Pagoda Chinese Restaurant at Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park embarks on a new journey through flavourful recipes from different regional Chinese cuisines with marbled Wagyu as the highlight ingredient.
Created by Chinese executive chef Oscar Pun, the "Wonder Of Wagyu" comprises five dishes that have been infused with his forte and personal touch. The star of the seasonal menu is the finest cuts from Stone Axe, the award-winning Australian beef producer, who was named grand champion at the Wagyu Branded Beef Awards in 2020 and 2021.
The Cantonese cuisine is from the chef's hometown in Hong Kong. For a star starter, try the Steamed black truffle and Wagyu beef shumai (B880). Three plump dumplings are served on a bamboo steamer, each topped with fresh peas that give a hint of sweetness. A tableside truffle-shaving show is presented before being served, so get your camera ready.
Char siu wagyu (B1,390) deserves your camera's attention. The chef prepares the dish table-side, flambéing the marbled Wagyu beef with maotai, a distilled Chinese spirit, by slowly pouring it over the meat until it is partly caramelised for another layer of flavour.
The menu doesn’t limit itself to one cuisine. Wok-fried Wagyu beef with asparagus in XO sauce (B2,590) is a sublime dish from Shanghai. The dish is beautifully presented, with tender and juicy chunks of Wagyu beef and asparagus spears arranged atop a crispy, deep-fried noodle nest. The XO sauce is the real star of the show, however, infusing the dish with a bold, umami flavour that's enhanced with hints of seafood and chilli.
Homemade dan dan noodles with braised Wagyu beef (B730) is a dish of humble street food origins in Sichuan. The chef serves the noodle dish in the original style without soup, but instead of being coated in a prickling spicy sauce like the traditional way, the dish comes with peanut sauce and braised beef, with peanuts sprinkled on top for an extra crunch.
Shuizhu niurou, also known as Sichuan-style boiled Wagyu beef (B2,460), is famous for its hallmark characteristics of numbing and spicy sensation, which are synonymous with Sichuan cuisine. The hot and spicy broth, thanks to Sichuan peppercorns, is served separately from the thinly sliced Wagyu beef, allowing diners to enjoy the dish hot pot style, with tofu, lotus root and water chestnut offering a counterbalance to the fiery flavour of the broth.
Alongside the seasonal Wagyu menu are three Chinese-inspired cocktails priced at B350 each. Guizhou Collins offers a sweet and floral sip with a blend of maotai, lychee, rose syrup and fresh lime juice. Enjoy a rare Chinese take on a traditional sloe gin or Peddlers salted plum gin in the Salted plum sour, served in a rounded martini glass with egg-white foam. And Shanghainese gin and tonic is a unique twist on the classic cocktail that adds a splash of lychee syrup and a dash of aromatic bitters.
The "Wonder Of Wagyu" menu and the Chinese-inspired cocktails are available at Pagoda Chinese Restaurant, Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park until May 30. Visit pagodabangkok.com.
