The Hit And Run Restaurant "review" Thread

[OMGImInPattaya]

I am sure I wont get much love for this, and sorry if its been mentioned before - but I went to Carls Jr tonight 3rd floor of central festival.

The combo set I had was a chicken and bacon burger, fries and a sprite 145b.

It was one of the best burgers I have had in Thailand, and the fries were much better than other fast food places - they still had a bit of the skin from the potato on them, nice and hot and tasted really good. Yep, the burger was in a right old mess at the end of the meal - as Carls Jr says, "its going to be messy" and it was. It was also a massive meal and I am glad I only went for the small.

One thing which maybe new is that there is a loyalty card thing going on now, so if you get 5 combos, the 6th one is free, which would bring the price down to 120b a combo - this is great value.

The outside area is pretty cool as well, looking over beach road.

Bib Chon is open (inside Royal Garden, beach side). I just ate there for the first time. No more KFC for me. Bon Chon chicken is very good! Interesting menu with a lot more than chicken wings. Good side dishes and some other Korean dishes that I have yet to try.

Yes BONCHON Chicken is an international chain originating in KOREA now expanding in good old Thailand. They have been preparing to open for many many months. Glad to hear they are finally open! Yes Korean Fried Chicken is quite a different thing. Thanks for the news!

Pattaya gets more and more "world class" with quality chains like this continuing to open here.

10494583_792996964066222_910277484467163529_n.jpg

http://www.bonchonthailand.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bonchonthailand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonchon_Chicken

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/dining/07fried.html/?_r=0

I went in on Saturday night to check out the menu - I asked the girl in there if its going to be Gangnam Style and she said it probably will be.

Don't be ashamed at liking the carls jr burger, many locals will agree its one of the best burgers in town; which is also a commentary on the dreary state of burgerdom in Pattaya/Thailand. Did you try a milkshake, it's by far the best in town and a bargain at around 60 baht.

[khunjamesjohnson]

ESPRESSO 99 Cafe, Jomtien.

Located on Thappraya Road on the hill going into Jomtien, a few doors down from the Continental Bakery and the Tapprasit stop signal.

The baht bus can drop you off at the door.

A friendly Italian guy runs this cafe & serves up the best cappuccino in the area. There are lots of Italian customers stopping in for a quik espresso so it must be good.

Yesterday, I tried the hamburger and was very pleased. They grind their own meat he tells me.

I have also sampled his breakfasts, pastas, sandwiches & specials. Good.

Enjoy the air-con inside or sit on the terrace. Up to you.

This is a very well run establishment and probably the cleanest restaurant I have ever seen.

And the question that is on everybody's mind I'm sure....

Will he let the Pattaya drinking water smugglers in? I don't know.

[khunjamesjohnson]

Another Italian friend yesterday mentioned a new Italian restaurant in Jomtien.

LaScala Italian restaurant. Has anyone tried this place yet?

Jomtien 2nd. Rd., meters away from the Soi Wat Boon.

Baht bus riders should get off at Jomtien Beach at Soi Wat Boon. Walk up Soi Wat Boon & cross 2nd. Rd. You will se LaScala in the shophouses to the left.

Jomtien is bursting at the seems with Italian restaurants these days.

Gians, PanPan, the Italian place near Food Mart, LaBocca, Fellini 1 & 2, the new expensive looking place across from Rhompo Market, LeMerenda(my favorite), Solotto & AquaPazza on the beach and now LaScala.

Cafe LaMar gets a mention for their pizza.

Edited August 28, 2014 by khunjamesjohnson

[Bernard Flint]

Can anyone give me the google coordinates for Shanghai , thanks....

Will clear driving directions suffice? If coming from north pattaya road, turn onto 3rd road and Shanghai will be about 100 meters on your right (opposite side of the street). There is a prominent sign in English so easy to spot. If you pass pattaya sports club you've gone way too far.

I forgot to mention in my post above that they have bottomless cha-yen/lon (20 baht). I have yet to try the sautéed swamp grass...but it looks good!

Somebody said its opposite big c extra, on Klang????

[balo]

Another Italian friend yesterday mentioned a new Italian restaurant in Jomtien.

LaScala Italian restaurant. Has anyone tried this place yet?

Jomtien 2nd. Rd., meters away from the Soi Wat Boon.

Baht bus riders should get off at Jomtien Beach at Soi Wat Boon. Walk up Soi Wat Boon & cross 2nd. Rd. You will se LaScala in the shophouses to the left.

Jomtien is bursting at the seems with Italian restaurants these days.

Gians, PanPan, the Italian place near Food Mart, LaBocca, Fellini 1 & 2, the new expensive looking place across from Rhompo Market, LeMerenda(my favorite), Solotto & AquaPazza on the beach and now LaScala.

Cafe LaMar gets a mention for their pizza.

I have been in that area daily without seeing it. Is it close to the new German bakery, Back Fabrik ? It's also a few meters away from soi watboon. Edited August 28, 2014 by balo

[KittenKong]

Jomtien is bursting at the seems with Italian restaurants these days.

Gians, PanPan, the Italian place near Food Mart, LaBocca, Fellini 1 & 2, the new expensive looking place across from Rhompo Market, LeMerenda(my favorite), Solotto & AquaPazza on the beach and now LaScala.

Also a new one right by the Hanuman monument, about 25 yards from LaBocca.

[khunjamesjohnson]

Another Italian friend yesterday mentioned a new Italian restaurant in Jomtien.

LaScala Italian restaurant. Has anyone tried this place yet?

Jomtien 2nd. Rd., meters away from the Soi Wat Boon.

Baht bus riders should get off at Jomtien Beach at Soi Wat Boon. Walk up Soi Wat Boon & cross 2nd. Rd. You will se LaScala in the shophouses to the left.

Jomtien is bursting at the seems with Italian restaurants these days.

Gians, PanPan, the Italian place near Food Mart, LaBocca, Fellini 1 & 2, the new expensive looking place across from Rhompo Market, LeMerenda(my favorite), Solotto & AquaPazza on the beach and now LaScala.

Cafe LaMar gets a mention for their pizza.

I have been in that area daily without seeing it. Is it close to the new German bakery, Back Fabrik ? It's also a few meters away from soi watboon.

LaScala is much closer to Soi Wat Boon than the German place, other side of the road too.

Small yellow sign out front.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Can anyone give me the google coordinates for Shanghai , thanks....

Will clear driving directions suffice? If coming from north pattaya road, turn onto 3rd road and Shanghai will be about 100 meters on your right (opposite side of the street). There is a prominent sign in English so easy to spot. If you pass pattaya sports club you've gone way too far.

I forgot to mention in my post above that they have bottomless cha-yen/lon (20 baht). I have yet to try the sautéed swamp grass...but it looks good!

Somebody said its opposite big c extra, on Klang????

There is a newish Chinese place opposite Big C Extra but I think it's the shark fin soup they were discussing and not Shanghai. Shanghai on 3rd Road doesn't do shark fin soup (and kudos to them for that).

[Jingthing]

Now I'm confused. The Thai-Chinese place on Pattaya Klang featuring shark fin (and fish maw soup) that I had commented about before is NOT at all NEW.

[Jingthing]

I peered into the window at Bonchon Chicken last night ... Friday.

It was PACKED!

Mostly Thais.

Great to see ... I think they deserve success here.

[Jingthing]

New Chinese restaurant opening later this month on 3rd road soi 22

I tried to find this place and couldn't find it.

Is this for real?

If so, can someone provide more specific information about name, location, side of street, nearby landmarks, details of food offered, etc.?

Edited August 30, 2014 by Jingthing

[thailien8]

New Chinese restaurant opening later this month on 3rd road soi 22

I tried to find this place and couldn't find it.

Is this for real?

If so, can someone provide more specific information about name, location, side of street, nearby landmarks, details of food offered, etc.?

It's right on the corner of 3rd Road and soi 22, but is still under construction, doesn't look ready to open for a while yet. It's a big building with Chinese lanterns hanging outside and a sign in fancy Thai script. I assume it will become a restaurant.

[thailien8]

New restaurant alert: Manami Japanese Restaurant is on 3rd Road, east side, about 100 meters north of Pattaya Klang. Open less than a month. Small shophouse, a few tables outside, a few more inside with aircon. Quiet and uncrowded when I happened on it early Sunday evening. Not a big menu, but offers the basics, and is not expensive. Open for lunch 1100-1400, and dinner 1800-2400.

I tried their Tonkatsu Ramen (79 baht) and Teppan Chicken (79 baht). I don't know much about Japanese food as I seldom eat it, but thought both these offerings were good. Iced tea water was given free. Hopefully JT will stop by soon and give a more expert opinion. They were appreciative of my business, and when I took one of their flyers to jot notes for this review, they gave me a pen to write with and keep.

This restaurant is in my neighborhood, so it's on my list for some more hit and runs.

[Jingthing]

New restaurant alert: Manami Japanese Restaurant is on 3rd Road, east side, about 100 meters north of Pattaya Klang. Open less than a month. Small shophouse, a few tables outside, a few more inside with aircon. Quiet and uncrowded when I happened on it early Sunday evening. Not a big menu, but offers the basics, and is not expensive. Open for lunch 1100-1400, and dinner 1800-2400.

I tried their Tonkatsu Ramen (79 baht) and Teppan Chicken (79 baht). I don't know much about Japanese food as I seldom eat it, but thought both these offerings were good. Iced tea water was given free. Hopefully JT will stop by soon and give a more expert opinion. They were appreciative of my business, and when I took one of their flyers to jot notes for this review, they gave me a pen to write with and keep.

This restaurant is in my neighborhood, so it's on my list for some more hit and runs.

Great. Will try for sure.

I doubt they are doing a "serious" Tonkotsu ramen for 79 baht though. But I'm still curious.

Tonkotsu is supposed to be a creamy pork bone broth that requires a lot of time to prepare authentically.

Many or even most places in Thailand obviously take short cuts.

Tonkatsu is fried pork cutlet served with rice.

[Jingthing]

New restaurant alert: Manami Japanese Restaurant is on 3rd Road, east side, about 100 meters north of Pattaya Klang. Open less than a month. Small shophouse, a few tables outside, a few more inside with aircon. Quiet and uncrowded when I happened on it early Sunday evening. Not a big menu, but offers the basics, and is not expensive. Open for lunch 1100-1400, and dinner 1800-2400.

I tried their Tonkatsu Ramen (79 baht) and Teppan Chicken (79 baht). I don't know much about Japanese food as I seldom eat it, but thought both these offerings were good. Iced tea water was given free. Hopefully JT will stop by soon and give a more expert opinion. They were appreciative of my business, and when I took one of their flyers to jot notes for this review, they gave me a pen to write with and keep.

This restaurant is in my neighborhood, so it's on my list for some more hit and runs.

Great. Will try for sure.

I doubt they are doing a "serious" Tonkotsu ramen for 79 baht though. But I'm still curious.

Tonkotsu is supposed to be a creamy pork bone broth that requires a lot of time to prepare authentically.

Many or even most places in Thailand obviously take short cuts.

Tonkatsu is fried pork cutlet served with rice.

OK, I tried this place.

It was BUZZING with happy Thais.

I had the Tonkotsu Ramen (89 baht actually) and the California Roll (79 baht).

Hot tea is free, cold tea is 2 baht but weak.

The Ramen was OK, nothing special in my less than expert Japanese food opinion. I know Ramen broth is generally salty but I found it actually saltier than it should have been and not really rich and creamy as it would ideally be for "real" Tonkotsu broth. Their ramen noodles weren't great to my taste compared to some other places but that's probably subjective. But still "OK" and worth the money.

The California roll was probably a mistake order. I know you generally don't get avocado with that in Thailand (at that price anyway). The rolls were to my taste TOO SWEET (but that's probably good for most Thai palates), the crab was fake crab as expected, the fat replacement for the cado seemed to be MAYO which I hate so I scraped it off. It wasn't bad for what it was ... just for me the wrong thing to order.

The menu overall is interesting enough and rather varied. A good size menu, not too small or big. Nothing surprising on it, which is OK.

If this place was in my neighborhood, it would be good enough considering it's friendly prices (always a factor) to visit occasionally (because my neighborhood has NO Japanese restaurants!). I am curious enough to try it more times to explore their menu if I'm in the area and hungry. Personally I prefer this kind of place to chains like Zen and Fuji.

On the other hand, I can't see this as a destination restaurant for people to specifically travel across town to go to.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Jingthing

[thailien8]

Khun JT, thanks for trying Manami at my suggestion. Somehow I didn't expect that you would be thrilled with the tonkatsu ramen (did they raise the price by 10 baht overnight?) I don't really like sushi very much, so I think that on subsequent visits I will explore other aspects of their menu, and report back.

Good to hear that Thais like the place. It gives me another option for when I'm hungry and don't want to walk more than three minutes from my pad. Sometimes, living in the heart of chaotic central Pattaya is preferable to living out in the far reaches of Jomtien.

I also have issues with the baht buses; living in central Pattaya allows me to avoid them most days. Walking is good exercise.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Khun JT, thanks for trying Manami at my suggestion. Somehow I didn't expect that you would be thrilled with the tonkatsu ramen (did they raise the price by 10 baht overnight?) I don't really like sushi very much, so I think that on subsequent visits I will explore other aspects of their menu, and report back.

Good to hear that Thais like the place. It gives me another option for when I'm hungry and don't want to walk more than three minutes from my pad. Sometimes, living in the heart of chaotic central Pattaya is preferable to living out in the far reaches of Jomtien.

I also have issues with the baht buses; living in central Pattaya allows me to avoid them most days. Walking is good exercise.

Must have asked for it with meat and not just gristle.

[Jingthing]

Something different.

Russian Street Food!

At the Jomtien Night Market down the soi with the WINDMILL there is a little outdoor food court with table thing going on.

I noticed a stall with some quite appetizing looking Russian food.

Many offerings:

BBQ pork shashlik (kebabs)

Chicken heart stew

Vegetable stew (eggplant I think I recall)

Chicken leg stew

Mashed potato

Pasta w/ butter

Interesting looking flat bread

Less interesting looking lamb pies

All priced nice ... you could pig out for 150 baht-ish

Anyway the food looked good.

I haven't tried it yet.

Usual caveats for any street food ... AYOR

Edited September 6, 2014 by Jingthing

[KittenKong]

At the Jomtien Night Market down the soi with the WINDMILL

Which market is that? Do you mean the big one on Beach Road opposite the (volley/foot)ball court, which usually has that giant mobile boombox pickup outside?

http://goo.gl/maps/8heSx

[Jingthing]

At the Jomtien Night Market down the soi with the WINDMILL

Which market is that? Do you mean the big one on Beach Road opposite the (volley/foot)ball court, which usually has that giant mobile boombox pickup outside?

http://goo.gl/maps/8heSx

I believe so. Look for the Windmill.

[khunjamesjohnson]

Thanks for the Bhon Chon Chicken recommendation.

Nice Chicken salad I had today. Generous portion of sliced crispy breast with their addictive seasonings.

The lettuce portion was a bit on the small side but was fresh and lightly tossed in a sesame dressing.

241Bt including bottled water.

People that 'pop a vessel' over ++ pricing won't be happy here.

[KittenKong]

The Iranian buffet restaurant PARDIS across from Pattaya Beach central mall has been dark for many days now. They had recently raised their prices and appeared to have fewer customers after that.

Closed?

Big "For Rent" sign outside.

So much for the business plan of increasing prices when business gets bad. Maybe they should have stayed at 199B; I would still be eating there if they had, as I would still be eating at the Indian in Sun City had they not also increased prices and then closed.

[Jingthing]

The Iranian buffet restaurant PARDIS across from Pattaya Beach central mall has been dark for many days now. They had recently raised their prices and appeared to have fewer customers after that.

Closed?

Big "For Rent" sign outside.

So much for the business plan of increasing prices when business gets bad. Maybe they should have stayed at 199B; I would still be eating there if they had, as I would still be eating at the Indian in Sun City had they not also increased prices and then closed.

Yep not only did they raise their prices but they cut out my favorite dish, the Gormeh Sabzi (greens and beans stew with a little beef). I would have payed the higher price if they kept the dish. I came in three times looked for the dish, it wasn't there, so left. Classic fail!

[Ling Kae]

The Iranian buffet restaurant PARDIS across from Pattaya Beach central mall has been dark for many days now. They had recently raised their prices and appeared to have fewer customers after that.

Closed?

Big "For Rent" sign outside.

So much for the business plan of increasing prices when business gets bad. Maybe they should have stayed at 199B; I would still be eating there if they had, as I would still be eating at the Indian in Sun City had they not also increased prices and then closed.

Yep not only did they raise their prices but they cut out my favorite dish, the Gormeh Sabzi (greens and beans stew with a little beef). I would have payed the higher price if they kept the dish. I came in three times looked for the dish, it wasn't there, so left. Classic fail!

The place is completely closed and all fittings have been taken out. I don't think it will be returning.

[Jingthing]

Yes I noticed that. Hopefully the space will be replaced by a new restaurant with better luck.

[ThaiBob]

Subs n Steaks has reopened. They now serve breakfast and also have a Coffee Corner. Hours:0800-1:00;5-9.

[Jingthing]

Shock and Awe!

PATTAYA LEBANESE RESTAURANT SHAKEUP!

Some changes with the Pattaya Lebanese restaurant scene.

At Central Beach Mall ...

the existing Lebanese Palace (the view restaurant) has a new and changed menu. Also higher prices.

The Russian restaurant in the mall (with wooden tables) is now a NEW Lebanese restaurant, called THE CEDARS.

But it is not as new as you might think.

Because it is the same owner and menu as the very good Lebanese restaurant on 3rd road (previously mentioned here).

But somewhat higher prices than that as well (unless 3rd road recently raised their prices too, which is possible).

Given the rents in the mall, higher prices would be understandable.

The Lebanese ocean view restaurant is a DIFFERENT owner than 3rd road and the wooden table place.

The CEDARS still sports Russian decorations ...

BTW, I have only eaten at the 3rd road place but found it quite good. However, there is a problem with people smoking SHISHA there. Even though they try hard to use lots of fans, it can be unpleasant to smell if EATING.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Jingthing

[Asiantravel]

Thanks for the Bhon Chon Chicken recommendation.

Nice Chicken salad I had today. Generous portion of sliced crispy breast with their addictive seasonings.

The lettuce portion was a bit on the small side but was fresh and lightly tossed in a sesame dressing.

241Bt including bottled water.

People that 'pop a vessel' over ++ pricing won't be happy here.

"People that 'pop a vessel' over ++ pricing won't be happy here."

Its ok but I won't be going back.

I am not popping a vessel as you put it but for me it simply doesn't represent good value for money. What could go up part of the way to bringing the price down is eliminating full-service for which they make you pay for it by adding a service charge to the bill. I don't like restaurants that do this particularly because the menu is so simple. They could easily do self-serve at the counter.

[Jingthing]

They have what they call pricing power. Nobody else is selling Korean fried chicken in these parts. So if you want to try that or know that you want it, you will pay, or go without ...

[KittenKong]

Nobody else is selling Korean fried chicken in these parts.

What about the place on Sukumvit, not far from Makro but on the opposite side?

I think they have a sign outside that mentions Korean chicken.