The Edge, Banyan Tree Koh Samui
The Edge is aptly named for its cliff-edge location in the swanky Banyan Tree Koh Samui. This is the in-house buffet restaurant serving international cuisine, and breakfast.
The food was surprisingly decent, with more hits than misses, distinguishing The Edge from the sea of unremarkable garden-variety hotel buffets.
The awesomely curated charcuterie and fromage table; with the seldom-seen-but-very-appreciated coppa ham, salami, turkey jadgwurst, and cabanossi; and cheddar, mozzarella, feta, gruyere, and brie cheeses; and its accompaniments like cheese crackers, olives, capers, pickles, and nuts. This section alone won me over.
Salads: a DIY section, a fruit salad, and a thousand island-based potato salad
Japanese sushi and salmon sashimi - clunky
Breads of all kinds: breadsticks, bagels, baguette, wholemeal, nuts, rolls and sliced bread, with butter on ice.
Pastries, including danishes, muffins, doughnuts, and tarts, with a melange of jams and sweet spreads, strawberry, raspberry, lychee honey, pineapple, mango, blueberry, peanut butter and nutella. Loved the danishes.
Even more pastries, including donuts, bread pudding, and croissants, and a honeycomb drip.
Roasts; bacon and a rather dry roast pork, with buttered corn, baked beans and grilled root vegetables
Grilled potatoes and onions fragranced with rosemary
DIY pork porridge was pretty decent, with a lovely stock base, and condiments.
Grilled chicken with teriyaki sauce with chunkily textured pork sausage - passed muster
Chicken hotdog with Aglio Olio linguini - forgettable
Japanese-styled steamed egg laced with shitake and crabmeat - a firmer rendition of chawanmushi
Siew Mai and HarGow - give both a miss, very middling
Ditto for the too-thick-skinned steamed red bean and pork buns
Sauteed Spicy Beef - lovely sauce but beef was a smidge overcooked
Oyster sauce vegetables - simple but excellent
Fried Noodles with Egg - passably comforting in that maggi mee goreng way.
Indian Rice Pilaf - fluffy and flavourful
Thai noodle soup live station
Chicken coconut soup - fantastic, creamy and robust
The eggs, cooked ala minute, were disappointingly amateurish, the Egg scramble with peppers, ham and onions was overcooked and rubbery.
The same fate befell the Eggs Benedict as well...
And the regular poached Eggs
Freshly cut fruits and muesli
Locally-influenced ice-cream flavours like coconut, Thai iced tea, and regulars like vanilla and coffee; with toppings like chocolate chips, almond flakes, sunflower seeds and cookie crunch.
Pretty desserts in a row, petite-sized for easier consumption and reduced wastage.
Fruit Juices: pineapple, mango, watermelon, orange and guava smoothie, and milks of the soy and fresh full cream and skimmed varieties.
Best outdoor table in the house; if there ever was a reason to linger over a meal, this view would be it.
Restaurant reception
The Edge
Banyan Tree Koh Samui
Website
The food was surprisingly decent, with more hits than misses, distinguishing The Edge from the sea of unremarkable garden-variety hotel buffets.
The awesomely curated charcuterie and fromage table; with the seldom-seen-but-very-appreciated coppa ham, salami, turkey jadgwurst, and cabanossi; and cheddar, mozzarella, feta, gruyere, and brie cheeses; and its accompaniments like cheese crackers, olives, capers, pickles, and nuts. This section alone won me over.
Salads: a DIY section, a fruit salad, and a thousand island-based potato salad
Japanese sushi and salmon sashimi - clunky
Breads of all kinds: breadsticks, bagels, baguette, wholemeal, nuts, rolls and sliced bread, with butter on ice.
Pastries, including danishes, muffins, doughnuts, and tarts, with a melange of jams and sweet spreads, strawberry, raspberry, lychee honey, pineapple, mango, blueberry, peanut butter and nutella. Loved the danishes.
Even more pastries, including donuts, bread pudding, and croissants, and a honeycomb drip.
Roasts; bacon and a rather dry roast pork, with buttered corn, baked beans and grilled root vegetables
Grilled potatoes and onions fragranced with rosemary
DIY pork porridge was pretty decent, with a lovely stock base, and condiments.
Grilled chicken with teriyaki sauce with chunkily textured pork sausage - passed muster
Chicken hotdog with Aglio Olio linguini - forgettable
Japanese-styled steamed egg laced with shitake and crabmeat - a firmer rendition of chawanmushi
Siew Mai and HarGow - give both a miss, very middling
Ditto for the too-thick-skinned steamed red bean and pork buns
Sauteed Spicy Beef - lovely sauce but beef was a smidge overcooked
Oyster sauce vegetables - simple but excellent
Fried Noodles with Egg - passably comforting in that maggi mee goreng way.
Indian Rice Pilaf - fluffy and flavourful
Thai noodle soup live station
Chicken coconut soup - fantastic, creamy and robust
The eggs, cooked ala minute, were disappointingly amateurish, the Egg scramble with peppers, ham and onions was overcooked and rubbery.
The same fate befell the Eggs Benedict as well...
And the regular poached Eggs
Freshly cut fruits and muesli
Locally-influenced ice-cream flavours like coconut, Thai iced tea, and regulars like vanilla and coffee; with toppings like chocolate chips, almond flakes, sunflower seeds and cookie crunch.
Pretty desserts in a row, petite-sized for easier consumption and reduced wastage.
Fruit Juices: pineapple, mango, watermelon, orange and guava smoothie, and milks of the soy and fresh full cream and skimmed varieties.
Best outdoor table in the house; if there ever was a reason to linger over a meal, this view would be it.
Restaurant reception
The Edge
Banyan Tree Koh Samui
Website
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