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Published on December 2, 2007

People might consider the Century Park Hotel well off the beaten track, but actually it's a lot easier to get to than you may realise - just a 10-minute walk from the BTS Victory Monument station or a five-minute trip by taxi.

Besides, you'll be pleasantly rewarded for the journey. At Roberto, Somdej is offering what he calls an "Imported Promotion" - seafood and beef brought in from all over the world to play a part in dishes he himself has created.

And Somdej is delighted to be able to offer this promotion. Although Roberto offers all the regular Italian concoctions and pizzas, he's happy to try something different.

"I like to try out flavours from different countries," he says.

Having worked at Indra Regent, Hyatt Central Plaza, Landmark and Shangri-La hotels, he started his culinary career right at the bottom - washing dishes. Now that he oversees Century Park's five outlets, he's very busy, but not so busy that he can't take time out to create dishes he thinks everyone will enjoy.

Maybe he could be called a chef without boundaries.

For the promotion, for instance, he has a Japanese octopus cocktail (Bt360), which is accompanied by shrimp roe and a fine wasabe-mayonnaise dressing.

"The dish is not quite Japanese," he says, "but the ingredients are."

Somdej also knows his soups and sauces. The oysters in his Chilean oyster Florentine (Bt320) are stuffed with spinach and topped with a hollandaise sauce - very rich and very satisfying.

For a main dish, he offers grilled gratinated snowfish (Bt720), which, despite its rather dramatic presentation, is delicious. Here, he has a sauce made with Pernod.

The sauce for the Australian rib-eye steak (Bt625) is made with the rich balsamico vinegar, which goes beautifully with the accompanying grilled bell pepper and French fries. The US T-bone steak (Bt655) comes with mild and well-blended Pommery mustard sauce.

These steaks are grilled on the Roberto stone grill, giving the beef a clean and memorable taste.

From the Roberto pizza oven, Somdej has created the Roma Pizza Quattro (Bt275) - one quarter topped with vegetables, another with Parma ham, another with scallops and yet another with crabmeat.

Topping this creation are "Parmesan crackers", nibbles made from Parmesan cheese melted in a pan and then moulded into various shapes.

The promotion is running indefinitely - at least past the New Year - but if for some reason you're not interested, check out the a la carte menu, which offers traditional Italian fare, as well as a large range of pizzas (around Bt250 each).

Also remember to save room for Somdej's tiramisu, which is perhaps one of the most alcoholic desserts available in Bangkok.

Laurie Rosenthal

The Nation