I mentioned in my last post that my Christmas dinner this year was a brunch buffet at Mantra.
I’ve mentioned Mantra buffets before (albeit a long while ago). When I heard we were going here on Christmas Day I was unreasonably excited, and couldn’t wait to see what they would have on offer. Surely not turkey?
I’m clearly someone who loves to be disappointed.
Why do I think this, you might wonder? Well, it’s because I adore buffets, despite the fact that they are usually pretty crap.
From sad pork pies at a wedding disco, to greasy scrapings of Peking duck skin at the all-you-can-eat Chinese, to dried pebbles of scrambled egg at the breakfast buffet, the intention is often superior to the food.
On a previous visit to Thailand, one night we ate out at the “99 Baht Buffet” (on the Pattaya Thai Road, Pattaya, behind Big C). The name was a real tongue-pleaser, as was the meal (…too much?).
On our recent trip the price had risen to a less mellifluous 129 baht, but the food was still as good, and at £3 a head, wonderful value.
The proceedings start (oh yes, this is no simple setup) with an alarming charcoal brazier being set into your metal table. This is then topped with a shallow metal bowl with a raised hole in the centre, to which is added a conical slatted metal hat.
