Indian Buffet

[Darrel]

Dont know if it has already been mentioned somewhere but I found an Indian buffet near the corner of the Soi 3 extension of Soi Yensabai and 3rd Rd, very close to the no-name Thai BBQ buffet. It's called Garam Masala.

It's very similar to Spices II but better quality, I think. 200B, about 10 dishes of various types, mostly vegetarian with one chicken dish, poppadums, chapatis, hot Indian pickle (yum!), salad, raita. The usual stuff. Free water!

I liked all the dishes except for the daal which was very watery. The non-veg chicken dish actually had quite large lumps of chicken in, rather than bones.

The room is normal restaurant size, not a football pitch like Spices II. Obviously caters mostly to Indian tour groups, but apparently varies the buffet menu according to whether the tour groups are north or south Indian, which presumably makes it more interesting if pot-luck

Doesnt start till 8pm which seems absurd to me, but probably has something to do with the tour groups.

No sign outside and no indication of the price of the buffet inside. In fact no indication of any prices anywhere that I saw, even on the menu.

[Jingthing]

I've been around there at the buffet time and was told the buffet isn't on every night (and it hasn't ever been on when I've gone by. Not sure if that has changed, but you've been warned. It would be a drag to take a special trip there for nothing.

[Darrel]

Indeed.

I was talking to the owner this evening and he said they have a bus in tomorrow, and there were two lots there this evening each with its own room.

So a bit pot-luck admittedly, but what isnt in Thailand? I was glad I went.

The Thai buffet place just over the road is always open if the Indian isnt functioning.

[Jingthing]

Indeed.

I was talking to the owner this evening and he said they have a bus in tomorrow, and there were two lots there this evening each with its own room.

So a bit pot-luck admittedly, but what isnt in Thailand? I was glad I went.

The Thai buffet place just over the road is always open if the Indian isnt functioning.

The Indian buffet at the Beverly Plaza Hotel isn't pot luck. It's on EVERY NIGHT starting at 7:30, rain, shine, Indians or no Indians.

[Darrel]

Yes, I'll have to try that one also one day.

So many places, so little time.

[hotandhumid]

Indeed.

I was talking to the owner this evening and he said they have a bus in tomorrow, and there were two lots there this evening each with its own room.

So a bit pot-luck admittedly, but what isnt in Thailand? I was glad I went.

The Thai buffet place just over the road is always open if the Indian isnt functioning.

The Indian buffet at the Beverly Plaza Hotel isn't pot luck. It's on EVERY NIGHT starting at 7:30, rain, shine, Indians or no Indians.

Hey Jin,

Where is this joint then? Not everyone knows Pattaya like the back of their hand?

[Jingthing]

http://www.hotelbeverlyplazapattaya.com/location.html

[hotandhumid]

http://www.hotelbeve...m/location.html

I've got ya. Not easy to park around there and I don't do baht buses.

[Darrel]

Not easy to park around there and I don't do baht buses.

You may be missing out on many of the best places to eat.

I would have thought that bahtbus travel is essential inside 3rd Rd. The traffic/parking is just too awful to think of using a car there most evenings.

[Michaelaway]

http://www.hotelbeve...m/location.html

I've got ya. Not easy to park around there and I don't do baht buses.

They have a car park.

[Phil Conners]

I found an Indian buffet near the corner of the Soi 3 extension of Soi Yensabai and 3rd Rd, very close to the no-name Thai BBQ buffet. It's called Garam Masala.

I'd be interesting in checking it out, but I'm not really clear on the location from your description. Does this location look right?

[Darrel]

That looks right. Street names around there are a bit odd. The place is actually about 25 yards into the little Soi off 3rd Rd, so about half an inch above your pointer, on the Pattaya side. The Soi has a 7/11 on one corner with 3rd Rd and a Family Mart on the other, and the restaurant sign is visible from 3rd Rd.

I wasnt ill the morning after my meal, so that must be a good thing.

[Jingthing]

Any clue on how we are supposed to know when their buffet is on?

[Darrel]

[Phil Conners]

That looks right. Street names around there are a bit odd. The place is actually about 25 yards into the little Soi off 3rd Rd, so about half an inch above your pointer, on the Pattaya side. The Soi has a 7/11 on one corner with 3rd Rd and a Family Mart on the other, and the restaurant sign is visible from 3rd Rd.

I wasnt ill the morning after my meal, so that must be a good thing.

Ok, something like this?

[Darrel]

Ok, something like this?

?

I think I'm missing something here.

[Phil Conners]

Same link as before.

[Lost in LOS]

its across the street from Bangkok Bank. Only ate there once, a year or two ago. not a lots of options but the ones that were there were good

I found an Indian buffet near the corner of the Soi 3 extension of Soi Yensabai and 3rd Rd, very close to the no-name Thai BBQ buffet. It's called Garam Masala.

I'd be interesting in checking it out, but I'm not really clear on the location from your description. Does this location look right?

[kevkev1888]

Well I was in the Beverly Plaza Hotel last night, first time for a long time due to a diet.

It was as good as ever, in fact the Chicken dish was great, off the bone now, big tender chunks in a lovely rich sauce.

Price up to 220Baht now but no complaints from me, great value IMO.

Now an occasional Indian buffet is back on the menu for me, I will give this Garam Masala a try next time.

Edited May 8, 2012 by kevkev1888

[Darrel]

Same link as before.

I'm too literal.

That new marker should be within a few meters of the front door.

[Darrel]

its across the street from Bangkok Bank.

I didn't notice a bank. That doesn't mean it wasn't there though!

[Jingthing]

its across the street from Bangkok Bank.

I didn't notice a bank. That doesn't mean it wasn't there though!

Me either. Doesn't sound right to me.

[Darrel]

Well I was in the Beverly Plaza Hotel last night, first time for a long time due to a diet.

It was as good as ever, in fact the Chicken dish was great, off the bone now, big tender chunks in a lovely rich sauce.

Price up to 220Baht now but no complaints from me, great value IMO.

I'll have to try that one next. Does it have poppadums and hot pickle?

[Jingthing]

Well I was in the Beverly Plaza Hotel last night, first time for a long time due to a diet.

It was as good as ever, in fact the Chicken dish was great, off the bone now, big tender chunks in a lovely rich sauce.

Price up to 220Baht now but no complaints from me, great value IMO.

I'll have to try that one next. Does it have poppadums and hot pickle?

There are always pickles. Poppadum chip thingies sometimes. Nan pretty much always though once they only had chapatis for some reason. The one meat curry is chicken except occasionally fish. Edited May 8, 2012 by Jingthing

[Lost in LOS]

well, I went in last night. I was going somewhere else for a salad, was walking by, and thought I would give it a go. It used to be in the patio but now in its own restaurant. 220 baht.

I glanced in and saw lots of trays of food so I thought, great, will eat some chicken and a vegetable dish. There were some Indians eating there but almost empty in a huge room in an Indian hotel. I should have figured it out.

I went to the chicken tray, it looked like Chicken Tika in Marsala Sauce. No such luck. The chicken was on the bone in lots of sauce

I went to look for some vegetables but only saw potatoes so I had a few of those

there were about 4 other trays, but only full of sauce?, I used the spoon and saw there was nothing in there, it was only colored water. Not sure what that was supposed to be.

There were two full trays of rice but it looked like it was only white rice so I passed.

I sat down to eat and the potatoes were good. The chicken was okay but almost all bone, really hard to pick though. The sauce was tasteless with some spice in it.

Luckily for me I didn't want to eat much and didn't, not necessarily by choice

While I sat eating I noticed several new Indian customers come in. They did the same as me and checked what was in the sauce. The shook their heads when they saw it was only liquid, [mumbling something to each other], in the majority of the trays. they passed on it as I did

The only table that was occupied when I came in had 6 Indians on it [all eating the meal with their hands, ugh] As I sat eating [sort of] I tried to see what they got. It was the same as me, chicken, potatoes, bread and rice. There was nothing else to eat.

I can see why this restaurant was empty, in a hotel full of Indians, they all were to smart to eat there even though it was cheap. I imagine the people in there were first timers like me

This might have been the worst buffet I have ever been to. If they gave me a free coupon to go again it would hit the circular file.

I would much rather go to the Indian on Soi Arab, 5 minutes from there, where there is good food and good prices. For 300 baht I could have had a great meal. Live and learn

[ricklev]

I didn't think much of the buffet at Beverly Plaza either. I'm surprised so many like it. For me, the food was mediocre at best and the setting wretched.

[Darrel]

I didn't think much of the buffet at Beverly Plaza either. I'm surprised so many like it.

The thing about Indian food in Pattaya is that it's all way overpriced, with no exceptions at all. So everyone's looking for the best of a very bad lot if they fancy an Indian meal.

Just compare one of these 200-250B Indian buffets with Casa Pascal's breakfast, the conveyor-belt place in Central Festival, the myriad Thai open-air BBQ places, or even the Apex dinner buffet for that matter (not that I go there). All of them offer vastly superior ingredients and much better value for money.

If these Indian buffets were in Singapore or Malaysia they would be 10 times better for the same price. Someone should do a proper one here; he would clean up.

[Jingthing]

I've been saying for years there is a big market here for a better quality Indian buffet in the 350 baht range. No, its never going to happen here at 200 baht. Apparently, no restaurant owner agrees. Oh well.

[Darrel]

You can get a perfectly decent Indian vegetarian buffet in central London for about 300B. If they can do it there then surely it must be possible to do it here. Indeed here I see no reason at all (apart for greed and a lack of imagination) why it couldnt be done for 200B.

The problem here is that the proprietors of Indian restaurants are prepared to sit around all day in an empty place and rely on just a handful of customers to finance the entire business. Dont take my word for it, just look in the windows; you see the empty seats day after day.

I bet the lady that does my 35B pork rice in Jomtien market makes far more profit every day than most Indian restaurants do, because she never stops serving from morning to night.

[Jingthing]

Look, I used to pay about 300 baht for Indian buffets in California that would cost 700 baht in Bangkok. Some thing we simply cannot change. What we are getting now at the 200 baht level isn't going to magically going to get much better here ... EVER.