Evil Penevil

Pattaya is the 15th most popular travel destination in the world, according to Mastercard's Global Destination Cities Index for 2019. For the fourth straight year, Bangkok ranked as number one with 22.78 million international overnight visitors in 2018. Phuket placed 14th with 9.89 million, one notch above Pattaya with 9.44 million. Thailand is the only country to have three destinations among the top 20. The Mastercard Index covers 200 destinations worldwide. Whatever Thai authorities are doing to promote tourism to Thailand, it seems to be working. There's a lot of really inter

Scottie's Restaurant & Minimart on the ground floor of the Centre Condo has been serving moderately priced farang food for nearly 20 years. The Centre Condo is located just off Pattaya Tai on Soi 24, about 150 meters west (towards the beach) from TukCom. I tried one of the weekly specials, the spaghetti bolognese for 169 baht. It included two slices of garlic bread and a small serving of fresh salad. A large portion of spaghetti was topped with a generous amount of U.K.-style bolognese sauce. It was more spaghetti than I usually eat in one sitting when I make it myself at h

Another low-price option, this time from Scottie's Restaurant & Minimart in the Center Condo complex off Pattaya Tai near TukCom: And an expensive one:

The food area of the basement level of Central Festival is now divided into three distinct components, plus new and old restaurants. The three components are: 1) Food Park, the heir of the original food court: Food Park has been in operation since July and I described it in the OP. 2) A more upscale area called Beach Eats that been open a couple of weeks: 3) A counter-service area that appears to be an extension of the supermarket, the Central Festival Food Hall: In addition, there are several restaurants on the basement level: Beach

Ramen Ippudo is a chain of Japanese ramen (noodle) restaurants with 207 outlets in 13 countries on four continents. It's regarded as Japan's foremost ramen chain, noted for keeping traditional flavors in some dishes while experimenting with new flavors in others. I tried the recently opened Ippudo branch in the basement level of Central Festival. It joins the 17 Ippudo restaurants in Bangkok where Ippudo's approach to ramen has proved very popular. Ippudo has also been a hit in New York City. At 4.30 p.m., I was the only customer. I had walked past it at 4.00 p.m., and t

I had the Robin Hood's Sunday roast tonight. The food at the RH has improved a lot under new management, so I decided try the roast beef dinner, Normally I order chicken or lamb as the roast beef and roast pork have seldom been good in Pattaya. But since the RH has been on a winning streak, I went all in and had the roast beef. I wasn't disappointed. I had the small plate at 199 baht, which was more than enough for me. There's also a large fixed plate dinner for 299 baht and the "all-you-can-eat" cavery buffet that includes soup and dessert for 395 baht. Each dinner has a choice

The menus and prices are the same this year as last, so I'll use the quote function. Evil

The Pullman Pattaya has an out-of-the-way location on Wong AmartBeach in Naklua. The price for the Christmas brunch is reasonable, considering what you get. It also fearures roast goose instead of turkey. More details from the Hard Rock. It ain't Cheap Charlie's, but its Christmas meals are decent value-for-money for what you're getting. The prices are net, not ++. At the Royal Cliff, it's elegant and expensive. Since the price is ++, add 17.5% to the prices before. The Amari Pattaya is also ++, so add 17.5% to

This one is going to be sold out for sure, so jump on it fast if you're interested. A lot of expats have a Cheap Charlie's Rewards Card and the discount price of 475 baht is the lowest I've seen for a turkey dinner. The one downside is that Christmas pudding isn't offered, but mince pie will be good enough for many.

Casa Pascal on 2nd Road near The Avenue. It's another expensive one, but top-rate food. The price is in tiny print: 1,590 baht for Christmas lunch and 1,890 baht for dinner on Dec. 24th and Dec. 25th. EDIT IN: The price is ++, so add another 17.5%.

And when money is not an object:

Two in Jomtien: And one on the Darkside, but only if you're not looking for a traditional English or American Christmas dinner: Evil

The best value-for-money Christmas dinner in town is the all-you-can-eat buffet at Chik-N-Coop bar in the beer bar complex diagonally across the street from Mike's Mall on 2nd Road. It costs 500 baht. It's a U.S.-style dinner with American touches like different kinds of stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and green bean casserole as well as roast turkey and ham, mashed potatoes, veggies, etc. All the food is in the best tradition of home cooking. Thai dishes are on offer for wives and girl friends who aren't fans of farang meals. Coop has a very loyal following fo

When I worked in NYC, we had about 20 people (out of 3,000) who were orthodox Jews or Muslims as well as a few Hindus and Jains who had religious reservations about meat eating. They wouldn't even use the microwaves and fridges the other employees used. They had their own fridge, microwave and eating area in a locked room to which only they had keys. It was also used as a Muslim prayer room. However, the strictest Jews and Muslims wouldn't even use that room. They only ate food they brought with them or bought in a halal or kosher restaurant. Burger King has an option for v

Today I tried one of the Saturday specials, the Philly cheesesteak at 199 baht. Here's the pic from RH's Facebook page: It looked very similar to what I got on my plate, although maybe the portion was somewhat smaller. It was even the waitress in the pic who served me. According to the RH Facebook page, the sandwich consists of "Slow roasted topside of beef, sautéed green peppers and onions, melted cheddar cheese, garlic mayo, toasted baguette," with a side of "French fries or sweet potato fries." A Philadelphia-born cheesesteak purist wouldn't approve, but the

The Beyond Burger is now on the menu at Dicey Reilly's on 2nd Road. Evil

Christmas Eve costs 999 baht and Christmas Day is 1,199 baht, but early birds who book by Dec. 20 with get a discount (850 b on Xmas Eve, 999 baht on Xmas Day). Children under 5 eat free.

The Robin Hood Tavern has a Christmas Eve carvery as well as Christmas lunch and dinner.

Time for a badly needed update. The Robin Hood Tavern went through a major crisis in 2019 but seems to have gotten back on track under new management. I don't know who owns it now, but a young Belgian chef named Max is involved on the food side and he has totally revamped the menu and food service. According to a lot of reports, the dishes there are consistently good now. I haven't tried it yet and the info below comes from RH's Facebook page. For those who favor traditional UK pub fare, the Ploughman's Lunch looks good at 199 baht: There's also a larger "Bi

@frostfire and @BeerBelly Here's the clip I was telling you about. And to all other members- it's worth watching, funny as hell, but American-style humor. Evil

Two more:

More suggestions for Christmas dinner 2019. The restaurants listed for 2018 will, of course, be offering a similar dinner this year. ,,,,, The Sportsman (name on menu is in really small print): .... The Hard Rock has two Christmas buffets, a giant one in Starz Diner and a much more limited carvery in the Hard Rock Cafe. If you just want turkey and all the trimmings plus Christmas desserts (plum pudding, etc), then the Hard Rock Cafe's carvery is enough. I haven