Recent Dining Experiences - Reviews

[Maigo6]

Talking about Tops, anyone tried the 'Ice restaurant' located at Tops car park ?

Not a bad choice , good value, pepper steak is quite a good meal there.

[cochran]

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.

Edited April 5, 2009 by cochran

[jm49er1]

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.

agreed on your review - the wife and i eat there about every other weekend and it has never disappointed - the potato salad is the only dish that i did not like - i usually make a big plate of nachos - chips, cheese, chile, jalapenos, salsa, more cheese and sour cream to start and then finish the meal off with the BBQ ribs - yummy!

[cochran]

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?

[timekeeper]

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?

i too like Fuji, its a bit different and good casual dining

as you are thinking walking street area why not try La Note?

i would like to hear your thoughts on it

[cochran]

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

[timekeeper]

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

its been discussed already in this thread i think.

another TV'er spoke about it in glowing terms

its actually called la Notte i think

its about 2/3rds down walking street on the right hand side

its a double sized shop unit with a small terrace and seating area at the front

its a very attractive restaurant, i think you will like it

this little revue sourced from Google might help:

La Notte

Restaurant and bar opened in May 2006

From Pattaya Today: Night March: French Terrace

La Notte is bright, colourful, and warm. The attention to detail -from the light fittings down to the plates, cups, and tablecloths- is readily evident.

One of the major attractions is the front terrace where customers can sit outside and watch the street: a perfect place for a relaxing with a good coffee or over a couple of beers. Food is the main attraction, but I can see this place becoming a popular spot with those who want somewhere to start a night of boozing or who just want to escape the madding crowd and relax with a partner or a few friends.

[cochran]

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!!!

[cochran]

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.

Edited April 10, 2009 by cochran

[timekeeper]

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.

hi Cochran

thanks for the great review

i had passed on Brunos after a poor showing on a visit last year but after your review i will give it another go

thank you

[suiging]

This thread makes it worth turning on the old computer......thanks to all/

Edited April 10, 2009 by suiging

[GayGordon]

Well 5 of us went for lunch at the 18 coins in soi bakeow today,service was awful, one meal came at a time ( why do these kitchens only seem to be able to prepare one meal at a time ? ) .my friend ordered omelete and chips, no kidding the chips came 20 minutes after the omellete .i ordered chili con carne with chips, .you guessed it, the chips came 20 minutes before the chili,.all in all we were there 75 minutes before we were all served,.i like the food there but im sorry we wont be going again, i was looking at the sign for the "all day breakfast ". seems any meal there takes all day,.

[Ulysses G.]

Isn't it 13 Coins?

[myfriendyou]

Have you tried Cafe Des Amis at the bottom of soi 11-12 Thrappaya road, good food, good choice, good service decent price, I have not had a bad meal so far. Going again tonight with the family! one of my favorites is Mata Hari but this is just as good.

Anybody tried Madrid restaurant on 3rd rd nr pattaya Klang, its the same owners as Madrid in bangkok, good food and not a bad price, although the owner is a friend of the wife's! well worth a try.

Lemel I also Like Cafe Des Amis, was the updated menu on when you last went? its larger now I went Wednesday and couldn't fault it, Blue the owner is always friendly and I like the atmosphere.

I am suprised no one else has mentioned it yet. It's good for me as its walking distance from home so I can sit in the bar after dinner and not worry about driving home pissed for want of a better word.

What is the food style in Madrid, I think a real tapas bar would be a great addition to the dining scene I love snacking all night.

[lemel]

Have you tried Cafe Des Amis at the bottom of soi 11-12 Thrappaya road, good food, good choice, good service decent price, I have not had a bad meal so far. Going again tonight with the family! one of my favorites is Mata Hari but this is just as good.

Anybody tried Madrid restaurant on 3rd rd nr pattaya Klang, its the same owners as Madrid in bangkok, good food and not a bad price, although the owner is a friend of the wife's! well worth a try.

Lemel I also Like Cafe Des Amis, was the updated menu on when you last went? its larger now I went Wednesday and couldn't fault it, Blue the owner is always friendly and I like the atmosphere.

I am suprised no one else has mentioned it yet. It's good for me as its walking distance from home so I can sit in the bar after dinner and not worry about driving home pissed for want of a better word.

What is the food style in Madrid, I think a real tapas bar would be a great addition to the dining scene I love snacking all night.

afraid its not a tapas bar but the 2nd restaurant owned by the people who started Madrid in Bangkok over 30 years ago , took them a while to get here but do a mix of Thai & western food.

Cafe Des Amis is great and suprised more people have not tried it and the new menu is good as well!!

[bkkpartyguy]

This thread makes it worth turning on the old computer......thanks to all/

Same here , best post for a long time ,, cochran reviews could go head to toe with those " Professional Food Critics " that pen for major newspapers ,, UK Times and NY times come to mind ..

Thanks for all your hard work and time .

[cochran]

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.

[timekeeper]

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.

have a good trip Cochran, we will miss you...

[vickersvc10]

Three of us went to the Turkish Restaurant on Soi Yume at the side of Carrefour. Ho hum! 220 baht for a most odd, but quite tasty, moussaka which might have satisfied the appetite of a not very hungry 8 year old. 85 baht for a small Tiger and 35 baht for a small bottle of water. Not good value for money. I shall not return.

[paul1970]

Cochran I would recommend trying the british breakfast at Cafe Uno, it's the best I've had in Pattaya. Also the burgers are very good.

[davethailand]

Have you tried Cafe Des Amis at the bottom of soi 11-12 Thrappaya road, good food, good choice, good service decent price, I have not had a bad meal so far. Going again tonight with the family! one of my favorites is Mata Hari but this is just as good.

Anybody tried Madrid restaurant on 3rd rd nr pattaya Klang, its the same owners as Madrid in bangkok, good food and not a bad price, although the owner is a friend of the wife's! well worth a try.

Lemel I also Like Cafe Des Amis, was the updated menu on when you last went? its larger now I went Wednesday and couldn't fault it, Blue the owner is always friendly and I like the atmosphere.

I am suprised no one else has mentioned it yet. It's good for me as its walking distance from home so I can sit in the bar after dinner and not worry about driving home pissed for want of a better word.

What is the food style in Madrid, I think a real tapas bar would be a great addition to the dining scene I love snacking all night.

Went to Cafe de amis last week and I highly recommend it.

[cigarchuck]

I keep checking the reviews for a good mexican restaurant for a great recommendation. I eat quite often at the Saturday nite buffet at the Montien hotel. They have a international table which they rotate every three weeks with mexican food,mediterranean,ect. When have the mexican food some of the items are crab enahilades,chiles rellonos,ensalada mexicana fresca,tacos,and more. The cost is 650++. However, you can request the privilege card for 10% discount[free]. That makes the cost 703 with vat. I believe for the money it is the buffet in pattaya.

[cochran]

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!

[torrenova]

curlywatt, this one's for you - dinner at Beefeaters.

A series of unfortunate events (gf stuck in Bangkok longer than planned yesterday) prevented reaching the gym (which means now I go tonight instead) so we grabbed a late dinner at Beefeater last night.

The place was quite busy when we arrived (8:30-ish, I think), but the staff was keeping up admirably.

I didn't know that Beefeater's puts out chips and salsa, so ordered an appetizer when we arrived - garlic bread and tzatziki - and a bottle of Jacob's Creek grenache-shiraz (1195 thb). The wine came out quickly, accompanied by a bottle of water and the chips and salsa. Found the chips to be great - hot and salty, as nature intended. The salsa is very fresh, good seasoning, a very little touch of heat. It was quite good.

When we were discussing the wine, we voted against a straight shiraz as too sweet. Here's where my almost-complete lack of wine knowledge comes into play. I guess grenache is a very sweet variety as well. This bottle was good, but very much on the sweet side. Price was not terrible, and the restaurant was offering an Australian shiraz at 950/bottle. Note that none of this is a criticism of Beefeater's, just means I need more wine education.

The garlic bread was hot and, well, garlicky. Delicious. The tzatziki was creamy and worked great with the flavor of the bread. As we weren't too hungry, we didn't finish it off, but the flavor was great.

For entrees, she had the bbq ribs, small portion. This is a half rack of ribs, small corn on the cob, a little salad on the plate, cole slaw, and a baked potato. Quite a lot of food on this order, all told. The sauce here was the best we've found so far. It is somewhat sweet, but not ketchup-ish, and has some heat and some smoke as well. All around good sauce. The meat was very tender, and my girl was very pleased. Again, with portions this large she didn't finish everything. She's not a fan of slaw, so I tried it and found it crisp and creamy. All it needed was a dash of black pepper and was very good.

My dish, as recommended on this thread, was the planked steak, ordered medium. I really liked the presentation of this dish. For those of you who haven't seen it, mashed potatoes are piped onto a wooden plank, then garnished with half a small tomato, and then fired in an oven to "rebake" the top of the potato. The steak, gravy, and hollandaise are then placed on top and its served on the plank (ergo, planked steak). The potatoes were delicious, the hollandaise and the gravy were great. Very good flavors, great consistency to the potato and gravy. The only problem was the steak. It was cooked to the proper temperature, but had poor texture and was not very tender at all. I'm picky about steaks, and did not enjoy the meat here. The rest of the dish (supporting elements, if you will) were great, especially the two spears of bacon-wrapped asparagus that were served as garnish (I love asparagus and bacon, so you put them together and I'm sold!). I believe that choosing the planked salmon would have created a total win here. I don't know if the planked steak is of a different / lower quality than the rest of their steaks or if this was just an unlucky draw from the meat cooler.

Their stroganoff looks like its definitely worth a shot.

As it is, we will come back to Beefeater's. As promised, the dinner experience was far better than breakfast. We've already made tentative plans to try and hit their weekend brunch buffet on Saturday...or maybe sunday.

Great report and thanks but, and it is a big big but ...............

You went to a steakhouse and the steak (the expensive food part) was rubbish. whether the sides and appetisers were top notch, it seems to have failed in it's main objective by offering crap steaks.

Sort of like a garage with clean toilets, nice attendants, even a free bottle of water but their fuel is utter shit and your car stutters until you can get rid of it out of the tank. Would you recommend the garage ?

[cochran]

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.

[cochran]

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.

[syd barrett]

Thanks, cochran for all your informative reports.

I will check out the Jameson's sausages on Monday for breakfast.

Did you mean the Jamesons near Nova, in the middle of nowhere? And do they open early for breakfast because I like to breakfast early. Thanks.

[plasticpig]

Jamison’s lunch time specials are very very good.

The rest is over priced and its a plastic Mick pub. (so boaring)

[cochran]

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

[PattayaParent]

A few recent dining experiences.

The Lobster Pot on Walking Street.

Good seafood and good service even though the restaurant was quite busy at the time we went. At around 1,000 Baht per person inclusive of a carafe of house wine probably a reasonable price for Pattaya but more expensive that the places I usually frequent in Bang Saray / Naklua.

A La Turca

Good tasty Turkish food, mousaka, kebab, hummous, reasonably priced (900 Baht for 2 including drinks) but the servings were small.

Amigos

The new 'Portugese' place in Jomtien although there's probably not more than half a dozen Portugese dishes on the menu.

The Spicy African Chicken was a surprise, it was grilled chicken in a satay sauce and while it was tinged spicy enough to take the edge off the sweetness of the peanuts it was still overwhelmed by the peanut taste which I don't care for.

The curried pork with rice (Portugese style) was very tasty also and the portions and bill were reasonable, about 800 Baht for 2 with drinks I think. It's a very nicely laid out place but it was completely empty when we went and it's quite a large place.

Edit: I must say that I won't be rushing back to any of these places as we have favourites that we regulaly visit but it's always good to try out new places once in a while.

Edited April 28, 2009 by PattayaParent