Best Curry And Kebab

[Jingthing]

Down = the way water flow, i.e. between Tops and Beach road.

Tops? We're talking Pattaya Tai. Did you mean Tukcom? Yes there is a Tops in Tukcom basement, but people don't refer to Tukcom as Tops. I also don't really know where this Berlin place is based on your comments.

[Phil Conners]

Tops? We're talking Pattaya Tai. Did you mean Tukcom? Yes there is a Tops in Tukcom basement, but people don't refer to Tukcom as Tops. I also don't really know where this Berlin place is based on your comments.

No, we're talking about the Tops you referred to in post #118, i.e. corner of 2nd and Klang. The Berlin Doner is on Klang, same side, a few shops towards the beach.

[Jingthing]

Tops? We're talking Pattaya Tai. Did you mean Tukcom? Yes there is a Tops in Tukcom basement, but people don't refer to Tukcom as Tops. I also don't really know where this Berlin place is based on your comments.

No, we're talking about the Tops you referred to in post #118, i.e. corner of 2nd and Klang. The Berlin Doner is on Klang, same side, a few shops towards the beach.

So you mean Pattaya Klang, not Pattaya Tai.

It appears you said:

Talking about Doner shops, I just "found" a new "Berlin Doner" just a bit further down Pattaya Tai.

Edited June 7, 2012 by Jingthing

[Phil Conners]

Duh, apologies, I meant KLANG not Tai. Sorry!

Must be early Alzheimer's

[canman]

That's kind of the point. The majority of "Indian" food in England is influenced from a small subset of the vastness of Indian subcontinent cuisine.

No JT. Walking down one London street can see MANY different styles of curry. From all parts of India.

Same in Manchester. Not been to Bradford so can't comment lol.

I'm not buying it! I'm talking mainstream English tastes, not foodies. We know the facts about how many chicken tikkas masalas are sold there. I see the menus here catering to "UK Indian" preferences. The menus are almost identical and you bloody well know it. You can't hide from the truth.

One in seven curries sold in the UK is chicken tikka masala.

Wiki

BTW, yes I have very limited experience eating curry in London. I had balti at a recommended Balti House. I loved it and don't know why balti isn't popular in other countries.

Scotland is known around the world for bagpipes, Scotch whisky, haggis and tartan kilts. But now it is trying to protect a less obviously Scottish treasure: chicken tikka masala.One would expect a UK dish to be quite popular:

A chef from Glasgow claims he invented the curry dish, and is pressing the European Union to give it "Protected Designation of Origin" status, alongside the likes of Champagne, Parma Ham and Greek Feta cheese.

The Ali family, owners of Shish Mahal restaurant in Glasgow, said they came up with the creamy, mildly spicy curry in the 1970s to please the Scots, but then it went on to become the most popular dish in British restaurants.

Edited June 7, 2012 by canman

[Michaelaway]

Duh, apologies, I meant KLANG not Tai. Sorry!

Must be early Alzheimer's

Got it, water running down Pattaya Klang... no problem.

[Jayman]

My favorite kebab spot is en Egyptian owned spot on 2nd road, less than 500 meters after you turn right from Pattaya Thai. It's on the right hand side. He makes very good hummus and falafel as well. His tahini sauce is super tasty and his home made hot sauce is very good. He has the kebab rotisseries outside but has aircon seating inside.

I really find the sauces make the kebab and his are homemade and very tasty. 60thb for a kebab and I think I also pay like 50-60thb for a plate of hummus. Many times I just order a plate of chicken (all the fixings but on a plate with the bread on the side) and a plate of hummus and I'm a happy camper. With his close proximity to walking street he's also opened till quite late.

[Jingthing]

My favorite kebab spot is en Egyptian owned spot on 2nd road, less than 500 meters after you turn right from Pattaya Thai. It's on the right hand side. He makes very good hummus and falafel as well. His tahini sauce is super tasty and his home made hot sauce is very good. He has the kebab rotisseries outside but has aircon seating inside.

I really find the sauces make the kebab and his are homemade and very tasty. 60thb for a kebab and I think I also pay like 50-60thb for a plate of hummus. Many times I just order a plate of chicken (all the fixings but on a plate with the bread on the side) and a plate of hummus and I'm a happy camper. With his close proximity to walking street he's also opened till quite late.

Thanks for that tip. I must say though I tried the falafel there and it was atrocious. But not yet the hummus.

[thegrogmonster]

Hogan's bar in Soi Khao Talo over on the darkside has been getting good reviews for his kebabs. He also is selling pre-made curries which people are saying are not too bad either.

[Mavvy]

I ate at the Rompho Market place and found it very, very pedestrian. The nan bread was nothing of the kind and the curry was boring. I can't imagine thinking it is particularly good. Where is this OTHER Indian place in that area? Haven't noticed it.

BTW, as I suspected, what passes for "Indian" in the UK is nothing of the kind. Check out Gordon Ramsey's new show series (Gordon's Great Escape) where he hilariously learns the truth about UK Indian compared to real Indian in India.

The point is -- it is NOT Indian food and real Indians with Indian palates do NOT like it. 'Nuff said.

I'll admit it. I find it very annoying that UK people think they are the experts in Indian food. They know their style of food which is very different than Indian food. My life experience in "the colonies" is with actual Indian food, cooked by Indian chefs, mostly for Indian people. So yes I do know more about Indian food than the average arrogant Brit who is hilariously always searching for "UK style" curries. As silly as searching for "UK Chinese" in my book.

UK style curries = Silly. Tex-Mex... Perfectly acceptable. New York style pizzas.... Perfectly acceptable. Chicago style pizzas.... Perfectly acceptable.

No doubt it would also be hilarious watching a celebrity US chef going to Italy and learning the truth about real pizzas in Italy.

If you watch Vir Sanghvi's show on tracing the origins of tandoori chicken and arriving at the conclusion that it probably originated in Afghanistan does it make it hilarious for someone to admit to preferring the taste of tandoori chicken cooked Indian style? In the same episode, there is an older Indian lady chef who I believe held some claims to the UK recipe of chicken tikka masala (although there is probably no need to mention it is the "UK recipe" because I believe it is fairly well established that it is a UK dish - yes, a batardisation of a dish using Indian spices, possibly the butter chicken that you mentioned earlier) and her recipe included the use of Campbell's condensed tomato soup. Is it such a culinary crime for someone to prefer the taste of one dish over another based purely on the authenticity (or lack of) of the ingredients used?

Why get so caught up in "authenticity"? If you are going to be such a pedant then yes, if you want "authentic" Indian food, go to India. If you want "authentic" pizza go to Italy. If you want "authentic" Chinese food go to China.... We get it pal... But while we're on the subject of authenticity, perhaps you could inform us how much time either the owner or any of the chef's at your much extolled favourite Mexican restaurant have spent any time in Mexico, or, for that matter, how many of their chefs have Mexican passports....? In the event of the answer being zero, please do us all a favour and take a look around you and enlighten us all as to how your colon looks from up there...

The OP asked for info on a UK Indian curry (hilarious!!!) and info on kebabs. For the curries I would highly recommend a little place on Soi Siam Country Club opposite SP Village 5. I think the owner may actually be Pakistani (Shock, Horror!!!) but he does a very good job of making a curry like u would find in a UK curry house (snigger snigger...). He's pretty much a one man band and if he's busy it can take a while for him to finish your order. He does deliveries but i don't have his number.

For the doner kebabs, someone is doing very nice doner kebabs and sells the meat to places like the Punch & Judy, Nick the Pizza and no doubt several others. Maybe try the kebabs from one of these establishments and if you like it I am sure it would not be too hard to find where it originates.

I think I just may have found the supplier of this doner meat. McDoners in Soi LK Metro (just on the left hand side of the entrance on Soi Bukhaow) selling kebabs and advertising the kebab meat wholesale. Lamb doner UK style kebabs at 135b. tried one last night, very nice, as close to the UK doner as I have ever seen over here, the meat was lovely. My only criticism was the pitta bread, if only the owner could source pocket pitta bread as used in the UK instead of the circular rolled up pitta they have here.

I had one of these Kebabs last night, a very, very good Kebab, My ONLY criticism is the amount of meat I had inside the Kebab, it was on the small side, you get much more in the UK. I would buy again as it was great, however if more meat could be put in or the price reduced it would be perfect.

[LALes]

No good Indian food in Pattaya. India By Nature...crap. (Expensive crap at that.) Ali Baba....crap.

As for kebabs, the Egyptian guy with the backwards baseball cap at the corner of Pattaya Tai and 2nd Rd. is the best.

His old partner, just up the road a bit, is also good. I wouldn't trust any of the kebabs made by Thais. You see those

motorbike kebab businesses in Jomtien and they don't cut it.

[Jingthing]

I think

No good Indian food in Pattaya.

...

I don't agree.

I think Saras is excellent and I have noticed the Indian people who eat there think so too. So there. (But no meat.)

http://saras.co.th/

[Jayman]

I think

No good Indian food in Pattaya.

...

I don't agree.

I think Saras is excellent and I have noticed the Indian people who eat there think so too. So there. (But no meat.)

http://saras.co.th/

Also Madras Darbar is always full of all indians and they seem to like it as well or they wouldn't keep coming back.

[Jingthing]

But the decent options ARE very limited.

Edited July 6, 2012 by Jingthing

[LALes]

Guess I'll have to try Saras. So far, every Indian recommendation in Pattaya has fallen flat on its face. Judging from you two guys' posts,

I think I have a better chance of succeeding this time. We shall see.

Is Madras Darbar the one across from Central on 2nd Road? If so, I tried to eat there when they first opened but the server was

too lame to understand my English instructions so we left. Certainly wasn't an Indian person or that snafu wouldn't have happened.

[Jayman]

Guess I'll have to try Saras. So far, every Indian recommendation in Pattaya has fallen flat on its face. Judging from you two guys' posts,

I think I have a better chance of succeeding this time. We shall see.

Is Madras Darbar the one across from Central on 2nd Road? If so, I tried to eat there when they first opened but the server was

too lame to understand my English instructions so we left. Certainly wasn't an Indian person or that snafu wouldn't have happened.

Madras Darbar is located across from Central on 2nd road and nearly all the service in there are Indian (there is one Thai lady that speaks, english, hindi, and thai).

You are looking for authentic Indian food but got upset that they don't speak English? I'd say to give it another go as they are the best in town I have found.

[LALes]

Well, I haven't found an Indian restaurant yet where they don't speak decent English. This was the first one.

Maybe they got rid of that person. It was right when they first opened.

[Jayman]

Well, I haven't found an Indian restaurant yet where they don't speak decent English. This was the first one.

Maybe they got rid of that person. It was right when they first opened.

That could be.. I don't know. Was that person neither Thai nor Indian? In any case, that spot caters to Indian and other folks from that region. The menu is completely in English however. The owner often chats me up and recommends dishes for me. Without him I would be ordering the same old chicken tikka marsala every time.

I just remembered I have a take out menu he game me. Not sure if every dish available in the restaurant is on this menu but should give you a good idea.

Edited July 6, 2012 by Jayman

[tropo]

He also is selling pre-made curries which people are saying are not too bad either.

LOL. That's the only way to make a good curry. It's not fast food.

[tropo]

No good Indian food in Pattaya. India By Nature...crap. (Expensive crap at that.) Ali Baba....crap.

As for kebabs, the Egyptian guy with the backwards baseball cap at the corner of Pattaya Tai and 2nd Rd. is the best.

His old partner, just up the road a bit, is also good. I wouldn't trust any of the kebabs made by Thais. You see those

motorbike kebab businesses in Jomtien and they don't cut it.

There are motorbike kebab businesses everywhere now. Before The Avenue opened this guy (Emad is his name) was just about the only game in town. His partner makes more generous kebabs, but the problem is that everyone else who works for him makes shit kebabs so you have to make sure he's the one making them - and he takes a lot more time off than Emad.

[Jayman]

I'm sitting in Alibaba right now having just finished a meal. I enjoy the food. The prices are way too high. The only reason I came here is to enjoy a free meal on freeplayo. For free the food is totally worth it.

[cartmanfinn]

There is a kebab stall near Esso gas station on Soi Khao Noi. Excellent kebabs, very big and juicy. 60 baht.

[Jingthing]

OK, I finally got around to trying Berlin Doner on Pattaya Klang between 2nd and Beach.

My reference of what to expect from a "Euro style" Doner joint is very limited. My experience of this kind of Turkish food includes a two week trip in Turkey, eating street doner in Thailand (not a fan), and a similar food type: authentic Lebanese and Palestinian shwarma joints in the USA.

Anyway, the menu included doner in breads and platters, kebabs, Iskender kebabs, and Turkish pizza.

The meats on offer and chicken and beef. No lamb.

The presentation of the place and the large picture menu on the wall is pretty impressive. You do get the feeling you're entering a place that has their act together.

Most people were ordering the 60 baht doner (choice of chicken or beef) in a thick or thin bread.

I was hungry so ordered the beef doner platter at 249 baht.

It includes the meat, rice and a choice of fries or salad. I chose salad. Plus a choice of three sauces. I tried two; I think trying all three would be fine. The sauces were labeled: mayo/hot spicy/garlic. I had the hot spicy and the garlic.

The plate arrived and the portion of meat was very large. The meat was also delicious. There is no comparison to the meat from the street places. The meat here is much better. It was not overcooked and was moist. It was a different style than I am used to from previous experiences in Turkey and USA schwarma. It kind of reminded me of corned beef. In a good way, not complaining. I thought the meat could have been served a little warmer though.

The rice was pretty good. The thick sliced bread was toasted lightly and was very good. The bread reminded me of bread I got in Turkey at a kebab restaurant. The salad was not quite fresh enough. The rice, bread, and salad were served in small portions. Obviously getting a large portion of meat is most important for such a platter but the small portions of the sides were out of balance with the meat.

One other nit. In the picture (and as I remember from Turkey) there is a grilled green long pepper served with the platter. It didn't arrive and I asked for it. What that got for me was ... table black pepper.

I could live with that.

What kills this place for me is the SAUCES.

Maybe these Turkish sauces are designed for fast food Euro tastes, but because of the sauces sadly I will rarely go back to Berlin Doner. If I had liked the sauces, I'd be a regular.

What about the sauces?

OK the hot/spicy was indeed red colored but it tasted to me like mostly mayo and I didn't taste any chili at all. The main "spice" was SUGAR. Way too sweet.

The "garlic" sauce again tasted mostly of mayo and I didn't taste any garlic at all. Again. Too sweet.

What are they going for? Big Mac style American fast food gloppy sugar sauces?

Such a shame. Such good meat and the sides mostly good too (except the salad) but without good sauces, it just doesn't cut it for me, not for 249 baht.

Yes I have a spicy palate. What I was looking for was more like what I'd get at a Palestinian/Lebanese schwarma place. Garlic sauce more like concentrated garlic paste, with no sugar, tasting strongly of ... GARLIC. Same with chili sauce.

I wouldn't care if they had these sugar sauces for those who like it, but as I see little hope this place will offer the real deal sauces that I feel this food needs, it's a close but no cigar for me.

Again, many people may love the food as is including the sauces. In fact, I'm sure many do love it that way as they appear to be a thriving business.

For me. Oh well!

Cheers.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Jingthing

[Totster]

Take your own sauce..

And for info, chilli sauce at the local kebab shop in the UK blows yer <deleted> head off.. definitely not mayo based

totster

[Jingthing]

Take your own sauce..

And for info, chilli sauce at the local kebab shop in the UK blows yer <deleted> head off.. definitely not mayo based

totster

I don't need their food so badly that I would bother to produce and/or make my own sauces. Believe me, I thought about that. Anyway this place says they are from Berlin. Are the sauces like that in Berlin? In any case, they don't have my business, I'm sad to say. But again I do think they are doing a lot of things right. For me their sauces are a deal breaker. I don't think they would be for most people as I have noticed that pure fat mixed with sugar is quite a popular food. Edited July 28, 2012 by Jingthing

[DrTuner]

I'm not sure about Berlin, but in Stuttgart and Munich the kebabs are generally turkey slices and if you ask for "Scharf", you'll get smoke out of your ears. Places are usually run by Turkish owners. So no, in my experience they don't have overly sweet sauces. The chef has probably adjusted for Thai tastes, which means a ton of sugar. A shame, really.

[Jingthing]

Interesting. Well, I don't have anything against mayo per se (do have something against too much sugar though outside of dessert dishes) when it fits. To me, mayo doesn't fit on pizza or Turkish meat dishes. It does fit on lobster rolls and tuna salad. Oh well...

If someone happens to know the owner you might want to let them know if they start to offer strong non-fatty garlic and chili sauce choices (that actually taste like what they are called) it might be good for some positive free publicity for expats here! I doubt they would bother. My feeling is that sauces they are using were done that way intentionally. I don't think it's only for Thais. Pure fat plus sugar has international fast food appeal. Also Russians specifically really love mayo. Plus of course it's cheap to provide.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Jingthing

[Jayman]

The Egyptian spot on 2nd road just north of south pattaya road has great sauces. His tahini is really good as is his home made spicy sauce. Not at all sweet but much more sour and spicy. I stay away from the mayo and ketcup but he has those as well for whomever wants them. The place I'm talking about is not the one on the corner but not a dozen stores up from that. He has an a/c shop and does the meat outside.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Jayman

[Jingthing]

The Egyptian spot on 2nd road just north of south pattaya road has great sauces. His tahini is really good as is his home made spicy sauce. Not at all sweet but much more sour and spicy. I stay away from the mayo and ketcup but he has those as well for whomever wants them. The place I'm talking about is not the one on the corner but not a dozen stores up from that. He has an a/c shop and does the meat outside.

Yes I know the place but the meat there doesn't compare with Berlin Doner. I will try for some other items as you recommended. BTW, I did remember a place in Europe that had Turkish style meats with the same style of fat-sugar sauces as at Berlin Doner. It was in Budapest. I hated it there as well.

One other nit detail. When I got the sauces at Berlin Doner the portions were very skimpy. That annoyed me until I tasted the sauces and realized I wouldn't be needing more of that stuff. That said, I'm pretty clear they probably would refill the sauces for you if you wanted (on a big plate anyway).

Edited July 28, 2012 by Jingthing