Taco Valley On Pattaya Klang, What's The Buzz?!?

[Ulysses G.]

People raved about the Blue Parrot for years and there was always stuff in Trink about well known Bangkok expats going down for a meal, but it is pretty much the same now and no one goes there.

[barryofthailand]

shrimp & avocado croissant?

I don't think even Bulgarians would mistake that for Mexican food.

BTW, I had a peek at the Beefeater's weekend "Mexican" lunch buffet the other day (didn't eat there). I suppose its worth 250 baht, but BBQ chicken, ribs, and African stew at a Mexican buffet? Its just lazy. They have meat there, its a steakhouse. They could figure out a way to cook good Mexican style meats if they had any initiative. I am sick of the lame excuses ...

When I lived in Pattaya a couple of yrs ago I use to eat at beefeaters on Saturday, and the Ribs were excellent. The mexican portions were also good

Barry

[Jingthing]

BBQ ribs aren't Mexican food. They don't belong at a Mexican buffet. Correct me if I am wrong but I didn't see beans of any kind or any authentic salsas. The Mexican government should sue their asses!

Now I am not saying it isn't a good feed at the trough worth 250 baht. I am sure it is. But it doesn't resemble a real quality Mexican buffet, sorry.

Edited October 18, 2009 by Jingthing

[chuckd]

Pattaya-Jomtien and sections of Bangkok used to be dominated by expats from the USA........no more.

They had Mexican food back then, but it wasn't any good either.

A couple of my expats friends who have lived in Pattaya a long time told me there used to be at least one good Mexican place, run by a woman. Think they said it wasn't open every day....but when it was open it had good food and lots of expats. Sorry, can't remember her name or the name of the place.

I don't remember it at all.....been in and out of Thailand since 1986. Maybe it was before then.

Anyway, the past is the past and now is now and I am also "sick of the lame excuses." It is time for somebody to get serious about Mexican food...........same for Texas Smoked BBQ........yes, I know about the pretenders....sorry, I want Texas Smoked BBQ like back home.

They may be thinking of the one mentioned earlier, Nacho Noi's. It was on Soi Postoffice near the Wild Chicken/Elephant. It was owned by Wayne Tishburn and his wife, Noi.

As I recall, Wayne may have had wife problems and changed his place from Nacho Noi's to the Hash House. He was also one of the partners of the Wild Chicken/Elephant.

Wayne died under very mysterious circumstances in a BKK hotel around 1999.

It was the only Mexican food place in Pattaya, besides the Blue Parrot, for years.

[JR Texas]

Pattaya-Jomtien and sections of Bangkok used to be dominated by expats from the USA........no more.

They had Mexican food back then, but it wasn't any good either.

A couple of my expats friends who have lived in Pattaya a long time told me there used to be at least one good Mexican place, run by a woman. Think they said it wasn't open every day....but when it was open it had good food and lots of expats. Sorry, can't remember her name or the name of the place.

I don't remember it at all.....been in and out of Thailand since 1986. Maybe it was before then.

Anyway, the past is the past and now is now and I am also "sick of the lame excuses." It is time for somebody to get serious about Mexican food...........same for Texas Smoked BBQ........yes, I know about the pretenders....sorry, I want Texas Smoked BBQ like back home.

They may be thinking of the one mentioned earlier, Nacho Noi's. It was on Soi Postoffice near the Wild Chicken/Elephant. It was owned by Wayne Tishburn and his wife, Noi.

As I recall, Wayne may have had wife problems and changed his place from Nacho Noi's to the Hash House. He was also one of the partners of the Wild Chicken/Elephant.

Wayne died under very mysterious circumstances in a BKK hotel around 1999.

It was the only Mexican food place in Pattaya, besides the Blue Parrot, for years.

Thanks......Nacho Noi's was perhaps the place they talked about.........said it was really good, not like anything out there today.

It certainly wasn't the Blue Parrot.........I will be polite and not comment on the place.

[Jingthing]

It certainly wasn't the Blue Parrot.........I will be polite and not comment on the place.

The less said, the better ...

[just_another_guy]

Thanks ZAP for the review & photos. I agree pretty much with what you said about the place.

I think we all have our own “IDEA” what Mexican food should be depending where we were first introduced to it.

I was born and raised in Southern California (Long Beach) and back then there were great little places around that had Mexican food that I personally liked. I am not sure if what I was eating was “REAL” Mexican food or not….but it was yummy and I’d eat at these Mexican joints at least once a week.

I cranked up the old Yamaha today and ventured out to Taco Valley just a few footsteps from Tops supermarket.

Taco Valley does not make Mexican food the same way as I remember back in Cali. The place is clean (of course it is new) and I ordered the Chicken burrito. It was tasty but was served like a big taco. No big deal to me. It gave me my Mexican fix for the afternoon hands down. And yes, there were some spices in that burrito that I had not tasted for a long time.

The photo of the nachos looked good but if they are using American processed cheese I’d need to bring my air sickness bag with me.

Interesting about the two guys that run the place. One is from South Korea and doesn’t speak Thai and the other guy is Thai and doesn’t speak Korean. So guess what? They communicate with each other using English or perhaps I should say Ting-lish.

It was indeed interesting listening to them talk to each other since neither one had a grip of the English language.

Really nice guys and you could tell they had not been around Farangs long because they were both very polite. Kind of reminded me of the service personal in Issan where they hardly ever deal with farangs and the genuine kindness and sincere attitude shows.

I am not sure if this will be a normal stop for me, but I will try them again because the burrito had a very interesting taste. (Do Koreans eat dog meat?) Just Kidding.......

However, next time I will bring my own sour cream and sharp grated cheddar cheese to add to the selections. hel_l, I may even break out my old crock pot and cook up some fresh refried beans and show them a thing or two.

Another PLUS for these guys is that everything is cooked fresh. Nothing is pre-made and frozen that I could see so it does take a few minutes for your order to arrive.

They are open every day and I believe the Thai guy told me he opens around 2 ish in the afternoon and closes at 10 PM.

Parking is a challenge unless you have a motorcycle. What I will do next time is park the truck at Tops, do a little shopping and put the shopping bags in the truck and casually walk out of the Tops parking lot to Taco Valley. I don’t think security will mind you parking for a couple of hours as long as you buy a few items.

As I said, it ain’t Mexican like I remember but this ain’t Kansas either darlin’.

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

Thanks ZAP for the review & photos. I agree pretty much with what you said about the place. I think we all have our own "IDEA" what Mexican food should be depending where we were first introduced to it. I was born and raised in Southern California (Long Beach) and back then there were great little places around that had Mexican food that I personally liked.

Hey neighbor, I'm from PV. I spent quite a few nights out in Long Beach, but I can't recall eating any Mexican there. We just didn't need to go that far, as Redondo and Lomita had great Mexican food. I did spend many, many nights at Mari's pizza, when it was located at 3rd and Broadway. The new location near CSULB doesn't have nearly the atmosphere, but still has top notch pizza.

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

Thanks ZAP for the review & photos. I agree pretty much with what you said about the place. I think we all have our own "IDEA" what Mexican food should be depending where we were first introduced to it. I was born and raised in Southern California (Long Beach) and back then there were great little places around that had Mexican food that I personally liked.

Hey neighbor, I'm from PV. I spent quite a few nights out in Long Beach, but I can't recall eating any Mexican there. We just didn't need to go that far, as Redondo and Lomita had great Mexican food. I did spend many, many nights at Mari's pizza, when it was located at 3rd and Broadway. The new location near CSULB doesn't have nearly the atmosphere, but still has top notch pizza.

[patsfangr]

Guys, all of you who are from the USA should know full well that there is no one type of Mexican food. Mexico, outside of the major cities, is very much a Third World country. Much like Thailand, Mexico, which is a much larger country, has a very diverse variety of types of food from region to region, and even from village to village. "Mexican food" from Gualdalajara is significantly different from what they eat in El Paso; and that is equally different from food in Baja.

In So Cal, where I lived for over 30 years, the food from one "mom and pop" restaurant to another also varied; as, just with our moms' cooking, every family has it's own recipes, and it's own preferences.

So can we please stop the "it's not REAL Mexican food" comments. As some here have said, Mexican food has certain basic ingredients that are fairly common; as does Italian food, Thai food, and food of almost every ethnic variety. And every one of them has many regional and "family" variations on the use of those ingredients.

I happen to like the general Mexican style and ingredients; as I do Italian style and ingredients. Whether or not you think they are "genuine" is totally irrelevant. Either you like the way a particular restaurant prepares its' food is all that matters. And that, of course, is a very subjective decision, dependent upon individual taste. Recommendations are always a good idea to help others find places that they may enjoy. But it's just plain silly to brand a place as "genuine" or "not REAL Mexican-Italian-German-Thai or whatever; and equally silly to criticize someone else's individual preference for a place you may not like. It's like a guy who loves Asian women telling a guy who perfers European women that he doesn't know what "real women" are!

Here in the Pattaya-Jomtien area, I happen to like 'Mike's' food, and his new venue on Theppraya Soi 5. I also like some (though not all) of the Mex served at 'Rich Man Poor Man' on Jomten Beach Soi 9. If you don't, fine. That doesn't make either of us "wrong", or "ignorant about Mexican food." It's a matter of taste.

[IHateCaptcha]

Guys, all of you who are from the USA should know full well that there is no one type of Mexican food.

So can we please stop the "it's not REAL Mexican food" comments. As some here have said, Mexican food has certain basic ingredients that are fairly common; as does Italian food, Thai food, and food of almost every ethnic variety. And every one of them has many regional and "family" variations on the use of those ingredients.

Here in the Pattaya-Jomtien area, I happen to like 'Mike's' food, and his new venue on Theppraya Soi 5. I also like some (though not all) of the Mex served at 'Rich Man Poor Man' on Jomten Beach Soi 9. If you don't, fine. That doesn't make either of us "wrong", or "ignorant about Mexican food." It's a matter of taste.

Finally a little sanity

[Jingthing]

I happen to like the general Mexican style and ingredients; as I do Italian style and ingredients. Whether or not you think they are "genuine" is totally irrelevant.

Well, I don't agree at all that it is totally irrelevant. When we say authentic we mean it tastes like Mexican food which does include any of the US Mexican styles. People with a lot of experience with different kinds of Mexican food have a good idea in their palate what it is supposed to taste like. That is one reason why native cooks are often better, they know what the food is supposed to taste like and if they care at all, they will try to make it taste right. Personal taste is of course also important to individual eaters. For that of course people have to try for themselves.

Many people of course will prefer ersatz Mexican food to food that better reflects real Mexican food, and you are right there is nothing wrong with that. However, when describing places it is indeed useful to people to hear opinions on whether the food is authentic or not, so they can better decide whether it is worth trying. For example once I had the misfortune to eat at a "Thai" restaurant in a small town in Arkansas. There was no recognizable Thai taste or spices in the food. The owners weren't Thai. They were doing a good trade, it was the only "Thai" restaurant in town. Come on, now, yes, that is an extreme example but it is indeed useful information for someone who knows better to describe such a place as not authentic. On the other hand I know a place in San Francisco's tenderloin that has mostly Thai American customers and the food tastes exactly as food I have had in Thailand. Many Americans wouldn't like such a place, it is true, but again, it is very relevant to describe that place as serving genuine Thai food.

Edited October 20, 2009 by Jingthing

[JR Texas]

Guys, all of you who are from the USA should know full well that there is no one type of Mexican food. Mexico, outside of the major cities, is very much a Third World country. Much like Thailand, Mexico, which is a much larger country, has a very diverse variety of types of food from region to region, and even from village to village. "Mexican food" from Gualdalajara is significantly different from what they eat in El Paso; and that is equally different from food in Baja.

In So Cal, where I lived for over 30 years, the food from one "mom and pop" restaurant to another also varied; as, just with our moms' cooking, every family has it's own recipes, and it's own preferences.

So can we please stop the "it's not REAL Mexican food" comments. As some here have said, Mexican food has certain basic ingredients that are fairly common; as does Italian food, Thai food, and food of almost every ethnic variety. And every one of them has many regional and "family" variations on the use of those ingredients.

I happen to like the general Mexican style and ingredients; as I do Italian style and ingredients. Whether or not you think they are "genuine" is totally irrelevant. Either you like the way a particular restaurant prepares its' food is all that matters. And that, of course, is a very subjective decision, dependent upon individual taste. Recommendations are always a good idea to help others find places that they may enjoy. But it's just plain silly to brand a place as "genuine" or "not REAL Mexican-Italian-German-Thai or whatever; and equally silly to criticize someone else's individual preference for a place you may not like. It's like a guy who loves Asian women telling a guy who perfers European women that he doesn't know what "real women" are!

Here in the Pattaya-Jomtien area, I happen to like 'Mike's' food, and his new venue on Theppraya Soi 5. I also like some (though not all) of the Mex served at 'Rich Man Poor Man' on Jomten Beach Soi 9. If you don't, fine. That doesn't make either of us "wrong", or "ignorant about Mexican food." It's a matter of taste.

Good post..........speaking from experience--having grown up in Texas, lived in California, and traveled all over Mexico.......also most of Central and South America--I get what you are saying.

There are many different types of Mexican food and styles, especially within Mexico itself.

There are many different chiles.........variations is tastes........cooking styles.

Still, having said that, what is in Thailand now does not approach anything that I have eaten that I would classify as great Mexican food, no matter where I have eaten it outside of Thailand.

Tacos and Salsa in Bangkok does, however, present some items that are pretty good.......especially for Asia.

And I have heard that Miguels in Chiang Mai is doing a good job.

What I don't like is the tasteless, overpriced Crap-Mex, no matter where it is from.

And I continue to maintain that there is nothing in Thailand that is like really good Tex-Mex.

[Ulysses G.]

I had a fair amount of psuedo-Mexican food on the East coast, but as soon as I tasted the real thing in California, I knew right away. That is what I'm looking for, the real thing!

[JR Texas]

I had a fair amount of psuedo-Mexican food on the East coast, but as soon as I tasted the real thing in California, I knew right away. That is what I'm looking for, the real thing!

Correction.........the real thing is in Texas

Is there Calif-Tex-Mex? Maybe that is the convivial solution.

[Jingthing]

I had a fair amount of psuedo-Mexican food on the East coast, but as soon as I tasted the real thing in California, I knew right away. That is what I'm looking for, the real thing!

Correction.........the real thing is in Texas

Is there Calif-Tex-Mex? Maybe that is the convivial solution.

God forbid! We don't need a convivial solution. We just need really good Mexican grub in Pattaya, and no, we don't have it yet. Bangkok and Chiang Mai have us beat, are we mice or men? My personal viewpoint is that we should withhold our money to the fake places even for margaritas here unless you are one of the odd people that actually likes the Mexican food on offer in Pattaya, of course. I can't think of any other way to support the potential of someone actually opening a good Mexican place here, can you? If we keep giving money to the fakes, why bother doing it better?

Edited October 20, 2009 by Jingthing

[patsfangr]

God forbid! We don't need a convivial solution. We just need really good Mexican grub in Pattaya, and no, we don't have it yet. Bangkok and Chiang Mai have us beat, are we mice or men? My personal viewpoint is that we should withhold our money to the fake places even for margaritas here unless you are one of the odd people that actually likes the Mexican food on offer in Pattaya, of course. I can't think of any other way to support the potential of someone actually opening a good Mexican place here, can you? If we keep giving money to the fakes, why bother doing it better?

Do not insult the leetle mouse, Senor. Some of us are very real Mexicans!

Your leetle amigo,

Speedy Gonzalez

[Ulysses G.]

I had a fair amount of psuedo-Mexican food on the East coast, but as soon as I tasted the real thing in California, I knew right away. That is what I'm looking for, the real thing!

Correction.........the real thing is in Texas

Is there Calif-Tex-Mex? Maybe that is the convivial solution.

I have also had Mexican food in Texas and it is the real thing indeed. I just happened to have it in California first.

Once you have had good, authenic Mexican food, it is easy to spot it, even if the style is not always the same.

[gpdjohn]

I had a fair amount of psuedo-Mexican food on the East coast, but as soon as I tasted the real thing in California, I knew right away. That is what I'm looking for, the real thing!

Correction.........the real thing is in Texas

Is there Calif-Tex-Mex? Maybe that is the convivial solution.

I have also had Mexican food in Texas and it is the real thing indeed. I just happened to have it in California first.

Once you have had good, authenic Mexican food, it is easy to spot it, even if the style is not always the same.

Come on fella's.. the real deal is in Arizona, not Texas or So Cal..New Mexican is a close 2d, but the real thing is SONORAN..

Corn tortillas, not flour!!!! ( with an ice cold Tecate )

untitled.bmp

[IHateCaptcha]

I had a fair amount of psuedo-Mexican food on the East coast, but as soon as I tasted the real thing in California, I knew right away. That is what I'm looking for, the real thing!

Correction.........the real thing is in Texas

Is there Calif-Tex-Mex? Maybe that is the convivial solution.

I have also had Mexican food in Texas and it is the real thing indeed. I just happened to have it in California first.

Once you have had good, authenic Mexican food, it is easy to spot it, even if the style is not always the same.

The "Reconquista" of "Alto-California" is well underway, with at least 40% or more of the population of Mexican ancestry or birth, so I think it's fair to say that the best Mexican or Cal-Mex food can be found there

[cochran]

While we're at it, how about someplace you can get a nice, cold Negra Modelo?

[chetumaire]

If any place in Pattaya could make one of these below, they could have a 1 menu item restaurant and make a fortune:

[Jingthing]

Totally agreed, but of course they would need a choice of real Mexican style meats (as pictured above) and some credible salsas (and of course a reasonable price). If they did all that there would be lines (or queues if you like).

Notice that there is no cheese on the tacos? That is because those are real Mexican style tacos, so no cheese. People make the excuse that you can't do Mexican in Thailand because of the cheese cost but so much of the real food doesn't use any cheese! Of course to do Cali style burritos you need rice and beans with cheese as an option only, people can be charged extra if they want cheese.

Edited October 21, 2009 by Jingthing

[JR Texas]

Totally agreed, but of course they would need a choice of real Mexican style meats (as pictured above) and some credible salsas (and of course a reasonable price). If they did all that there would be lines (or queues if you like).

Notice that there is no cheese on the tacos? That is because those are real Mexican style tacos, so no cheese. People make the excuse that you can't do Mexican in Thailand because of the cheese cost but so much of the real food doesn't use any cheese! Of course to do Cali style burritos you need rice and beans with cheese as an option only, people can be charged extra if they want cheese.

That looks very good to me........what is it called? How do you make it? Where can we get it in Thailand? Tacos and Salsa makes something similar......and the key word is "similar." The meat (beef?) looks good........cooked well and broken up/shredded........looks like some onion bits and celantro.

No sauce? No cheese? That is odd for me, but I think I would like what I am seeing in that picture.

[Beardog]

I went by there yesterday & it sure didn't look like any Mexican joint I ever saw. Maybe I am biased living in San Francisco San diego , lake Tahoe & Sonoma (which is now pretty much hispanic) You can easily make your own Mexican food here at a kings randsome price. I would settle for a Taco bell better than most of the so called Mexican joints in Pattaya same as Thai builders May be a farang owner but it is still built by Thais. I stick to Thai food when dining out & save the gourmet kickdowns for making at home. The only problem now is the little woman is more interested in farang food now!!!!!!!!!!!!! Still haven't made any Mexican though 9even though we are growing cellantro.

Edited October 22, 2009 by Beardog

[Jingthing]

No sauce? No cheese? That is odd for me, but I think I would like what I am seeing in that picture.

JR, the sauce for such real Mexican tacos is the salsas. They are generally served with multiple salsa choices on the side, and as you can imagine when the salsas are excellent, it is bliss.

[Jingthing]

Taco Valley now appears totally shut down. That was fast!

From my post 10 --

The guy behind this new place is probably a nice guy, but sorry, I don't predict they will make it

Another successful restaurant death prediction by moi.

Edited December 13, 2009 by Jingthing

[craigt3365]

Man, you guys are killing me. Just moved here and this thread is making me nervous. I ate at TR a few years ago. Owner seems to be a great guy, but the food was so-so. We are all spoiled by the great food we get in the SW USA. I LOVE all the variations of Mex food. Guess I will just have to eat, eat, eat when I am back there....and dream of chicken enchiladas until then...

[whatchamacallit]

Man, you guys are killing me. Just moved here and this thread is making me nervous. I ate at TR a few years ago. Owner seems to be a great guy, but the food was so-so. We are all spoiled by the great food we get in the SW USA. I LOVE all the variations of Mex food. Guess I will just have to eat, eat, eat when I am back there....and dream of chicken enchiladas until then...

you can try Mike's Mexican - New Location in Jomtien and quite good

[craigt3365]

Thanks....and will do for sure! Maybe even today. I am in Jomtien all day looking for an apartment to rent until our house is done. Mexican food will help that process for sure...along with a cold beer.

Sorry to ask a stupid question, but I am new here...can you tell me exactly where it is? I am still getting use to driving on the "wrong" side of the road...combine that with keeping an eye out for all the crazy traffic and I might miss it...

Thanks!

Craig