The Hit And Run Restaurant "review" Thread

[DrTuner]

Lee's Diner, Soi Diana, https://goo.gl/maps/fUPLbeLTGZgHJ9uC8

 

Happened to be in the area yesterday and a bit hungry so went in for  a bite. It's a 24h elongated hole in the wall type of thing, cleaner than most. Looked and tasted like competition to Kiss. Had the wiener schnitzel for 230 I think and wife had pad thai for 120. Both average. It's a place to get quick sustenance, nothing remarkable.

[topt]

22 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

pad thai for 120. Both average

Thanks for that as at that price and quality I shall make sure to avoid it 

[bkk6060]

Checked out Jim's Burgers new location recently on 3rd road.  Lunch time I was the only customer. I ordered a burger, fries ( 79 b) and a cola.

Sorry, it was terrible.  Tastless meat they pile on cheese, sauce, onion ring to give it some flavor.

At almost 400b, extremely disappointed will never return would rather go to  Carl's or BK.

 

 

[DannyCarlton]

On 1/4/2020 at 12:16 AM, hackjam said:

Yesterdays F & C Friday treat took be to Simons in Jomtien, been on the go for many years.

Had what was described on menu as regular Icelandic cod. It was a good meal, think price was 285B. Must say, portion of fish was small.

There's a ladyboy, been there for years, who was server but now seems to do cooking. The new lady server is so loud mouthed. Next time I will scope the place first and if she is working, will pass.

Is that Simple Simon's on Soi 5? Used to be the best full English in Pattaya. English owner sold up to an old Indian guy a while back. Now the worst breakfast in Pattaya. Rest of the food dire too. Salad with fish, chips and mushy peas? Clueless.

 

Used to go in there regularly, never seen a ladyboy in there. Maybe it's the new owner's "girlfriend".

[DrTuner]

18 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Checked out Jim's Burgers new location recently on 3rd road.  Lunch time I was the only customer. I ordered a burger, fries ( 79 b) and a cola.

Sorry, it was terrible.  Tastless meat they pile on cheese, sauce, onion ring to give it some flavor.

At almost 400b, extremely disappointed will never return would rather go to  Carl's or BK.

Which burger was it? I always order the M-16 and never been disappointed.

[TaaSaparot]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

Checked out Jim's Burgers new location recently on 3rd road.

That location is terrible.

 

It just gets lost among the Pet Food shops (yes we know!!) and the darkened windows do not help either.

 

Must be doing a fraction of the business that it was doing in its old location.

 

[hackjam]

1 hour ago, DannyCarlton said:

Is that Simple Simon's on Soi 5? Used to be the best full English in Pattaya. English owner sold up to an old Indian guy a while back. Now the worst breakfast in Pattaya. Rest of the food dire too. Salad with fish, chips and mushy peas? Clueless.

 

Used to go in there regularly, never seen a ladyboy in there. Maybe it's the new owner's "girlfriend".

No, its Simons, next to Robin Hood, opposite Nathan's.

[DrTuner]

35 minutes ago, TaaSaparot said:

That location is terrible.

 

It just gets lost among the Pet Food shops (yes we know!!) and the darkened windows do not help either.

 

Must be doing a fraction of the business that it was doing in its old location.

 

Access from dark side and parking is better. Still not good though. They should try a sukhumvit location.

[Jingthing]

LoIA tale of two Chinese style sweet and sour porks

 

As most probably know Thai style sweet and sour dishes are different than Chinese style. 

 

I much prefer Chinese style. 

 

Sweet and sour pork is one of the more rare westernized popular "Chinese" dishes that is actually a real Chinese dish that is pretty much the same east and west.

 

Sweet and sour pork reminds me of western diners that go into authentic Chinese restaurants and go for the westernized menu items such pu pu platter, General tso chicken, lemon chicken, and yes sweet and sour pork. 

 

So anyway I haven't ordered Chinese sweet and sour pork for over a decade but not only because of my feeling about westernized Chinese food but also because its high calorie in sugar and fat. 

 

So for me its definitely unusual that I would try sweet and sour pork two times over the course of a week. 

 

Thus this post. 

 

The first time was at the new high end food court at Central pattaya Beach mall. The Chinese stall was super busy. The dish served at 120 had the proper flavor in the sauce and the expected ingredients of onions, bell peppers, and fresh pineapple. However the pork pieces were much less than ideal. First of all they tasted as if they had been prepared in advance and just finished in the wok. But that process  resulted in the big problem. They were still cool. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt that perhaps this fault was related to them being very busy. 

 

 

So I was now primed for a better version of sweet and sour pork! 

 

Which gladly I did find at Lv Yuan on Tappraya Road Jomtien in the old Brunos location. 

 

Their dish at 200 and well worth it also featured the classic flavor and ingredients. But in this case artfully presented and the pork pieces were exceptional. They were actually shaped like little Italian Gnocchi pillows. Correct temperature too. Highly recommended. 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Jingthing

[TaaSaparot]

5 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Access from dark side and parking is better. Still not good though. They should try a sukhumvit location.

Or the Darkside ????

 

[TaaSaparot]

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

As most probably know Thai style sweet and sour dishes are different than Chinese style. 

Maybe because there is no Thai Sweet and Sour dish ?

[Jingthing]

  

6 minutes ago, TaaSaparot said:

 

 

Maybe because there is no Thai Sweet and Sour dish ?

Sure there are. They are VERY common. OK, you could call them Thai Chinese in origin (as is much of Thai food) but they're commonly found at Thai restaurants in Thailand. 

 

I don't understand how anyone that's lived in Thailand couldn't know this already.

 

Note some differences. The protein not coated and deep fried. Use of fish sauce.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Jingthing

[TaaSaparot]

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

 Sure there are. They are VERY common. OK, you could call them Thai Chinese in origin (as is much of Thai food) but they're commonly found at Thai restaurants in Thailand. 

The only one I would call common is Moo Wan.

 

Is it common to see Thais ordering this dish?

 

No, its one of those dishes on Thai Menus to suit a Farang palate who then compare it to Sweet & Sour.

[DannyCarlton]

11 hours ago, TaaSaparot said:

Maybe because there is no Thai Sweet and Sour dish ?

Pad preyaw wan. Contains pineapple and sweet peppers.

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, TaaSaparot said:

The only one I would call common is Moo Wan.

 

Is it common to see Thais ordering this dish?

 

No, its one of those dishes on Thai Menus to suit a Farang palate who then compare it to Sweet & Sour.

Now you've moved from there is no such thing as Thai style sweet and sour dishes (there definitely are) to they're not very popular among Thai people. The latter is definitely true when compared to dishes like pad krapow, etc. 

 

Oh well! 

[TaaSaparot]

7 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Now you've moved from there is no such thing as Thai style sweet and sour dishes (there definitely are) to they're not very popular among Thai people.  

Well, it was not supposed to read like that.

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, TaaSaparot said:

Well, it was not supposed to read like that.

OK.

Let's move on.

If people want what is in my opinion very good Chinese sweet and sour pork try Lv Yuan at the old Bruno's Jomtien.

But there are even better dishes there such as the flattened grilled fish in sauce. 

[hackjam]

Passing by this Ex Bruno's place, noticed a tall Chinese guy laying tables one afternoon, with a cigarette in his mouth. 

[Jingthing]

10 hours ago, hackjam said:

Passing by this Ex Bruno's place, noticed a tall Chinese guy laying tables one afternoon, with a cigarette in his mouth. 

Not familiar with the term laying tables.

That is not a restaurant with outdoor seating.

Chinese men in particular like to smoke a lot including in restaurants.

Recently I was even offered Chinese cigarettes (super thin) at another local Chinese restaurant.

In my experience it can ruin a meal.

Anyway, I haven't personally experienced problems with people smoking up the place at Lv Yuan (Bruno's building) but I'm really  not aware of their smoking policy if any so I guess it could happen. If you get smoked out there please post about it.

I did have the experience of a child banging out noise on their fancy piano that was so headache inducing that I had to move tables though. 

There is a funky Chinese place in South Pattaya called something like Grandmother's Kitchen that pretty much all the time gets smoked up with no ventilation including from the owners. So I stopped going there.

[Jingthing]

Raj India

South Pattaya Road between beach and 2nd

Via GRAB delivery

Hello Dal-i, give me more of that Dal!

 

I am getting some really decent food lately from this restaurant. I never went in there as I don't find the place appealing but decided to try some of their dishes when they showed up on Grab. Their prices are typical for the Pattaya market (in other words kind of high) but especially as there is almost always a discount promotion on Grab and considering the quality and portions, seems a pretty good deal to me.

 

Tandoori chicken (one size offered) 250

This was a generous portion and good flavor. 4 pieces of chicken of different sizes. This was above average for Pattaya tandoori chicken and considering its the kind of dish that gets degraded on delivery, that's saying something.

 

Tangri chicken, also 250

Weirdly this was only 3 pieces of small leg done lollypop style. So portion too small but flavor good. I'd say skip it and go for the tandoori chicken.

 

Dal Tadka (yellow) 140

One of the best dal tadkas I've ever had in Pattaya!

 

Dal Biryani 170

Like a rice dal thick soup, OK, I expected a dry dish so now I know

 

Dal Maharani 170

Getting different info on whether this is the same dish as the much more common on menus Dal Makhani but I think it's a little different. Excellent and not creamy (but you might like creamy)

 

Aloo Jeera Baanarasi (potato curry) 190 (OK)

 

Plain naan 40 (OK)

 

I haven't yet tried any meat curries or regular biryanis there.

 

Overall I feel this is a winner based on their tandoori chicken and particularly their DALS alone.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Jingthing

[hackjam]

Laying tables, maybe should have said something like setting tables, i.e. preparing tables prior to serving food.

Been to Raj a few times over the years, found it to be average, run by a guy called Karman, nice guy, helpful and will knock you up a dish that is not on menu if you ask him, he did have a great place called Taj on 3rd road, near Cherry's but closed down about 10 years ago.

Recently, he set up Masala Twist opposite Rompol market in Jomtien, been 2 times and is good. 

[Jingthing]

  

1 hour ago, hackjam said:

Laying tables, maybe should have said something like setting tables, i.e. preparing tables prior to serving food.

Been to Raj a few times over the years, found it to be average, run by a guy called Karman, nice guy, helpful and will knock you up a dish that is not on menu if you ask him, he did have a great place called Taj on 3rd road, near Cherry's but closed down about 10 years ago.

Recently, he set up Masala Twist opposite Rompol market in Jomtien, been 2 times and is good. 

Now that is interesting!

 

I had been before to the defunct Taj and found it quite good as well.

 

Masala Twist has been getting many raves on a foodie site and I have tried their delivery food many times and one time in house.

 

Overall, I really like Raj's food better!

My issues with Masala Twist --

A strange emphasis on westerner clients.

Weirdly pork offered in a number of dishes

Usually 

too small portions especially on tandoori dishes

Ordered dal tadka two times, both times unacceptably SALTY but I do like their dal makhani

Curry gravies for different named gravies too similar

Breads are good and so are the somosas

I like their lamb biryani which I think is priced friendlier than the same dish at Raj which I haven't tried

 

I guess people should try both (and others) and judge based on their own criteria. I'm not going to discount the local foodie love of Masala Twist as these things are often subjective. 

 

I was looking at TripAdvisor for Raj. There aren't very many reviews but they span over the years, so obviously different situations in the kitchen. Some very negative but so far the worse experience I've had with anything from there is OK level, nothing very negative.

 

One really stood out. A person that found their dal tadka truly incredibly good (as do I). 

Edited January 8, 2020 by Jingthing

[hackjam]

Not sure if I have mentioned on here before, my favorite place for Indian food around Pattaya is Fisherman's, out by the lake. Reckon I have tried over 2 dozen places over the years, keep returning to Fisherman's.  

[DrTuner]

4 minutes ago, hackjam said:

Not sure if I have mentioned on here before, my favorite place for Indian food around Pattaya is Fisherman's, out by the lake. Reckon I have tried over 2 dozen places over the years, keep returning to Fisherman's.  

Seems TVF had a bug, what I wanted to say..

 

Is it this one?

https://goo.gl/maps/yMGhcVM3mYHKbuG97

[hackjam]

Yes

[Jingthing]

Legende

Tappraya road on the hill, old famous cheap spaghetti dive building

 

Well I went there for dessert. Not intentionally. I happened to me in the area and had eaten already.

 

They have some nice guys out front aggressively showing the people the menu and in this case I think that's a good thing as the place LOOKS quite a bit more expensive than it actually is.

 

For example duck confit for 300 baht is reasonable especially as they don't have plus plus.

 

So anyway I went for the rhum baba which at 230 plus coffee I felt I had to order is definitely not a cheap dessert. The reason for the prices is they serve a glass of rum with the dessert which you can sip or pour over as you like. 

 

For me the rhum baba dessert was just OK and I won't feel the need to repeat. The cake itself was super super fluffy but I expected the cake itself to be heavily infused with rum and it was not. There isn't enough rum in the cup to create that effect either. Not bad but didn't meet my high expectations.

 

I'm not going to make a final judgment about the food there based on one dessert. 

 

I was concerned that going in just for dessert and coffee would be unwelcome as it often is at fine dining places, but I was assured that people are very welcome to do that.

 

My understanding is the full menu is available for lunch and dinner. Not sure about breakfast.

 

Even though priced well for it's appearance, I don't see this as an everyday type of place for many people. 

 

For example an appetizer plus main dish plus non-booze drink will easily hit 600 and can be much higher if you order the tempting lamb chops with couscous at 580.

 

Anyway, I wish them luck. I think there is a decent chance they will find an audience here for their offerings. BTW -- most of the customers were Russian. 

[richsilver]

Went there last night for dinner with three friends and we all liked it very much.  I had pumpkin soup and beef stew with rigatoni.  Both were quite good and reasonably priced.  Good service, quite comfortable.  What's not to like?

[kdrayong]

 

The Reef Cantina at Welcome Town

Not a wow-experience, but a place to go for Mexican food.

I had the Nachos Grande and the eight Mini-Tacos which come both slightly under a 200 Baht.

With the Nachos I missed some spices. The Tacos were quite good and IMO better than at Taco-Taco.

 

The portions are not too big, what is not a problem for me, but that might be an issue when you feel really hungry.

I had a good conversation with the boss. Very polite and friendly.

Conclusion:

I'll be back there for sure, but won't be a frequent customer though.

[TaaSaparot]

8 hours ago, kdrayong said:

I had a good conversation with the boss. Very polite and friendly.

Thai?

Edited January 20, 2020 by TaaSaparot

[kdrayong]

Yes, Thai with good English skills.