Sorry to be late. Sounds like you had fun.

Where was my love from everybody on May 28th? (sniffle) :p

Many happy returns!! Did you have a chance to visit that restaurant in BKK near the Pen that you posted about a while back?? Would love to hear about your food adventures!! Trip report??

Best, Dave

Aw, did we forget your birthday? Happy belated birthday, USCGamecock. Sorry to hijack your birthday thread, MegatopLover.

Happy belated birthday USCGamecock!


Yes, I did visit "Little Chinese Boy" (rough translation), the food stall across Charoennakorn Road from the Peninsula. It was, as always, arroy arroy (very delicious). Once placing the order, it does take a little while for the food to come out. But once it does, on a rolling basis because they expect everything to be served family style, every dish was amazing. The whole fish in tamarind sauce is simply unbelieveable, though it does get really pricey at 200 baht. :D :D All the other dishes, your usual Thai fare, were excellent. Whole meal came to around 500 baht for three people, including a large Singha. The place has no ambience at all, save for the great experience of dining on the street in Bangkok. I feel like I've "gone native," and it's great fun walking out the main drive of the Peninsula into the little stall across the street, then walking back. (Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't, as the saying goes.) Two other nights, we did room service at the Pen: reliably great food, great service, unbeatable convenience, and we can enjoy a bottle of wine I usually bring with me from the States, this time a Spottswoode Sauvingon Blanc. For my birthday, on a friend's recommendation, we went to Le Vendome, a French place (duh!) on Suk. Soi 31. Food was great, our server was great, but the overall service was lacking. They'd been hit by an unexpected group of 26 who hijacked basically the entire dining room; they tried to stick us at a little table in the corner but we didn't want to feel like the poor cousins or the kids at the kids table on Thanksgiving, so we sat outside in the pleasant garden in Bangkok's stifling heat. Highlight of the meal was the '02 Silver Oak Napa Valley I brought with us, which was simply spectacular. Food was not quite up to NY or SF standards for French food, but the price was much more reasonable, under $200 for two with corkage for three full courses (with lots of foie gras).

In Phuket, we stayed at the Chedi. The resort was quite beautiful and fully recovered from the tsunami. The service was good, but when stacked up against the Pen, they were in different leagues altogether. Mr. Megatop got us a fantastic rate on a great room, so no complaints. While there, we ate at a restaurant called "Silk" on the main road near Surin Bay, in a new building above a bunch of galleries. Ambience was great--modern chic, complete with DJ spinning very pleasant upbeat dinner music--and service was quite good (one server in particular ;) ), and the food was excellent. Pricey by Thailand standards.

In KL, we stayed at Carcosa Seri Negara, our fourth GHM property. They upgraded us to a spectacular suite, undoubtedly the biggest one in the Seri Negara building. I would spitball it at about 200 square meters. Our personal butler, Alawi, was wonderful: exceptionally warm and attentive without being intrusive in the least. We had a complimentary car service all over central KL, which made up for the occasional hassle we had in getting a cab to run us up to CSN. The setting was beautiful, in a secluded garden that made it seem like we were not in a city at all. Looking for fusion food on Friday night, we asked about a restaurant called "Delicious," based on the recommendation of a FlyerTalker, in the Bangsar neighborhood. Alawi suggested, instead, a place called Frangiapani near the Bukit Bintang neighborhood. We followed his suggestion. Fantastic ambiance, great food, and interesting wine list, with tons of over-the-top bordeaux but very few new world selections (my preference). Alawi and our server recommended that we try the bar upstairs. We had a glance and it looked like a morgue. Our server assured us it got going after 11. Whilst outside waiting for Alawi to pick us up, we saw a parade of KL guppies (gay urban professionals, with a smattering of expats), at which point we figured out what was going on. Too late, though.

Service at the Peninsula was better than ever. We had lots of bennies in our room when we arrived-- a dizzying array that does nothing for my girlish figure. ;) On my birthday, just about everyone I ran into wished me a happy birthday. It was really amazing. The GM sent us a cake in the room and other staff sent cards and such. With all that, I needed extra time with the personal trainers to work off the calories. Can't wait to be back at our home on the river in Bangkok.

Didn't have time to make a proper trip report, but that's the food-centric version.

:-: Happy Birthday :-:, MegatopLover!

Have a great day, wherever you are today.
(Thanks for your in-depth reports on the destinations I plan to visit this year and 2009. :))

Happy Birthday MegatopLover!:)^:-:

happy birthday. :)

when i saw this thread i hoped you were able to do a pen BKK stay, then i saw bali, and i was thinking too bad, until i saw the pen BKK was part of the trip. :cool:

re carcosa seri negara, the top 2 categories >
http://www.kl-hotels.com/carcosa/rooms.htm

The report should be fun, if the Pen is indeed part of the celebration trip. ^

Happy birthday to my fellow Gemini. :)

Hi everyone. Thanks very much for your kind good wishes. So nice to be remembered on my birthday.

As many of you saw, I was traveling on my birthday. Since I got back, it has taken me a while to catch up on things. I was going to write a proper TR and I still might, but I haven't had time yet. Hopefully I'll make time this weekend, before I forget the colorful details.

This trip did indeed include my Favorite Hotel in the World, the Peninsula Bangkok. It also included a night in Singapore punctuated by meals at two of my favorite restaurants there: the Hometown in Smith Street and the New Majestic Restaurant. Then it was off to Bali, and we celebrated my birthday at Mozaic restaurant with a tasty wine I brought from my collection at home. We liked Mozaic so much, we went back again two nights later. :) The whole trip was grand, being with Mr. Megatop the whole time and with my mom and her husband in BKK and for our stay in Singapore (they stayed on for a few more days). The FS Sayan was stunningly beautiful, our first time there. And Mr. Megatop and I did lots of shopping for Balinese art and artefacts. My third Balinese painting is currently at the framer's. Apart from being with Mr. Megatop and having other members of my family there, the highlight was probably, once again, the Pen in BKK. Our room was spectacular--a suite on the 29th floor--and the attentive service somehow exceeded even what they have delivered in the past. It is a big part of what keeps me going back over and over. And Mr. Megatop is too, of course. The biggest part.

:-: Happy birthday, MegatopLover :-:

How did I miss this thread - a belated Happy Birthday!!!! :)

Thanks in advance for what promises to be a fun trip report.
Glad everything worked out on your birthday and holiday. :D