Monkey Tree Cruise Bangkok
Yuki’s birthday present from her mom were two tickets for a dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. After a day of shopping, we went back to the Asiatique mall where the pickup was. We were early and hungry so we ended up stopping for some Japanese crepes because we had talked about getting it in Japan and it never happened. It was pretty good but then Yuki told me that there was a 6 course meal coming up.
The boat cruise ended up coming to the pier 15 minutes after it was supposed to but it was still the scheduled 2 hours long. The boat was an old teak clog of a thing and we got Puangmalai flowers when we boarded. Other than us, we were surprised that there was just a group of two women and a Japanese couple with a small child. The two women spent most of the cruise on their phones and the Japanese couple taking care of their child.
For a dining hall, it was quite elegant with 15 four-person tables along the sides and two couple tables in the middle. We sat near the front for the best view out. The roof curves down and over the sides low enough that to look out under the roof requires bending down almost to the height of the chair seat. Yukes did point her camera out the side and got some good photos of the sunset behind us as we started up the river.
Our first thing was unlimited sugar coated peanuts that we ate a lot of. We were also given a cocktail menu where most things cost 280 Baht. I felt compelled to get something and it was a luxury cruise so we got a Bellini and Chao Praya.
We were surprised that the cocktails came in wine glasses. Their presentation also seemed lacking with just an orange slice and were way too big for us to finish.
The first thing we were served was an appetizer that was a curry on rice crackers. Then we got a plate with 4 small dishes that were to be eaten in a certain order. It all tasted delicious and I felt myself becoming more judgemental because it was such a high class of food and dining. By the hostess, we found out that the chef had put a lot of thought into everything from how the food was prepared to what was eaten.
The food is apparently Mango Tree with famous restaurants around the world including New York and London where it is a 3 week wait. Apparently the cruise is unique in that it has a full kitchen in the back where all the food is prepared and made fresh. Other cruises have packaged meals or are buffets to which we saw many.
We cruised by the Temple of the Dawn and got a different perspective than most people because we were on the river side. The hostess from Singapore took some photos of us and was very pleasant and nice. I asked her a few questions while the soup came, tiger praws in Tom Yum Soup. She told me that a James Bond film was shot at the temple and that the cruise business had started up in the spring and they were still trying to get a client base.
All along the cruise we kept wanting to get up and take photos. It didn’t help that they put out three chairs on the deck that were enticing us to sit out and enjoy the view but we kept getting called back to eat the next meal course. Was this a dinner on a boat or a sightseeing trip? It was the former to which Yuki and I really enjoyed but really wanted it to be both.
We went as far as the Rama 8 bridge, an elegant cable-stayed structure. I thought we were going to go past it but we turned around there and I missed my chance to take photos of it. Then came the main course, Yukes had curry beef and I had prawns with garlic. Both were small dishes but very well presented and after all the appetizers, just the right amount.
It was really good food and pretty easy to eat too. My tiger prawns were two giant prawns cut down the middle and grilled with butter and garlic. They came out of the shells easily and were very tasty.
The last bit of food was mango and sticky rice, Yuki’s favourite Thai dessert. It was especially good and finished the meal off just right with a full stomach.
I must admit that taking pictures of all the food and seeing it presented so neatly while knowing that it was high class and luxurious made me feel like a food critique. Yuki’s cousin got the cruise through a Groupon-like site for 1000 Baht each, which is down from the original 2300 Baht. For that price it was an excellent value and the service felt like a private cruise. That was probably the best part, being in a near empty dinning hall on a boat all to ourselves. The 280 Baht drinks came to 660 Baht with a 10% service charge and 7% tax. Funnily enough, I had been thinking of tipping 200 Baht and complimenting the chefs but I decided not to after seeing the service charge.
The entire time we were in conflict with the food and wanting to take more pictures. Both of us would have enjoyed it even more if it was a dinner cruise with food first that still allowed time to go up or down the river with a drink in hand while enjoying the nighttime view. It would have been great to enjoy the atmosphere longer.
