The Hit And Run Restaurant "review" Thread

[thailien8]

Recommend the takeout pizza at Bella Italia on Second Road across from soi 6.  20% discount in effect now, so 200 baht for a small thin crust pizza loaded with toppings cost 160.  Delicious

[bkk6060]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

ordering plain RICE was not an option

Rice is difficult to keep hot.

I am surprised as long as you have been here you do not have a standard staple rice cooker in your kitchen going basically 24/7.  

[Jingthing]

46 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Rice is difficult to keep hot.

I am surprised as long as you have been here you do not have a standard staple rice cooker in your kitchen going basically 24/7.  

You're surprised, are you?

Maybe someday I'll post detailed pictures and inventory of my kitchen and refrigerator. (Not.)

I find it odd when people make this so personal. Live long enough and you'll get dissed for not having a rice cooker. Now I've heard everything. 

 

I haven't had any problem with rice arriving hot from the restaurants that do offer it.

I don't believe the reason is what you think.

I think it's just a stupid oversight.

Something I might try sometime on such restaurants is to add a request for rice on the memo line on an order of a dish that obviously needs rice and ask them to add it to what the driver is paid. That might work but no guarantees.

 

Changing the subject -- please people, tip your drivers at least OK. I'm sure that lots of people don't tip anything and while I don't tip American style here, these drivers are now on the front lines of fighting the Covid virus. We're supposed to stay home. They bring us food. They're not nurses but you gotta eat. Yes they are at higher risk for infection (all are wearing masks now) and they are surely visiting some people that are infected (whether they know it or not). So don't linger -- just give them some extra money please.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Jingthing

[ReLo]

hello, can you list all the applications or websites to order around Pattaya ? thanks.

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, ReLo said:

hello, can you list all the applications or websites to order around Pattaya ? thanks.

Not sure if I know them all but if I missed any others can pipe in. 

 

Thank you for posting on topic. 

 

Grab 

 

Food panda 

 

Line used by some places for direct contact 

 

Lineman

 

Fb messenger used by some places for direct contact 

 

Wongnai

 

Hungry now New one

 

Some places have their own direct order online apps such as Frasers Jomtien 

Edited April 10, 2020 by Jingthing

[bkk6060]

23 hours ago, Jingthing said:

You're surprised, are you?

Maybe someday I'll post detailed pictures and inventory of my kitchen and refrigerator. (Not.)

I find it odd when people make this so personal. Live long enough and you'll get dissed for not having a rice cooker. Now I've heard everything

Haha.

You took it personally.  It was not meant to be a dig.

You seem to know a lot about/enjoy food so it was just a suggestion to get warm rice immediately and not have to worry about the places that do not have it.

[Jingthing]

5 minutes ago, HashBrownHarry said:

Can you pls tell use this mythical eatery where you get meals that warrant no complaints, it must be amazing quality and worthy or trying.

 

Thanks.

Well I don't feel like I want to make it so easy. Read the entire thread and you will find MANY such examples right here. But you'd have to be a masochist to do that.

 

I will add that I don't agree with the way you use the word COMPLAINT. That's a loaded word and I feel you're intentionally trying to provoke here.

 

An actual complaint in the context of restaurant food experiences are things like insects in your food, being served cold food for a hot dish in a sit down restaurant, being served a dish where someone spilled the salt shaker on it, etc.

 

Comments like I didn't find the seasoning of a dish to be bold enough are not really complaints. They are COMMENTS. They are subjective impressions. They're intended to ADD VALUE to the reader's experience and generally give more information.

 

Cheers.

Edited April 10, 2020 by Jingthing

[Rimmer]

A personal attack and replies have been removed, keep that up and you will be removed

[hackjam]

Recently, ordered Chinese food from Hungry Panda, used lineman.

Ordering was really efficient, so easy, food arrived in less than half an hour, they did charge 75B delivery charge.

Food itself was OK, had the duck and chow mien, both meals were a tad dry but good quality, suspect they don't travel well. 

Will try again some different dishes, as they are now open for take away collection, I believe. 

[hackjam]

Ordered Indian food from Masala Twist in Jomtien, just phoned in the order and I went to collect. They said collect in 20 min and I did, just parked up outside and the guy came out with my food.

Food was good, they did screw up on one item, but no big deal.

Will try a take away from India By Nature next time I crave Indian food, as they have a basic take away menu, and last time I used this place for a sit down meal, it was awesome.  

[Jingthing]

I will now comment about BONCHON CHICKEN, the international Korean fried chicken chain. I have eaten there several times at their in house restaurants (used to be Royal Garden but they moved to Central Festival) and now also have multiple experiences with their delivery food via Grab.

 

Pros --

They have excellent proprietary packaging for deliveries and they give you a fancy bag. Everything is as piping hot as it can possibly be.

 

It's the same food as in the restaurant which I happen to like.

 

The dishes OTHER than the fried chicken are as good as in the restaurant. A favorite of mine is spicy soft tofu soup. 

 

Cons --

 

The Korean fried chicken their obvious main dish just doesn't deliver well! In case you don't this a special kind of fried chicken. It is flavored but it's not really battered. The skin is super crisp when you bite into it. It's very popular for a reason. 

However when delivered without much traffic from Central Festival to Jomtien while the chicken is still warm enough the signature crispy skin just ain't happening! I haven't even bothered microwaving it though I guess I should. I just have assumed that's gone for good.

 

It ain't cheap.

 

So I guess I would not advise ordering from there if you want the fried chicken and why would you order from there if you didn't?  

 

 

[Leaver]

I don't wish to hijack the thread, but after over 360 pages, I'm sure this post is just a quick side discussion.

 

I have read a lot lately how businesses, all around the world, have been forced to focus on "remote" service delivery, with many of their staff working from home online etc.  Many believe, after the Corona Crisis has passed, businesses will move to adopt this model, to reduce costs, or a mixture, thereof.

 

Indeed, this thread has now had to focus on take away, rather than in house service and atmosphere.

 

I am wondering, if restaurants get their take away so well refined during the lock down, will customers simply not attend their restaurant in the future, thus the restaurant misses out on alcohol and drink sales, and, if the take away model is successful, perhaps restaurants will downsize and do away with in house serivce, and just do take away. 

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by Leaver

[gamesgplayemail]

16 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Not sure if I know them all but if I missed any others can pipe in. 

 

Thank you for posting on topic. 

 

Grab 

 

Food panda 

 

Line used by some places for direct contact 

 

Lineman

 

Fb messenger used by some places for direct contact 

 

Wongnai

 

Hungry now New one

 

Some places have their own direct order online apps such as Frasers Jomtien 

 

What do you order with Lineman ?

And can you confirm that Grab is always the best choice ? or they are similar ?

Is it better to choose a restaurant near where you want the food delivered ?

 

 

[Jingthing]

21 minutes ago, gamesgplayemail said:

 

What do you order with Lineman ?

And can you confirm that Grab is always the best choice ? or they are similar ?

Is it better to choose a restaurant near where you want the food delivered ?

 

 

I haven't used Lineman yet but I did install it. 

I use Grab. 

They sucked me in with their promotions like 100 baht off but recently they stopped doing that for obvious reasons. 

I can't say which is best. 

The price structures vary sometimes alot. Also the delivery fees. 

I compared a restaurant yesterday on Grab vs. Panda and panda was cheaper but you can't generalize for all restaurants. 

Also of course the services don't have all of the same restaurant so that would obviously influence choice if one service has a favorite place. 

Ordering close like anything is luck of the draw. I'd say the majority of times that means getting fresher foods but I've also experienced major f ups with close orders. Like a driver picking up orders for multiple customers making him late or the common thing of the driver going to the wrong place. You've heard the stereotype of Thais not being able to read maps. 

 

Anyway on rating the drivers 1 to 5 I have noticed that all the drivers have a rating of either 5 or the lowest I have seen is 4.8.

 

Which means if you give them a 1 you might consider buying a gun for self defense. 

 

Obviously they aren't always giving 5 service but I suggest giving the 5 for anything as high as 3 and they are really bad which for me is like 10 percent of the time not rating at all. 

 

This is their livelihood after all. I assume they lose their jobs if the number gets too low. 

 

One time I gave a really rude driver a 4 and later he got another order from me and remembered and the look he gave me could kill. 

 

Not worth that aggravation. 

[hackjam]

Have had several take aways from Robin Hood Tavern over the past few weeks, just ring in the order and go collect. Looks like they use Grab, as I always see some Grab guys milling about outside.

RHT do many different weekly/daily specials, as well as a decent regular menu. Find their western food one of the best around. No issues with ordering.

Had cod and chips yesterday,  love those homemade hand cut chips, fish was good and their tartar sauce outstanding, good value on Friday special at 249B.

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, hackjam said:

Have had several take aways from Robin Hood Tavern over the past few weeks, just ring in the order and go collect. Looks like they use Grab, as I always see some Grab guys milling about outside.

RHT do many different weekly/daily specials, as well as a decent regular menu. Find their western food one of the best around. No issues with ordering.

Had cod and chips yesterday,  love those homemade hand cut chips, fish was good and their tartar sauce outstanding, good value on Friday special at 249B.

They have some good food but my impression is that their prices on Grab are very inflated, and thus I refuse to order from them on Grab. Also their specials are never listed on Grab.

Edited April 11, 2020 by Jingthing

[balo]

19 hours ago, Leaver said:

I am wondering, if restaurants get their take away so well refined during the lock down, will customers simply not attend their restaurant in the future, thus the restaurant misses out on alcohol and drink sales, and, if the take away model is successful, perhaps restaurants will downsize and do away with in house serivce, and just do take away. 

I doubt it, people go to restaurants to socialize and for the atmosphere. The whole package really. Maybe fewer restaurants in the beginning, then back to normal after a while. 

[Leaver]

24 minutes ago, balo said:

I doubt it, people go to restaurants to socialize and for the atmosphere. The whole package really. Maybe fewer restaurants in the beginning, then back to normal after a while. 

Sure, but many restaurants are here for tourists, not the expats.  The tourists will not be back any time soon, so I am wondering if some of the restaurants will downsize, and make what they are doing now their business model, until the tourists start coming back. 

 

Edited April 11, 2020 by Leaver

[Jingthing]

I think even before this there was already a strong global trend towards more delivery food. A part of this has been the emergence of delivery only kitchens which can compete much better than regular restaurants because of much lower overhead. So yes I think it's obvious that that trend will remain post virus stronger than ever, but that doesn't mean sit down restaurants will go away either.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarwantsingh/2019/09/09/the-soon-to-be-200b-online-food-delivery-is-rapidly-changing-the-global-food-industry/#6ff0ad9ab1bc

 

Quote

The Soon To Be $200B Online Food Delivery Is Rapidly Changing The Global Food Industry

 

Edited April 11, 2020 by Jingthing

[Leaver]

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I think even before this there was already a strong global trend towards more delivery food. A part of this has been the emergence of delivery only kitchens which can compete much better than regular restaurants because of much lower overhead. So yes I think it's obvious that that trend will reman post virus stronger than ever, but that doesn't mean sit down restaurants will go away either.

I agree.  At the end of all of this, it will be interesting to see which restaurants will open back up, and their business model. 

[Guderian]

I posted on the other thread (about businesses opening and closing) a few weeks ago about the Pulcinella Italian Risto-Pub that has opened in the former Punch & Judy premises on Soi 17 (Soi Regional Land). It seemed very unfortunate timing trying to open anything just as Pattaya went into lockdown, but an Italian restaurant especially at that time as Lombardy was ground zero back then. Times have changed though.

 

 

Anyway, I plucked up the courage to try their pizza, home delivery of course, and I was impressed. Genuine Italian pizza, I had it with salami and onion for 180 Baht in total, delivery is free. Hard to fault it to be honest, I think this will become a regular feature of my weekends from now on.

 

 

The menu has a lot more than pizza, though, and the fresh pasta looks tempting. There are Western dishes like Australian steak at very affordable prices and a Thai menu too. I don't see a menu on their FB page which is an oversight, but here's a blurry photo of one side of it, apologies for the quality, I think I'd had a drop too much chianti when I took it!

 

 

Anyway, it looks much better than I'd expected, and very reasonable prices for what seem to be good quality dishes. Worth a try if you're not too far away.

 

[hackjam]

That does look good, which pizza did you have, No 148??

Did like Punch and Judy for their steak pie, and their Sunday roast a few years back was very good, suspect the police activity with road checks was final nail in P & J coffin. 

[AlexCanada]

17 hours ago, hackjam said:

suspect the police activity with road checks was final nail in P & J coffin. 

Punch and Judy closed last Summer IIRC.

[seasia]

Hi Guderian

 

Thanks for that mention.

Excellent prices, pizza looks good in your pic.

[seasia]

Harry Bar soi bukhao.

 

It is not a bar though.

If coming from pattaya tai end it is shortly after the right hand bend and located on the right, pic. of the Eiffel Tower outside.

 

They are open for takeaway doing pizza slices ( square actually) and a very large range of pastries.

I have not actually been there but have sampled their wares ( couple of my friends in naklua like long walks and pass by it some days buying a bit  and give me some .I am staying strictly within naklua )

 

So the pizz square, think only 1 type, tomoto.meat topping, cheese of course.

Within the genre of pizza slices I consider it above  average although my preference is for traditional Italian style thin crust pizza .

 

Very latge range of pastries, e.g cinnamon Danish, Cherry pastry, apple  croisants etc.

Also some sandwiches ( not tried )

 

I did not want to ask the price but did so..

Pizza either 20 or 30 baht.

Pastries 20 baht!  Cheapest I have ever heard of ( bar 7/11 etc but talking about a totally different quality level )

 

They taste nice, maybe slightly small but excellent values.

 

I cannot really see how they are making a profit but perhaps they are locked in to a lease with no rent relief, making the best of a bad situation.

 

Kudos from me.  I hope they remain in business for a long time.

 

A thumbs up from me.

Well worth a try if you are in to what they are selling.

Edited April 23, 2020 by seasia

[hackjam]

Had an outstanding take away meal from Robin Hood Tavern a few nights ago. Just rand in the order, was told to come to collect in 20min. No hassle.

Ordered the chicken cordon beau, with homemade chips and steamed veg, and also some mushroom sauce.

Just about able to finish the meal. could not fault anything about the meal and reasonably priced at 265B.

Highly recommend.

[roger101]

On 4/20/2020 at 4:05 PM, Guderian said:

I posted on the other thread (about businesses opening and closing) a few weeks ago about the Pulcinella Italian Risto-Pub that has opened in the former Punch & Judy premises on Soi 17 (Soi Regional Land). It seemed very unfortunate timing trying to open anything just as Pattaya went into lockdown, but an Italian restaurant especially at that time as Lombardy was ground zero back then. Times have changed though.

 

 

Anyway, I plucked up the courage to try their pizza, home delivery of course, and I was impressed. Genuine Italian pizza, I had it with salami and onion for 180 Baht in total, delivery is free. Hard to fault it to be honest, I think this will become a regular feature of my weekends from now on.

 

 

The menu has a lot more than pizza, though, and the fresh pasta looks tempting. There are Western dishes like Australian steak at very affordable prices and a Thai menu too. I don't see a menu on their FB page which is an oversight, but here's a blurry photo of one side of it, apologies for the quality, I think I'd had a drop too much chianti when I took it!

 

 

Anyway, it looks much better than I'd expected, and very reasonable prices for what seem to be good quality dishes. Worth a try if you're not too far away.

 

I ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara last night (129 Baht) and the portion was so large I could only eat half of it. It was quite tasty as well.

[marino28]

I went to try Pulcinella Italian Risto-Pub  that has opened in the former Punch & Judy Location the other day 

 

Bought the tortellini with cream. Big portion, tasty and I believe they was home made.

 

I will try something else in a few days, the menu is big and the price are reasonable in my opinion.

Edited May 7, 2020 by marino28

[CaptainCarrot]

On 4/11/2020 at 4:40 PM, Jingthing said:

I think even before this there was already a strong global trend towards more delivery food. A part of this has been the emergence of delivery only kitchens which can compete much better than regular restaurants because of much lower overhead. So yes I think it's obvious that that trend will remain post virus stronger than ever, but that doesn't mean sit down restaurants will go away either.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarwantsingh/2019/09/09/the-soon-to-be-200b-online-food-delivery-is-rapidly-changing-the-global-food-industry/#6ff0ad9ab1bc

 

 

Maybe for places like Pattaya there should be eat-only restaurants where you order your drinks, and your food is ordered (for you/by you?) from the delivery-only kitchens. So we will see the further development of the Thai-European-Mexican-Indonesian-Eskimo Restaurant etc.

 

Also

 

[TacoKhun]

Any suggestion for chicken biryani in pattaya?