Evil Penevil

I hadn't been into White Pines for several months because of some disappointing meals in the wake of last year's staff hassles. However, I'd heard about the new chef and wanted to try his food. At 11.00 p.m., I was the only customer- not a good sign- although one other person entered while I was there. I didn't have to wait long for my meal- I ordered the salmon with garlic rice- and it was quite good, especially the garlic rice. The salmon was fresh and cooked properly, not at all dry. The garlic "chips" atop the rice has also been fried perfectly and added a nice accent. The dill sauce was also good. This meal harked back to the White Pines of the past. When White Pines opened in November, 2016, it gained a reputation for offering excellent food at bargain prices. The female chef at the time clearly knew how to make Western food, Italian in particular. White Pines' location also made it very convenient for visitors to Walking Street. However, when the chef left WP in October last year, the quality of the food slid significantly and the recovery process has been bumpy to say the least. It wasn't the biggest piece of salmon I've had in Pattaya, but at 195 baht, it was good value for money thanks to the quality. This was only one meal, but it was certainly encouraging, enough so that I'll be back. Next time I'll try the calamari to see if it has regained its previous heights. I couldn't fault the service in any way. At the end of the meal, the chef came out of the kitchen and asked via the waitress if everything had been O.K. I said yes and complimented him on the sauce and garlic chips. White Pines has printed up a new menu, but the offerings don't seem to have changed up. It's now open between 5 p.m. and 2 a.m. , but closed Tuesdays. Photos of some of the menu pages. This is real fusion cooking for you: Tom Yum Quinoa and Krapow Quinoa with salmon. I'm sure the early Andean people would be proud. Physically, not much has changed with White Pines since it opened 16 months ago. It's still clean, well-lit and comfortable. . Bottom line: I haven't abandoned hope for White Pines and will be back to see if the improvement is lasting. Evil

There's also a difference between what bar owners may say to reporters and what they say to Thai police. Evil

Yes, it is one of my favorites. For those of you who like big burgers and especially Australian-style burgers with beetroot, fried egg and grilled pineapple, Kilkenny's has added to its menu the Ozzie Works burger reviewed in post #199. Kilkenny does a good job with farang comfort food and its daily specials are great value for money. From Kilkenny's FB page: Evil

In the U.S., pork belly is mostly used to make bacon or salt pork, which today is used as a seasoning or flavor accent in soups and stews, especially clam chowder. But there are many ways in which pork belly can be prepared: 17 Best Pork Belly Recipes. My dad and grandfather were great fans of pork cracklin'. Evil

Pete- I would certainly agree that "managing expectations" is a huge problem for the entire hospitality industry, hotels as well as restaurants and bars. This is a particular problem in Pattaya because many visitors from W. European and English-speaking countries expect the same standard of food and accommodation as they enjoy back home but want to pay much lower prices since Pattaya is a "Third-World" shit hole. It's fairly common to find that mindset reflected in food reviews on the punter boards and the FB food groups. But a few reviewers aren't simply stupid or uninformed, they have nefarious intentions. Have you ever had anyone try to "extort" a free meal or discount at the Beer Garden through the threat of a bad review on Trip Advisor or one of the Pattaya Facebook food groups? I know this happens on a regular basis in Pattaya, just wondering if you have encountered it. Luckily, dishonest food reviews haven't appeared on Pattaya Talk for more than a year, thanks to action by the mods. The story of the Shed at Dulwitch is strange to say the least. It made obvious that Trip Advisor had no measures in place to prevent fraud of this sort. That's astounding for a company of its size and influence. The algorithm T A uses for its rankings should have caught and red-flagged the Shed's rapid rise in the rankings. This should have touched off a check by human eyes. What's even more amazing is that NO ONE outside of T A ever thought to visit London's highest-ranked restaurant. Most media outlets, print or broadcast, have food reviewers or commentators. London is home to dozens of professional food writers and hundreds of amateur food-related Web sites, blogs, FB groups, etc. Moreover, many restaurateurs check out new entries in the field to see if they're a serious competitor. That NONE of these people thought to go to the physical address of a restaurant taking Trip Advisor by storm is mind-boggling. Even if they couldn't get a reservation by phone or email, that's even more reason to visit the restaurant to make sure it's actually that busy. It's so extremely peculiar I can't help wondering WHY NO ONE CAUGHT ON TO THE FRAUD. Evil

The Royal Grill Room & Wine Cellar is on the list at #46. The other two Royal Cliff restaurants among the top 60 are Caprice and Rossini. It is a one of the, if not THE, most classic Western restaurants in Pattaya. A pic from the management: In a resort area like Pattaya, it's a bit overwhelming for most tourists and residents, plus it's very expensive by Pattaya standards. And as you say, most bar girls wouldn't like it at all. It's understandable it wouldn't rank high on a popularity list. But in terms of a fine dining experience, it is a top-range option. No, I haven't. I've been there once, but only for dessert. I didn't have my camera along, so I didn't write it up. I seldom do reviews if I don't have pics to go with it. It is #404 in the rankings. Kiss on 2nd Road is #61 and the Sailor on Soi 8 is #198. The strange thing is that several favorites among the more budget-minded ex-pats and tourists are missing from T A's list. Evil

The problem with T A's ranking of restaurants in Pattaya or anywhere else is that it doesn't measure what people think it measures. It's not a listing of restaurants by quality or even popularity in terms of the number of diners. It only measures how the restaurant ranks according to T A's system of ranking restaurants. That system has some inherent flaws and it is also easy to manipulate, so sometimes restaurants get high rankings that reflect neither quality nor the number of diners. It's a bit like what is sometimes said about certain students- they may not know much about the subject, but they are good at taking tests. The same is true of some restaurant owners. The food they serve may be second-rate, but they have learned how to manipulate the T A ranking system to get a high spot on the list. I could open a can of very fat and ugly worms with a post on the individuals behind some reviews of Pattaya restaurants, but it's not a good path to go down. Fake reviews aren't a problem on Pattaya Talk itself and haven't been for more than a year. Suffice it to say that the reviews on T A should be taken not just with a grain of salt but a ton of it. Never forget that a high ranking on T A is no guarantee of quality food. Evil

This is a list of Trip Advisor's top 59 restaurants out of 944 in Pattaya as of Jan. 28, 2017. It was supposed to be a list of 60, but Mai Thai Cuisine at #9 fell by the wayside while I was formatting the list. My apologies to Mai Thai. You can find the T A ranking's for Pattaya here, However, T A continuously updates its rankings, so what you read today may differ from the lists below. And the top 10 in more detail: These 60 restaurants were placed highest by Trip Advisor's algorithm for ranking restaurants based on reviews by anonymous posters. It is NOT by any stretch of the imagination a list of the best restaurants in Pattaya as it doesn't feature objective standards for quality. Even if such standards could be established, it would be impossible to apply them to anonymous reviews. Basically, the list is a mishmash of the most popular Pattaya restaurants according to Trip Advisor's set of rules for calculating rankings. It's a very flawed approach that is wide open to manipulation. Just consider the recent case of the fake restaurant listed as #1 in London: How An Entirely Fake Restaurant Became London's Hottest Reservation. But even if the ranking algorithm were perfectly fair, there's still an inherent contradiction which can't be overcome. How do you compare a fine dining restaurant to a casual budget restaurant? Or a pizzeria to a seafood restaurant? Or a classic French restaurant to an Indian or Tex Mex restaurant and say which is better? It's impossible. That said, there's no denying T A is hugely influential and contains some excellent reviews and tips on restaurants. It's a matter of using it carefully and sorting the fake reviews from the genuine. Keep in mind, too, that restaurant reviews are always subjective and reflect personal preferences. Diners have different priorities when it comes to restaurant meals. Some are most concerned with portion size and price; if they get a lot of food for a little money, they are happy. Others are focused on the quality of the food and the total dining experience, which goes beyond the food on the plate. A few things jump out regarding the list of the top restaurants. It's not surprising to find places like Cafe des Amis, Bruno's, Livv, Moonlight, Horizon and Casa Pascal among the top 10; fine dining restaurants always do well in ranking lists. It's surprising, though, that Five Star J comes in at #3 and absolutely mind-boggling Caravan, a Russian-Uzbek (!!!) restaurant, would place third. Surprising and mind-bogging, that is, until you take into account how T A compiles its rankings. Both Five Star J and Caravan appeal to limited groups of customers- Five Star to vegans and vegetarians; Caravan to Russian and Chinese tourists. Within those groups there's more uniformity of opinion about the restaurant's food, so it gets a high number of positive ratings. Those who don't like vegetarian or Russian food aren't likely to eat there at all and it therefore doesn't get a lot of low ratings. It's a bit more complicated that that, but without going into a lot of detail, it's safe to say the high rankings of Five Star J and Caravan are largely quirks of the T A system. I also found it surprising that Hooters ranked in 32nd place, one notch above Pattaya Beer Garden. Considering how much hatred is expressed on the punter boards over Hooters, I'm astounded it's done so well in the T A reviews. A comment in of one of those reviews made me chuckle: "The biggest Hooters I've ever seen." I found it strange that very popular Thai seafood restaurants like Mum Aroi and Pupen didn't make the top 60, nor did popular Thai chains like MK. But that may simply be due to Thais not writing reviews on T A. Over the years, I've eaten in about 40 of the 60 restaurants. Anyway, what restaurants do you feel shouldn't be in the top 60 and which are glaring by their omission? Remember, the list is about popularity, not quality. Evil

No luck so far. She wasn't there on Australia Day. Evil

Yeah, I've been living dangerously this week. I had the Ozzy Burger at Kilkenny last night as I continue to meander along Coronary Lane. That was quite an impressive burger for 185 baht including fries. It consisted of a thick beef patty topped with cheese, fried onions, side bacon, fried egg and a slice of grilled pineapple. The beef patty rested on a layer of pickled beets, a couple of slices of tomato and a lettuce leaf. A toasted bun held this hefty concoction together. The fried egg had been splashed with HP Sauce, but there wasn't any other dressing on the burger.a The cook sure didn't skimp on any of the ingredients; there was a lot of beef, cheese, bacon and beetroot, making it a very filling meal. I'm not a fan of pineapple on burgers, so I pushed the slice aside and had it as a mini-dessert when I had finished the rest. There are a lot of theories about how beetroot, fried egg and grilled pineapple came to be added to hamburgers, One popular version claims it was a prank played on U.S. servicemen in Australia during both WW II and the Viet Nam War. There may be some truth in that story, but Australian food historians say beetroot, a very popular vegetable in Australia, had been added to hamburgers since the 1930s, a decade before the arrival of U.S. troops. The most likely explanation may be that it was a combination of toppings that caught on with the Australia public. I believe this was a one-day special at the Kilkenny in honor of Australia Day. I liked it because it tasted fine and I enjoy trying burgers that are different from the ones you'd get at a truck stop in Norman, Oklahoma or Frog Leap, Tennessee. Maybe I'll have another Ozzy Burger next year on Jan. 28. Evil

MC Burger on Soi Bukhao is a recent entry in Pattaya's crowded field of hamburger restaurants. It's located roughly halfway between Pattaya Tai and LK Metro, about 50 meters south of, and on the same side of the road, as the ill-named Action Street. It's a small single-shop restaurant without a large external sign, so it's easy to miss if you're riding the baht bus. It has three tables for four inside and one table outside, plus a low table flanked by sofas. The walls are decorated with rather garnish graffiti-style paintings. But what the hell. This is a hamburger joint in Pattaya, so garnish isn't really out of place. This is the menu that has been posted on MC Burger's Web site, along with a photo of one of the items, the Frisco Melt. It's a small and straight-forward menu, featuring hamburger variations and curly or French fries. There are a few non-burger sandwiches listed on the menu inside the restaurant as well as chicken tenders and wings. MC Club also has a "build-your-own-burger" option. All the burgers are 200 baht and include a small basket of fries. I went with the Frisco Melt last night and wasn't disappointed. It's a decent recreation of the iconic Frisco Melt, the signature burger of the U.S. Steak n Shake chain. The MC Burger variation consisted of two beef patties, two slices of cheese, bacon and Frisco Sauce on toasted sourdough bread. Frisco Sauce, at least in the U.S., is a combination of Thousand Island and French dressings, plus ketchup. It's not a favorite of mine as it has a sweetness I don't think goes well with a burger, but many say that's what gives the Frisco Melt it's distinctive flavor. The fries appeared to be hand cut and were cooked as they should be, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the outside. They were lightly dusted with a seasoning I couldn't identify, maybe a paprika blend? The Frisco Melt I got on my plate was very close to the picture on the Web site. It was good, but next time I'll ask them to skip the Frisco Sauce. Earlier this week I had the Six Days BBQ Burger. It was a single patty of beef topped with a slice of cheddar cheese, pulled pork, coleslaw and BBQ sauce on a toasted bun. The curly fries were excellent, even crispier than the straight-cut fries I got with the Frisco Melt. I'm a big fan of crispy fries! The burger was OK, but not as good as the Frisco Melt. It was a bit "busy," too many flavors and the coleslaw had a sweetness I didn't like. I think it would have been better without the coleslaw and maybe even the cheese to allow the pulled pork to stand out, but that's just my preference. Bottom line: I'll be back to try some of the other MC Club variations, although I'm sure the Frisco Melt will remain my favorite. Pattaya probably has more burger outlets per square kilometer than New York City. The burgers in Pattaya range from luxury wagyu burgers through the standardized transnational chain burgers and down to budget variations at 150 baht or less. The standard burger with lettuce, tomato and onion I find boring and never order it. If I'm going to eat unhealthy food, I want it to be honestly unhealthy. Lettuce and tomato on the side (maybe), but not on the burger, thank you. MC Burger has added a bit of originality to the Pattya burger avalanche and I appreciate that. It's possible that the young guys who run MC Burger may want to adjust some of their recipes in the future as creativity shouldn't overpower flavor, but they are definitely trying. Some other observations: Bottled beer is 75 baht; water 20 baht and soft drinks 30 baht. Cocktails and shots are available. Service was fast and friendly, with everything cooked to order in an open kitchen space. The first night I was there, the place was full, four diners at all the tables except mine. The second night I was the only customer, but it was late, about 11.00 p.m. MC Burger is open from noon to midnight. Evil

A heads up for fans of Australian-style hamburgers (with beetroot, fried egg and grilled pineapple ring): Today at Kilkenny on LK Metro. Evil

According to the current menu, the price has increased to 110 baht, but it still looks to be excellent value for money. Of course, the heavy weight champion of value for money in a Pattaya breakfast is the Baht Buster for 99 baht at Retox on Soi Lengkee. The Baht Buster isn't a breakfast I would have myself because it's too much food and too many calories. But for those who want a full English breakfast, you won't find a bigger one anywhere in Pattaya for the price. Some other restaurants charge close to 300 baht for the same size breakfast. Tonight I had the Sunday roast lamb at Kilkenny. Delicious and great value for money at the price (199 baht). It appears to be very popular as well. I ate at Kilkenny between 6.00 and 7.00 p.m. and at least 15 other customers were also having the lamb special. I got a generous portion of lamb (imported from Australia, according to the Kilkenny web site); a large roast potato; mashed potatoes; Yorkshire pudding; and the Kilkenny trio of vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Top marks on the lamb, tender and tasty. The mashed potatoes and veggies were also a big I was less impressed with the roast potato. It was fluffy on the inside, but didn't have a crispy outer layer. It seemed more like a skinless baked potato. I don't think it had been coated in oil prior to roasting. It's probably a lot less calories and healthier that way, but it didn't have the texture and taste I associate with roast potato. The Yorkshire pudding was better than most you get in Pattaya. It could have been a bit lighter, but that's hard to achieve if it isn't served straight from the oven, which is difficult for any restaurant. I also wish the gravy hadn't been poured over the lamb, although that's a personal preference of mine and most likely isn't shared by most of the other diners at Kilkenny. There was a lot of food on the plate and I couldn't finish all of it. Just by glancing around, I didn't anyone who had cleaned his plate and some of those gentlemen didn't look to be light eaters. Bottom line: Kilkenny is an excellent option for a Sunday roast lamb dinner. I can't recall having had a better one in Pattaya at that price. I had also hoped to exchange a few more words with the attractive hostess I met Thursday, but she was already occupied. I guess I'll have to try another special at Kilkenny during the week. Evil

Yes, FastStone is very good. It's what I use if I'm using a computer in an InterNet cafe or otherwise don't have access to Photoshop. It's also very good if you have to batch process a large number of photos. Evil

The "Save for Web" function in Photoshop. Evil

Last night I had the pork chop special for 169 baht at Kilkenny Bar & Guesthouse on LK Metro. For the price, it was a good meal. It came with mashed potatoes, gravy and vegetables. It was a substantial chop, not thick but large. The portions of mash and veggies were larger than you usually get in Pattaya restaurants. My bottle of SML cost 60 baht, so I got a very filling meal for 229 baht. The pork chop had been fried nicely. The vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli and carrots) hadn't been boiled too long and tasted quite fresh. The mash was excellent and the cook hadn't skimped on the butter, that's for sure. The gravy was the weakest link; not much flavor and too salty. Thankfully it came on the side in a gravy boat and not on the plate. I left the gravy alone and tucked into the rest with an occasional thought to Kenny McCormick and South Park. I ate at Kilkenny around 10 p.m. and it was busy. About 80% of the seats were taken inside and out. Bottom line: I won't hesitate to try another special at Kilkenny. The rest of the menu wasn't particularly inspiring, the usual collection of pub food and Thai standard dishes.

Not in a service capacity. I don't know about the chef/cooks, although they looked Thai to me. There was one young man hovering in the background who I thought might have been a Korean owner or manager, but that's only a guess. I also thought Firepork might be a Korean chain restaurant that had opened a branch in Pattaya, but the hostess/cashier said it wasn't. Evil

An update on Cobra Gold 2018 from the Bangkok Post More nations to take part in Cobra Gold 11 Jan 2018 at 06:11 3,333 viewed11 comments NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS | WRITER: WASSANA NANUAM The opening of Cobra Gold 2017 in Chon Buri province. The Supreme Commander said Wednesday that more countries are applying to join the war games than the exercises can comfortably handle. (Reuters file photo) Many more countries have expressed interest in taking part in the multinational Cobra Gold military exercise in Thailand this year, Supreme Commander Thanchaiyan Srisuwan says. Gen Thanchaiyan was speaking after a meeting of the chiefs of the armed forces on Wednesday, which he said touched on the Cobra Gold 2018 drill, which is due to be held from Feb 13 to 23 in Rayong, Chon Buri and Chanthaburi. He said this will be a heavy year for the drill, where the number of personnel and countries which take part in the exercise will increase compared with the previous year. Cobra Gold 2018 will be from Feb 13-23 With additional countries expressing a desire to join, it would be good for international relations, but an excessive number of participants could put a strain on the drill, the supreme commander said. The quality of the exercises must be taken into account, he said. The military earlier said seven countries would participate in full exercises. They are the US, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia. Ten countries will join the drill as observers -- Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Germany, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Brazil and Sweden. Those nations which are part of the Multinational Planning Augmentation Team -- Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Fiji and New Zealand -- will also take part. Two other countries -- China and India, will also join. Thailand will provide 5,600 personnel while 5,800 will come from the US, 200 from South Korea, 146 from Japan, 68 from Indonesia, 50 from Singapore, and 44 each from China and India. The closing ceremony of the exercise will be held at the navy's training ground in Chanthaburi, where participants will also conduct a live-fire drill. "With more countries requesting to join the drill, we will try to add them. But we may take steps to ask them to serve as observers before giving way for them to join the exercise," Gen Thanchaiyan said.

Sorry this got so fractured. The review still isn't finished, but I may have to wait a bit for the final revision and comments. My meal cost 395 baht for the grilled pork and accompaniments, plus 40 baht for the Coke Zero. To that 435 baht had been added 7% VAT (31 baht) but no service charge. I left 20 baht of the change from my 500-baht note on the tray and gave the girl who did the "grilling" 40 baht in her hand. Evil

Firepork Thailand is a new Korean barbecue restaurant under the Robin Hood Tavern at The Avenue Shopping Plaza on 2nd Road. The premises had previously been occupied by a branch of Au Bon Pain. Firepork had only been open a few days when I ate there last week. It's specialized in grilled pork, namely samgyupsal gui (grilled pork belly), a very popular dish in Korea. If you don't like or can't eat pork belly, there's no point in going to Firepork as there isn't much else on the menu. As soon as I stepped in, before I even sat down, the attractive hostess showed me the menu and explained it was limited because Firepork was still in its early days. I could choose between grilled pork belly or grilled pork neck as main dishes along with some appetizers and sides, maybe ten dishes in all. That was it. She said they would be adding more dishes in time. I like grilled pork belly and hadn't eaten any for a very long time, so Firepork's limited menu was no problem for me. I chose the full version, which included vegetables, dipping sauces, etc., for 395 baht. My can of Coke Zero was 40 baht. The restaurant itself has been done up very nicely. It's spacious and well-lit, two important factors in my eyes. It looked to me as if quality furnishings and fittings had been used, not stuff from IKEA or Home Depot. The reason new restaurants. hotels, rental condos, bars, etc., start looking so shabby so fast is that hospitality-grade furnishings and equipment which can stand up to harsh treatment, haven't been used The staff was very friendly and welcoming. I was their ONLY customer the entire time I was there between 10 and 11 pm. I have a feeling that unless Firepork can attract South Korean tourists in Pattaya, it is really going to struggle to attract customers. It's too specialized to attract a broad customer base. You certainly won't lack for choice from their bar. Here's how it works at Firepork. Each table has an electric stone grill. As accompaniments to the grilled pork belly, diners get vegetables (mushrooms, onion. asparagus); dipping sauces and condiments; a bowl of kimchi; Asian-style "salad;" and a plate of lettuce leaves to use as wrappers for the dressed-up pork belly. A waitress did the grilling for me. That is standard operating procedure in Korean restaurants, although there are some where the diners do the grilling themselves. The piece of pork belly had been grilled in the kitchen and arrived at the table ready to be finished along with the raw vegetables. It was a substantial chunk, more calories than should be consumed at one sitting. The waitress used kitchen sheers to cut the pork into bite-sized pieces, which were then grilled together with the vegetables. In Korea, grilled pork belly is traditionally eaten as part of a bite-sized wrap. The meat is dipped in the sauce or condiment, then place at the center of a lettuce leaf. Some slices of garlic or chili pepper can be added. The lettuce leaf is then folded into a small package and popped into the mouth. I didn't much bother with the lettuce, just ate the pork after dipping. Bottom line: Good grilled pork belly, but too much fatty content and too many calories for one person. That dish needs two or more diners. I won't order it again as a solo diner. And if Firepork doesn't add more variety to its menu, there won't be any point in going back. Evil

Flash is disabled by default in Firefox because Mozilla considers Flash to be a security risk. Firefox recently underwent a big revision that caused a lot of incompatibilities with various software programs, including Invision. It usually gets straightened out in a few days. For a couple of days, the board wasn't letting me post more than one pic at a time, no matter what browser I used. Flash was the culprit, but it sorted itself. Evil

GASCO is closed Jan. 1-3, reopens on Jan. 4. Presumably the January special will be revealed then. From GASCO's FB page: Evil

If you are tired of Christmas food, you still have a few days left to get a nice chili cheeseburger as GASCO's December special. It costs 245 baht. Chili cheese dogs, chili fries and bowls of chili are also specials. It's a great-tasting burger with a good chili topping. I've yet to have a burger or sandwich I didn't like at GASCO. That's why it distressed me to see this notice on their Web site: I sure hope GASCO will continue to serve up its U.S.-style food. It is a welcome addition to the food scene in central Pattaya. Evil

Generally speaking, hotels will not allow you to register a new guest every day. The Avani doesn't. The hotels which are guest- and monger-friendly just skip registration for mongers' overnight companions; the family-oriented hotels like Avani put restrictions in place to discourage mongers from staying there. They are saying in effect, "We don't want your business if you are going to bring back different girls every night." Evil Penevil