Pao: Remarkable New Chinese Specialty Restaurant On Pattaya Klang

[bob4you]

A light showing from the Frugal Freddy group for a combination of reasons, probably the most important one is many expats have left town already for most of the month of April. We only had 11 at one of the most popular Frugal Freddy restaurants on Monday when we were there last we had over 30. We will have to give Pao another try in a couple of months.

The member that were there did vote the restaurant in as a Frugal Freddy regular restaurant.

[Jingthing]

Indeed. Y'all should come on down and try it. Anyone who loves well prepared fresh and authentic Chinese food (but still VERY accessible to western tastes) will no doubt love it.

Surely, the Pattaya Chinese restaurant discovery of the decade?

[FarangBuddha]

A light showing from the Frugal Freddy group for a combination of reasons, probably the most important one is many expats have left town already for most of the month of April. We only had 11 at one of the most popular Frugal Freddy restaurants on Monday when we were there last we had over 30. We will have to give Pao another try in a couple of months.

The member that were there did vote the restaurant in as a Frugal Freddy regular restaurant.

One problem is the location...specifically the lack of parking...not all of us are baht-bus riding members. Do they validate for any of the local hotel parking lots in the area or do you have any recommendations for local car parking.

[Jingthing]

A light showing from the Frugal Freddy group for a combination of reasons, probably the most important one is many expats have left town already for most of the month of April. We only had 11 at one of the most popular Frugal Freddy restaurants on Monday when we were there last we had over 30. We will have to give Pao another try in a couple of months.

The member that were there did vote the restaurant in as a Frugal Freddy regular restaurant.

One problem is the location...specifically the lack of parking...not all of us are baht-bus riding members. Do they validate for any of the local hotel parking lots in the area or do you have any recommendations for local car parking.

This is a small restaurant with two chefs who do it all. Do they validate parking? Hilarious.

Maybe someone can suggest about parking; of course I have no clue.

One thing to keep in mind also is that they are open late at night. Maybe parking is easier late at night?

[bob4you]

I just came back from a fantastic dinner at Pao, yes they will be closed for Songkran and a trip to HK to replenish supplies back on the 24th. Because of the wet outside Frugal Freddy will not meet next week but when they open again you will want to give them a try, their food is fantastic. Tonight I asked Duff (the owner/chef) to pick some dishes for me as I really don't know Chinese food unless it is American Chinese like Chop Suey, Sweet and Sour Chicken and Egg Foo Young. Duff laughed when I told him that as you will not find any of those things on his menu.

He and his wife are the only employees in the restaurant so be patient if you are with a group or a group is in there before you.

The meal started with complimentary (free) cold green tea. I much prefer cold over hot especially here in Thailand, if I were back home in Canada you need to have it hot to thaw yourself out sometimes.

First course was 2 large (2") beef pies (B60) hot and juicy and with warning from Duff, don't pick up and bite or you might have juices running down the front of your shirt and your chin. The ground beef filling was scrumptious with a side dish of imported vinegar for a dipping sauce.

Next came the Hot and Sour soup with shrimp won tons. Wow I'm sure I will have this over and over again. I had Hot and Sour soup at a Chinese Restaurant in Central Pattaya made by Thai Chef's using Thai red chili peppers in the soup to give it bite, it was horrible. I love hot and sour soup but the closest I found to what I was used to back in Hawaii was at the Dim Sum buffet at the Ambassador Hotel in downtown Bangkok, not bad but nothing like the one at Pao. Duff makes his own flat noodles to make the won tons and the soup base is suburb, not too thick and not too spicy, I even detected a hint of Chinese wine in the base that he confirmed. B120 This left a little sweat on my brow so I ordered an Asahi beer. Being married to a Filipina I wanted a Red Horse but it was not available so I settled for an Asahi (last wife was Japanese). That quenched the thirst and knocked down the sweat.

Final Course was Australian shoulder of lamb in a great curry sauce with potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. It came with a big plate of rice but at that point I could finish the curry but had to leave 1/2 of the rice. B160. Pao just became the newest Frugal Freddy restaurant so with my PCEC membership card my total bill including imported beer was only B328, even without the discount it would be very hard to find such quality food at those prices.

[Jingthing]

Pao restaurant is a bloody miracle! I think many of us had given up hope of anything like Pao EVER opening in Pattaya. And now it is here.

[Whyowhy]

A light showing from the Frugal Freddy group for a combination of reasons, probably the most important one is many expats have left town already for most of the month of April. We only had 11 at one of the most popular Frugal Freddy restaurants on Monday when we were there last we had over 30. We will have to give Pao another try in a couple of months.

The member that were there did vote the restaurant in as a Frugal Freddy regular restaurant.

One problem is the location...specifically the lack of parking...not all of us are baht-bus riding members. Do they validate for any of the local hotel parking lots in the area or do you have any recommendations for local car parking.

Generally there is lots of street parking on 3rd road north of Klang, only 10 min walk to Pao from there. Parking on Klang is a non-starter since the nightmarket starts setting up after 6pm. Otherwise the sois behind Pao have a whole lot of nothing, should be easy to find parking there if your feeling brave.

[pauljones]

Not far from 2nd. Rd. so if you can park on the Baht Bus Rt. somewhere you are just 10Bt away.

[sharky1]

Just had dinner at Pao and the only other customer was a board member! Nice to meet you sir. The husband/wife owners are pure Chinese with English fluency. The air conditioned restaurant has a nice picture menu at affordable prices (the food, not the menu ).

I enjoyed the hot/sour soup so much, I ordered 2 bowls in addition to the chicken curry.

To the owner: Keep soya sauce and chili on the tables.

Pao is located opposite the football stadium.

Closed 4/13-23 inclusive.

I'll be back. Yum!

[FarangBuddha]

A light showing from the Frugal Freddy group for a combination of reasons, probably the most important one is many expats have left town already for most of the month of April. We only had 11 at one of the most popular Frugal Freddy restaurants on Monday when we were there last we had over 30. We will have to give Pao another try in a couple of months.

The member that were there did vote the restaurant in as a Frugal Freddy regular restaurant.

One problem is the location...specifically the lack of parking...not all of us are baht-bus riding members. Do they validate for any of the local hotel parking lots in the area or do you have any recommendations for local car parking.

Generally there is lots of street parking on 3rd road north of Klang, only 10 min walk to Pao from there. Parking on Klang is a non-starter since the nightmarket starts setting up after 6pm. Otherwise the sois behind Pao have a whole lot of nothing, should be easy to find parking there if your feeling brave.

Thanks for the parking suggestions. I did drop in tonite and ran into Mr. Frugal himself! I agree with what has already been posted here that pao is a real find. Really authentic hkg Chinese food!

I sampled many dishes, including the fried pot-stickers, beef dumping, beef noodle bowl, and the stir-fried beef with black pepper. All were quite good, with the beef buns so tasty I ordered seconds I will definitely be a regular here.

Pao will be closed from 13-23rd; they are open till at least midnite so good if an attack of the late nite munchies occurs.

[Whyowhy]

Frugal 'Bob' Freddy needs to try the best item on the menu, Ramen with Spicy Beef. I'm glad I did my part in promoting Pao, it still needs a lot of help to fill the seats and start breaking even for 2012, hopefully start making a profit in 2013.

Unfortunately I'm re-locating back home to Toronto in the next couple of weeks after 9 months here (I'm nowhere close to retirement age thus need to re-fill my coffers with employment) and no plans on returning. I guess I'll never get to use my PCEC membership card to save money (makes you wonder why anybody bothers with the 'other' expat group) on their overpriced softdrinks but I enjoyed my chats with Duff (that's his GF not his wife BTW). Fortunately where I'm headed, places like Pao are a dime a dozen, so I'll be happy about that.

[Jingthing]

...

Fortunately where I'm headed, places like Pao are a dime a dozen, so I'll be happy about that.

Yeah, Toronto is a great food city, for sure. Why just last night I lied to a group of drunken Iranians on a baht bus about being from Toronto. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time!

In any case, Chinese food offerings like Pao are NOT a dime a dozen in Pattaya, so we are duly grateful for what we've got!

[pauljones]

Nice to see a place where the owners are skilled, enthusiastic, charming and do it all themselves with care.

They blend the flavors and textures so perfectly. I would place them among in the top ten restaurants in Thailand.

A must do in Pattaya for food lovers.

Soon, it will make the papers, guidebooks and you won't be able to get a seat I predict.

(happened to my favorite Chinese place in Bangkok)

The next best place to eat Chinese is at the Zign Hotel, Naklua Soi 12, although it's a 5 star operation with 5 star prices to match with ++ on the bill. My recent DimSum lunch was 600Bt.

[Jingthing]

Pattaya isn't Bangkok. The crowd here isn't as sophisticated (putting it mildly). I wish the place great success of course but I wouldn't go so far as to predict trouble to get seated. We'll see. Should be interesting.

To be clear, for now, when Pao is open, ABSOLUTELY NO TROUBLE GETTING SEATING!

[FarangBuddha]

Pattaya isn't Bangkok. The crowd here isn't as sophisticated (putting it mildly). I wish the place great success of course but I wouldn't go so far as to predict trouble to get seated. We'll see. Should be interesting.

I agree...I fear for the future of the place as it's not really the kind of "Chinese" food most farangs in Pattaya are looking for and not sure if there are enough Thai-Chinese in town to keep the place afloat. In addition, if the place really did get popular, it's likely these two couldn't keep up the quality and the place would go to h#ll...seen this many times with restos.

My advice to those who like the place is to get there often as it may not be around long. Of course, I would be most happy if my prediction is 100% incorrect.

[DUFFBEER]

PAO REOPEN ON 26/4

[Jimmyd]

Thanks for the information. I'll be sure to visit soon after you re-open on the 26th of April.

[Danlo]

At those prices maybe the location will fail it.

[Jingthing]

At those prices maybe the location will fail it.

I don't follow you. What about the location and what about the prices?

[Ohyesuare]

At those prices maybe the location will fail it.

I don't follow you. What about the location and what about the prices?

I will translate for you. He is saying that at those prices maybe the location will fail.

[Jingthing]

At those prices maybe the location will fail it.

I don't follow you. What about the location and what about the prices?

I will translate for you. He is saying that at those prices maybe the location will fail.

Lost in translation.

[cathy211]

I went tonight. Was the only customer. Food was delicious but get it while you can... I'm not sure how long they will be open...

[Jiu-Jitsu]

They need help with the marketing. I know I'm stating the obvious, but they really do.

They are doing fine with the food and the design, but appear to have totally neglected the marketing.

They need a certain amount of covers to break even, so they need to start doing deals with hotels, tour companies and most definitely to start connecting with the Thai market.

The problem is that there are only two of them running the show.

[Jingthing]

Yes, absolutely, they can use more publicity. I guess this forum isn't as powerful as some people have suggested, either to help or hurt a restaurant's business, as the general reaction, and rightly so, to this restaurant has been absolute RAVES.

[FarangBuddha]

Yes, absolutely, they can use more publicity. I guess this forum isn't as powerful as some people have suggested, either to help or hurt a restaurant's business, as the general reaction, and rightly so, to this restaurant has been absolute RAVES.

The food is okay...I have now eaten there a few times and it's a nice option but I don't go out of my way to eat there. One problem is that with the two-person operation, things get very slow and service goes down the crapper if more than a few tables are occupied. This will only get worse if the place becomes more popular leading to pissed-off customers who may not return.

However, I can report that when I have been there they have had decent trade (thus my experience of slow service) and quite a few of our Ruskie visitors seem to like giving the place a try.

[Jingthing]

The food is MORE than OK and MOST people who have commented about it agree. Also, they offer things you will find nowhere else in Pattaya, and yes, at friendly prices.

[FarangBuddha]

The food is okay...my initial more positive impressions have been tempered somewhat based on sampling a wider variety of dishes on subsequent visits. It is still nice to have Pao as another choice for those who fancy a sorta Chinese tapas type meal (ordering lots of small serving-size dishes).

[Ohyesuare]

If they put up Russian signs and menu's it might be packed every night. Always see Russians walking around there and they like to know the prices and stuff before they enter an establishment.

[Jingthing]

If they put up Russian signs and menu's it might be packed every night. Always see Russians walking around there and they like to know the prices and stuff before they enter an establishment.

They have a Russian language menu but good idea to put Russian signage out front. After all Russians like dumplings and such.

[Jingthing]

The food is okay...my initial more positive impressions have been tempered somewhat based on sampling a wider variety of dishes on subsequent visits. It is still nice to have Pao as another choice for those who fancy a sorta Chinese tapas type meal (ordering lots of small serving-size dishes).

If you're saying that not EVERY dish on the menu is blow you away good, I'd agree. But there is enough really good on the menu to make a great meal. Beginners can't go wrong with the freshly made noodles/dumplings dishes.