 |
| View from Park Society, So Sofitel Bangkok |
Park Society, So Sofitel Bangkok
Crowning one of the most chic hotels in the city, So Sofitel Bangkok, is the rooftop restaurant and bar, Park Society. Not to be outdone by the fashionable reputation of the property itself, this restaurant brings its own unique style to the summit with a contemporary wash of design forming an enticing playground for culinary adventures and social gatherings.
 |
| Park Society, So Sofitel Bangkok |
A mesh of shiny steel, glass and mirrors reflect and distort fibre optic display walls, crystal chandeliers and geometric designs. A menu of contemporary cuisine utilizing western cooking techniques and infusing local flavours provides a well-executed line up of dishes. And then there are the views… located on the 29th floor, encased in a glass box, and overlooking the verdant Lumpini Park, a table window-side is in the least rewarding.
 |
| Park Society, So Sofitel Bangkok |
 |
| View from Park Society |
Staff are soon at our table and seem to magically appear and disappear at just the right point in time throughout the night. We’d like them to stay a little longer though to give closer scrutiny to their stylish uniforms: designed by Monsieur Christian Lacroix, we think we can gain a few fashion tips from this dapper crew.
 |
| Bread Basket |
Before we’re even nose into the menu, a choux pastry filled with melted Gruyere cheese and truffle oil brings a lashing of delight to our mouths. Contemplating both the possibilities on the menu and the joy on our tongues, commences the evening very positively.
 |
| Cheese Pastry with Gruyere Cheese |
It’s Easter the night we dine, so we decide seafood is in order and hence a drop of white to see us through. A Chilean chardonnay, Montes 2013 tickles our nostrils with pineapple and vanilla. Fruit continues in the palate and a layer of light butteriness takes us through to an elegant ending.
 |
| Chardonnay |
A choice of warm breads is served to our table: baguette, wholewheat and soft white rolls. Butter and pesto tag along and we have to remind ourselves not to eat more than the two hot baked goodies we’ve already consumed to save some space for the three-course line-up ahead of us.
An Amuse Bouche of mushroom duxelle with truffle foam on toast and a drop of balsamic does its job of awakening our palates and tuning our interest for the dishes to come.
 |
| Amuse Bouche |
Starters
Two plump rounds of Lobster Tortellini with Crab XO (THB700) come bulging at the seams with crustacean. Wilted greens and mushrooms are tousled with HK-XO sauce, and a foam of lobster bisque tunics the entire dish. It’s a delicate see-saw of flavours and we find it an elegant entrance.
 |
| Lobster Tortellini with Crab XO |
I have fond memories of SO Sofitel Singapore’s Laksa Risotto and so seeing Risotto Tom Yum on the menu I couldn’t resist an order! Orzo pasta is cooked risotto style with that distinctive Thai soup seasoning, laced with coconut foam and crispy herbs, and surmounted with a firm but tender tiger prawn. It’s pretty fabulous, but I want to fly back to Singapore and do a side-by-side comparison with their laksa version before I hand down a final verdict on which I prefer the most.
 |
| Tom Yum Risotto |
Mains
Sea Tasting Combo (THB1900) furnishes flaky white pieces of pan-seared seabass, coral pink salmon, a fat orb of ravioli wadded with seafood, a succulent scallop, a chubby tiger prawn, rotund mussel, tender squid and sautéed vegetables. A stripe of bisque foam seeks out the corners of our mouths filling any remaining pockets with flavour. It’s a little bit of France and a little bit of Thailand. Spread across an enormous dark grey plate, the portion looks deceptively manageable. As we continue bite after bite however, we soon discover our tummies filling and our forklifting slowing. Despite being seafood, it’s a hearty dish.
 |
| Sea Tasting Combo |
Besides the seasonal menu, Park Society lists a So Healthy menu with calories recorded aside each recipe, and a promise of nutrition assured with every dish. The steamed Barramundi (THB1500) with a lentil salad and red wine sauce takes my fancy. Moist flakes of fish part with my fork and the textured green pulse base and chopped seasonal vegetables complete a nourishing nosh-up.
 |
| Barramundi |
A tiny jar of liquid mixed berry jelly topped with passionfruit sorbet cleanses our palates as a separation between savoury and sweet. Reality is though that it’s fresh and sweet and might do perfectly well on its own as a conclusion.
 |
| Palate Cleanser |
Desserts
Hubby and I do turn abouts for the dessert. He’s indulged already so attempts to balance out his ending with a lighter finish in the Exotic Fruit Salad (THB300). Having saved a few grams of fat in my healthy main I feel justified in going all out in dessert with the Chocolate Smash Ball (THB350).
Tropical fruits are accompanied by a passion fruit sorbert, almond tuile and strawberry consommé in hubby’s finish. He’s overjoyed with his selection and states numerous times how he “knows the executive chef has a pastry background.”
 |
| Exotic Fruit Salad |
My sweet indulgence surprises me with a brownie mattress supporting a large hollow chocolate ball and a “hammer” at the ready for the “smash.” I guess I’d dismissed the name of the dessert, “Chocolate Smash Ball” presuming smash as in smashing or wonderful, not literally an instruction to break the orb to smithereens. A few violent thwacks with the chocolate mallet and a salted caramel mousse drizzled in a vanilla sauce and mated with berry compote are revealed. Yum!
 |
| Chocolate Smash Ball |
Reasons to visit:chic design atmosphere; breathtaking views; contemporary western cuisine infused with local ingredients; choux pastry filled with melted Gruyere cheese and truffle oil; Tom Yum Risotto; Chocolate Smash Ball.
Park Society
So Sofitel Bangkok
2 North Sathorn Road
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Thailand
+66 2624 000
www.sofitel.com
Park Society
So Sofitel Bangkok
2 North Sathorn Road
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Thailand
+66 2624 000
www.sofitel.com