good for tourism." So next time he'll get down to earth and see the real Thailand? I don't think so.

He defended the event over its entirely European menu, despite its remit to show off the best of Thailand.Well at that price he would wouldn't he? Besides which if they kicked off with som tam puu half they guests would croak it instantly and the survivors wouldn't be able to tase anything for the next two weeks

"What we want to do is to improve the standard and inspire Thai chefs to raise their level of inspiration," he said.Improve their level of inspiration by getting a bunch of European ponces over to show them how to cook farang food which in all probability they'll never cook again.

"There is only one Michelin-starred Thai restaurant in the world, and that's in London, has an Australian head-chef and a Singaporean owner."The reason for this is that the average westerner, not those on this forum, does not like Thai food and indeed has probably never even eaten Thai food. What they like is Thai style food and if the average Thai chef could see what passes for Thai food in London he'd be . Mind you if he could see what the tw@ts pay for it in London he'd be straight rond to Wireless road visa application in hand.

He also rejected concerns about the environmental effects of flying guests, chefs and ingredients in from all over the world, just for a one-off meal.Well as long as it's all coming on scheduled flights there's no real environmental impact, I just hope he has all his import paperwork in order and pays the duties.

If the effect was to promote quality tourism, he said, the result could be fewer tourists coming to Thailand, but paying higher prices. Yeah, like "Paying higher prices to people like me rather than those scruffy irks out in the sticks" So there'll be fewer tourists staying at the few swank hotels meaning all the smaller joints and family guesthouses go out of business. How is that good for Thailand especially when the swanky joints are mostly foreign owned and managed?

[sriracha john]

Bangkok banquet raises eyebrows

BANGKOK, Thailand - A $29,000-a-head gourmet dinner in Bangkok is making some Thais feel a bit sick.

Fifteen international high-rollers from the world of real estate, casinos and shipping have already booked seats for Saturday's black-tie dinner, which comes with a price tag of 1 million baht ($29,240) -- plus 17 percent service and tax. * hahahaha.... the ever-present "plus VAT" *

"It's an absolute waste of money," said 48-year-old Sommai Promjan, who makes a living selling ice-cream from a street cart near the neoclassical State Tower that will host the event.

"You could buy a house with that."

Organizers of "Epicurean Masters of the World II", designed to promote Thailand as a destination for the mega-rich with profits going to charity, are not naming their guests.

Six three-star Michelin chefs from France, Germany and Italy, and some of the world's finest wines, were flown in specially for the 11-course extravaganza at the rooftop Mezzaluna restaurant.

However, locals think the gourmets are being taken for a ride, saying everybody knows the best food in Thailand costs just 30 baht and is cooked in a wok welded to a street cart and served at a fold-up metal table on the pavement.

"It's all the same. Chicken is still chicken, pork is still pork. They may have lobster, but we have prawns," said Pornpilai Chareonsimaporn, who runs an eatery in State Tower's shadow.

"The only thing they're paying for is some fancy table decorations," the 42-year-old said, ladling out helpings of spicy green curry onto a plate of steamed rice.

Mezzaluna manager Deepak Ohri defended the all-European menu and said it was impossible to start making price comparisons.

"We are not selling a meal -- we are selling the whole experience. You cannot put a value on the experience," he said.

- Reuters

Edited February 9, 2007 by sriracha john

[ColPyat]

What idiots would fly to Thailand only to eat mostly crappy french food-- and NOT eat the best cuisine in the world?

If Thai food is anywhere close to best in the world, they are certainly doing a good job of hiding the good stuff from me - maybe under a pile of blistering hot chili peppers that destroy your tastebuds completely. I much prefer Chinese, Japanese, Italian and lots of other cuisines.

Man, what I would give for some Chinese food from Clement Street in San Francisco!

Seconded.

Thai food may be rather fashionable right now by people who never ate more than fish and chips, but it definately is not part of the great world cuisines. There are some very nice Thai dishes, when made well (as in every cuisine), but they are rarely to be found at 30 baht street stalls (which mostly use the cheapest low quality rice to be found anywhere).

And they expert assertion of that slghtly ironic reuters article, pig being pig etc. is even not valid in Thailand. Anyone with a few taste buds left knows of the endeavors of finding that one elusive stall in the market that sells high quality meat etc, as opposed to the miserable crap you get usually.

Who ever had the chance to taste, for example, genuine Qinghai lamb knows that there are worlds between that and a run of the mill lamb...

Anyhow, i don't really see much of a problem with some rich folks who enjoy spending their money on a dinner holiday. Up to them. If i had that dosh i might do the same, better than keeping it in the bank. What fun is in having money if you don't spend it?

[luckyluke]

What idiots would fly to Thailand only to eat mostly crappy french food-- and NOT eat the best cuisine in the world?

If Thai food is anywhere close to best in the world, they are certainly doing a good job of hiding the good stuff from me - maybe under a pile of blistering hot chili peppers that destroy your tastebuds completely. I much prefer Chinese, Japanese, Italian and lots of other cuisines.

Man, what I would give for some Chinese food from Clement Street in San Francisco!

Seconded.

Thai food may be rather fashionable right now by people who never ate more than fish and chips, but it definately is not part of the great world cuisines. There are some very nice Thai dishes, when made well (as in every cuisine), but they are rarely to be found at 30 baht street stalls (which mostly use the cheapest low quality rice to be found anywhere).

And they expert assertion of that slghtly ironic reuters article, pig being pig etc. is even not valid in Thailand. Anyone with a few taste buds left knows of the endeavors of finding that one elusive stall in the market that sells high quality meat etc, as opposed to the miserable crap you get usually.

Who ever had the chance to taste, for example, genuine Qinghai lamb knows that there are worlds between that and a run of the mill lamb...

Anyhow, i don't really see much of a problem with some rich folks who enjoy spending their money on a dinner holiday. Up to them. If i had that dosh i might do the same, better than keeping it in the bank. What fun is in having money if you don't spend it?

[kmart]

If I was splashing out so much dosh on a scran (ok, I'm a pleb), I'd at least expect a few endangered species to be laid on; maybe seared Siberian Tiger steak in a Pangolin sauce, or Giant Panda cutlets pan fried with fricaseed shark fins in a Great Barrier Reef garnish.

But then again, I'm quite a picky eater.

Edited February 9, 2007 by kmart

[Smilodon]

What are veal cheeks?

Undisciplined, smart-alecky young cows.

[ovenman]

If I was splashing out so much dosh on a scran (ok, I'm a pleb), I'd at least expect a few endangered species to be laid on; maybe seared Siberian Tiger steak in a Pangolin sauce, or Giant Panda cutlets pan fried with fricaseed shark fins in a Great Barrier Reef garnish.

They would need to go to the Chiang Mai Night Safari for that menu!

[kmart]

If I was splashing out so much dosh on a scran (ok, I'm a pleb), I'd at least expect a few endangered species to be laid on; maybe seared Siberian Tiger steak in a Pangolin sauce, or Giant Panda cutlets pan fried with fricaseed shark fins in a Great Barrier Reef garnish.

They would need to go to the Chiang Mai Night Safari for that menu!

So I've *ahem*... heard.

The Korean fraternity certainly enjoy their bear (culinary) necessities here in Thailand also. Allegedly.

[farangsay]

Does anyone else find it just a little bit obscene that some people fly half way around the world to spend what the average Thai will take 12 years to earn just on one meal?

There is so much more good they could be doing with that money, probably in the Soi next to their own hotel too.

Hope they get the sihts.

:D

[Briggsy]

Let me list some of the people attending (from today's Bangkok Post)

Erwin Ebarherter, executive chef, Dusit Thani

Nantiya Hame-ung-gull, marketing director, Classic Fine Foods

Nicholas Schneller, executive chef, Four Seasons Hotel, Bangkok

Patcharin Hame-ung-gull, general manager, Classic Fine Foods

Phillippe Peretti of Phillippe Restaurant

Herve Frerard of Le Beaulieu

Gianni Favro of Gianni Restaurant

I don't see any 30,000 dollar high-rollers there. What I do see is a jolly for the members of the hospitality industry in Bangkok. The whole thing is a marketing campaign, nothing more nothing less. There are no diners spending $35,000 on a meal.

It's a clever non-truth disseminated skillfully to the press.

[sriracha john]

More absurdities from the world of the vain & shallow:

excerpts from:

Dinner for US$25,000? Millionaires fly to Bangkok for night of gourmet indulgence

BANGKOK, Thailand - Beluga caviar, truffles and Dom Perignon sorbet were on the menu Saturday for a night of fine dining in Bangkok that chefs, wine experts and organizers have dubbed the meal of a lifetime.

"It's surreal! The whole thing is surreal,'' said Alain Soliveres, the celebrated chef of Paris's Taillevent restaurant, who was commissioned to prepare two of his signature dishes including the first on the menu: a creme brulee of foie gras to be washed down with a 1990 Cristal champagne - a bubbly that sells for more than US$500 (euro400) a bottle, but still stands out as one of the cheapest wines on the menu.

"To have brought together all of these three-star Michelin chefs, and to serve these wines for so many people is just an incredible feat,'' Soliveres said ahead of the dinner. "C'est fabuleux!''

Chefs submitted their grocery lists to organizers and the ingredients were flown in fresh: black truffles, foie gras, oysters and live Brittany lobsters from France; caviar from Switzerland; Jerusalem artichokes and white truffles from Rome.

Diners will sip their way through legendary vintages, like a 1985 Romanee Conti, a 1959 Chateau Mouton Rotshchild, a 1967 Chateau d'Yquem and a 1961 Chateau Palmer, considered "one of the greatest single wines of the 20th century,'' said Alun Griffiths of Berry Bros. & Rudd, the British wine merchants that procured and shipped about six bottles of each wine for the dinner.

The wine alone cost more than 100,000 British pounds ($200,000; euro150,000), Griffiths said.

"Just to have one of these would be a great treat,'' he said. "To have 10 of them in one evening is the sort of thing that people would kill for.''

The dinner will be served to 40 people - 15 paying customers and 25 invited guests.

Organizers scrambled to fill seats at the last minute after 10 Japanese people canceled their reservation, citing safety concerns after the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok that killed 3 people, said Deepak Ohri, managing director of Bangkok's luxury Lebua hotel, which organized the dinner.

* so much for any positive tie-in with tourism *

Guests jetted in from Europe, the United States, the Middle East and across Asia, and include executives of Fortune 500 companies, a casino owner from Macau and a Taiwanese hotel owner, Ohri said, declining to reveal their identities.

To ensure discretion, diners will be escorted to a restaurant on the hotel's 65th floor in a private elevator, and all staff holding mobile phones with cameras will have to check the devices at the door.

The chefs preparing the meal charge diners about euro200 ($260) for a meal at their own restaurants, and said they were stunned by the price.

"It's crazy,'' said Antoine Westermann of Le Buerhiesel in Strasbourg, France. "The fact that one meal could be this expensive,'' he shrugged. "After this, nothing can shock me.''

In a bid to give diners their money's worth, Westermann said he planned to shave 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) of Perigord truffles - worth about $350 (euro270) - onto each plate. "For $25,000,'' he -aid, "what do you expect?''

- AP

Edited February 10, 2007 by sriracha john

[farangsay]

........

The dinner will be served to 40 people - 15 paying customers and 25 invited guests.

.......

Jeez , they've roped in the entire membership

of the Thailand Elite card.

[ovenman]

I don't see any 30,000 dollar high-rollers there. What I do see is a jolly for the members of the hospitality industry in Bangkok. The whole thing is a marketing campaign, nothing more nothing less. There are no diners spending $35,000 on a meal.

It's a clever non-truth disseminated skillfully to the press.

The dinner will be served to 40 people - 15 paying customers and 25 invited guests.

Classic. There's more people on the comp list than there are "customers". I wonder whether there is any TAT money being spent on this Thai cultural event?

[KireB]

I'm getting hungry reading all this!

[sriracha john]

I'm getting hungry reading all this!

If you're a skillful hunter, there's probably a few pigeons on your building's rooftop or flapping down onto your neighborhood soi.

As for the

"Supreme of pigeon en croute with cepes mushroom sauce and cipollotti"

We call them "rats with wings" where I come from:

mmmm..... yummy, huh?

[farangRussIam]

Nice to see that spending that amount on a 'dinner' is so important to the "Quality tourists"-instead of maybe helping the poor or unfortunate in Thailand or their own countries.I know it said the money will go to charity,which??'THE SAVE THE SUVARNABHUMI RUNWAY FUND'????Will ALL THE MONEY GO TO THE CHARITY?no matter,I remain skeptical.

Why not spend 1/10 th on the dinner-still a obscene amount and use the rest more wisely?

Yeah I know ...'its their money,they can do what they want with it' ,yeah I know I'll tick someone off with this post but the way I see it-and this is only my opinion,you don't have to spend this kind of money to be a "quality tourist"!!!I should know-I am one as I'm sure we all are here!!! By spending that amount you not only enable the cost of things to skyrocket ,because after all... we Farang are all made of money.Right??You also remind the Thai people how foreigners can be such fools!Which is why they laugh at travellers who pay first price all the time.

Oh well,sorry for the rant,clearly I'm not on the guest list...ha ha...I wouldnt go if they paid my way.

farangRussIam

[ColPyat]

Well, how do we know how much and if the paying guests do spend of their riches to charity?

There are a lot more harmful things to spend ones money on, such as donating money to political parties that start wars based on fake proof of WMD's.

Jesas, it's just a couple of rich people who spend lots of money on one dinner event with great food prepared by some of the world's best chefs, and bottles of expensive wine. What's the harm?

[farangRussIam]

Yep,I clearly ticked off some people here!SORRY TO YOU ALL!!!

I was merely voicing my opinion,if the rich want to eat that garbage...far be it from me to stand in the way of progress!

After all,what do I care if fine quisine served in a Bangkok hotel(and not consisting or including any local specalties!) -costs TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!!

yeah,no biggie!

sheesh,what was I thinking.

again please accept my apologies!

farangRussIam

[Little Black Duck]

Nice to see that spending that amount on a 'dinner' is so important to the "Quality tourists"-instead of maybe helping the poor or unfortunate in Thailand or their own countries.I know it said the money will go to charity,which??'THE SAVE THE SUVARNABHUMI RUNWAY FUND'????Will ALL THE MONEY GO TO THE CHARITY?no matter,I remain skeptical.

Why not spend 1/10 th on the dinner-still a obscene amount and use the rest more wisely?

Yeah I know ...'its their money,they can do what they want with it' ,yeah I know I'll tick someone off with this post but the way I see it-and this is only my opinion,you don't have to spend this kind of money to be a "quality tourist"!!!I should know-I am one as I'm sure we all are here!!! By spending that amount you not only enable the cost of things to skyrocket ,because after all... we Farang are all made of money.Right??You also remind the Thai people how foreigners can be such fools!Which is why they laugh at travellers who pay first price all the time.

Oh well,sorry for the rant,clearly I'm not on the guest list...ha ha...I wouldnt go if they paid my way.

farangRussIam

Well Well Well, You wouldnt go if someone paid for you..I'm a Chinese Ring Tailed Pheasant..

I'm pissed cause they got Duck on the Menu, I can read French..

Seriously you want to tell people who have money how to spend their fortune,..

Next you'll be telling me not to spen B35 for Fried Rice its should be B25...

Bye the way all the imported Chefs were paid and the Hotel made its huge profit..

Edited February 12, 2007 by Little Black Duck

[PhilHarries]

Well Well Well, You wouldnt go if someone paid for you..I'm a Chinese Ring Tailed Pheasant..

Hey LBD, watch out for the pleasant peasant pheasant plucker!

I read today that one of the guests was complaining she couldn't eat it all. All that money laid out for all that scran and she maxes out part way through. hope they did her a doggy bag.

As I said elsewhere, no matter how expensive it is when it goes in it's still sh1t when it coms out.

[Little Black Duck]

Well Well Well, You wouldnt go if someone paid for you..I'm a Chinese Ring Tailed Pheasant..

Hey LBD, watch out for the pleasant peasant pheasant plucker!

I read today that one of the guests was complaining she couldn't eat it all. All that money laid out for all that scran and she maxes out part way through. hope they did her a doggy bag.

As I said elsewhere, no matter how expensive it is when it goes in it's still sh1t when it coms out.

Hey Phil Guess your right but I'm a careful Duck..

Mate good thing it wasnt in Perth as the Govt has stopped Doggie Bags

Some Wonder boy at the Health Dept thinks people might kill themself with leftovers..