so back from dinner and my computer runs out shortly..

Biscotti did not disappoint, it never does...

The chef greeted us when we arrived at 7 as few people had arrived as yet. He is Italian unlike his predecessor hailing from Rome.. After we sat down near one of the streams in the floor, he came to our table to ask if he might make suggestions to us. We chatted for quite some time and he asked if we might like of the signature apetizers---a thin pizza with mascapone cheese between two layers of crispy crust... it was fab,... rich, crispy and enjoyable...3 small wedges each. K enjoyed wine with it and I had a draft singha.

time is about up... more in 2 days, or maybe tomorrow.

Sounds like the shopping is off to a great (tech) start!! I'm sure your many gifts, in memory of gpanda, will be much appreciated.

C

don--we kept lots secret so we save good things for ourselves so they don't get over run by nasty tourists...

have jack make you a yukata for use in a japanese ryokan.....

can't believe no robe after the third try. i remember the story you told me of the first one....haha

sounds like lots of quality goodies for the kids, great.

Happy Thanksgiving!

so back to the biscotti dinner:

first we were welcomed with a small lemongrass drink and a cold towel
next came a board with some flavorful bread and a 1/2 clove of roasted garlic (yum) plus fine oil
following that was a small dish with celery, carrots and lettuce leaves with a blue cheese dip..
and of course our wine and beer.

the pizza arrived next and was very rich, crispy (top and bottom) and delicious.

K chose the crab salad as her entree (actually an appetizer). This is her favorite dish at Biscotti. It is a bed of radicchio, fennel, and other greens with deep fried soft shell crab on top. Boiled potatoes and green beans plus a herby dressing are accompiants..

I chose, based on chef's suggestion, a very creamy risotto with 2 seared scollops and a few bright green young fava beans on top... Filling and delicious..

For dessert, I chose the granny smith apple tart with chocolate and vanilla sauces on the side. A bit tough and lacking pizazz...

K on the other hand chose the signature dessert, carmello spuma. This arrives with smoke caused by dry ice escaping from the unique glass dish. The dish is a large bowl of a red wine goblet, sans stem with dry ice and water in it. seated in it is a tulip shaped glass dish holding, from bottom to top, frozen coffee crystals, chocolate pearls, and caramel foam on top with amaretto chocolate sauce on the side to be added if you wish. Unique, dramatic and delicious.
about $105.

A lovely and relaxing evening meal.

an easy walk next door to our hotel. btw, the greeting you receive each time you arrive at st regis is amazing... you enter on ground floor, elevator to fl 12--lobby. change to another elevator with key security to your floor--our floor is 18. we view the 4 seasons and over towards pratunam mkt and platinum mall.

our driver is coming shortly for another day of orphanage shopping

Awesome meal! Not like the turkey we will have tomorrow, but a feast nevertheless.

So, Happy Thanksgiving to the Kimballs and all Fodors friends. Your shopping for the orphanage is Thanksgiving "on the hoof". -and it is really nice to hear about.

Sounds like your first romantic meal ALONE these past six weeks you lug.
Karen must have loved it. You on the other hand too busy rating the crispness of the pizza crust....go figure.
Practice the Gangnam Style dance for Pook & Mony later this evening...at least you'll look cool.....maybe not.....

Aloha!

i found my hat and have the dancing shoes on... please bring the wheel chair around...

another pretty busy day... we need a break..

breakfast in our room overlooking 4 seasons and as far as Bayoike tower, clearly seeing platinum..

Roger came for us at 10. First we swung by chang's to pick up ordered eyeglasses and have a small repair on an old pair of mine.

Following that we attacked Big C... This is a walmart sort of store, only multi-levels. We went to the one directly across from Cental World Plaza.

First I changed $1900 into baht to finance some of the purchases for the orphanage. rate: 30.31B=$1.

Next we picked up some AA battries... then some DVD's and CD's and finally we found the kids clothing section. We bought T shirts in various sizes for girls and boys... we bought shorts and some longer shorts... then it was flip flops---a whole shopping cart full... then it was mesh shorts, and more T-shirts...

next it was more cd's and blank notebooks and pens, and pencils... then tons of flat balloons....

we bought some whiffle ball games, some balls of different sizes, for kicking and throwing... and undoubtedly things i have forgotten about..

check out took well over 30 minutes even with automated scanning. $570.

Separately we bought some books from a concession within big C---some fun, some educational.

Roger brought the van around and we threw what seemed like hundreds of bags inside.

We were hungry but decided to wait till we crossed the street to central world where we wanted to visit asia books. Roger skillfully crossed the 6 lanes of traffic from one driveway to another with very heavy traffic and no one giving way.. no horns either..

On floor 6 we had a bite to eat (soup and a not so good sandwich) at Black Canyon Coffee.

AB was near-by. K had help from a clerk who spoke some english---i was beat and just sat there while K brought her finds to me. We bought an atlas and a number of other nice books, some of which were requested items. $150.

Next was a toys r us... we bought puzzles, games, activities, miniature toy trucks, paddle/ball games, friz bees, hulla hoops, jump ropes, etc---$185

We met roger for the long drive back to the hotel--traffic.

On the way we stopped at a friend's new Patisserie, called Masatomi, on fl 3 at The Portico, a small shopping center, next door to Starbucks on Langsuan (left side of street).
great stuff..

Roger cut thru Villa supermarket's little lane to take us out to our street...

We had been out 6.5 hours..

Some hot tea and good a/c revived us in time to meet Hanuman and Mony at Gaggan Restaurant... All I can say is WOW..
So I don't miss any details (I have tons of pics), I will write in a day or so.

i forgot to mention that Biscotti is currently having a white truffle promotion.... dishes seem to run slightly north of $100.

We were unlucky last night Bob as the premium class 1 white Alba truffle arrived at Gaggan this morning! Oh well I guess I will have to return there ALONE!

pook, its tough but someone has to do it!!

totally, totally exhausted after another busy day...

tomorrow is finally our day at the orphanage to present to them all the items we have bought with the memorial $$ for Gpanda...

I need to tell you all with some detail about that but first i need to tell you about dinner at Gaggan--in a word unbelievable..

however i need to wait till Sunday probably..

In Kathie's honor we ate tonight at Lemongrass on soi 24.. It was quite good..

Bob, now you know how it feels to be a real shopper!!! I'm proud of you for withstanding the workout at Big C (what a great place to buy loads of stuff to donate!!).

I hope the trip to the orphanage goes well. Had really hoped to be part of it LAST year, but alas, the flooding did not allow it! I'm with you in spirit.

Hello from Amsterdam. We arrived this morning, and are being very lazy on this rainy and chilly day... but, hey, it's Amsterdam, so it's not all THAT bad...

You've got e-mail.....
C

So wonderful meeting you all!! Rat wants to see you, too. We cannot thank you enough. We all wished we had more time together. Another time, for sure. More soon.

Am back from OZ will post trip report on the Australian Forum.

I know I am late in catching up with you, but better late than never. Have enjoyed your postings and relived some of the places through your eyes.

Bob, what a wonderful set of thanksgiving messages--gifts from gpanda to the children of Thailand. I'm loving every post. Thanks to you and Karen for being there for all of us. The shopping sounds both exhausting and exhilarating (albeit more exhausting) . Can't wait to hear about the delivery!

And, relative to politics. You are very light on the politics. And, I figure it's your thread Bob. That's why we love you. Your reports are more a smorgasbord than a plate of petit fours. :)

the visit to the orphanage was amazing, overwhelming in some ways.

tomorrow is a total down day---finally.

i will be catching this dull report up to date..

we are not up on the political situation here as there was to have been another huge rally in town today... by mid morning we were told the government had stepped in to defuse things... I'll see what the paper says in the morning...
we were out of town from 8-7 today.

i plan to restart the report with a narrative on the Gaggan restaurant.. don't miss this..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...nment-protests

So I haven't been on fodors for some time, and was unaware of the protests. My neighbor asked me if we were still going, and I said yes. Then I came to read the article, and come back to you. So, at this point, I am glad I didn't choose the hotel near the embassy area. (*as I almost chose)

I would love to hear about the orphanages. (*I'm not up on your current report. Is it in Laos or Thaland?)

Our departure is in 3 weeks. Now, if I could only find my wallet.....

onetwothree..... I have seen the protests on TV here in Amsterdam. I was in the city a couple of years ago for the red shirt take over of the city center. You would not have known about it from soi 8. I too will be in BKK in a few weeks and hope things are quiet.

Bob rest up and give us a report on the orphanage. Anxious to read about it.