Sambal

Sambal Royal Orchid Sheraton

There are so many riverside dinning options in Bangkok to choose from. Sambal is one of the newest and one of the rare. We’ve been here on there grand opening in late January, a big event. It’s the new outlet at the Royal Orchid Sheraton. A big renovation has been done to the whole hotel include coming up with a new concept restaurant “Sambal”.

Click and drag on the image to change perspective. Click to view full screen

The restaurant/bar is furnished and decorated in dark tone with two seating options; outside and inside. The chilled air conditioned space inside is relaxed with comfortable seatings; a view to the terrace and the river beyond. The outside dinning space would be the most desirable if weather permits.

We came back to Sambal on a  windy evening in March. The pleasant weather and the strong wind made the night spectacular. The seating, the lighting, the river views, provided a great ambiance. We had a perfect seat right by the river. The view of the Chaopraya is always astonishing and can never be boring. Making eye contact with the people passing by on the passenger boats, dinner cruises in close range makes me realize how diverse this city is. The restaurant attendant suggested some wine for the nice evening to start with. A nice chilled Chardonnay would be a good choice for this occasion.

One of the creative cocktails SECURITY CHECK pandan-infused vodka, fresh crushed pomelo, orange liqueur, local lime and a pandan liquid sugar infusion.

The menu here is not the usual western or Thai flare. It’s an Asian influenced menu, mostly Indonesian. We started with a salmon wasabi tartar. The fresh salmon was covered with a creamy wasabi and Indonesian spice mixture. The jelly like texture with creamy sauce was a nice yummy treat. A familiar taste but with a twist. Next was the Bali Bouillabaisse. We tried this soup at the grand opening and since then I’ve been carving for it since. A hearty seafood broth with curry, spices, and coconut milk. It pleases the Asian palate, a wonderful creation.

For the mains we went for the Grilled snow fish. The fish is usually pan seared, but having it grilled would be interesting. A difficult fish to grill, the flaky flesh can fall apart easily, but khun Pung the head chef did a great job in grilling the fish. The perfectly grilled fish was accompanied by a chilly based sauce and a avocado sauce. The moist fish was flavorful and did not need any sauces. Khun Pung also did a nice job with the lamb. The medium rare lamb is red in the center with a nice charred crusted. It was served with two type of sauces, a sweet and sour tamarind sauce, and a peanut curry similar to the sauce serve with satay.  The lamb was good by itself with out any sauces.

We did not have much room for dessert as we did not leave anything left on our plates. But a great meal would not be complete without one. The dessert are mostly Indonesian influenced with local fruits and ingredients. We tried the mango sherbet teppanyaki top with rum. The refreshing sherbet came with a mixture of caramalized coconuts and nuts.

We had a talk with the chef Khun Pung. She was sent to be trained at the Westin Bali to come up with the Asian Bali infused menu at Sambal. The new venue is very interesting and does provide something new to the already saturated Bangkok gourmet scene.

Sampled menu:

SECURITY CHECK 290

Salmon wasabi tartar 320

Bali Bouillabaisse 450

Grilled Snow Fish (160gr) 680

Oven-roasted marinated lamb chops 775

Mangkok Ice cream teppanyaki with Alcohol 350

At-Bangkok ratings:

Ambiance  5

Food  4

Service  4

Value  4

Text/Photo by Vasin Srivarathanabul

Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel Charoen Krung Road, Soi 30 (Captain Bush Lane), Bangkok Tel: 02 266 0123

Open: 18.00 — 22.30 hr, @ Bar 16.00 — 01.00 hr

Amuse-bush