The Hit And Run Restaurant "review" Thread

[Jingthing]

10 hours ago, BruceMangosteen said:

I had dinner at Simon's, based on my discovery here. It's located at an upstairs location as mentioned also, at the Soi Buikow market where Tony's is.

 

The food was good. Prices reasonable on the food. I felt a bit ripped off on the beverage. Regular bottle of water was 30 Baht and a regular bottle of Soda Water was 40 Baht. Not obscene, but still...please.....This isn't the Hilton. Overall, I enjoyed the meal but my mate noticed what was on the menu(includes fries and a salad) was forgotten. He only got the sandwich. 

 

...

I'll check this out later, but my understanding of their menu is that MAIN DISHES such as Romanian beef, BBQ chicken, fried fish included both a bowl of Israeli salad and a choice of starch side dish (such as potatoes). But with SANDWICHES (served on a choice of pita or baguette) the included salad is the salad put INTO the sandwich, and there is no other side dish.

 

Of course, if that's true I'm sure they would serve fries with the sandwich if ordered separately.

 

I recently had a sandwich there and don't recall that fries were included on the menu and I wasn't served them either (nor did I expect them). 

 

Such high drama. If it turns out I'm wrong, I'll lick some hummus. 

 

Yes, the service is very casual.

 

To add, as we've been talking about the price of "beans" here recently, Simon's lentil soup (which they call beans) tastes like your Mama never made only because she didn't make that dish ... very delicious, and such a deal, at ... wait for it ... 100 baht! 

 

Gossipy stuff about girls with gold and unrelated to the restaurant massage businesses INTENTIONALLY truncated. This thread is about restaurants.

 

 

[AsianExport]

21 hours ago, BruceMangosteen said:

Had dinner with a mate, Indian food, once again. I enjoy the food a lot but neither of us can figure out why Indian food is so expensive in restaurants. The ingredients have to be available in Thailand and well, it just doesn't make sense to us. I did discover with careful observation some Indian diners aren't even invoiced, they are on some tour or package which includes dining at the restaurant. Perhaps a guest house also in the package(Indian owned)? In addition, it might be mentioned that some 400 million people in India itself don't even have electricity and/or running water so it's doubtful they are paying 300-500 Baht for a decent meal there. Why Why Why is Indian food so expensive here??? 

 

 

Where is Indian food so expensive ? I find it exactly as Thai food ! if you want to pay for decoration you pay high price, if you understand that you are not eating on the wall but on a clean table, you pay cheap price, what else to understand ?

 

 

 

[AsianExport]

19 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I'm going to be contrarian here and assert that the regular menu prices at a place like INDIAN RASOI (mentioned here) are not particularly high in any way.

For example, dal tadka, generous portion, 100 baht / scrumptious chicken kebab marinated in cream and spice, 200 baht. 

The groups you see at many places are getting set meals. Yes they would get dal but not fancy kebabs.

I've noticed this cheap charly whining about Indian prices here for many years and it gets kind of tired. If you want Indian group meal prices go to India and book a tour with them. 

I think it's rather imperialistic.

You'd never hear that about prices at French restaurants using the same ingredients.

Yes some Indian restaurants are more expensive than others  but it's not that hard to find reasonable ones either. 

In some cases like Indian by Nature, the high prices are well justified by a first class decor and world class level Indian chefs and dishes. 

As with any restaurant in town, if you don't think the prices on the menu are a fair value to you ... don't eat there. It's their business and their right to offer group deals, etc. It is true many people (including me) consider the imagined costs of the restaurant (food, labor, rent, chef skill, government stuff) in whether the prices seem fair enough. 100 baht for a generous portion of very tasty dal ... to me FAIR, for others not fair (so just move on then). 

Do you think they'd offer the group deals if there wasn't money in it? It's called VOLUME.

You walk in ... you're not VOLUME. Restaurants aren't CHARITIES. 

 

BTW, if you think the Indian a la carte prices are bad, check out some of the CHINESE menus in town. They make the Indian ones look cheap.

Such as the Chinese place on 2nd road, beach side, north of Pattaya Klang, near the outdoor Thai food restaurant complex. The prices there are absurdly high. I've tried the food and it's not that good even if the prices were lower. So I just don't eat there. They get Chinese groups too. So what? It's their business. They lost my business. Way of the world. 

 

 

So true, people who call indian food expensive really do not have one of their eyes open...

it's even as ridiculous and stupid as going to indian by nature.

 

 

 

 

[AsianExport]

18 hours ago, KittenKong said:

 

Chicken breast (the type used in the kebabs you mention) is one of the cheapest meats available here. 60B a kilo. You can make a lot of kebabs with one kilo of chicken. That aside, for 200B I can eat entire good meals in other restaurants here or even go to a Thai moo gata place where the same chicken breast (and a whole load of other things) comes in a buffet. So I do think that your kebabs are very overpriced.

 

Indian by Nature is much better than most Indian places here but it is still way overpriced. But what annoys me more are the rubbish Indian places here who employ unskilled staff and use the cheapest ingredients and produce very bad food and still have the cheek to charge a lot for it "because it's foreign". And there is no shortage at all of such places.

 

You like paying high prices? Great, do so. I dont like it so I wont.

 

 

We might not live on the same planet: all the cheap looking places i have tried are cheap, so how can you be cheated that much ?

 

 

 

[AsianExport]

18 hours ago, Jingthing said:

What we don't agree on is that the prices at Indian Rasoi (and some others) are actually objectively high prices. For me, their prices are neither objectively or subjectively unreasonable. For you, they are. So we're basically in agreement about the prices for ANY restaurant. Check the menu and if the prices don't work for you, don't eat there. Though sometimes it makes sense to try a place at least ONCE to see if there is something special about the place that justifies what may seem to be high prices.

 

Comparing to Thai places mostly geared for mass market locals ... in my view, yet another case of imperialistic thinking.

Apples and oranges. We're not in India.

 

I agree Indian by Nature is very expensive. It's too expensive for me to pay full prices but I see the value in it for those who want the whole package of the luxury fine dining experience (which I don't care about at all).

 

I kind of wish Indian by Nature did a funky second business with a separate smaller menu served in a shophouse with fans. It's a model a lot of fancy restaurants in the west use ... choose luxury or choose just good food casually. 

 

Oh well, they don't do that.

 

It's encouraging to me that Indian by Nature has managed to stay open for so many years in this market so famous for budget seekers. It seems there are enough people with money that don't have an imperialistic attitude towards Indian food, and are willing to pay fine dining "French" prices for fine dining Indian. 

Cheers. 

 

Indian by nature is still open because the owners already are millionaire, not because they have many customers...

Anyway thanks to their crazy overprice menu, ONE customer daily is enough to cover their costs... But with food that is NOT better than anywhere else, I will never go again, I cannot explain why but for me Indian food just like Thai food does not match with luxury, they are made to be cheap and they are as good at dozens of other Indian restaurants.

 

 

 

 

[BruceMangosteen]

11 hours ago, Jingthing said:

 

Gossipy stuff about girls with gold and unrelated to the restaurant massage businesses INTENTIONALLY truncated. This thread is about restaurants.

 

 

The matters mentioned were related to the subject "restaurant". Inside same was the context, one girl sleeping in full customer view, another thinly clad, tiny, young, wearing gold, going outside to smoke cigs, and lastly, massage girls walking by flirting. It's often referred to as environment. As for the salad "in the sandwich" that doesn't pass the laugh test. A couple pieces of lettuce and a tomato is a "salad in the sandwich"? If so, Burger King can claim the whopper comes with a large salad. Back to the subject of the food itself, it was good and I'm not afraid of the prices in there. I could have done without the lazy sleeping whore but the young one with the sexy outfit and gold, well she made a nice moving poster to dine with.

[BruceMangosteen]

In Miami, it's black beans and rice with onions aka Cuban food. And it isn't $5.usd. We weren't' referring to Indian food being inexpensive any place, in fact, made the point it was over priced(not to be confused with "expensive"), over frigging priced everywhere outside Indian itself(I assume). 

[BruceMangosteen]

37 minutes ago, AsianExport said:

 

 

Where is Indian food so expensive ? I find it exactly as Thai food ! if you want to pay for decoration you pay high price, if you understand that you are not eating on the wall but on a clean table, you pay cheap price, what else to understand ?

 

 

 

I think you are confusing the disparity between the two. Indian food in Pattaya is over priced. Period, end of story, no matter the setting or cleanliness of said outfit. Everything is cheap in these places including the posters on the wall and the Burmese labor. I personally don't care if the meat is Muslim approved or not as long as fresh and doesn't get me sick. 

[BruceMangosteen]

37 minutes ago, AsianExport said:

 

 

We might not live on the same planet: all the cheap looking places i have tried are cheap, so how can you be cheated that much ?

 

 

 

Easy. They attempt to charge the same as an expensive looking place. We must once again refer you to the prostitution scene. If a girl or ladyboy in Beach Road ask you for 3000 Baht "short time" she/he is attempting to cheat you. Same with a food vendor selling chicken and rice. If they say "100 Baht" for a cup of chicken and rice they are ripping you off. Same with those new fad fruit drinks, anything more than 20 Baht is cheating people but I've seen them as much as 50 Baht.(from carts)

[AsianExport]

100/200 for any indian dish is not cheating, so obvious !

 

 

[OMGImInPattaya]

I don't know if it's been mentioned already but I can give a shout out to Volterra Italian Restaurant. I dined there recently and the food, prepared by the Italian chef owner was very good. This is a small shophouse affair, nicely decorated and with air-con located in a small soi in the behind Tuk Com area. (Google Maps and Facebook are your friends.) The chef is very friendly and insures your meal goes well. The prices are in the medium price range (pizzas, pastas, mains in B 250-350 range). There are daily specials (from what's fresh in the market) that are featured on their FB page. There is a 10% check discount special if you if you make a dining reservation one day in advance (no minimum number of diners).

[BruceMangosteen]

23 hours ago, AsianExport said:

100/200 for any indian dish is not cheating, so obvious !

 

 

 

I used the word cheating. Please forgive me. It's not the correct word. The words which apply are "ripped off" meaning they overcharging for what is on offer. You can as has been pointed out, look at the prices prior to ordering and just leave if you don't want to be ripped off. Same with the prostitutes and drink carts.(you must ask of course in the case of the prostitute and street vendor)

[Jingthing]

On 9/4/2016 at 8:30 AM, BruceMangosteen said:

...
As for the salad "in the sandwich" that doesn't pass the laugh test. A couple pieces of lettuce and a tomato is a "salad in the sandwich"? If so, Burger King can claim the whopper comes with a large salad.
...

Also in another post you had written:

Quote

 

...

Overall, I enjoyed the meal but my mate noticed what was on the menu(includes fries and a salad) was forgotten. He only got the sandwich. 

...

 

 

 

As I said before, I suspected you had posted some items of MISINFORMATION of what exactly is included with the SANDWICHES there and I said that I would confirm that later.

NOW confirmed with the owner .

 

Simon's MAIN dish PLATTERS (such as schnitzel) indeed DO include two substantial side dishes. Always Israeli salad in a bowl and also a choice of starch like potato, rice, etc.

 

Now that SAME schnitzel when served as a SANDWICH (choice of baguette or pita) does NOT include a side bowl of salad OR a side order of CHIPS/FRIES. 

 

INSTEAD the "salad" (indeed described that way on the LIST of sandwich INGREDIENTS) only consists of some lettuce, cucumber, and tomato IN THE SANDWICH.

 

This is NORMAL for an Israeli sandwich.

 

Also IF you happen to want a few CHIPS/FRIES with a  sandwich order,

that does not come by default. You need to ASK for that and a small portion of CHIPS/FRIES will be placed WITHIN the sandwich.

 

That is included. Of course if you want a separate side order of CHIPS/FRIED you can order that for an extra charge.

 

I've seen that before with Middle Eastern sandwiches (a few CHIP/FRIES) in a pita. 

 

Keeping in mind that that English is not the first language of this restaurant, it's very possible that some customers could not understand all of these details based on the English descriptions on the English menu. 

 

But know you know. 

[Jingthing]

On 9/3/2016 at 10:23 AM, BruceMangosteen said:

...

The food was good. Prices reasonable on the food. I felt a bit ripped off on the beverage. Regular bottle of water was 30 Baht and a regular bottle of Soda Water was 40 Baht. Not obscene, but still...please.....This isn't the Hilton. . 
...

CORRECTION of the incorrect information above --

 

Prices for water at Simon's are as follows:

 

Bottle of water 20

Bottle of soda water 30

The prices are on the menu.

 

[Jingthing]

More fun information about Simon's.

As said before Bruce was correct about the VERY casual aspect of the service there.

Maybe some people would find that annoying, but with the right frame of mind it can be charming.

 

ANYWAY, it's the kind of restaurant where they don't always have everything on the menu.

They may have some bourekas that day when you come. They may not.

You might want lentil soup but they only have chicken soup, or vice versa.

 

But here's a tip. I noticed small side dishes of a little special something on another table. It's not on the menu and they only have it when they make it. So if you see something interesting like that and it's looks good to you, speak up and ask for it. Today it was a delicious shredded CARROT zippy condiment type thingie, a  little sweet, tasted authentic. 

 

About the pitas, I'm pretty sure they bake them in HOUSE (as I saw them preparing dough that looked like it was pitas). I had noticed before their pita was really good so that makes sense. Given that, I would recommend the pita over the baguette if you order a sandwich. Items like humus include a pita. 

 

I did try a sandwich there in a baguette. It was a challenge for my teeth. I was told it was toasted in the oven. In any case -- suggest the pita!

 

 

 

[champers]

It was a challenge for my teeth. Just do what I do. Take them out and put them back when you have finished.

[Jingthing]

59 minutes ago, champers said:

It was a challenge for my teeth. Just do what I do. Take them out and put them back when you have finished.

The bread was just too damn hard! (I've got teeth, knock on wood.)

 

 

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Forgive me if this is the wrong place to post this.  I just saw a sign that suggests Subway is coming to Jomtien.  If you are travelling from the beach, it is about 200 yards past the arch on the right side:

 

[Jingthing]

It's the right place for any local restaurant news. From hiso to loso.

[wpcoe]

Isn't Subway the first American food franchise in Jomtien since KFC?  I think Subway will do fairly well in that location.  The place might even be a bit small (a single-width shophouse?) if business catches on.

[AsianExport]

On 9/4/2016 at 8:38 AM, BruceMangosteen said:

I think you are confusing the disparity between the two. Indian food in Pattaya is over priced. Period, end of story, no matter the setting or cleanliness of said outfit. Everything is cheap in these places including the posters on the wall and the Burmese labor. I personally don't care if the meat is Muslim approved or not as long as fresh and doesn't get me sick. 

 

 

please tell me what indian food is expensive at pattaya ? i find this idea so stupid that I really want to know...

 

 

 

[Awohalitsiktoli]

9 hours ago, wpcoe said:

Isn't Subway the first American food franchise in Jomtien since KFC?  I think Subway will do fairly well in that location.  The place might even be a bit small (a single-width shophouse?) if business catches on.

I think you are correct.  Since the demise of KFC (around 2003-4?), nobody has attempted to set up a well-established American food franchise in Jomtien.  Fortunately, we do have Pastrami on Rye, which serves great American sandwiches and pizza.  I hope Subway makes it in Jomtien.  If it does, maybe we will eventually see Wendy's or Taco Bell.  Both Wendy's and Taco Bell are already in the Philippines.

[BruceMangosteen]

On 9/9/2016 at 8:48 AM, Awohalitsiktoli said:

I think you are correct.  Since the demise of KFC (around 2003-4?), nobody has attempted to set up a well-established American food franchise in Jomtien.  Fortunately, we do have Pastrami on Rye, which serves great American sandwiches and pizza.  I hope Subway makes it in Jomtien.  If it does, maybe we will eventually see Wendy's or Taco Bell.  Both Wendy's and Taco Bell are already in the Philippines.

Never seen a Taco Bell in Thailand. I've always thought the Thai's would like it and Pepsi is here, but I guess a different division or franchise? I wasn't aware in the Philippines, thanks for the adviso. O O and God Bless You.

[BruceMangosteen]

On 9/9/2016 at 1:03 AM, AsianExport said:

 

 

please tell me what indian food is expensive at pattaya ? i find this idea so stupid that I really want to know...

 

 

 

 

Please, again, don't confuse "expensive" with over priced. I may have led you down that path for which I apologize. It's over priced. It costs me at least 400 Baht to have an entree(such as Mutton Maslia), rice, nan bread, and a drink(like water) at most Indian "restaurants" in Pattaya. Considering. as those of us who can simply look and add do, the staff is most often Burmese(paid even less than Thai labor), the settings are usually low end rentals(shop house, strip shopping mall), the food is locally sourced(lies about how they kill the animals etc. be damned., spices by the container to Bangkok and spread to Pattaya), well you get it now mate? In summary....Low labor, low rent, low cost of food converted to a 400 Baht meal for the farang. Please keep in mind that it has been mentioned and assumed, Indian tourists don't pay these prices. Half a billion people live without electricity and running water in India and those Indian tourists that come here share rooms, up to six or eight in one room, and don't spend 400.Baht on a meal(each). 

[BruceMangosteen]

On 9/8/2016 at 11:19 PM, wpcoe said:

Isn't Subway the first American food franchise in Jomtien since KFC?  I think Subway will do fairly well in that location.  The place might even be a bit small (a single-width shophouse?) if business catches on.

Yes, I think so. The venue on Soi Bouikow is also only a single width shophouse frontage/cube but does well. Most get take away. The special of the day is generally speaking a nice meal. Wandering away from that offer and one can feel once again "over charged" and the excuses can be damned.I don't give a hoot about your franchise fees and/or prayers before cutting the chickens throat. O O and God Bless You.

[AsianExport]

3 hours ago, BruceMangosteen said:

 

Please, again, don't confuse "expensive" with over priced. I may have led you down that path for which I apologize. It's over priced. It costs me at least 400 Baht to have an entree(such as Mutton Maslia), rice, nan bread, and a drink(like water) at most Indian "restaurants" in Pattaya. Considering. as those of us who can simply look and add do, the staff is most often Burmese(paid even less than Thai labor), the settings are usually low end rentals(shop house, strip shopping mall), the food is locally sourced(lies about how they kill the animals etc. be damned., spices by the container to Bangkok and spread to Pattaya), well you get it now mate? In summary....Low labor, low rent, low cost of food converted to a 400 Baht meal for the farang. Please keep in mind that it has been mentioned and assumed, Indian tourists don't pay these prices. Half a billion people live without electricity and running water in India and those Indian tourists that come here share rooms, up to six or eight in one room, and other than getting scammed by song tow drivers at "body massage" joints, don't spend 400.Baht on a meal(each). 

 

 

 

Yes I get it, you never managed any business and really don't know price of things.

Sorry no offense but indian food is clearly not overpriced in thailand.

You also especially give the only example of expensive dish when so many cost less than 150 thb, so you are clearly wrong for everybody here.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jingthing]

Pricing is a complex question but overall I think AsianExport's POV is closer to the truth. Of course there are scads of Indian restaurants here and each one has their specific economic situation influencing their pricing.

Some of those costs to the restaurant customer can guess about and others are hidden.

[JHolmesJr]

37 minutes ago, AsianExport said:

Sorry no offense but indian food is clearly not overpriced in thailand.

 

I usually don't side with Brucie as he has been known to confuse soi 13 with soi yamato…unforgivable IMO 

 

However he is right in noting that indian food in thailand is grossly overpriced … and the taste is generally mehhhh….only a couple stand out and by stand out i mean they don't suck.

 

A friend from india took me out one day in bangkok…we went to one of those soi 11 indian places….he said it was the kind of food made by villagers.

[Rimmer]

A post getting into prostitution has been removed, this a restaurant and food topic please do not attempt to hijack it, thank you 

[BruceMangosteen]

2 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

 

A friend from india took me out one day in bangkok…we went to one of those soi 11 indian places….he said it was the kind of food made by villagers.

 

I wonder what people in India with money eat, Indian food wise? Thanks and O O mate.