Sukantha Buffet... well worth it!

[FolkGuitar]

We ate dinner tonight at the Sukantha Buffet, on the east side of Hillside 4, around back down the driveway along side the building.

199 Baht per person, water, soft drinks, and ice included. Beer is extra, but I don't know the cost.

I counted at least 60+ different items that could be cooked at your table on the hibachi. Baskets of whole shrimp... chicken, fish, pork, etc., in different marinades, terrine after terrine of sliced this and that...

I counted at least 50+ different already cooked dishes to choose from. Braised pork leg, BBQ spare ribs, 5-10 different presentations of chicken, pork, roast duck, beef, fish, noodle dishes, curry dishes, gyoza, shell fish, Good God! There was just sooo many different dishes!

I gave up counting all the fruits, cakes, tarts, ice creams, mango&sticky rice, etc. desserts.

The place is like a huge Munich Beer Hall, with table after table filled with people going back for plate after plate after plate. Beer Ladies keep circulating, as do the young men putting out fresh filled hibachi on tables. As soon as one terrine empties, the staff is out there with another full one to replace it. I noticed that most of the hot food terrines empty in less than five minutes, so the food is as fresh as you'd get in a regular sit-down restaurant. As the plates are small, most people take two at a time, fill them up and bring them back to their tables, then go back for more. We spent about an hour and a half there, and neither of us found any dishes that were less than 'good.' Many, in fact most, were incredibly good!

If you are looking for a restaurant with service and ambiance like you find at the Chedi or the Oriental, don't go to this place. There are no cloth napkins.

If you are looking for some great food, with incredible variety, at low cost, where you can eat until you burst, this is the place to find it.

We'll go back again.

[femi fan]

usual where question... where is hillside 4?

[RaysFan]

Adding to my list of places to try...

[elektrified]

IMHO - price has gone up, quality has gone down. Yes many terrines of stuff but a lot of them are livers, intestines and other such 'things' from god knows what, that to me are not edible. I've been probably 20 times over the last 6 years and never seen pork leg, roasted duck, curries, noodle dishes or some of the other things you mention. I believe you - perhaps there has been a recent change or something. I was last there in May.

I also think it is dangerous the way some people cook at the tables, touching raw foods with chop sticks and so forth and then using them to eat, or mixing raw foods with cooked foods. I stick with the cooked foods and grill the shrimp on the BBQ's which they have moved to the back.

[FolkGuitar]

usual where question... where is hillside 4?

Huay Kaew Road, north side, between Kad Suen Kaew and the superhighway, about 200 meters east of the Rincom intersection. It's the huge condo block (actually there are two very large condos front and back) that sits between an open dirt lot and a large open green field with several cows grazing on it. Pretty hard to miss if you drive along the road.

I've been probably 20 times over the last 6 years and never seen pork leg, roasted duck, curries, noodle dishes or some of the other things you mention. I believe you - perhaps there has been a recent change or something. I was last there in May.

We've eaten there three times in the past two months, and those dishes were there each time. Actually, the braised pork leg is one of my favorites, and my biggest reason for going. When I buy that in a food court, I never feel as if I get enough meat. At the buffet I can pile it onto my plate!

Last night they were providing fresh mangosteens too, which they didn't have the first two times we went. The whole uncooked large shrimp (actually, they were prawns rather than shrimp) were not on the regular tables. You had to get them from a service window. A lot depends on the time that you get there. The pork was finished by 7pm and not replaced, nor was the roast duck.

. Yes many terrines of stuff but a lot of them are livers, intestines and other such 'things' from god knows what, that to me are not edible

I don't cook anything other than the shrimp, myself. But that's only because I'm lazy. I'll eat anything that can't move off my plate under its own power. My wife likes to cook up a load of veggies. With more than 50 terrines of already prepared dishes to chose from, I have no difficulty in finding enough wonderful foods with with to stuff myself silly. And I do!

[beau thai]

Thanks for the heads-up on this.

We love the buffets too and always good to try a new one. But important to go early. Did a great one out at Mae Jo Saturday night (sorry-dont know the name) -and it rained hard, so we just had to sit there and eat.... and eat... Tough duty

Trouble is, need to hit the gym next day......

[FolkGuitar]

Thanks for the heads-up on this.

We love the buffets too and always good to try a new one. But important to go early. Did a great one out at Mae Jo Saturday night (sorry-dont know the name) -and it rained hard, so we just had to sit there and eat.... and eat... Tough duty

Trouble is, need to hit the gym next day......

Be careful not to go to this one too early. We went at 5:30 pm last month but they didn't even start to bring out the cooked dishes until around 6:30. We were already pretty full by that time. Last night we arrived there at 6:30 which worked out perfectly for our food tastes.

[elektrified]

Thanks for the heads-up on this.

We love the buffets too and always good to try a new one. But important to go early. Did a great one out at Mae Jo Saturday night (sorry-dont know the name) -and it rained hard, so we just had to sit there and eat.... and eat... Tough duty

Trouble is, need to hit the gym next day......

Be careful not to go to this one too early. We went at 5:30 pm last month but they didn't even start to bring out the cooked dishes until around 6:30. We were already pretty full by that time. Last night we arrived there at 6:30 which worked out perfectly for our food tastes.

So basically there is a 30 minute window of opportunity to get the "good stuff"? Guess that is why I've never seen any of the things you mentioned. I've never been before about 19:30.

[FolkGuitar]

Thanks for the heads-up on this.

We love the buffets too and always good to try a new one. But important to go early. Did a great one out at Mae Jo Saturday night (sorry-dont know the name) -and it rained hard, so we just had to sit there and eat.... and eat... Tough duty

Trouble is, need to hit the gym next day......

Be careful not to go to this one too early. We went at 5:30 pm last month but they didn't even start to bring out the cooked dishes until around 6:30. We were already pretty full by that time. Last night we arrived there at 6:30 which worked out perfectly for our food tastes.

So basically there is a 30 minute window of opportunity to get the "good stuff"? Guess that is why I've never seen any of the things you mentioned. I've never been before about 19:30.

I'm basing my comments on just three visits, all made on weekends. It's entirely possible that timings are different during the week.

As for the 'good stuff,' there were over 50 terrines of 'good stuff' to chose from, if you love Thai foods. Just not as many of plain meats/poultry. And I have no idea of what comes out of the kitchen after we leave. I have a hard time believing that a restaurant only serves for 90 minutes, especially on weekends. The Beer Ladies were toting around the big beer pumps when we were walking out. I'd think that the patrons wouldn't be planning to stay that long if the food lines shut down early.

[beau thai]

Many thanks Folkguitar-I'll try to hit the 30 minute window, then feedback, but maybe not this week....

[elektrified]

Thanks for the heads-up on this.

We love the buffets too and always good to try a new one. But important to go early. Did a great one out at Mae Jo Saturday night (sorry-dont know the name) -and it rained hard, so we just had to sit there and eat.... and eat... Tough duty

Trouble is, need to hit the gym next day......

Be careful not to go to this one too early. We went at 5:30 pm last month but they didn't even start to bring out the cooked dishes until around 6:30. We were already pretty full by that time. Last night we arrived there at 6:30 which worked out perfectly for our food tastes.

So basically there is a 30 minute window of opportunity to get the "good stuff"? Guess that is why I've never seen any of the things you mentioned. I've never been before about 19:30.

I'm basing my comments on just three visits, all made on weekends. It's entirely possible that timings are different during the week.

As for the 'good stuff,' there were over 50 terrines of 'good stuff' to chose from, if you love Thai foods. Just not as many of plain meats/poultry. And I have no idea of what comes out of the kitchen after we leave. I have a hard time believing that a restaurant only serves for 90 minutes, especially on weekends. The Beer Ladies were toting around the big beer pumps when we were walking out. I'd think that the patrons wouldn't be planning to stay that long if the food lines shut down early.

My post was in reference to yours when you said the popular prepared foods were gone by 7:00 P.M. and never replaced.

[FolkGuitar]

My post was in reference to yours when you said the popular prepared foods were gone by 7:00 P.M. and never replaced.

Sorry. My fault entirely. I forgot that when posting to ThaiVisa it is important to be quite specific.

I should have said " two or three of the popular prepared foods were gone by 7:00 P.M. and never replaced during the next 30 minutes that we were there. We left by 7:30. I have no idea what happened later. Seeing the rapid change-overs of so many different terrines, I would imagine one would have to patrol the 4-5 long food tables constantly to really know what is there or not. Going up once every 15-20 minutes and seeing what is there during the one or two minutes spent gathering food would hardly give an accurate representation.

I'll try to be more accurate in future posts.

[kalbo123]

Am I the only one that always gets sick after a Thai BBQ night? And not from the alcohol!

[philw]

Am I the only one that always gets sick after a Thai BBQ night? And not from the alcohol!

No, you're not.

I have been a few times to the place mentioned ( my staff used to want to go there ) but none of us will go there again.

it's crap, literal and metaphorical.