The Dark Side

[Rimmer]

You can always start a NEW topic

[FarangBuddha]

I ate at the Elephant and Cock today for the first time and was impressed. I went with a friend, who had been before and he suggested the cheeseburger so that's what I ordered. I was a little leery because as most know, hamburgers are often a dreary experience in Thailand; and one is always a little suspicious of the quality of meat they will be getting...especially when the price is cheap. The price at E&C was B 85 but based on the recommendation, I threw caution to the wind and ordered one.

I was pleasantly surprised. The burger was juicy and good tasting; if a little on the small side. (I would jokingly call it a "slider on steroids.") It came with plenty of well melted cheese (not the typical Thai cheeseburger, where the cheese is added after the meat is cooked and off the griddle and therefore cold and unmelted) and full garnishment of lettuce, tomato and onion. There is also some "special sauce" pictured on the menu but I requested only mayo on mine. It also comes with a small order of decent fries. As I said, it was quite tasty...so tasty [and smallish] that I was happy to order another.

While not the best burger in Patters, it is certainly more than good enough and for the price, something of a bargain. I will definitely go back when I feel like another little burger meal or snack.

PS: My friend had the Indian-style chicken curry with rice and similarly pronounced himself quite satisfied.

The E&C is located directed opposite the Pussycat Bar on soi NPW and is air-conditioned. There is a mix of farang and Thai food.

Edited September 8, 2010 by FarangBuddha

[FarangBuddha]

I seem to be on something of a burger tear recently and a friend recommended I try out The Courtyard's version. Tonite I did and was impressed! Thick juicy meat party and well seasoned on a nice fresh burger roll. Comedy with small serving of tasty thick cut fries. Definitely a nice meal for B 150...highly recommended.

[ginglee]

Had a nice afternoon with some great food the other day, up on the lake. Cant remember the name of the place though ! ! Had a cracking Indian meal, but they also do a variety of other foods; pizzas and general pub food. The guy's name that runs it is Neil...Maybe someone on here knows the name of the place!

[pluto_manibo]

^^^Its' The Fishermans' Rest!

[doctormann]

Had a nice afternoon with some great food the other day, up on the lake. Cant remember the name of the place though ! ! Had a cracking Indian meal, but they also do a variety of other foods; pizzas and general pub food. The guy's name that runs it is Neil...Maybe someone on here knows the name of the place!

Was the Indian food really good? I know that's a difficult question because it's a matter of personal taste but was it good and spicy and tasty rather than being a bit bland? I'm British by the way so my taste runs to UK-style Indian food. 'Genuine' Indian food - generalising here - is not necessarily the same. I've never been to India but I wouldn't expect the food there to bear much resemblance to that which I would get in a UK curry shack.

The reason that I ask is that I used to frequent that place on a regular basis until the time, must be well over a year ago now, when the Tandoori Garden had a falling out with the owner of the Fisherman's. This culminated in some of the staff leaving to set up their own place on Soi SCC. The quality of the food declined markedly as I think that the cook was one of those that left. I have been back there a few times over the months but have always been singularly unimpressed. It was nothing like it used to be but I may try it again soon. We are short on good Indian food in this area and that place used to serve the best food this side of Bangkok.

DM

[FarangBuddha]

Had a nice afternoon with some great food the other day, up on the lake. Cant remember the name of the place though ! ! Had a cracking Indian meal, but they also do a variety of other foods; pizzas and general pub food. The guy's name that runs it is Neil...Maybe someone on here knows the name of the place!

Was the Indian food really good? I know that's a difficult question because it's a matter of personal taste but was it good and spicy and tasty rather than being a bit bland? I'm British by the way so my taste runs to UK-style Indian food. 'Genuine' Indian food - generalising here - is not necessarily the same. I've never been to India but I wouldn't expect the food there to bear much resemblance to that which I would get in a UK curry shack.

The reason that I ask is that I used to frequent that place on a regular basis until the time, must be well over a year ago now, when the Tandoori Garden had a falling out with the owner of the Fisherman's. This culminated in some of the staff leaving to set up their own place on Soi SCC. The quality of the food declined markedly as I think that the cook was one of those that left. I have been back there a few times over the months but have always been singularly unimpressed. It was nothing like it used to be but I may try it again soon. We are short on good Indian food in this area and that place used to serve the best food this side of Bangkok.

DM

My Home curry house soi NPW

[ginglee]

Had a nice afternoon with some great food the other day, up on the lake. Cant remember the name of the place though ! ! Had a cracking Indian meal, but they also do a variety of other foods; pizzas and general pub food. The guy's name that runs it is Neil...Maybe someone on here knows the name of the place!

Was the Indian food really good? I know that's a difficult question because it's a matter of personal taste but was it good and spicy and tasty rather than being a bit bland? I'm British by the way so my taste runs to UK-style Indian food. 'Genuine' Indian food - generalising here - is not necessarily the same. I've never been to India but I wouldn't expect the food there to bear much resemblance to that which I would get in a UK curry shack.

The reason that I ask is that I used to frequent that place on a regular basis until the time, must be well over a year ago now, when the Tandoori Garden had a falling out with the owner of the Fisherman's. This culminated in some of the staff leaving to set up their own place on Soi SCC. The quality of the food declined markedly as I think that the cook was one of those that left. I have been back there a few times over the months but have always been singularly unimpressed. It was nothing like it used to be but I may try it again soon. We are short on good Indian food in this area and that place used to serve the best food this side of Bangkok.

DM

Yes it was good. I had the tandori mixed grill, with nan bread and a medium curry. Driving me mad now cos I cant remember the name of the place. But guys on here are bound to know it, like I said its run by Neil he's been out here for about 20yrs, comes from York UK. I think he used to run the <deleted> bar in town.

[jori]

I seem to be on something of a burger tear recently and a friend recommended I try out The Courtyard's version. Tonite I did and was impressed! Thick juicy meat party and well seasoned on a nice fresh burger roll. Comedy with small serving of tasty thick cut fries. Definitely a nice meal for B 150...highly recommended.

The Courtyard hardly ever gets a mention,seems one of the better places,was highly impressed by the quality.

[santol]

Is there a place to get really good fish & chips on the Dark Side? I tried the Village Chippy on Third Road and was truly impressed, but that's far to go from the Dark Side, which is why I'm hoping someone knows of a place where the quality is truly good somewhere over here.

[LennyW]

Is there a place to get really good fish & chips on the Dark Side? I tried the Village Chippy on Third Road and was truly impressed, but that's far to go from the Dark Side, which is why I'm hoping someone knows of a place where the quality is truly good somewhere over here.

Friday is Fish & Chips day at the White Horse Inn, 150 Baht. http://www.whitehorsepattaya.com/food-drink-dining.php

The website says it is IN the Eastern Grand Palace hotel, it's not, same entrance though, White Horse Inn - left, Eastern Grand Palace - right.

[timekeeper]

Is there a place to get really good fish & chips on the Dark Side? I tried the Village Chippy on Third Road and was truly impressed, but that's far to go from the Dark Side, which is why I'm hoping someone knows of a place where the quality is truly good somewhere over here.

timekeeper, on 2010-06-23 16:51, said:

my pal and i, went to a new place on Soi Nungplabwan yesterday

its opposite the Pussycat bar on the corner and in a single shophouse

its called the Elephant & Cock

its a restaurant/ bar with inside and outside tables seperated by a sliding door

inside is cool with aircon, outside has fans

the service was good

we both had had fish, chips and mushy peas

it was excellent, a nice piece of lightly battered fish, good quality chips and a sizeable portion on mushy peas

i think the cost was 155 baht

i highly recommend it highly to other Darksiders

i will be going again

and i did go again, today i took my mother for late lunch

they were very welcoming and she had great fish and chips

she liked it, resulting in a happy son and five brownie points..........

[FarangBuddha]

Yes Elephant and Cock has been recommended here before by me and others. Nice little place with friendly service and good food at fair prices

[santol]

its called the Elephant & Cock

Thank you very much. I'll give it a try.

[luckyluke]

A "Tops" to open soon at Soi Khao Noi, next to the Bangkok Bank.

[aussiechick]

A "Tops" to open soon at Soi Khao Noi, next to the Bangkok Bank.

and in Soi Khao Talo too

[FarangBuddha]

A "Tops" to open soon at Soi Khao Noi, next to the Bangkok Bank.

and in Soi Khao Talo too

Noticed this the other day...they look to be "mini" Tops markets...not the full-fledged variety like at Pattaya Klang. More like the one in Tuk Com's basement. But still a welcome additions to the Farside.

[anothertorres]

heh, dude took his mom to the Pussycat bar.

[Phil Conners]

Read the post again. He took his mom to the restaurant opposite Pussycat bar.

[timekeeper]

Read the post again. He took his mom to the restaurant opposite Pussycat bar.

thanks Phil

i looks like i won't be doing it again unfortunately

i went there the other day and it looked all closed up with a sign outside

i hope it only said gone fishing.......

[santol]

Noticed this the other day...they look to be "mini" Tops markets...not the full-fledged variety like at Pattaya Klang. More like the one in Tuk Com's basement. But still a welcome additions to the Farside.

Both are now open. No meats or eggs at either one, but they do carry some fresh fruits and vegetables. They're better than a 7-Eleven, but can't compare to the ones in town. I did notice some products here and there that are not carried by other stores on the dark side. The best grocery store on the dark side is the Tesco-Lotus.

What we need out here is a full scale grocery store. I hope one will come soon. Surely by now there is enough of a customer base on the dark side to support it.

Edited November 20, 2010 by santol

[FarangBuddha]

Noticed this the other day...they look to be "mini" Tops markets...not the full-fledged variety like at Pattaya Klang. More like the one in Tuk Com's basement. But still a welcome additions to the Farside.

Both are now open. No meats or eggs at either one, but they do carry some fresh fruits and vegetables. They're better than a 7-Eleven, but can't compare to the ones in town. I did notice some products here and there that are not carried by other stores on the dark side. The best grocery store on the dark side is the Tesco-Lotus.

What we need out here is a full scale grocery store. I hope one will come soon. Surely by now there is enough of a customer base on the dark side to support it.

I'm not so sure about that...there being enough farangs over here to support a large full-service grocery store like Foodland/Friendship/Villa/Tops. The Farside is a very large area and the population density is low so such a store may not have enough trade to justify itself. And don't forget that it would have to survive on the trade of Farsiders only as no Nearsiders would have the need to patronize it.

Probably our best hope is that a large shopping complex (with full-service market) someday opens on that large cleared piece of land at the corner of Sukhumvit and Soi Kao Talo.

[santol]

What we need out here is a full scale grocery store. I hope one will come soon. Surely by now there is enough of a customer base on the dark side to support it.

I'm not so sure about that...there being enough farangs over here to support a large full-service grocery store like Foodland/Friendship/Villa/Tops. The Farside is a very large area and the population density is low so such a store may not have enough trade to justify itself. And don't forget that it would have to survive on the trade of Farsiders only as no Nearsiders would have the need to patronize it.

Probably our best hope is that a large shopping complex (with full-service market) someday opens on that large cleared piece of land at the corner of Sukhumvit and Soi Kao Talo.

You may be right, of course, but why do you think it would necessarily take a population of farangs to support it? Whenever I go to a grocery store, there are always plenty of Thais shopping. That Tesco-Lotus always has plenty of Thai customers too. I think a good grocery store would do quite well out here.

By the way, I was wrong when I posted that the Tops doesn't carry meats. They do. They don't have much, but there are some there. I spotted a small selection in the Soi Khaonoi store.

[timekeeper]

i have just got in from an inpromptu meal decision at Oscars off Siam Country Club Road and i just had to tell you all what a delight it was

the food looked & was delicious

the prices were reasonable

the service was excellent

good quality sound, played at the right levels

good music choices (for me anyway)

the surroundings were romantic

Oscars puts others to shame and is a great find in my view

i would never have known about it without this thread

i will be going back very soon

i just wish i had made the effort and gone sooner

Edited December 23, 2010 by timekeeper

[FarangBuddha]

FYI - There is a branch of the "Vientiane" chain of Thai restaurants that has just opened on soi NPW. It's located just up from Huge Food (aka Rung Thip) on the same side of the street. They are open from 11 am till 10 pm. and there is off-street parking. I have not tried them yet but have heard good things about their branch on Pattaya Tai.

Also, stopped in at Dao again after an absence of about a year. The chicken-steak with mushroom sauce was again up to snuff; it comes with a large salad and fresh baked bread and butter. The pizzas are not as good as the "old" Dao but are passable. I would put Dao back on my recommended list.

Also, saw a new pizza joint just a few doors away from the Beer & Coffee joint on Kao Noi...any tried it yet?

[nam-thip]

Not seen any mention of it on here but Mr Moo has opened a shop recently on Soi Khaotalo.

As you turn into Soi Khaotalo from the Sukhumvit road it's on your right hand side within the very first lot of shophouses.

[Digger]

Just to add some updates to this thread as I spent Christmas and New Year down around Mabprachan Reservoir and ate out a fair amount.

Had Christmas day Dinner at Lakeside and it was its usual good quality, fixed 4 course menu for about 950b as a recall. The place was packed out and service slowed down from usual but only to be expected I guess on such a day. They had a Cream asparagus soup as one of the starters which was very good and as usual Roast Turkey with sprouts etc for the main. There was no thai option and no a la carte being served - just choices from a fixed menu. Also ate there a few days later and had a steak with a dijon mustard cream sauce (Fillet steak from New Zealand) and that was very good.

Had Thai food one night at Khun Johns and maybe its just me but I thought something was not as good as before and my partner agreed. Maybe a change of chef has occured.

Stopped at Magnolia for a early dinner and the place seems devoid of any customers. I just ordered a Hamburger and it was OK but not great.

Ate one night at the Rendevous and it was good, simple English style food. Big portions and relatively cheap but no ambience to speak of.

The Manekin Pis still serves good steaks but I think the Belgium owner has now gone and it seems to be run by his former partner. Service is warm and friendly but not exactly slick.

Ticino seemed to be doing quite well the night I visited. Seems like the Swiss are continuing to eat and drink and the think crust pizza here is always good.

The thought I took away from all places was (relatively) how quiet they all were (Lakeside excepted on Christmas Day) - certainly feels like much fewer people are around the area which does not bode well for the future and may mean lots more trecking into town in the future if things do not pick up.

[FarangBuddha]

The thought I took away from all places was (relatively) how quiet they all were (Lakeside excepted on Christmas Day) - certainly feels like much fewer people are around the area which does not bode well for the future and may mean lots more trecking into town in the future if things do not pick up.

Costs may be somewhat lower than on the brightside so that may keep many open. We did recently loose the Elephant and Cock but gained Vientiane. Also the newish Basta Pasta at the top of Kao Noi is pretty good.

Edited January 5, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[Phil Conners]

Had Christmas day Dinner at Lakeside and it was its usual good quality, fixed 4 course menu for about 950b as a recall. The place was packed out and service slowed down from usual but only to be expected I guess on such a day. They had a Cream asparagus soup as one of the starters which was very good and as usual Roast Turkey with sprouts etc for the main. There was no thai option and no a la carte being served - just choices from a fixed menu. Also ate there a few days later and had a steak with a dijon mustard cream sauce (Fillet steak from New Zealand) and that was very good.

Wow, 950, what a rip-off. Every day you can go to Cherries and have a 4 course excellent menu for, I think, 400 baht. Double the price because it's christmas, what a rip-off.

[Thailaw]

Ticino seemed to be doing quite well the night I visited. Seems like the Swiss are continuing to eat and drink and the think crust pizza here is always good.

Where is Ticino? Directions (that a blind person (or at least one with no knowledge of the area) could follow), please.