New Year's Brunch at Sofitel Sukhumvit 2024
Greetings Substackers, and happy new year. My 2024 started out with a bang at Sofitel Sukhumvit’s spectacular brunch buffet. Here’s how it shook out…
Course 1: chevre, Stilton, Morbier, Tomme de Savoie, Comte, Reblochon, Camembert, Iberico ham, black forest ham, salami, saucisson, game and foie gras tourte, marinated artichoke, salmon two ways (smoked and gravlax), lobster bisque.
The bisque was decadent and visceral. It tapped into something in my lizard brain. I had flashed of my time in Mallorca. The gravlax were milder than last year. It must’ve been a different recipe. They were nice, but I preferred 2023’s more forward flavor. Last year’s gravlax were like a too-aggressive harlot one merely pretends to rebuff. The black forest and Iberico were as carnal as my secret, shameless flesh dreams. The salami took me back to one winter in Milan, and a late dinner with a young lass and lots of grappa in a tiny hotel bar.
All cheese paired well with E Guigal’s Cotes du Rhone blanc, or what we in the US would call viognier, and a Chilean chard (and here’s where Sofitel pulls ahead in the buffet game. For their free-flow package, they had two whites and two reds plus prosecco). The cold cuts got matched up with Guigal CdR red (syrah) and a Chilean cab. The game’n’foie gras was too rich for my pedestrian palate.
Course 2: prime rib, pork rack, truffle mash, beef goulash, roasted potatoes, cheesy cauliflower, brussels sprouts with bacon and chestnuts. The truffle mash was like dying and going to heaven. So many places overdo the truffle, so you can’t taste anything but. These taters had just a kiss of the truff stuff—an absolute synchrony of flavors.
Most everything paired perfectly with the Guigal, since it was bold enough to hold its own against the prime rib and the heady sauce of the goulash. Where the cab really shined was with the desserts. Initially I had no plan to eat the other veg—I just put them on the plate to make a better photo—but on sampling each, I found them to be wonderful. You’d think it’d be impossible to make veggies great, but damn if Sofitel didn’t do just that.
Course 3: ice cream, tiramisu, king’s cake, apple strudel, Mont Blanc chestnut tartlet, champagne peach meringue, berry tartlet, and macaroon paired with all 5 wines, each of which accentuated some aspect of the delectables. Who knew a cabernet could go so well with chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream? One thing we Californians know is, nothing pumps up chocolate like a syrah. And goddam if that frog Guigal didn’t make a Rhone blend that melds with cocoa like a couple of randy porn stars. Though if I’m ever in charge of a buffet like this, I’m adding a port to the bev package. It wouldn’t cost much, and just one small glass would propel the dessert course to new heights.
One bite of the strudel nearly knocked me off my chair, it was so scrumptious. The berry tartlet had fat, juicy blackberries like the ones that grow wild in the forests of Essex. I used to pick them from the side of the footpath on my way to work. The king’s cake was a bit like American pecan pie without the filling.
At the table next to mine, a young Eurotourist brought his new Thai sweetheart along. She was a devilishly sexy dark brown-skinned skinny in daisy dukes and a half-shirt with an exposed midriff. Just a gorgeous slice of sexy in a pair of Adidas. She wasn’t pretty, and it was a clear-cut case of ‘white dude gets attention from a thin tan temptress for the first time in his life,’ and he grabbed on with both hands. And by bringing her to Sofitel’s New Year’s buffet, he likely locked her in for life.
Crazily, the brunch only got as full as around 30 people. Last year there were no empty seats. On my way out, I was so smashed I forgot to pay for the wine package and the poor floor manager had to chase me down Sukhumvit. I’m already counting the days till the next one. If you didn’t make it this year, here’s a slideshow of what you missed: