Evil Penevil

I'm a big fan of Taco Taco, but I haven't been back too many times since they moved to Soi 9 off Pattaya Klang, simply because the old location, a stall in the Soi Buakhao night market, was more convenient for me. No doubt, though, that the new enclosed, air-conditioned restaurant is a far more comfortable place to have a meal than a fold-up table in front of the old stall. The menu has expanded considerably, too. I went back yesterday to try the Taco Tuesday special: And a tempting pic from Taco Taco's Facebook page: The following tacos cost 60 baht each all day Tuesday and you can mix and match as you please: You can also choose hard-shell corn tortillas or soft wheat tortillas. I picked column B and had the conchinita pibil and chicken tinga in corn tortillas and the smoky beef on a wheat tortilla. The order came with three in-house-made sauces: the iconic Mexican pico de gallo (aka salsa fresca or salsa mexicana); habanero chili hot sauce (fiery hot ) and pineapple salsa. The pork, chicken and beef in the tacos had been slow-cooked with Mexican spices. The cook didn't skimp on the chili content and the chicken tinga and smoky beef had quite a kick without the hot sauce. The conchinita pibil was a bit milder with a sweet-sour flavor to the pork. It's based on a traditional pork dish from the Yucatán Peninsula and is a favorite of mine. I hope Taco Taco spins off conchinita pibil into a main dish and not just a taco filling. The meal cost 180 baht for the three tortillas and 20 baht for a bottle of water. Bottom line: Since Dave's Cantina closed, these are the best tacos in Pattaya. They aren't the biggest, but definitely the best tasting. Some other taco variations on offer on the regular menu. Taco Taco also has weekly specials and this week it's three-bean chili con carne with rice and nachos: : Evil

Il Peccatore ("The Sinner') is an Italian restaurant that's been open since mid-November on Soi Lengkee, about half way between Soi Buakhao and 3rd Road. I read that the owner named it Il Peccatore because Pattaya is a city of sinners. It features indoor and outdoor dining areas, with the enclosed area strictly non-smoking. The indoor area had about 15 diners when I arrived and I didn't want to get intrusive with my camera, so I only took pictures of the bar area. I had been meaning to try Il Peccatore for awhile, but never got around to it until last night. Il Peccatore posts its daily specials on its Facebook page and yesterday's special really caught my eye: paccheri cacio e pepe. Il Peccatore Paccheri is large tubular pasta and cacio e pepe translates as "cheese and pepper." The cheese is pecorino romano, a very salty type made from sheep's milk. Cacio e pepe is one of the oldest dishes in Italian cuisine, dating back to shepherds in Roman times. It's a simple dish, consisting of only a few ingredients, namely cheese, pasta and pepper. Modern variations often add extra virgin olive oil to give the sauce a shine. Since the 1950s, cacio e pepe has become a staple in Rome's restaurants and has more recently become popular outside Italy. In 2016, it was named by a New York City magazine as the year's "trendiest dish." I haven't seen it before on a menu in Pattaya, so I was eager to try it. I wasn't disappointed. The sauce was excellent and coated the fresh pasta as it should. I thought it could do with a bit more pepper and ground more on the pasta from the miniature pepper mill on the condiment tray. A basket of fresh bread preceded the pasta. After the meal. the waitress offered me a complimentary glass of chilled limoncello as a digestif. Nice touch! I really like limoncello. I was happy with the meal. The portion wasn't large, but the paccheri was very filling and adequate for me. Considering the meal was based on fresh pasta and pecorino romano and included bread and limoncello, I thought it was value for money at 270 baht. I know there are restaurants where you can get bigger plates of spaghetti for half the price, but a mound of dry pasta with canned sauce is a long way from paccheri cacio e pepe. The service was fast and friendly. The waitress I had spoke good English, which isn't always the case in Pattaya restaurants. The owner (or perhaps manager) greeted me both on my way in and out. I didn't study the menu, but there seemed to be a wide range of Italian dishes, including pizza. I noticed another diner had taken the other special, the grilled T-bone steak for 490 baht, and I almost regretted my decision to go with the pasta. The steak looked large and thick and the gentleman ate it with gusto. Il Peccatore's daily specials follow a pattern of fresh pasta dishes under 300 baht and a meat dish (beef, lamb, pork, duck) under 500 baht. The meat dishes aren't necessarily Italian, such as roast beef with roasted potatoes and T-bone steak. I'll include some photos of the daily special lists from Il Peccatore's FB page at the end of this post. From what I overhead of the other guests' table conversation, almost all were Italian. That's a decent comment on the quality of the food. Bottom line: I'll definitely go back for another taste of Italy and maybe the steak and roast lamb as well. Evil

Someone I know personally wrote on another board that Nueng's Pies do indeed deliver and delivery is free on orders above 300 baht. He said Nueng responds quickly to messages via Facebook. Evil

I've had Nueng's pies in the past and they are good, but I fully acknowledge I have limited experience of UK-style meat pies. She's located on the Darkside and (edit in) delivers to central Pattaya. All the pics come from Neung's Pies FB page.

says I. I just read the following on Facebook: I'll try to find out if it's finito or he is just moving to a new location. Evil

and to Flo. Simon's has been going for awhile, but has changed locations a couple of times. He has a dedicated customer base and gets a lot of word-of-mouth recommendations among Israeli and other Middle Eastern visitors as some of his dishes aren't available elsewhere in Pattaya. Evil

It's a very long jump.

Maybe he's jumping the Shark? Evil

I've finally gotten around to writing up a review of Simon's Hummus Laboratory on Soi Buakhao at the north side of Buakhao Night Market. It's on the upper level above the SCB branch and next to Amazon Coffee. Whether it's on the first or second floor depends on what country you come from. 😄 It's easy to miss Simon's because there is no eye-catching signage on the ground level. The yellow arrow marks the entrance to Simon's. Simon's is an Israeli and Middle Eastern restaurant. As the name indicates and the Web site proclaims, it is focused on "hummus, hummus and more hummus." In Israel and at Simon's, hummus has gone beyond an appetizer (meze) or accompaniment for drinks and become The Base for main courses. The mainstay of the menu seems to be hummus platters in numerous variations accompanied by pita bread and small side dishes of cabbage, carrots and hot sauce. I like the classic hummus with falafel and have had it several times. It costs 180 baht. Hummus itself is boiled, mashed chickpeas, which can be bland. The addition of olive oil, herbs and spices give it a lot more flavor, as do the side dishes. The portion is large enough for a light lunch or supper. But if you're looking for a more substantial meal, Simon's doesn't disappoint. The baked chicken with potatoes is very good at 220 baht. There's plenty of chicken and potatoes in a well-seasoned sauce. It comes with the same side dishes as the hummus platter. I don't usually post "after" pics, but one below shows how much I enjoyed my meal. Another favorite of mine at Simon's is the shakshuka, a combination of poached eggs simmered with tomatoes, onions, garlic and spices. It costs 150 baht. There are many variations of shakshuka and at Simon's it comes with cheese melted on the eggs. Food historians can't decide if it originated in Turkey, Morocco or Yemen, but it has been adopted as an Israeli staple, eaten for breakfast or dinner. It's light and healthy, but filling. I much prefer it over Western fried breakfasts. Simon's has many tasty and interesting dishes from Israel and other Middle Eastern countries. I'll post excerpts from the menu at the end of this review The decor at Simon's is eclectic to say the least. It's clean and well-lit. I can't remember anything about the background music, so it must have been unobtrusive. The service staff and Simon himself are friendly. Each time I've eaten there, he's asked me how the food was. Bottom line: The Israeli food at Simon's may be new to a lot of plain-vanilla farang, but don't hesitate to try it. Simon's is open every day from 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. Evil

(The pic above is from Moon's Facebook page. I went back after my first visit to take an exterior pic in daylight, but Moon was for interior work. My pics below). The Moon Diner has been open in Tree Town for about six weeks and I tried it for dinner a few days ago with two friends. Its theme for the menu, decor and background music is an American diner from the 1950's and 1960's. Of course, the Moon Diner has about as much in common with a real U.S. diner as the Siam Garden Restaurant in Norman, Oklahoma would have with any popular Thai restaurant in Pattaya. But that's beside the point. From what I've seen in real life and in Facebook pictures, the Moon's customers are by a big margin Thais. Not farang, certainly not Americans, but Thais who have never gotten closer to the U.S. than a TV or movie screen. The Moon Diner is playing into what its customers think an American diner should have been like 50 or 60 years ago. According to Moon Diner's Facebook page, the direct inspiration is Mel's Drive-In from the iconic 1973 film, American Graffiti. Mel's was a real restaurant, but outside San Francisco, not in Modesto, CA, the site of American Graffiti. Actually, Moon is closer in form and spirit to Arnold's Diner in the TV series Happy Days. The layout with booth and counter seating is typical for some traditional diners in the U.S. but what the heck- you can't mistake it's supposed to be American something. The Moon is covered with every possible American symbol, including three U.S. flags inside and four on the roof! And you have to love the statue of Marilyn Monroe ... as well as the baseball bat and catcher's mitt on the counter. To cut to the chase-the food at Moon is good- not great, but good. It is expensive for what you get and portions are adequate but not large. The decor and lighting are a bit gaudy, but the background music (rock'n'roll and pop classics from the 1950s and 1960s) was played at a very discreet level. That's a big plus for me. I wasn't very hungry the night we ate there and just had a toasted ham and Swiss cheese sandwich for 139 baht. It came on a wooden platter with a fancy presentation and a small order of French fries. You won't see that too often in a U.S. diner. The ham and Swiss cheese were good quality and the balsamic vinegar and tomato foam were nice touches. I enjoyed the sandwich. My friend had the chicken schnitzel at 220 baht. It also came on a wooden platter, this time with fries and a few lettuce leaves with but without much of a presentation. It was a fairly large piece of chicken breast and he thought it tasted fine. We both felt the fries- crispy on the outside, fluffy inside- were better than the fries you often get in Pattaya. His Thai companion was hungry that night and began with an order of buffalo wings ... followed by a shrimp cocktail and Thai soup. The shrimp cocktail cost 139 baht and the soup was 89 baht. I forget how much the buffalo wings were. She knocked back all of it. I tasted a bit of a buffalo wing and it was fine, not as spicy as I had expected. My friend had one of the shrimp and said it was very fresh. That shrimp cocktail did indeed hark back to the style of the 1960s. Another afternoon I went back to try the calamari. It was an appetizer-sized portion, but tasted good and had been deep- fried properly. The menu at the Moon is fairly extensive, covering a number of U.S. and international bases. They offer the usual array of farang favorites, including hamburgers, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, pork chops, BBQ ribs and a few Thai dishes. It also has some American-style ice cream sundaes. The Moon offers a number of beers and cocktails. It's located at the northwest end of Tree Town, across from a Thai nightclub that used to be called "Burn." It could be the management of Moon is counting on business from customers at the nightclub. Moon's opening hours are 4.30 p.m. to 2.00 a.m. seven days a week. The night were ate there, Moon had more customers inside and outdoors than I had expected. Bottom line: Moon is a fun place to take a Thai girl for a meal as it provides numerous opportunities for the ever-so-important selfies. The kitschy decor is likely to be a turn-off for some farang, although it will probably prove popular with Russians if they find the place as it's hidden in a back corner of Tree Town. One curious note: Moon seems to have some connection with Thai photographers. Moon's Facebook page features a number of photos of girls taken by various photographers at the diner. The night we ate there, two Thais with heavy-duty professional camera equipment were sitting at one of the booths, but they weren't taking pics while we were there. (The two photos above are from Moon's Facebook page). Evil

Little Tavern began operating in 2018 the premises of the former Queens Arms on Soi Buakhao south of the intersection with Soi Lengkee. Monday I decided to give it a try, but that was a bad choice. The meal I had was squarely mediocre. Actually, I shouldn't have eaten there at all. I had been attracted by an outdoor chalkboard sign that advertised Chicken Kiev with mashed potatoes and veggies for 169 baht. But when I tried to order it, the waitress said, "Sorry, already finish." It was about 7.00 p.m. at the time. Naughty, naughty. A restaurant should take in an outdoor sign touting a special if it's not available. In the past, in similar situations, I've simply said something like, "I really wanted Chicken Kiev. I'll come back another day," and walked out. Don't get angry, just vote with your feet. But I ignored my own rule, in part because I wanted to try Little Tavern and in part because I was tired, hungry and needed to deal with some messages on my phone. I looked at the menu and said I'd take the baked ham at 150 baht instead. "No hab today," was the reply. The waitress wanted me to take the chicken breast with mushroom at 165 baht. I didn't really fancy that and scanned the menu again. Nothing caught my eye. It seemed to be the same stolid pub food that's standard in dozens of restaurants from Naklua to Na Jomtien; Lake Mabprachan to Beach Road; and all points between. The waitress pressed me to take the chicken breast; it was good and cost the same as the special, she said. I gave up at that point, ignored all the warning signals and rolled the dice on the waitress' suggestion. Unfortunately, it came up snake eyes. Loser, loser, loser! The chicken breast with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes and the Pattaya Holy Trinity of side vegetables- carrots, broccoli and cauliflower- was not good. As I've said about all the dishes in this thread, it wasn't bad, just not good. When the plate came down in front of me, it looked pretty good and I thought I might have lucked out, especially after I tasted the gravy. It was excellent, clearly made from scratch and full of flavor. But alas, that was the highlight. The rest was a letdown and pushed the meal into mediocre territory. In Texas hold'em poker, Ace-King hole cards are called an Anna Kournikova after the beautiful but moderately talented tennis star because they "look better than they play." I'm trying to express the same idea about my meal at Little Tavern, but you eat food, you don't play it, and how Anna Kournikova would taste is anyone's guess. I doubt many can speak from personal experience. The three chicken breasts were dry as sawdust and about as tasty. No seasoning had been used on them. One edge of each had been pounded thin and cooked so hard it was inedible. The potatoes were watery and seemed to have been pureed, not mashed. All the flavor had been boiled out of the vegetables. The gravy was excellent, but gravy alone does not a good meal make. Here's what may have happened: the chicken breasts on my plate had been intended to be used in Chicken Kiev, but the cook didn't prepare enough portions and for some reason couldn't make more. Maybe they ran out of bread crumbs or the cook who knew how to make it had gone home. Who knows? The waitress pushed the chicken breasts with mushroom gravy to help use up the ingredients on hand and frying was the quickest way to do it. Aside from the food, there were some positives about my meal at Little Tavern: comfortable seats; good lighting and ventilation; background music at a blessedly low volume; and friendly service. It's a nice place to have a drink and would be a good one for a meal if the cooking improves. As noted earlier, the menu at Little Tavern isn't very inspiring. It's mostly British comfort food, steaks of unspecified "imported" beef and some Thai dishes. I'm sorry the resolution in the photo below is so low, but if you click on "Enlarge," those of you with good eyes may be able to get a better idea of what is on offer. Food prices seem to be on par with or higher than comparable restaurants nearby. With its rock-bottom prices, the Chunky Monkey has proved very popular. As several posters have noted, Soi Buakhao and LK Metro are price-sensitive areas and the food has to be top quality to justify premium prices and remain competitive. That sure wasn't the case with my meal. The happy hour price for bottled Thai beer is 60 baht, but at a bar across the street, the happy hour price for the same brands is 45 baht. Little Tavern is likely to struggle on the price front. If I remember the sign right, Little Tavern is open between 7.00 a.m. and 11 p.m., but the kitchen closes at 9.00 p.m. Bottom line: I won't be rushing back. Evil

Food World has been open about three weeks now, but it doesn't appear to be off to a rousing start. The total space is huge, probably bigger than the food court at Central Festival, but I never seen more than a handful of customers when I passed by, whether morning, afternoon or evening. It's open between 10 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. The food on offer is what you'd expect at a Thai food court, mostly inexpensive Thai dishes, but at least one vendor has Western-style spaghetti. I've eaten there twice and wasn't impressed with the food, not at all. I had the boat noodles with beef at 55 baht ... and the fried rice with pork, also 55 baht. Both I would rank at mediocre as best. Boat noodles are supposed to have a strong, rich flavor due to the pig's blood and various herbs and spices used in the soup, but the bowl I had was very bland. It tasted like instant noodles out of a package. The fried rice was almost flavorless and quite oily with very little pork. I make better at home myself. The small food stalls that had previously occupied the rear section of The Avenue were much better, as are the stall in the open-air mid-section. Bottom line: Unless things improve dramatically, I won't be back. Evil

Time for an update. La Petite Planète has been offering French food for many years now. I don't when it opened, but I've enjoyed meals there since 2008. It's located about half-way down a sub soi that runs along the west side of Tukcom. It's small and there's nothing fancy about it, but the food is excellent. For a unpretentious bistro meal, La Petite Planète is a good choice. I've never had a bad meal there and plenty of truly good ones. It also features a limit menu of Thai food and the girls I've taken there who've sampled the Thai dishes gave it the thumbs up. Last summer I took an American friend to LPP and he's become a huge fan. He visits Pattaya three or four times a year and now eats at LPP several times each trip. Sunday night we had another meal there. As usual, we both went for the three-course "mix-and-match" menu. At 320 baht, it's excellent value for money. He started with the tomato soup ... while I had the couscous salad. The starters came with a basket of warm, fresh French bread and pats of butter. He chose salmon steak with potato croquettes as his main course ... and I went with the chicken breast with mustard sauce. For dessert, he decided on the French classic crème caramel ... and I had raspberry pudding in a cake "frame." No complaints from either of us on any of our choices. All the dishes were prepared with quality ingredients, executed well and were full of flavor. The mustard sauce was outstanding, the highlight of my meal. La petite planète has conquered the bugbear of many small restaurants- inconsistency. Every meal is good. I do wish they'd have a bit more variation with the vegetables- I get tired of the holy trinity of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots- but that's a very minor point. To get three course of that quality for only 320 baht is an excellent deal. Bottom line: Both of us will be going back to LPP, probably this week. One important point of information: LPP is closed Tuesdays. Evil

I had dinner New Year's Eve with a farang friend and his Thai companion at Calles Bar and Restaurant in the arcade next to Soi Diana. That arcade, which runs between 2nd Road and Cherry Bar, is something of Pattaya's Restaurant Row. It's home to Kiss Food, Beefeater, Patrick's, Longhorn Steakhouse, My Way, Little India and a couple of others. All were very busy. Every seat was taken at Kiss; Patrick's had a sign up saying it was fully occupied; Beefeater and Longhorn had people waiting for tables. We got the last table available at 8.00 p.m. at Calles. It hadn't been our first choice, but we we were rewarded with excellent meals. I had the planked chicken at 295 baht. Roasting meat or fish on an oak plank is a Scandinavian cooking technique that probably predates Viking times, but was revived in Sweden in the 20th century. I got a nicely grilled piece of chicken breast flanked on two sides by duchess potatoes, a favorite of mine. It's the nutmeg used as a seasoning as well as butter and egg in the mashed potatoes that does it for me. Duchess potatoes are a classic of French cuisine, supposedly first made for a British duchess on a visit to France. The two asparagus stalks wrapped in bacon and the grilled tomato half are the usual accompaniments to modern Swedish planked dishes. The gravy was OK, but it didn't add much flavor. My friend had the dory fillet, which he liked very much. It came with salad and rice, but he could have had potatoes with it and on second thought, wished he had. I can't remember the exact price, but it was around 250 baht. His girlfriend had the planked salmon at about 425 baht. That's outside the scope of this thread, but she was happy with it and her margarita. The salmon came with duchess potatoes, two asparagus stalks, grilled tomato half, Hollandaise sauce and a sprig of dill. Bottom line: Good stuff on the menu at Calles, with quite a few items under 300 baht. All three of us intend to return. I did an earlier review of Calles here. It's post #67 in this thread. Evil

Sorry, my mistake. In haste, I read "nasi rames" as "nasi names." Maybe time for visit to an optician for an eye examination. It's been awhile. Evil