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Bangkok is a
gateway city to the rest of Thailand and all of Southeast Asia. It is an
incredibly long trip from the US to Bangkok but the transition has been made easier since the
opening of the
Novotel Suvarnabhumi Hotel at Bangkok’s international airport. From our home
in upstate New York, it takes three flights and 20-plus hours of
flying, along with some waiting in airports to reach Bangkok. We
usually arrive exhausted at an ungodly hour, so now we schedule a
night or two at the Novotel. They have a staffed counter at the
airport for quick transport to the hotel. Walking into the hotel’s
lofty atrium lobby helps eliminate the cooped-in-a-capsule feeling
from hours of flying. The Novotel is not a typical airport hotel, it
is more like a resort.
On our recent trip, John and I arrived at the
Novotel at 3 a.m. and went to bed. In the morning after breakfast we
headed to the hotel’s Vous Spa for one of their Jetlag Therapies
that started with a delicious Bael Fruit Tea. Feeling more human we
headed to Novotel’s beautiful pool and found a
quiet shady spot to
relax even more. Around 3:00 p.m., John announced, “I feel a
chocolate attack coming on. I know exactly where to go.” We headed
to one of John’s favorite haunts at the Novotel, the pastry shop.
We timed it perfectly. Pastry Sous Chef
Pornsombat Hammontree was delivering Chocolate Mousse. It took no
urging for us to try it. Chef Pornsombat was setting up a special
buffet of fresh fruit with white and dark chocolate dipping sauce.
To accent the buffet she created a chocolate work of art reminiscent
of a scene from “Narnia.”
Murray Paterson, the executive chef, showed up
and John commented, “One of the most amazing Chocolate Buffets we
have ever seen was at Novotel’s sister hotel the Sofitel in Hanoi.
It was a case of too much of a good thing is wonderful! We don’t see
a lot of chocolate in Asia.”
Chef Murray explained, “Chocolate is difficult
to work with in this hot humid climate. Consequently Thai people are
not big chocolate eaters. However, it is changing; and Chef
Pornsombat does wonders, creating chocolate specialties for the
pastry shop, buffets and for special occasions.”
Chef Pornsombat, seeing the longing in John’s
eyes, invited him to try dipping some of the fruit in the chocolate
sauce. Needless to say it didn’t take much encouragement.
After John finished feeding his Chocolate
Dragon we went to the hotel’s Secret Garden and sat in the
Thai- style gazebo, nibbling on chocolate tarts as we discussed where
to have dinner. The hotel’s restaurant, The Village, is set up with
separate dining areas that reflect various cuisines. Diners can
choose between Thai, Japanese, Chinese, or Vegetarian regardless of
which restaurant they opt for, so in the Chinese restaurant John
selected from the Thai menu while I had Chinese food.
By the end of the day our long flights were a
hazy memory and we were ready to continue on our journey knowing
that should our travels take us through Bangkok the Novotel
Suvarnabhumi will be waiting for us and Chef Pornsombat is sure to
have some chocolate delights in the hotel’s pastry shop and on the
buffets.
Visit
www.novotelsuvarnabhumi.com.
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