cochran

Okay, went here tonight. Please check my other thread, Recent Dining Experiences, for the review.

No problem, but go get dosed up! Lack of caffeine can ruin your whole day!!

PattayaParent, Taj is on our list. We had to walk past it on our excellent visit to Cherry's and decided to try it out. Which type of Indian cuisine would you say they have? Is it more like Indian by Nature, or more like Ali Baba's, or something else? Looking forward to this one.

JingThing, hold on a sec - you said "I disagree with Cochran about this place." If we're talking about Amigos, I haven't eaten there. Any reviews posted about this one are from someone else. I was interested in this place because I know nothing about Portuguese food, but the reviews here have been so mixed that I haven't made the trip.

Okay, chiming in!! I didn't know this place was there, and I live next door to Central Festival!! I work too much...

Anyway, I love these kinds of restaurants. I've enjoyed these places in Charlotte NC as well as Chicago IL. All I can say is, if the quality is as good here as there, wear loose pants when you go. You'll be glad of the extra room. You can literally eat yourself sick in these joints.

I will for sure check this out. The price point is not unreasonable AT ALL for a churrascaria, and I don't mind guinea-pigging it (hope that's not on the menu!) and bringing back a report. However, I'm out of town this weekend, so it will likely have to wait until after 4 May...unless I can get in there tonight or Thursday...hmmm.....we'll see.

Thanks for bringing this up. Sounds great!

Last night we stopped by The Balcony on Pattaya Nua. We almost turned around and left, because as we rounded the corner it looked like the building was closed and condemned. As we stepped on around, we realized the restaurant is on the right side of the building only, and not on the side nearest the street.

We sat outside, in a nice little courtyard. There are several small tables, with large umbrellas, on a brick patio. The area also features a couple of large waterfall installations, which look nice but are very loud, to the point of impeding quiet conversation. Overall a decent atmosphere visually, but depending on your dinner companions you may be better served by staying indoors.

Appetizers were minestrone for her and foie gras for me. Her soup was quite thick and had little in the way of broth. She asked me, "Is it still soup if there's no water in it?" Flavor was good, with a tomato base, but the vegetables were a little overcooked ( I think this is what happened to the broth - the potatoes cooked down to starch). Mine was served with cooked apples, red cabbage, and vinaigrette. Maybe I had the wrong expectation. The actual serving of liver was quite small, had almost no texture, and not a lot of flavor. At 500 thb for the appetizer, I expected more.

My gf was drinking blue margaritas, and enjoyed them enough to have a second. After my overboard experience last Friday, I stuck with Coke. No surprises there.

Main course for her was a gratinated white snapper, served with fried potatoes and vegetables. Looked good, and smelled good. I didn't try this one.

I ordered a salmon steak (which turned out to be a fillet, but this is not a big deal for me), served in a dill sauce with french fries (shoestring style) and mixed steamed vegetables. The salmon is served well done, which is okay with me, but if you prefer something else, you should specify. The menu says the fish is marinated in olive oil and rosemary before cooking, and you can slightly taste the rosemary. The sauce was creamy and well seasoned, with extra served in a small gravy boat on the side. Nice touch, that. Decent piece of fish, and the serving size is quite reasonable. The french fries were not overcooked, but also not overly tasty. There's only so much you can do with a prepackaged, skinny french fry. The vegetables were steamed to the correct level, still a little crisp, and had a very buttery flavor. I'm skeptical enough to think that these may also have been prepackaged, but were still rather good.

Overall we spent almost 2k thb. I think it was a little expensive for what we got. I'm borderline on this place. There were a few positive notes, but also a helping of negative ones, leaving me quite ambivalent. I won't say we'll never go back, but I am sure this doesn't make our list of favorites.

I am totally jonesing for some Indian food, but also plan on a visit to the gym tonight. This typically means a quick bite here in the industrial park. We'll flip a coin and see where we end up....

Yes, Jameson's near Nova, between 2nd and 3rd. I think they open at 8:30 am. Enjoy!

I'd like to share my experience today from News Cafe, on Thepprasit (or is it Theppraya?), in the same parking lot as Indian by Nature.

I've been wanting to try this place for a while, and today we drove out there to give it a shot.

The place wasn't very busy - I think there were two other tables occupied when we arrived. Relatively nice place, low-ceilinged, quiet, comfortable seats, etc. For appetizers, I ordered garlic bread with tzatziki and my girl had asparagus and bacon soup. Both were very good. The tzatziki tasted very fresh, chunky, and creamy, and the garlic bread was hot and crusty. Be aware that this is a small portion, but since its an appetizer, its okay. Just don't plan on sharing this unless you just want a taste.

We were both drinking water, so no comment on the beverage quality or service or prices (I'm suffering from an overindulgence on Friday night, so no alcohol for me....for a day or two).

Main course for her was creamy carbonara. I think the menu called it spaghetti, but this was actually served on a flat noodle. This was served on an oblong dish, with a small green salad on one end of the plate and the de riguer raw egg yolk in a cup on the side. I didn't try this dish, as my background in food service from a long time ago says raw eggs = salmonella risk. Can't get past the thought. She said it was quite good, and since this is a favorite dish of hers, I trust the opinion.

I had a beef snadder. Its okay - I had no idea what it would look like either. The description read, diced tenderloin steak with fried potatoes, green peppers, onions, with bearnaise sauce. And that's pretty much what I got. A generous serving of small pieces of very tender beef, topped with a decent bearnaise, a small portion of sauteed bell peppers and onions, and a hearty helping of fried chunks of potato. The beef had great flavor, with or without the sauce, and was very tender. The potatoes had just enough browning on the outside and were hot and soft on the inside. I would have liked the onions to have been left a little crisper, but they weren't burnt or damaged, just soft. I ate as much as I could, and decided not to punish my unhappy stomach with the thought of dessert. The bill for dinner for two was about 930 baht. Decent place for a change of pace. The menu reminds me quite a bit of Beefeaters, and not just because the menu has english and Norwegian (Danish? Other?) language descriptions of the dishes.

Had breakfast again at Jameson's this morning by the way - standard quality (quite good) and I can't get over how much I like the sausages there. The seasoning and the texture are just great. Unfortunately, I couldn't eat much this morning, so left much on the plate. One warning - if you asked for your eggs to be flipped over and cooked on both sides (like an over easy or over medium in the states, instead of sunny side up), prepare for eggs cooked almost hard. Not a criticism for the kitchen, as I got what I asked for. I just need to be able to explain to someone how to cook an over medium egg - white completely done, yolk mostly not done.

Okay, torrenova, you do have a good point. Still, I enjoyed the meal with the exception of the steak.

Everyone, would you really call Beefeaters a steak house (name notwithstanding)? Just wondering.

Sorry there's no update for Wednesday night. I actually prepared food and ate at home for a change. I know, I know, letting down my side and all that, but it just seemed like the thing to do. Made a nice salad and an antipasto plate, killed off a bottle of Chardonnay, and called it a night. Depending on what time I escape from work tonight I'll hopefully have a good report for tomorrow.

Cigarchuck, I heartily recommend Mike's mexican on Thepprasit (toward Jomtien). Had an excellent meal there and will eventually go back for sure.

So, I'm back from my trip to the US, and must say I'm glad to be back in Thailand. Returning to topic:

I got home very early Sunday morning and slept in, and made the serious mistake of taking the car out to go to lunch. We headed over to Thepprasit road, as we wanted Indian by Nature, only to find out they were intelligent enough to be closed during Songkran. Ditto News Cafe. So we went to the PanPan location in that neighborhood, thinking that since we enjoy the one in Central Festival so much, this one should be good as well. Turns out to be a very Shenanigan's-style phenomenon (the one in the Avenue is good, the one in Jomtien is not). The menu is a little different at this stand alone version, and the quality just didn't seem to be up to par. I had marinated olives as an appetizer, and they were as advertised, but a little on the sweet side for my taste in olives. Anyway, generous dish of them. For my entree, I had tortellini in meat sauce. I'd tried the meat sauce at the mall location, and liked it, but here it was very oily. The tortellini themselves were quite tender, and the filling was good. This dish needed some black pepper and some parmesan to put it right. Overall, the grease in the sauce was off-putting for me. I made it through about half the dish and stopped there. My girlfriend decided on a scoop of blueberry yogurt for her appetizer, and I had a taste. Very creamy, sweet, but with a hint of tartness from the yogurt and the berries that really set it off. Pretty good stuff. Her entree was a homemade Italian sausage, served bulk style (just a formless patty) with pizza bread. It didn't look very appetizing, and was almost floating in grease. I know its a sausage, but you could pour off some of the grease prior to serving. I didn't try this one, and she didn't finish it either.

Sunday night was AKA Japanese in Central Festival (no way was I going back into the madding crowd). She had Korean bibimbap, and I had spicy Salmon salad (lightly fried chunks of salmon, lettuces, tomato, cucumber, and a very spicy dressing) and asparagus with bacon. The salmon is done exactly right - just barely crisp on the outside, hot and moist and tender on the inside, with crisp cool vegetables. Really good salad. I've reviewed this restaurant before, and my initial assessment stands: good food, good quantity, reasonable prices.

Work is really heating up now, so the dinner reviews during the week may sometimes be irregular (as evidenced by the fact that I'm only posting on Wednesday for Sunday's experiences). Monday night was a "grab something on the way home" evening, so I had McDonald's. I know, not great food, but its the only place I know of that I can really get in and out fast.

Tuesday night we revisited Toscana on Beach Rd., and were again impressed by the food. It was tuna carpaccio for her, served with lettuce and chopped tomato garnish. The fish was sliced thinly, delicately flavored and very tender. There was just a hint of an oil-based dressing over the garnish and this was a great light dinner. For me, minestrone followed by a spinach and cheese ravioli served in a butter and sage sauce. The minestrone was standard, and quite good - hot and hearty. The ravioli dish was outstanding. The butter-based sauce was not overwhelming, and tasted as if there was an elusive hint of lemon in it, which really added a little zing and a dash of freshness. The filling in the ravioli was excellent, and the pasta was cooked exactly right - al dente, not soggy. We topped this off with the same bottle of Tripudium Sicilian wine as our last trip, at about 1500 thb/bottle. Very satisfying meal.

Tonight, no big plans. We did map out the location of the Balcony last night on the way to Toscana, but didn't stop there because it was very late and we weren't sure they'd be open, so that's definitely on the list. More updates to come....stay tuned!

Everyone - thank you for the compliments, but thanks more for the great recommendations we've received from this thread. It has been a lot of fun so far, and I'm looking forward to continuing the exploration. There's still a lot of food I haven't tried in Pattaya, but I've got time.

There will be no new posts for this week, as I'm out of the country (writing this from the gate area in Seoul / Incheon airport), but we'll resume when I'm back on Sunday next week, 19 April.

Keep the recommendations and comments coming....and happy Songkran to everyone.

Update:

Wednesday night, my lady and I met a colleague for dinner at Jameson's. As usual, no complaints at all about this meal. The Stowford Press cider was cold and delicious, and my beef & Guinness pie, as always, hit the spot. That's enough of a meal for anyone, I think. My colleague had a greek salad as a starter, and then a small steak with peas for his main course. He was quite pleased, and said it was cooked exactly right.

My girlfriend's dinner at Jameson's deserves its own paragraph. She ordered the ham slice from the menu. What an unassuming name. This meal comes to the table on a plank that must be 12"x24" at least. I'm not kidding, this thing is <deleted>' huge! Two very thick slices of ham, served over some kind of vegetable, with potatoes/bacon/green onion on the side, and another side dish on the other side of the ham. This was more than enough food for two people, no kidding. I only sampled the potatoes that came with it, and they were delicious. Next time I might just have to try this, but only if I'm famished or sharing it with someone. Dinner for three ran us about 2000 thb (three Stowford's for me and a margarita for her included).

On Thursday night, my girl had just finished a rough day at work and I wanted to take her for a nice dinner. Following the recommendations from this site, we headed for Mata Hari, only to find them closed until after Songkran. Since we were in the neighborhood, we went to Bruno's. This turned out to be a very good move.

The restaurant has a small parking area right in front, so its quite convenient. Even though we showed up without a reservation, we were immediately seated in the front dining room. I think there were about three other occupied tables when we arrived, and there was a slow but steady flow throughout our meal.

We started with drinks - margarita for her and a John Collins for me. The margarita tasted good, but was served without ice for some reason (I've seen a lot of this locally, but really don't understand it). The John Collins was nice and refreshing, and served in a tall glass. Not quite as good as the Tom Collins from Mantra, but good. I ordered the parmesan cream soup as a starter. This is served in a coffee cup, so isn't a huge serving, but it was so good! The soup is very creamy, definite parmesan flavor, but not overwhelming. The soup also contains prosciutto and rosemary (awesome!) and a parmesan crouton. Quite good soup. The restaurant also puts out a bread and butter selection. The kitchen sent out a small appetizer that looked like a shrimp rangoon or crispy shrimp ravioli. Of course I can't eat these, but my girlfriend said it was excellent as well.

As the appetizers were taken away, we were served a small scoop of orange sherbet. This was amazingly good - the taste was very fresh, and seemed vibrantly full of fresh oranges, and not too sweet. Just right.

Main course for her was black noodles with lobster ragout. Again, no taste for me, but she was well pleased. As we were determined to try a dessert here, neither of us cleaned our plates on the entrees, but the quantities were sufficient and the quality was excellent.

My main dish was veal saltimbocca, served with spinach flan and gratin potato. Delicious! The meat was three slices of veal tenderloin, very tender, each one covered with a crisp slice of back bacon, and served over a rich brown sauce. One minor note - the veal tenderloin is somewhat thin, and could have been left a little more pink in the middle for my taste, but still great. The spinach flan was very tasty, and the gratin potatoes were great - a slight crust on top from baking, excellent cheese flavor.

Our dessert selection was crepes Suzette, which we recently tried at Wi's on 3rd Rd. The presentation at Bruno's is a lot more elaborate, with the dish being prepared and assembled on a gas grill trolley in the dining room. It takes a little time to make the sauce for this, but does provide entertainment for everyone in the dining room. The aroma from the sauce as the server prepared it was great - buttery and sweet. The dish is intended for two, and is served on separate plates. A serving is two crepes, one scoop vanilla ice cream, the sauce, and a sprinkle of slivered roasted almonds.

There was a slight delay when the gas bottle on the trolley ran out and had to be replaced, but otherwise this dessert was a direct hit. We did not nearly finish it (could easily have shared a half portion, but not a menu option), but it was delicious. As its prepared nearly tableside, its piping hot when it hits the table, with the ice cream already beginning to melt. The Grand Marnier in the sauce sets the perfect finishing note for this meal. The only missing element was a cup of coffee, but would not have been a wise idea so late in the evening.

All told, our dinner came to 2600 thb for two, and worth every satang. The quantity and quality of food here is excellent, and I look forward to trying additional items from this menu. It won't be an every-day kind of place, as the prices are on the high side, but for the occassional treat we will return.

One final word here - the service is outstanding. The chef is out in the dining room greeting guests, the manager or maitre d' is circulating through the room, and the servers quickly and very unobtrusively keep your table clean and your glass full. If you need anything, you only have to make eye contact with any member of the staff for an immediate response. When you are in Thailand, and very good service is the norm, this place still stands out for me as exceptional.

Crap! You're exactly right, this is the place that Lost in LOS was just talking about!! Where is my head today?

Good call - I should try that place. I'll toss it out there and see what the little lady and my colleague think, and will advise. Appreciate the reminder. Good thing Songkran is coming up - I need a vacation!!!

What type of restaurant is La Note? Location? Afraid I'm not much of a Walking Street regular...

Let's catch up, shall we?

Dinner Sunday evening was Fuji Japanese restaurant in Central Festival. The restaurant was fairly busy, as was the entire mall for that matter. The menu was standard fare for this type of venue. We started with hot green tea for the lady and a Pepsi for me. Drinks were delivered quickly. There's not much to get wrong with this type of order, and no surprises (note that this is a good thing!).

For our meals, I chose pan-fried dumplings (with a chicken filling), enoki mushrooms, and asparagus with garlic. She had small tofu steaks topped with mushroom, and some spring rolls filled with potato and ham. The dumplings were great. I think that the best ones I've had around here are served at Hachiban Ramen on the 6th floor of Central (pork variety), and these are just as good. The texture of the filling is the trick - these weren't gristly or chewy, no "mystery meat" vibe if you know what I mean. A touch of soy sauce on these and you're all set. The enoki mushrooms were also very good, as was the asparagus. Its grilled just enough to be tender, yet retain some crispness, and the garlic cooked until sweet. This was topped with a conservative sprinkle of sliced chilies.

I didn't sample the tofu dish, as I'm not a huge fan of the stuff. Looked tasty, though, and no complaints from my girl on this dish. I tried the spring rolls, and they were unusual. Imagine a small portion of potato salad in a spring roll wrapper, served with hot mustard and soy sauce, and you'll be on the track here. The texture is creamy, with some decent flavor, but its an odd juxtaposition in my mind at least. Potato salad conjures up 4th of July picnics or barbecues in the SE US, and spring rolls have a completely different context for me. Bringing them together like that is odd - not bad at all, just different. We need a little jolt of "out of the ordinary" now and then, so this was a good thing.

Prices were not too bad, about what you'd expect from this type of restaurant inside Central. We left happy, and will very likely be back when we're in the mood for Japanese again.

Dinner on Monday night was a non-event. We worked late, so had dinner inside the industrial estate at Lelavadee. This place serves Thai and western food, and I must say they do a pretty good job of it based on the limited dishes I've tried. I may have mentioned this place in previous posts. Their gai pad med mamuang is the best I've had - not too sweet like the version at Foodland on Pattay Klang - and their moo daed deaw is good as well. They also do a great job on the green curry with beef. I'll probably have dinner there again tonight, but think I'll get outside my box and try a new dish.

Tomorrow night (Wed) we're planning to have dinner with a colleague. I'll be somewhere on Beach Rd. We were planning Henry J. Bean's, but I blew that by going there last week. Now in search of a new venue, and contemplating Molly Malone's on Walking Street. Comments? Suggestions?

Where did you wind up?

Maigo6, are you talking about -5 ice bar and supper club, or a different place? I'm interested to hear anyone's opinion on that place. Haven't been, but the concept is cool...so long as concept isn't all they have to offer.

Today's lunch adventure: the brunch buffet at Beefeater's.

We got up early this morning, and had coffee and fruit at home, then made it to Beefeater's at noon for the buffet. This was surprisingly good, and a great change of pace.

Items on offer: taco shells (looked and tasted like freshly fried and folded right there, but not sure) and tortilla chips, and all the fixin's for a taco - chopped tomatoes, onions, sour cream, jalapenos, cheese, salsa, etc; thinly sliced roast beef; loaded potato skins, African chili (GREAT flavors!!), Texas chili, ground beef for tacos, Mexican rice, potato salad, baby back ribs, barbecued chicken, meatballs in tomato sauce, spicy beef spring rolls....I think that about covers it. The only complaints I have: the potato salad was not good and tasted prepackaged, and the mexican rice needed a little more zing (I think dropping a dollop of salsa on top would have fixed it right up). Otherwise, this was really good food. The meatballs had excellent texture and were in a nice tomato sauce - made me want to order up a plate of pasta. Both the Texas and African chili were great, with just a hint of heat, plenty of chili powder, and chunks of very tender beef. Outstanding on the chili - you'd only need a bowl of this stuff and a some bread for a meal in itself. I didn't try the chicken, but it looked good. The ribs were fairly tender, with a sweet and spicy sauce that left the mouth tingling.

I've said some things about buffets in the past (such as, you get what you pay for), but this buffet was outstanding. At 250 baht all you can eat (drinks are extra), we will FOR SURE be back to this one. I won't pretend that it beats out Mike's Mexican on the rice or etc., but this is a really good brunch, texmex style, and will blast you out of your normal "full english" or "toast and coffee" rut. I recommend you all descend on this place next weekend (Sat and Sun, starting at noon and ending at 4, I think) and see if you're as pleased as we were.

Sorry for noob question, but is the "slow end" the beach road intersection, or the far end (I guess near Jomtien)? Also, how do you get there? Park @ Jomtien beach and walk back, or...? Sounds like a good place, Lost in LOS.

Alright folks, lets get this train back on the tracks.

Last night we went to Wi's for dinner. This restaurant is located just a short hop away from Cherry's, which was previously reviewed here as a solid win. I understand that Wi's is in the former location of Cherry's, and the similarities don't stop there. This place is cut from the same bolt of cloth as Cherry's - great food at great prices.

As usual in this area, the place is physically unassuming. Its a quite small restaurant, so its understandable that Cherry's relocated. However, the place was clean, had decent piped in music, cloth napkins and tablecloths, and a professional staff. Decent environment all told.

It was not busy when we got there, just after 9 pm. There was one table occupied inside. We were the only people on the inside.

We started off with a margarita each, and this was not a good choice. Again, for good margaritas, Mike's or Tequila Reef. I keep trying to find more, but so far these are the standards.

Like Cherry's, Wi's has a small salad bar. Its smaller at Wi's, but similar to Cherry's in terms of quality. However, Cherry's has a great balsamic dressing that wasn't on offer at Wi's. Both have the really good potato salad with bacon. Entrees were red snapper with steamed veg and french fries for her, and beef stroganoff with egg dumplings for me.

Her dinner was nicely done. The portion of fish was small but sufficient, and cooked correctly - moist and meaty. Good flavors. The french fries were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, and are the heavy "steak fry" type. A boat of melted butter was served on the side.

My stroganoff was problematic. Don't get me wrong - the sauce was quite flavorful, with tender vegetables, and the beef in it was almost fork-tender and cooked medium to medium well. The egg dumplings, which I thought would be egg noodles, were more like a very heavy spaetzle instead. The issue here is one I've mentioned before. What I think of when you say "stroganoff", and what I keep getting when I order stroganoff are two very different things. I'll say that the offering at Wi's was MUCH better in taste than what I got at the Green Bottle, but still looking for the American-traditional version. If you like the red-sauce stroganoff, this one was very good. There's an almost barbecue flavor to the sauce here. Portion size is more than enough for the average appetite.

We didn't finish our entrees as we just weren't too awfully hungry, but the quality was great. We ordered the crepes suzette with an Italian coffee for me and a grand marnier for her, as the description of the dish in the menu was one we couldn't pass up - crepes in orange sauce with grand marnier. This is served warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and sliced almonds. The ice cream was nothing special, but the crepes and the sauce were great. We left most of it on the dish, but only because we just wanted a taste. The quality of the crepes and sauce were great.

Total bill was about 1400 baht, which I consider a quite good value. From an overall judgement point of view, I'd say that Cherry's has an edge on flavor and value here, but this is based on one visit to each place. I'd recommend Wi's, except for the margaritas, as a great place to have dinner. The menu is quite varied and offers something for everyone. We did not order a bottle of wine here, but they have both Penfold's and HobNob on offer. Give it a try!

I'm leaving Thailand for the entire time, but its coincidental really. I'm not leaving in order to avoid Songkran, but my company is shut down for this entire week, and its a paid holiday, so I can get in a return visit to the US without having to use up my own vacation/personal days. I'd like to stick around and see what its all about, but unfortunately won't get back until really really late on the night of the 19th.

Whoa, Lost in Los and jingthing - simmer down! We're all friends here, right?

Maigo6, I'll have to move Wi's up on the list, then. I was already planning to visit there in time, but if they're better than Cherry's I should get a move on. Our dinner at Cherry's was a high point, and you're dead-on regarding quality vs. cost at Cherry's. I'd like to know how they do it, but don't want to ask. It would be like having Copperfield explain how he disappeared the Statue of Liberty. I'll just enjoy the mystery.

Last night, as predicted, work ran late, and so we missed the "TV Friday Night Out" gathering at Tropical Bert's. Since we're into a new month, its open season on the Burger Hunt of 2009. As mentioned before, I'd been told by a colleague that Henry J. Bean's puts out a really good burger, so off we went.

After a really frustrating week at work, I was in the mood for a few drinks, and so started with a margarita for me and a Henry Wallbanger (yes, Henry and not Harvey, because of the name of the restaurant - branding strikes again!) for her. These were not good cocktails. Hers did not taste like it had any alcohol in it at all, and the mix for the margarita was not good. It wasn't too sweet or too sour, just didn't hit the tastebuds right. We all know that for the best margaritas, you head for Mike's Mexican or Tequila Reef.

Anyway, on with the show....we ordered wings with Jack Daniel's sauce for an appetizer. This is served, of course, with celery, carrot sticks, and blue cheese dressing. The dressing was not bad, and the sauce on the wings was okay. Should have gone with the Voodoo sauce, but the server said it was quite spicy, so we skipped that. The wings themselves were not so good. The presentation was different for a restaurant of this style, serving a cut-down wing section (bare bone on one end, trimmed before cooking), and the wings were a little too chewy. I had two pieces and gave these up as a lost cause. Not a win on the drinks or appetizers.

Main courses, however, were a different story. While I enjoyed my second drink (bourbon and coke), I had a bacon cheeseburger with fries, and my girl had a chili dog with fries. Hers first: this is a huge hot dog! I don't think it fits the 'foot-long' category that we have in the states, but this was about the diameter of a decent bratwurst, and had to be twice the length of a normal frankfurter. The chili had a good, smoky flavor and the meat in it was of good flavor and texture. There was a good dose of chili powder in it, which is always a plus when it comes to chili (you know what I mean - sometimes you can't taste the chili in the chili). One odd note was that there were beans in the chili, which is normal when its in a bowl, but not so much when on a hot dog or a burger, but this wasn't a failure - still quite good. The dish also had cheese on top. Far too large to finish, but very tasty in a "what-the-hel_l-its-only-once-a-month-and-I-have-to-die-of-something-eventually" kind of way.

The main event - this month's burger. The menu said this was a 180-gr burger if memory serves, and seems about right. This is a decent sized sandwich for sure. The cheese seemed to be Monterey Jack, and while I'm normally a Cheddar man on burgers, it was a good change. The burger is served on a soft, fresh bun, with mayo, lettuce, tomato, a generous slice of onion (thank you!), and a couple strips of streaky bacon, with a small sliced pickle on the side. I'm cautious with ground meats and poultry, so ordered the burger well-done. It was cooked exactly right - done, but not crispy or burned or harmed in any way. Nice and tender, good texture, held together well. The toppings were fresh and crisp and just right. Of course there was the obligatory ketchup/mustard/grease dripping off my hand by the time I was done, but isn't this one of the hallmarks of enjoying a good burger? The fries on both dishes were fine, not overcooked or undercooked. Neither of us were able to finish, but this was just an appetite issue and not a food quality problem. One complaint here, albeit minor - the bacon was quite fatty and I had to remove a good portion of it from the burger. Otherwise, win!

No dessert, of course. The total tariff came to about 1400 baht, so not outrageous. We enjoyed the meal here and will probably return for a burger sometime in the future...after we review more places. For next month's burger hunt, I'm thinking either Rung's or Cafe Uno, as both have been recommended.

Haven't tried Sea Zone, but will definitely recommend Mum Aroy, any of the three locations, but preferably the Pattaya Nua branch.

You're right, we're light on Thai dinners. See earlier posts - our company canteen does Thai food only, so I have that daily for lunch. I enjoy it, but like to branch out. There is definitely great Thai food in Pattaya, and nearly every restaurant has Thai food on their menu also (Beefeaters, Mantra, etc etc all have Thai food as well as western).

Enjoy your trip, and looking forward to hearing your impressions.

I did a bad, bad thing last night. I ate at McDonalds. Actually, I had takeaway from McDonalds and ate in my car. It was sooooo gooooood!!!! Okay, we all know their food is crap, but sometimes you just have a craving, right? Maybe its just me....

Anyway, last night my gf was working late, so I stopped by the florists to buy her some flowers, then went to Central and stopped at Secret Recipe and bought cheesecake for when she got home. It was super late so we only had a taste, but the cheesecake is definitely good. I would say the one at Mantra is creamier and overall better, but the one from Secret Recipe is at least on par with the one from Food Loft and probably a little better than Starbucks.

Hopefully we'll have a good meal sometime this weekend that merits a thorough review.

I'd like to join, but can't commit for sure - work this morning looks like it may run late. Don't count me in, but I'll drop in if possible.

Next week we should be more solid.

Cochran

Maigo6, you're welcome, and thank you for the comment.

Not much of an update today, I'm afraid. Worked until about 7:15 pm, and couldn't skip the gym again, so ate a light dinner at a Japanese place here in Amata City Industrial Estate. I don't know the name of the place, but the food is good.

I had salmon in soy sauce and some stir-fried vegetables. The salmon was quite good, crispy skin, flaky texture, nice piece of fish, but rather small. The stir fried veg was a huge portion, so the gf and I shared it. She chose a mixed tempura and a small portion of chicken in soy sauce. The chicken was good, served skin on (but easily removed). As the tempura was seafood, I didn't sample.

I don't know if the salmon and chicken were really that good, or if the cooking method and the submersion in soy sauce makes it a "can't miss" sort of dish. At any rate, it was tasty. This is the second time I've had the salmon here (first time being as part of a set lunch menu - we don't do lunch at this place any more, as it is very busy at lunch and takes too long).

My only complaint is the expense. Neither of us had a cocktail (Pepsi for me and green tea for her) and the tab was over 900 baht. I'm no cheapskate, but this just didn't feel like nearly $30 worth of food.

Tonight she's planning to work late, but I'm not, so I'll dine somewhere solo (quick, cheap, and easy, I guess) then get some chores done. Maybe this is the night I indulge myself in a McDonald's fix....

I'll add it to the roster, timekeeper. If its that good, it might be worth a weekend run. Thanks for the tip!