Lord Jim's

Wow, been doing even more scoffing, so got loads to catch up on.

Lord Jim's then - another Mandarin Oriental institution. To sum up: fine seafood, superb views, excellent service.

Lord Jim's has apparently been recently refurbished. It's certainly an eye-catching place on the inside. As you enter, an entrancing tank of tropical fish lines the corridor at eye-level. Cute booths are lined on the other side for a quiet drink. Otherwise you enter a cool glass interior, with chefs slicing sashimi, beds of ice displaying the latest catch of the day, fridges lined with varieties of beer...

We were given an excellent window seat without even asking. Here you can see the activity on the river as the dinner cruises sail by with their Christmas decoration lights. The menu contains a range of seafood favourites together with freshly caught catches of the day such as lobster, grilled or steamed and served with a variety of sauces.

We ordered sashimi to start: toro (tuna belly) and salmon. Both very good. Naturally the toro was very pricey and one piece had a bit of gristle (or I don't know what it was, couldn't eat it though) in it. We also had the pan fried scallops - only 3 are given, but it was cooked perfectly and was v. tasty.

For the main course, I had Cajun salmon which I hoovered up very quickly indeed. It was so moreish. Fatt wanted fresh lobster but he didn't want it too dry and so settled for stir-fried Thai-style (not on the menu). In fact, I think Fatt wanted it stir-fried Chinese style e.g. with spring onion and ginger, but they couldn't do that. Unfortunately, the lobster in Thai chilli sauce was overly salty - we just couldn't taste the lobster at all. Our fault I suppose. The waiter obligingly asked the kitchen to re-cook and reduce the saltiness which helped improve things slightly. But it was a lesson - why have lobster cooked Thai-style at such an expensive place when this way of cooking was not on the menu and is not the speciality of the place?

We still had a great time and finished off with a really gorgeous chocolate fondue desert. And the service was impeccable. The bill came up to about 6,500 baht. Of course this is v. expensive for Thailand. Yet when I think about a mid-range seafood restaurant in the UK and a 3-course meal with beer - we'd be paying more. Here, we have 5-star service, surroundings and food. I'd go back v. easily (if there weren't so many other restaurants in Bangkok that I'd like to try first!)