Another 5-star hotel offering stay-at-home epicures in Bangkok a large selection of takeaway and delivery is Anantara Siam.
Their options comprise almost 100 items from five dining establishments, including Mocha & Muffins cafe, Biscotti Italian restaurant, Madison steakhouse, Shintaro Japanese restaurant and Spice Market by Samrub Samrub Thai.
Launched in April, Spice Market by Samrub Samrub Thai is a partnership between Anantara Siam Thai cuisine and chef Prin Polsuk of Samrub Samrub Thai, a 10-seat eatery on Charoen Krung Road.
The culinary collaboration showcases chef Prin's tribute to home-styled neoclassical Thai recipes and seasonal produce -- the same principle as his limited-seating kitchen.
The current menu, which is also available for takeout, emphasises dishes prepared with the rainy season harvest.
Fruit, including santol, mangosteen and lychee, and tropical vegetables such as bai lieng (melinjo leaves) and bai cha-khram (herbaceous seepweed) are combined with deep-heated spices and herbs that help warm the body during the drizzly weather.
That particular day was the first time I heard the word gaeng tumi, let alone partook in it. It's a rarely-found and long-forgotten southern Thai curry with a spice-heavy Peranakan Chinese influence.
The rendition offered by chef Prin, described in English as tiger prawn curry with fresh young mangosteen (991 baht net), was extraordinarily pungent and delicious.
The orange-hued curry exhibited a thick, fatty and flavourful coconut cream-based content seethed with tamarind paste and spices. In it was a generous portion of crunchy slices of half-ripe mangosteen which gave the fiery sauce a sweet and sour complement. Thailand's rainy season, from July to September, is when mangosteens are most abundant, especially in the southern region. The fruit is matched with two sizeable spice-rubbed tiger prawns, also from the South, which proved firm and meaty.
The other dish I had from the seasonal menu was steamed fish with soy sauce and garlic (808 baht net).
The fish, which was as tasty yet far less tongue scorching compared to the curry, featured three supple fillets of garoupa accompanied by lengthy slices of beetroot and cabbage in a pool of soy sauce. Both dishes are ideally enjoyed with rice (not included).
Other interesting a la carte options included mieng kra-thon or prawn with santol on crunchy rice; blue swimming crab claw with Thai wafer; sour and sweet soup of beef cheek with hot basil; salt-cured threadfin fish and pork simmered in coconut cream with shallot and chillies; and grilled smoked duck breast salad with longkong and basil.
Thai-style set meals for lunch and dinner are also available, with prices starting from 1,100 baht per set.
Western-style fine dining steak and seafood are also on offer in Madison steakhouse's 14-item menu. Options include Japanese grain-fed beef striploin, Stockyard Kiwami Wagyu striploin, New Zealand lamb chop, seared Tasmanian salmon, grilled snow fish with beurre blanc sauce and seared Hokkaido scallops with fennel, orange and Hollandaise sauce.
My order of 300g Australian Darling Downs Wagyu rib-eye (2,461 baht) was one of the most spot-on takeout steaks (if you're wondering if there's such a thing as flawless takeaway steak, let me tell you there is) I've ever had.
That was thanks to the refined succulency, high-marbling texture and full beefy flavour that the perfectly cooked steak provided. The steak was so good that I needed no condiments except a sprinkle of salt.
Sauce, such as Béarnaise, chimichurri, fresh horseradish, red wine and morel sauce, costs 161 baht per order. Meanwhile, side dishes, including butter mashed potatoes, truffle and Parmesan french fries, sautéed mixed vegetables and onion rings cost 172 baht per item.
From Shintaro restaurant came a sashimi salad with avocado and wasabi soy dressing (835 baht net). The portion of the dish was ample, the quality of the raw salmon, hamachi, tuna and scallop top-notch, and the flavour of the dressing deliciously zesty.
The Japanese menu also offers a variety of teriyaki fish, sushi rolls -- classic and contemporary -- and rice bowls.
However, fans of Biscotti restaurant may find the takeaway menu a bit scant.
The 12-item selection lists a salad; a platter of cold cuts; some pasta dishes including ravioli ossobuco, rock lobster spaghetti, homemade lasagna Bolognese style and penne with lamb ragout; and few choices of pizza such as white topping pizza Bianca and spicy pizza Diavola.
Fortunately, the restaurant seems aware that its long-treasured signature focaccia mascarpone (696 baht net) can never be missed. My order of the pizza-like treat stuffed with gooey mascarpone cheese sandwiched between a thin crispy crust drizzled with truffle oil proved ethereal as always.
Pastries and desserts can be had from Mocha & Muffins.
Gigantic sausage rolls (107 baht net) are still the bakery's No.1 best-seller and worth ordering.
Other highlights include Gianduja Chocolate Cake (161 baht net), pandan tiramisu (161 baht net) and muffins (129 baht net).
The Anantara Siam Hotel is located on Ratchadamri Road. A full list of takeaway offerings is available online at anantarasiamshop.com/collections.
Pickup and delivery services are available every day from 10.30am–8pm. Free delivery is possible within a 5km distance and with a minimum order of 500 baht. Otherwise, fixed delivery fees are charged by the hotel depending on the destination. For more information or to place an order, call 02-126-8866 or Line: @anantarasiambkk.
