Jomtien Pizza Review

[Michaelaway]

Went to CAFE LE MAR's new pizzeria on Jomtien Beach Road yesterday for lunch with my TGF. We ordered a ham, mushroom & spinach pizza, 260 baht. Tasted quite good, but we would have enjoyed it more if the chef had used a little heavier hand with the toppings. The crust was very, very thin. So thin, that when you tried to fold a slice, the long way, it snapped, rather than folding. (We have found this to be the case at many of the pizza restaurants we've tried around here- a bit too thin for my preference, but whadaya gonna do...?)

And, what is the deal with serving pizza's with the toppings segregated?? Our pizza had 8 slices: 2 had a few chopped mushrooms; 2 had bits of chopped ham; 2 had some chopped spinach and the last 2 were each topped with a single basil leaf (a classy pizza!). We asked our server and he said they indeed could intermingle and then distribute the toppings on top of the pizza next time providing we ordered it that way. Ok, maybe that's Italian-style but I'm American and I think that's weird. But ok... fair enough- we'll order it that way next time.

And, there will be a next time; the overall restaurant experience was better than most: tasty pizza, very nice place, efficient & polite staff and great location. For us, living in Jomtien, CAFE LE MAR's pizzeria is definitely a good local option.

Details (scale of 1-10):

Crust: very thin & crispy- 6

Sauce, Cheese & Toppings: modest but very tasty- 8

Table-top Condiments: oregano, black pepper, parmesan cheese, tabasco sauce, ground chili's, chili sauce, ketchup (never!) - 9

Overall taste- 7.5

Service- 9

Cleanliness- 9

Ambience- 9

[Jingthing]

Thanks for the review. Or shall I say warning. I hate crusts that thin and super minimalist toppings (cheap cheap cheap, not the price). The style of toppings you got is NOT Italian in general. There is a classic Italian pizza called four seasons (Pizza quattro stagioni) with four ingredients served that way, four ingredients, topped solely on each quarter. It always has ham as one of the ingredients, so maybe that's what you ordered, and if so, it was correct.

Have you tried the pizza at Volterra Italian restaurant on Soi Yensabai, South Pattaya?

Real Italian chef

Special pizza oven

Ample good taste tomato sauce

Generous cheese (unusual in Pattaya)

MEDIUM thickness crust, not super crispy (so you might not like if you need super crispy)

toppings medium generosity

cost, most under 250, basic pizza under 200

http://www.pattayapeople.com/default.asp?F...IdArticle=19338

Edited January 8, 2010 by Jingthing

[Michaelaway]

Thanks for the review. Or shall I say warning. I hate crusts that thin and super minimalist toppings (cheap cheap cheap, not the price). The style of toppings you got is NOT Italian in general. There is a classic Italian pizza called four seasons (Pizza quattro stagioni) with four ingredients served that way, four ingredients, topped solely on each quarter. It always has ham as one of the ingredients, so maybe that's what you ordered, and if so, it was correct.

Have you tried the pizza at Volterra Italian restaurant on Soi Yensabai, South Pattaya?

Real Italian chef

Special pizza oven

Ample good taste tomato sauce

Generous cheese (unusual in Pattaya)

MEDIUM thickness crust, not super crispy (so you might not like if you need super crispy)

toppings medium generosity

cost, most under 250, basic pizza under 200

Thank you, too, krap! And, based solely on your recommendation, we will definitely go over to try Volterra one of these days. And hey, do you, or anyone else, know where to buy pizza dough anywhere 'round here? Maybe with our toaster oven and a little good old American ingenuity...

[goldfinger]

maybe Thailand is not the best location to find/eat a delicious Pizza,

better try Napoli or Milano (in Italy)

[Jingthing]

maybe Thailand is not the best location to find/eat a delicious Pizza,

better try Napoli or Milano (in Italy)

Nah, you can get fairly decent pizza in Thailand. Mexican food? That's harder.

[MTH]

Thanks for the review and also the suggestion of Volterra. Have to check them both out.

There used to be a small, very nice Italian restaurant on Soi 16 opposite the south end of Marine Plaza Hotel, just a few shop houses in on the left from Pratumnak Road. They had great pizza, baked in a wood burning stove and also fabulous pasta. However it disappeared 3-4 years ago, anyone know if they went out of business or moved. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the place, but if they moved, when the water pipe smokers took over the street, I'd love to know their new location.

[NADTATIDA1]

Thanks for the review. Or shall I say warning. I hate crusts that thin and super minimalist toppings (cheap cheap cheap, not the price). The style of toppings you got is NOT Italian in general. There is a classic Italian pizza called four seasons (Pizza quattro stagioni) with four ingredients served that way, four ingredients, topped solely on each quarter. It always has ham as one of the ingredients, so maybe that's what you ordered, and if so, it was correct.

Have you tried the pizza at Volterra Italian restaurant on Soi Yensabai, South Pattaya?

Real Italian chef

Special pizza oven

Ample good taste tomato sauce

Generous cheese (unusual in Pattaya)

MEDIUM thickness crust, not super crispy (so you might not like if you need super crispy)

toppings medium generosity

cost, most under 250, basic pizza under 200

Thank you, too, krap! And, based solely on your recommendation, we will definitely go over to try Volterra one of these days. And hey, do you, or anyone else, know where to buy pizza dough anywhere 'round here? Maybe with our toaster oven and a little good old American ingenuity...

Traditional Pizza Dough

Recipe Serves: 12

Recipes Ingredients:

1/4 c Water (110 to 115 Degrees -F.)

1/4 c Warm Water (110 to 115 -Degrees F.)

1/2 ts Sugar

1 tb Olive Oil (Room Temperature)

1/2 ts Salt

1 1/2 c Unbleached Flour

1/2 pk Active Dry Yeast

Recipe Instructions:

Additional Flour Additional Water HAND METHOD: Pour the first 1/4 Cup of water into a medium bowl and add the sugar and salt, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the water mixture, stirring once to blend and let sit for 5 minutes until the top is bubbly and the yeast has bloomed. Stir in the remaining warm water and the oil. Place the flour in a large bowl and add the water and oil mixture to it. Stir, adding enough flour to make a soft dough that will pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it is too dry, add a little water a tbls at a time. Turn the dough out on a well-floured work surface, sprinkle the top with a little additional flour. Knead until it become very springy, elastic and very smooth. It should be light in weight, if it is heavy, you have use too much flour and it will not raise properly. Form into a smooth ball and let rest on the work surface while you wash and clean the large bowl. Spray with a non-stick spray. Put the ball of dough into the bowl and turn it over to get some of the spray on the top. Cover with plastic wrap or a warm, damp, clean dishtowel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft free place until double in volume, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If the dough rises before you are ready, punch it down in the bowl by kneading making sure all of the air is gone. Turn it over and reshape it into a ball and let rise again. If the top is dry, use a little olive oil to grease it. You can punch the dough down and cover the bowl and keep the dough refrigerated for up to two days before letting it rise at room temperature. For a thin, crisp pizza crust punch the dough down and turn out and spread over a pizza pan or baking sheet or a bakers peel. Cover with filling and topping, baking at once. For thicker, softer pizza crust punch the dough down and turn out shaping as above and then cover lightly with a clean dishtowel. Let rise about 30 minutes before covering with filling and topping. Makes enough dough for one 12 to 14 inch round pizza, two 7 to 8- inch round pizzas or one oblong pizza, or one dozen appetizer-sized pizzas.

Classic Tomato Pizza Sauce Recipe

This tomato sauce is lightly herbed with oregano and basil, yet the basic tomato taste is allowed to shine through. Some pizza aficionados prefer an even simpler sauce than this, but, you'll like the colors and bouquet this sauce adds to your own, home-made pizza. This recipe makes about 2 quarts.

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. - Butter

16 Oz. - Can of Tomato Puree

3 Tbsp. - Olive Oil

1 Tsp. - Salt

3 Cloves - Garlic, Minced

1/4 Tsp. - Black Pepper

3 Large - Yellow Onions, Minced

1 Tsp. - Whole Oregano

2 Qts. - Canned Whole Italian Tomatoes

1 Tsp. - Whole Basil

In a Dutch oven or large skillet, melt the butter with the olive oil and slowly but completely sauté the garlic and onion.

Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and puree. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for two hours. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes with a potato masher.

Continue to mash, stir, and simmer partially covered until the sauce reaches the consistency of a rich soup.

If you find you have too many or too large tomato seeds left in the sauce, you may run the sauce through a sieve, (strainer). Set the sauce aside to cool or refrigerate before applying it to your pizza dough.

History

Flat breads are an ancient tradition round the Mediterranean. Perhaps of ancient Persian origin, such bread was introduced to Magna Graecia (southern Italy) by its earliest Greek colonists.

Pizza arguably has its first literary mention in Book VII of Virgil's Aeneid: 'Their homely fare dispatch'd, the hungry band/Invade their trenchers next, and soon devour,/To mend the scanty meal, their cakes of flour./Ascanius this observ'd, and smiling said:/"See, we devour the plates on which we fed."' In the 3rd century B.C., the first history of Rome, written by Marcus Porcius Cato, mentions a "flat round of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs, and honey baked on stones". Further evidence is found in 79 A.D. from the remains of Pompeii; archeologists excavated shops that closely resemble a present day pizzeria.

The tomato was first believed to be poisonous (as most other fruits of the nightshade family are), when it came to Europe in the 16th century. However, by the late 18th century even the poor of the area around Naples added it as an ingredient to their yeast-based flat bread, and the dish gained in popularity. Pizza became a tourist attraction, and visitors to Naples ventured into the poorer areas of the city to try the local specialty.

The earliest pizzeria opened in 1830 at Via Port'Alba 18 in Naples and is still in business today. Pizza was still considered "poor man's food" in 1889 when Rafaele Esposito, the most famous pizzaiolo of Naples, was summoned before King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy to prepare the local specialty. It is said that he made two traditional ones and additionally created one in the colours of the Italian flag with red tomato sauce, white mozzarella cheese, and green basil leaves. The Queen was delighted and "pizza Margherita" was born.

An Italian immigrant to the US in 1897 named Gennaro Lombardi opened a small grocery store in New York's Little Italy. An employee of his, Antonio Totonno Pero (also an Italian immigrant) began making pizza for the store to sell. Their pizza became so popular, Lombardi opened the first US pizzeria in 1905, naming it simply Lombardi's. In 1924, Totonno left Lombardi's to open his own pizzeria on Coney Island called Totonno's. At this point in time in the U.S., pizza consumption was still limited mostly to the Italian immigrant crowd.

The international breakthrough came after World War II. Although the birthplace of modern day pizza is Naples, local bakers were at a loss to satisfy the demand from American soldiers. While the American troops involved in the Italian campaign took their appreciation for the dish back home, the millions of Italians called to help rebuild the damaged economy introduced their cuisine to the rest of Europe.

With the rising popularity in the 1950s, especially in the US, pizza became a component of the growing chain-restaurant industry. Some leading early pizza chains were Shakey's Pizza (which invented the term pizza parlor; formerly, the term pizzeria was preferred) and Pizza Hut (now owned by Yum! Brands, Inc.), both founded in 1954, the former in Sacramento and the latter in Wichita. Some later entrants to the dine-in pizza market were Happy Joe's, California Pizza Kitchen, and Round Table Pizza. The pizza business today is dominated by companies that specialize in home delivery (or serve it that way exclusively), including Domino's Pizza, Little Caesar's, and Papa John's Pizza. Even Pizza Hut has shifted its emphasis away from pizza parlors and toward home delivery. These national pizza chains often coexist with locally owned and operated pizza chains and independent restaurants. Because pizzas can be made quickly and are easily transported, most pizza restaurants in the United States offer call-in pizza delivery services. The lack of such delivery services at the time in England was the focus of an extended passage in the Douglas Adams novel The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul.

In most developed countries, pizza is also found in supermarkets as a frozen food. Considerable amounts of food technology has gone into the creation of palatable frozen pizzas. The main challenges include preventing the sauce from combining with the dough and producing a crust that can be frozen and reheated without becoming rigid. Modified corn starch is commonly used as a moisture barrier between the sauce and crust; traditionally the dough is somewhat pre-baked and other ingredients are also sometimes pre-cooked; lately, frozen pizzas with completely raw ingredients have also begun to appear.

I have used the dough recipe before and it is extemely easy after the first time you do it.......you can make up more quantities and freeze if you have a freezer!

I am not 100% about the sauce recipe as i tend to do my own or just use a basic shop bought sauce,but it does look right and all the ingredients are easy to get hold of here in a supermarket ie tesco or tops!

I hope this helps you as buying ready made dough just doesn"t cut it with me and once you have tried this out it is so easy and delicious,i am sure you will not be buying too many pizzas out again!!

Obviously a good wood burning pizza oven would make it just perfect!

Good luck and

Buon appetito!

[clip]

probably going to get ridiculed for saying this but i think the best pizza ive had in pattaya is pizza company, very generous with the topping and thick crust (hate the thin crust) also reasonable price .very tasty

[Jingthing]

probably going to get ridiculed for saying this but i think the best pizza ive had in pattaya is pizza company, very generous with the topping and thick crust (hate the thin crust) also reasonable price .very tasty

Whats the point of ridiculing you? Many of us wouldn't be caught dead in a Thai pizza chain. Many others will go nowhere else.

Chacun à son goût

Edited January 9, 2010 by Jingthing

[bunta71]

Another pizza story...In America,in the last several years, some industrious geniuses have started making some pizzas with a "garlic sauce " instead of the normal tomato sauce. IMHO this is the best improvement to the evolving pizza world in many moons. The sauce is actually Ranch dressing with garlic in it. For me personally if given a choice this garlic sauce wins hands down. Every time.Anyone out there had any experience with this?If someone comes up with this locally they will do a killer business if of course they have the other ingredients squared away.

[Jingthing]

That's interesting. Ranch dressing, huh? Well the garlic sounds good but mayonnaise is the biggest ingredient in ranch dressing. Baked mayo? Hmmmm. Sounds like Thais may like it.

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

Another pizza story...In America,in the last several years, some industrious geniuses have started making some pizzas with a "garlic sauce " instead of the normal tomato sauce. IMHO this is the best improvement to the evolving pizza world in many moons. The sauce is actually Ranch dressing with garlic in it. For me personally if given a choice this garlic sauce wins hands down. Every time.Anyone out there had any experience with this?If someone comes up with this locally they will do a killer business if of course they have the other ingredients squared away.

White pizza has been around for over 30 years. It was invented in Old Forge, Pennsylvania (pizza capital of the world). In addition to garlic, spinach and broccoli are common toppings. Not all white pizzas use sour cream or ranch dressing as a sauce base. I prefer garlic, cheese and spinach.

[Jingthing]

White pizza traditionally simply means CHEESE topping only, not ranch dressing!

[Michaelaway]

Another pizza story...In America,in the last several years, some industrious geniuses have started making some pizzas with a "garlic sauce " instead of the normal tomato sauce. IMHO this is the best improvement to the evolving pizza world in many moons. The sauce is actually Ranch dressing with garlic in it. For me personally if given a choice this garlic sauce wins hands down. Every time.Anyone out there had any experience with this?If someone comes up with this locally they will do a killer business if of course they have the other ingredients squared away.

Ranch dressing and garlic pizza sauce... different and interesting. Haven't heard of that one before but I'd give it a try if they had it here in Pattaya. Personally, I've had some really great white pizza's (nothing to do with Moby Dick) in the past:

White pizza (pizza bianca) omits the tomato sauce, often substituting pesto or dairy products such as sour cream. Most commonly, especially on the East coast of the United States, the toppings consist only of mozzarella, ricotta, fontina cheese drizzled with olive oil and spices like fresh basil and garlic. In Rome, the term pizza bianca refers to a type of bread topped with olive oil, salt and, occasionally, rosemary sprigs. It is also a Roman style to bottom the white pizza with figs, the result being known as pizza e fichi (pizza with figs).

A well-made Calzone can be great, too:

Ripieno or calzone is a turnover-style pizza filled with several ingredients, such as ricotta, salami and mozzarella, and folded over to form a half circle before being baked. In Italian calzone literally means "large sock", while the word ripieno actually means just "filling" and does not by itself imply a form of pizza.

Wanna see a good-looking (white) pizza? Check out the photo please. Look at that cheesy, crusty beauty... suay mak mak, no?

[Jingthing]

OK, I am originally from the east coast. I can't see why you would call a green PESTO base white, but, whatever. The idea of baking mayo sounds gross but sometimes gross sounding things taste good, so I would also try it.

[Michaelaway]

Another pizza story...In America,in the last several years, some industrious geniuses have started making some pizzas with a "garlic sauce " instead of the normal tomato sauce. IMHO this is the best improvement to the evolving pizza world in many moons. The sauce is actually Ranch dressing with garlic in it. For me personally if given a choice this garlic sauce wins hands down. Every time.Anyone out there had any experience with this?If someone comes up with this locally they will do a killer business if of course they have the other ingredients squared away.

White pizza has been around for over 30 years. It was invented in Old Forge, Pennsylvania (pizza capital of the world). In addition to garlic, spinach and broccoli are common toppings. Not all white pizzas use sour cream or ranch dressing as a sauce base. I prefer garlic, cheese and spinach.

"... Old Forge, Pennsylvania (pizza capital of the world)..." Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...

[LennyW]

"Jomtien Pizza Review" opening post about Jomtien and the rest are <deleted> with nothing to do with Jomtien. Back on track please??

In past posts re : pizzas, i gave directions to drifters cafe Na Jomtien, dont bother, big dissapointment, sorry!

[siggie2]

Still say Globetrotter has great pizzas and value for money too.

[Jingthing]

"Jomtien Pizza Review" opening post about Jomtien and the rest are <deleted> with nothing to do with Jomtien. Back on track please??

In past posts re : pizzas, i gave directions to drifters cafe Na Jomtien, dont bother, big dissapointment, sorry!

It was about a specific Jomtien restaurant. No reason we can't talk about Pattaya pizza options in general, eh?

[Jingthing]

Still say Globetrotter has great pizzas and value for money too.

I think the pizza is OK there. It's kind of an odd style though and I don't think everyone would really like it. I wonder if it is a kind of Scandanavian style or just specific to their place.

[Spoonman]

probably going to get ridiculed for saying this but i think the best pizza ive had in pattaya is pizza company, very generous with the topping and thick crust (hate the thin crust) also reasonable price .very tasty

LOL, the Pizza Company, I used to get a delivery say once a month, last time round the Pizza was rank, there was something not right with the cheese, as soon as i opened the box is smelt wrong, a taste test confirmed this.

Missus calls em up and complains, they bring round a free replacement, its just as bad as the first.

Missus calls to complain again, the politely tell her to go fuc_k herself !!!

Me, hungry as hel_l with a bad hangover (yes at 6.00pm) fires of a very blunt (but polite) email to the Pizza company, as expected no reply (after a week), so i send a follow up email, 2 days later the manager of the store is on my doorstep, very apologetic about the pizza, he gave me 2, 500b Vouchers as compensation.......doubt i'll use them though.

[siggie2]

Jing,i think Scandonavia but will ask Lasse next time i see him.Iagree not a traditional style but i like thin crust and i love the unique taste too.

[bunta71]

OK, I am originally from the east coast. I can't see why you would call a green PESTO base white, but, whatever. The idea of baking mayo sounds gross but sometimes gross sounding things taste good, so I would also try it.

Off topic but still within the "conversation"... The garlic sauce I mentioned is not a topping. You don't really taste the mayo in this combination. I had the same opinion as Jingthing until I tried the stuff, then prefer it over tomato sauce. It is better with certain toppings that aren't common,chicken and spinach come to mind. Another wierd sounding baked mayonaise recipe that sounds shitty but tastes really good (to me) is freshly caught halibut smothered with real not thai mayo then baked. Melts in your mouth.Taste is subjective though just like our own definition of which Thai beauty trips your trigger...

[Jingthing]

OK, I am originally from the east coast. I can't see why you would call a green PESTO base white, but, whatever. The idea of baking mayo sounds gross but sometimes gross sounding things taste good, so I would also try it.

Off topic but still within the "conversation"... The garlic sauce I mentioned is not a topping. You don't really taste the mayo in this combination. I had the same opinion as Jingthing until I tried the stuff, then prefer it over tomato sauce. It is better with certain toppings that aren't common,chicken and spinach come to mind. Another wierd sounding baked mayonaise recipe that sounds shitty but tastes really good (to me) is freshly caught halibut smothered with real not thai mayo then baked. Melts in your mouth.Taste is subjective though just like our own definition of which Thai beauty trips your trigger...

Yeah I understood you were talking about a ranch dressing base not a topping. Hey, if there is lots of GARLIC in it, pretty much anything can be good, eh?

[MTH]

Still say Globetrotter has great pizzas and value for money too.

I think the pizza is OK there. It's kind of an odd style though and I don't think everyone would really like it. I wonder if it is a kind of Scandanavian style or just specific to their place.

Yes, it's Scandinavian, or at least a Swedish type of pizza. Most pizza parlors in Sweden will serve you these thin crust pizzas.

Haven't had a pizza at Globetrotter in years, but when I used to go there, they were always very tasteful with lots of toppings.

Nowadays I usually call Nick the pizza, (laziness has sat in…) also thin crust but a bit short on the toppings.

[LennyW]

"Jomtien Pizza Review" opening post about Jomtien and the rest are <deleted> with nothing to do with Jomtien. Back on track please??

In past posts re : pizzas, i gave directions to drifters cafe Na Jomtien, dont bother, big dissapointment, sorry!

It was about a specific Jomtien restaurant. No reason we can't talk about Pattaya pizza options in general, eh?

So this is just yet another Pizza thread, i was hoping it would turn out to be more Jomtien specific rather than a rehash of the so many existing Pattaya Pizza threads.