HAVE YOU EVER TRIED ROOFTOP DINING IN BANGKOK?

If you ever come to Bangkok, one experience you should not miss is rooftop dining.  It must have been more than two decades ago.  I was staying in the Banyan Tree Hotel, which was then a Westin.  In any case, at the top was Vertigo, the first roof top dining restaurant in the city.  The building has 61 floors, and you are at the top.

Since then I've dined at a few more.  As the second of its kind, Sirocco opened in 2003 on the 63rd floor.  Read about my experience in 2015:

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  ...the symbol of supreme dining extravagance in Thailand, remaining as the highest place to enjoy a meal with only the sky above you, on the 63rd floor of the State Tower.   I took the photos below awaiting my table and saw the sunset. Maybe your mind might recall this scene, for parts of Hangover 2 were shot here.

• This posting provides cuisine and wine details for every dish.

So, the chef came by to chat with me, for maybe the third time, and we joked around enough that I don't think he was insulted by my comments.  Chef Gonzalo Ruiz is from Barcelona, and ran his own restaurant when he was 28.  I wished him well on his next adventure, for I had similar chats with Chef Rene of Nomo and Chef Gaggan here in Bangkok before they became #1 in the World and Asia.

• I'll show you only the dessert, a Red Autumn Berries with Chocolatre, including a Mythical Garden Ice Apple Wine.

The whole meal with wines cost $300. 

There are now at least 20 rooftop dining options in Bangkok, with Vertigo and Sirocco at the top, both in terms of quality and height.  Well, five years ago the Mahanakhon Skybar on the 77th floor eclipsed the two, but it does not have the restaurant style of the early two.   So on to our Sirocco adventure for tonight.

But first, just about when we were about to leave for dinner, my 7 tailored vests arrived.

The Luxury Collection Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit we're in has flower arrangements everywhere.  First, a lotus flower opening session, then some micro anthuriums.

The taxi ride to Sirocco cost $8 going and $5 returning.  More flowers entering the restaurant, plus a startling first view of the Chao Phraya River.

A table with a view.

Ordered a Penfold's Shiraz and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  First, an amusement, followed by Hokkaido Scallops risotto, foie gras and asparagus risotto for the appetizers.

The entres were pork and lamb.

Ended with petit fours.

A grand meal.  Remember my blog yesterday where a decade or so ago I paid $300 for this meal?  This time because of more judicious wines and so forth, the cost was $200/person.

Woke up at 4:45AM for limousine pick-up by Emirates Air.

Nice Emirates lounge.  

Next, we land in Dubai, then after a stopover of 2 hours, on to Munich.

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