Actually, it was very good. Mr. Megatop started with some escargot baked in traditional garlic butter and topped off with stilton; he thought it salty, but I liked it quite a bit-- that said, I love stilton. I had a tasty foie gras terrine dish with a mango chutney for my starter, only because they'd sold out of pan-seared foie gras and the next delivery was stuck in traffic (I can sympathize, as we were totally stuck in traffic on the way there). I had another starter, but I can't remember exactly what it was-- a soup of some sort. Then we both had the Duck Rouennaise, for which Le Banyan is famous. The duck is presented after being roasted, sort of like Peking Duck, then pressed right in the dining room, and the long process of sauteing the sauce and doing the final presentation is done tableside by one of the hosts. We went with the truffle finish, and it was very rich without being overly powerful. It paired well with the Williams Selyem Flax Vineyard RRV Pinot Noir we brought with us. The setting of the restaurant is quite beautiful, in an old home with a large lush courtyard about 400 meters deep into Suk Soi 8. Service was excellent. The hosts were very friendly. I would recommend Le Banyan without reservation. And despite the haul it takes to get over there, we will probably make a point of going again on a future visit, because they had a number of very tasty-sounding beef and lamb dishes that I'd like to try with a big Cal cab.

Thank you, paul2. We did not do dessert at Le Banyan, but celebrated back at the Pen instead, where they'd sent a very nice mocha cake to our room for my birthday.