The Hit And Run Restaurant "review" Thread

[mogandave]

'34 Chowringhee Lane' on Pattaya Glang, near Fascino, advertising Indian Burritos for 50 baht a pop.

Any Indian Chinese food joints in Patt?

[Jingthing]

On ‎2‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 9:04 AM, mogandave said:

 

Any Indian Chinese food joints in Patt?

 

Tons.

I estimate at least half of the Indian restaurants in Pattaya have Indian Chinese "fusion" dishes. I don't think there is a place that only does that though. If you're asking which Indian place in town does the best Indian Chinese food, I don't have a clue as when I have those dishes they are usually adequate enough and that's it. Anyway, just start visiting some of the perhaps hundreds of Indian restaurants here and look at the menus. You'll find that food very easily. 

Edited February 19, 2019 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Hit and Run.

Why Hit and Run?

It's not about car accidents.

Obviously I created a whimsical alternative meaning of Hit and Run that is not a crime against humanity.

The idea (detailed in the O.P.) is that detailed, traditionally formal, comprehensive restaurant reviews are not required here. Indeed, any potentially useful information (and/or opinion) related to the restaurant scene here is welcome on this thread.

From a one line snippet all the way for a formal review worthy of the New York Times.

Clearly a quick and dirty one line snippet fits better with the Hit and Run theme more than a formal review.

 

Cheers.

Edited February 19, 2019 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Top of the hill Tappraya Road (plus) Disappointments Snippets

 

The new "Chinese" restaurant across from the Nirvana Condos (formerly home of sadly defunct Mati Hari) turns out not to really be a Chinese restaurant. Looking at the signs from the street it certainly looks like a Chinese restaurant. Walking in there to look at the menu the owners certainly look like they are running a Chinese restaurant. But looking at the menu (and I confirmed there isn't a "secret" second actual Chinese food menu) you will see that over 90 percent of the dishes are Thai food and the remainder are more like typical Chinese Thai dishes you can easily find at many other Thai restaurants. Prices moderate but I really wish people opening such restaurants that clearly LOOK to be Chinese restaurants would put something on their signs in English making it clear that they are not. 

 

The Korean BBQ restaurant in the large Axis Condo building is, as I suspected, a TOUR GROUP only restaurant. The misleading menu pictures on the front don't represent an actual menu. I was told if you show up when they are serving tour groups they might serve regular customers a choice of two sets also served to the groups. I didn't ask for details or prices because I'm totally not interested. There are more than enough decent Korean restaurants in town that serve regular customers, although not in Jomtien. 

 

Mr. Pho

(further down the hill towards Pattaya)

This newish restaurant which is quite good is still limited to a very small menu of about four or five choices. My understanding is that a more robust menu will happen sometime in future. 

 

Edited February 19, 2019 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Futai Noodle House

T21 Mall

San Francisco Floor

2nd road view side

 

Previously recently mentioned so this is an add on. 

I've tried more of their menu items. 

The Taiwan beef noodle soup, the curry seafood noodle soup, fried tofu with kimchi. and fried oysters.

 

I've never been to Taiwan but the noodles they use in their beef noodle soup are flat and wide wheat noodles which I've seen pictured as being authentic for that dish. The beef itself was pretty good, but not as lovely as in the menu pictures. I like that dish there though and I think combined with their Taiwan style fried chicken would make a really good meal if you're hungry.

 

The curry noodle soup with seafood featured more typical thinner wheat noodles similar to ramen noodles, in a weak curry broth, but a generous portion of mixed seafood and fish. Pretty good. I got that soup on a later visit than the beef noodle soup and I sure hope they haven't switched noodles for all their soups, as I really liked to flat wide noodles in the beef soup. 

 

The fried oysters were OK but I really ordered that because they said they were out of the fried tofu. Later had the fried tofu and that was a wonderful dish. Large chunks of soft tofu artfully fried with a batter served a side of kimchi. 

[Jingthing]

 

Quote

 

Yoshinoya

Japanese fast food beef bowl, etc. international chain

New menu item -- MALA (Chinese spicy Sichuan flavor) beef and pork dons, about 150

I plan to try soon.

 

Snippet above from before.

Terminal 21 Mall. 

Well I tried it and I did not like it. 

Basically it was a small portion of their typical beef over rice done with a chili paste. It was NOT mala. Mala is Chinese that means a balance of hot spicy pepper and also numbing Sichuan peppers (that aren't actually peppers). No Sichuan pepper flavor whatsoever. It wasn't at all surprised as the offer is targeted to Thai people that have their own BBQ "Mala" meat stick trend that uses a Thai made "Mala" spice paste that alas, has no Sichuan pepper flavor whatsoever. (Sad.) 

Edited February 19, 2019 by Jingthing

[Yellowtail]

Never had anything at Yoshinoya I thought much of, here or in the states.

 

Pepper Lunch is better (IMO) if you want a beef-bowl kind of thing..

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

Never had anything at Yoshinoya I thought much of, here or in the states.

 

Pepper Lunch is better (IMO) if you want a beef-bowl kind of thing..

It's really not the same concept at all. Pepper lunch is about those hot cooking plates at the table (it's a DIY teppan restaurant). 

 

Yoshinoya is a Gyudon restaurant as is their direct competition Sukiya   (at the Marina Mall). Both of them (I assume) represent the two biggest Gyodon chains in the world.

 

Pepper lunch is NOT a Gyodon restaurant.

 

BTW, I rather like Sukiya particularly their beef bowl with leeks and soft egg. Yoshinoya is likely fine as well for Gyodon. My only comment was that their Mala beef bowl special promotion is a fail in my opinion. 

Edited February 19, 2019 by Jingthing

[Yellowtail]

8 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

It's really not the same concept at all. Pepper lunch is about those hot plates at the table. Yoshinoya and their direct competition (at the Marina Mall) is not that. 

I guess. One pretending to be Japanese the other pretending to be what, Korean?

 

Both chopped up meat (or other crap) on rice (or other crap).

 

One in a bowl, the other on a hot skillet type plate.

 

All I'm saying is that for about the same money (I think) Pepper Lunch is better. 

[Jingthing]

They are all Japanese restaurants. Two feature Gyodon and one DIY teppan. 

[AlexCanada]

Yoshinoya in Thailand is not good.  I do like the ones in Jakarta though.  Sukiya is much better than Yoshinoya in Thailand not to mention much cheaper too.  I recall seeing a Sukiya in Dotonbori on my recent trip to Japan but never saw a Yoshinoya in Tokyo, Osaka, or Kyoto.  Neither is even close to some of the big Japanese gyudon chains in Japan but unfortunately I don't live in Japan.

 

I've tried Pepper Lunch in Singapore and DMK.  Didn't enjoy it either time and I like DIY teppanayaki in some restaurants in Canada.

Edited February 19, 2019 by AlexCanada

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, AlexCanada said:

Yoshinoya in Thailand is not good.  I do like the ones in Jakarta though.  Sukiya is much better than Yoshinoya in Thailand not to mention much cheaper too.  I recall seeing a Sukiya in Dotonbori on my recent trip to Japan but never saw a Yoshinoya in Tokyo, Osaka, or Kyoto.  Neither is even close to some of the big Japanese gyudon chains in Japan but unfortunately I don't live in Japan.

 

I've tried Pepper Lunch in Singapore and DMK.  Didn't enjoy it either time and I like DIY teppanayaki in some restaurants in Canada.

Thanks for that. I was planning on sticking to Sukiya anyway. I haven't even tried Pepper Lunch because their concept freaks me out and I don't even much like teppanyaki places where they cook it for you. 

[TaaSaparot]

On 2/17/2019 at 1:41 AM, TaaSaparot said:

'34 Chowringhee Lane' on Pattaya Glang, near Fascino, advertising Indian Burritos for 50 baht a pop.

Indian Chain with 35+ branches in India.

[opporna]

2 hours ago, TaaSaparot said:

Indian Chain with 35+ branches in India.

I noticed it walking yesterday and gave the guy some tips on how to advertise on Facebook. I'm going to try it today and I'll report back (came here to see if it had been posted already). Looks very promising.

[pegman]

The best place in town for BBQ smoked ribs, in my opinion, is changing hands. RichManPoorMan at Jomtien Beach Rd & Soi9 will likely not be the same as a result. You have to March 9th to get your last fill there.

[opporna]

On 2/17/2019 at 8:41 AM, TaaSaparot said:

'34 Chowringhee Lane' on Pattaya Glang, near Fascino, advertising Indian Burritos for 50 baht a pop.

So as promised I went in and tried this place today. I had the butter chicken wrap for 120 baht with 10 baht extra for egg. Disclaimer: The owner was happy that I gave him tips on how to advertise on Facebook and said he'd make sure my wrap was good.

 

The short verdict--absolutely lovely food. The wrap itself was flaky and delicious. The filling was just wonderful. I can't imagine it being any better. I will go back. It came with a few sauces of which only the green one sang for me, but it really was wonderful food and I'm very happy to have experienced it.

 

The only negative I can think of is for the price it's not huge. It's not small, enough for a small meal, but it's say 1/3 the size of a California burrito. So it's not expensive but not cheap. I'll have to go back and try the 50 baht one.

 

This is my favorite new place since the Banh Mi (sp?) place on Kao Talo. I helped him add his location to Google Maps--basically opposite Soi Buakow on Central Road up just a bit towards 3rd Road.

 

Here it is on Google Maps: https://bit.ly/2Itj7SC

 

Edited February 20, 2019 by opporna

[Yellowtail]

The green sauce is cilantro, yes?

 

So had you not helped with Facebook he might not have made sure your wrap was good?

 

[TaaSaparot]

8 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

The green sauce is cilantro, yes?

 

Described on their menu as Mint Mayonnaise 

[TaaSaparot]

http://www.34chowringheelane.com/

 

Interested to see if it is actually biryani they are serving.

[Yellowtail]

1 hour ago, TaaSaparot said:

http://www.34chowringheelane.com/

 

Interested to see if it is actually biryani they are serving.

 

I would like to see a Haldiram's restaurant & snack shop...

 

http://www.haldiramfoods.com/ 

[Jingthing]

http://www.34chowringheelane.com/

 

Interested to see if it is actually biryani they are serving.

There is no biryani on the Pattaya menu.

Not talking about websites.

I mean the actual menu at the actual restaurant.

Go for the rolls.

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

[opporna]

20 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

The green sauce is cilantro, yes?

 

So had you not helped with Facebook he might not have made sure your wrap was good?

 

I'm not sure what the green sauce is, but I'd like to know. Seems like it has some yoghurt in it? Not sure. It's quite sour and spicy--lovely to me. My other favorite Indian place Aroma/Colors has it too.

 

I have no idea if he made the wrap better for me. I just mentioned what he said in the interest of full disclosure. I'm guessing the one I got is just what they serve--it really was nice. The actual 'tortilla' was amazing, flaky like a pastry. I would love a Mexican burrito with a wrapper like that. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it again.

[Jingthing]

Served in most Indian restaurants.

Typical recipe here:

https://vegecravings.com/mint-chutney-recipe/

[mogandave]

I’m going to be in Pattaya for the weekend.

How’s the Friday seafood and Monday TexMex buffets at the Hilton?

[marinediscoking]

16 hours ago, opporna said:

I'm not sure what the green sauce is, but I'd like to know. Seems like it has some yoghurt in it? Not sure. It's quite sour and spicy--lovely to me. My other favorite Indian place Aroma/Colors has it too.

 

I have no idea if he made the wrap better for me. I just mentioned what he said in the interest of full disclosure. I'm guessing the one I got is just what they serve--it really was nice. The actual 'tortilla' was amazing, flaky like a pastry. I would love a Mexican burrito with a wrapper like that. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it again.

The bread was paratha bread so I would not compare it to any corn or flour tortilla. It is a little flaky but has a similar taste to a butter naan to me. I have also tried their butter chicken wrap and it was VERY good, however I did not care for the orange tandori souce that was in it, the curry was good enough on it own I thought.  They also gave me a discount as it was listed at 120 but they charged me 80 plus water 15b. I find it funny how they word it as an indian burrito here but that does paint a picture to the non-indian market, as they call them Kathi rolls in india. I will be going regularly. 

[mogandave]

Tried the Pattaya Seafood lunch buffet at the Hilton’s “Edge” restaurant.

฿650 including service and vat.

Great service, friendly staff, good value.

Calling it a “seafood lunch” is something of stretch, but they did have a pretty wide variety of food. Grilled and steamed shrimp and crab was good, okay sushi counter, nice salad & fruit bar, nice bread bar, okay pizzas, several good pasta dishes including a great spinach lasagna. Good roast chicken and the the best ham I can remember having in Thailand.

It would have been a decent value had it stopped there, but the highlight was the dessert bar. Nice variety and quality, including several surprisingly good flavors of ice cream, including a great semi-tart mango and and interesting sweet-potato.

The latte I had was disappointing, but overall a great meal.

Nice weather on the terrace with a great view. Total for three all-in was ฿2,140

Hope to try the TexMex Monday...

[Jingthing]

Abunawas Indian and Arabic restaurant

Soi "Arab" South Pattaya

I've tried a number of places on Soi "Arab" over the years, but this was the first time at Abunawas.

I was inspired to try it by this youtube video.

 

 

(An odd thing about the video is that they got a keema dish served with potatoes though that doesn't exist on the menu which is with peas instead.)

 

Anyway, I was in the mood for Arabic food rather than Indian so I ordered hummus (100), roti bread (30), and Maqloba Chicken (200). 

 

The hummus was rather a small portion bordered with thin sliced tomatoes and topped with a rich dollop of something I can't identify. I would normally expect tahini or olive oil but it wasn't that. The Arabic word for it is on the menu but I forgot the word and didn't look it up when I was there. Anyway, the quality and flavor were good.

 

The Indian bread was very large and very excellent. Note typical Arabic bread was not included with the hummus and there isn't even Arabic bread or pita on the menu, but I enjoyed the Indian bread with it very much. 

 

It was my first experience specifically with an Arabic Maqloba dish anywhere. It seemed to fit this wiki description closely enough, with a large portion of rice and chicken that had vegetables in it, sliced potatoes and eggplant. There were also some welcome whole spices in the dish, namely cardamom.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maqluba

 

Unlike the video I wasn't offered any free popadums but there was a very good and spicy green chutney and some raw vegetables.

 

The spicy chutney was appreciated because the rice dish was more bland than I usually like but I assume authentic. 

 

Overall I was very happy with the meal and would return to try other dishes, Arabic and Indian. The prices for the Indian dishes looked a tad high but as this place seems to be into larger portions perhaps that compensates.

 

I will add that many long term locals seem to like Layla Indian and Arabic restaurant on the same soi closer to walking street specifically for Indian food. I haven't tried the Indian food there though as I order their Egyptian lamb soup with bread in it (Fatta) when I'm there. 

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293919-d4471842-Reviews-Layla-Pattaya_Chonburi_Province.html

 

 

Edited February 24, 2019 by Jingthing

[hackjam]

100B for rice, a tad expensive??

[mogandave]

Had lunch at Robin Hood with the wife and boy today. I had a minced beef pie, my wife had bbq wings and the boy had the Hunter Chicken. We shared an order of potato skins.

The beef pie has a nice thick flaky crust on the top and a thinner crust on sides and bottom. The minced beef filling was tasty, albeit on the stingy side. It was served with steak fries and a large helping of gravy on the side. All in all, the was a tasty and substantial lunch and reasonably priced at ฿200.

The “Hunter Chicken” was a fried, double breast of chicken, topped with cheese and bacon, on a huge bed of shoestring fries. Also came with coleslaw, which was good, but was sweeter and had more dressing than I usually like. This was very good, and very substantial. My 6’2” 15 year old hungry boy barely got threw it, and my wife had a nice piece of it as well.

BBQ wings were pretty average, as were the potato skins. Both were good, but nothing special.

We all had water and the boy had a nice watermelon smoothie.

Staff was friendly and competent.

Total for three was ฿833 and free parking with validation.

[mogandave]

Tried the Tex-Mex lunch buffet (฿580 net) at the Hilton this afternoon, and my review is almost identical to the seafood lunch review the other day, in that the Tex-Mex portion was disappointing, but everything else was great. Fish and ground-beef soft tacos were pretty good, as was the pepper corn salad and the chorizo, bean and cheese “wet burritos”. The guacamole was plentiful and something of a highlight. Variety of fresh salsa, none were very good. A few varieties of “salmon ceviche” that were interesting, but salmon being a cold water fish is not caught in either Mexico or Texas, so not sure what that was about. Ceviche is usually made from trigger fish which are junk-fish.

 

Good salad bar, good bread, great roast chicken and Ham and several pasta and Thai dishes that looked good but that I didn’t try.

 

Again, the dessert bar was outstanding, with the standouts being a blueberry cheesecake that could actually be classified as NY style, and Thai-Tea ice cream. The variety on the desert bar changed significantly from the other day.

 

Total for three was ฿1,880 out the door.

 

Sure was a lot of those Chinese that don’t spend any money having lunch there...