The renovations took place over the course of four months, transforming the existing two-storey, colonial building (home to The China House since 1990) into an elegant dining venue.
The China House always has the most talented Chinese chefs that money can buy. For example; the talented chef Jereme Leung, founder of the much-lauded Whampoa Club in Shanghai, has been appointed as consultant chef. He in turn has named one of his brightest protégés, Chef Kong Khai Meng, to head the culinary team.
The beautiful buffet with a big selection of Chinese specialties; from freshly carved Peking duck and suckling pork, jelly-fish, sweet & sour soup, seasonal fruits and Chinese desserts, etc.
On weekends; the China House offers a buffet. The concept is that there is an extensive order of hot dishes that you order such as dim-sum, meats, fish, vegetables, rice & noodle dishes, etc. You can order as much as you can eat.
We started with some cold & hot entrees from the buffet tables: lots of Peking duck (my favourite, but not very good for my waist-line), suckling crispy pork, etc., etc.
The first dish we ordered was the glazed prawns. This dish was incredibly yummy. We ordered more after. The prawns were plumb and juicy. I am not sure how they glazed the prawns but it was crispy, sweet, sour and salty. A great dish.
We ordered a big selection of steamed dim-sum (no deep fried dim-sum). One of the very delicious dim-sums; shrimp siu mai. The shrimp was plump and fresh. The siu mai skin was light and thin. The other dim-sums were equally tasty. I do love dim-sum.
The second dish was stir fried pork with black bean sauce accompanied with lotus and green peas. Also a very good dish. The pork was tender and juicy. The lotus and green peas still had a slight crunch with every bite. Very nice combination of meat, vegetables and sauce.
The next dish was deep fried green beans with garlic. A very tasty dish. I am sure not very good for our cholesterol levels, but its the weekend. Splurge time.
The last dish was fried rice with seafood gravy. We always end our Chinese meal with either a rice or noodle dish. This particular rice dish was hearty with lots of flavours and textures. A meal in itself. Plump bite sized seafood & black mushrooms in a thick seafood gravy covering the fried rice.
A melange of Chinese pre-desserts; mango pudding, tapioca with coconut milk, passion fruit coolers and seasonal fruits. Of course, hot Chinese tea to wash everything down.
The first hot dessert was rice dumplings filled with pepper and sesame in a ginger sauce. One of my favourite hot desserts. Very thick, rich and filling. The combination of pepper, sesame and ginger are amazing.
The last dessert was deep fried date cakes. Another favourite. I am not sure how we even ate these after eating so much. But, when these arrived, we could not just leave them sitting there. So, gluttony took over and we at the whole thing. Very crispy skin filled with sweet date paste. Heavenly.
There are thousands of Chinese restaurants in town. Like Italian restaurants in town, every person has his/her favourite and its a big discussion point which is the best in town. No one can agree. There are people who like the China House and there are people who hate it. I happen to be on the side of liking the China House. I think the moody ambiance is unique for Bangkok. I like the architecture and decor. The service is very good and I have not had a bad meal. I also feel the weekend buffet is very good value for money; not only the quantity, but especially the quality.
www.mandarinoriental.com
48 Oriental Avenue
Bangkok, 10500, Thailand
02-6599000
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