Pakbungloyfah on 2nd Road (updated Aug. 16)

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Edit in July 27, 9.28 pm- Still not able to upload photos, but I found a work-around that was a bit of a hassle. Sorry for the disjointed review.




Pakbungloyfah is an excellent but inexpensive Thai seafood and sizzling platter restaurant on 2nd Road.
It's located between Sois 13/3 and 13/4 and is directly across the street from the intersection of 2nd Road and Soi 15. It's open between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m. seven days a week.

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With a name like Pakbungloyfah, you know it's not catering to hordes of Pattaya farang tourists.

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Thais, including families with children, are its dominant customer group.



During the late afternoon and early evening, it's virtually all Thais except for an occasional farang in the street-facing section of the restaurant. The later it gets, the more farang you see there, especially after the bars shut down and farang-Thai couples are having a very late meal.





Pakbungloyfah translates roughly as "flying greens." Pak bung is the Thai word for the vegetable called morning glory, water spinach and even swamp cabbage in English. The flying part comes from the way the greens are tossed in a wok to extinguish flames. An extremely high heat is used to fry the greens, resulting in them catching fire. This is different from the Western cooking technique called flambe, in which a small amount of alcohol is added to a dish that quickly burns off.

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There's a story about two Thai brothers who each ran a small restaurant across the street from the other. The brothers noticed that the higher they tossed the flaming greens, the bigger a crowd formed and the better business became. They got so expert that they eventually tossed the wok's contents across the street for the other to catch. Who knows if this actually happened, but it's the explanation given for the name of the dish from which the restaurant takes its name. In any case, stir-fried morning glory and other vegetables are common in Thailand today.

I'll review the individual dishes and meals under each pic. All were characterized by fresh ingredients and the complexity of flavor that is the hallmark of Thai cuisine. Pakbungloyfah is a good place to enjoy Thai cuisine that hasn't made any compromises to please the palate of Joe Sixpack.

Last night, my companion and I had fried mussels with basil and chili on a sizzling plate, a very tasty dish with complex flavors.



Morning glory with egg-battered tofu. Unfortunately, you don't get to see it flaming and tossed.





Fried sea bass. It came with a small dish of a very spicy salad-type accompaniment that certainly livened up the fish!





Grilled river prawns, fresh and full-flavored.





My companion drank a watermelon shake and water and I had San Miguel Light.



The food part of the bill came to 1,200 baht, with the river prawns the most expensive item.

When eating solo, I've had lighter meals that were also very good. All were characterized by fresh ingredients and the complexity of flavor that is the hallmark of Thai cuisine.

Spring rolls Thai style, fried to just the right degree of crispiness.





Fried pork with a citrus dipping sauce. The two dishes total 180 baht.

 

Pork fried with sesame seeds at 80 baht.






Sweet and sour duck on a sizzling platter.

 

That's real sweet and sour! The few chunks of fresh pineapple had a complex savory taste, as though they had been part of a marinade.





It was light years away from the overwhelming sweetness of canned pineapple chunks that you get in a lot of sweet and sour dishes in the West.



I found the signs on the corkage charges to be revealing. I've never before seen a corkage charge for a can, which leads me to believe a lot of Cheap Charlies try to bring their own beverages from 7-11. I doubt too many bottles of wine are uncorked at Pakbungloyfah, but I can just imagine the table talk: "It's a great vintage- April."





I guess the CCs don't want to pay for the packaged cold wipes either. The ones I've gotten have always been complimentary.

 

The rest of the photos help to give a better idea of what Pakbungloyfah is all about, namely good food.

Bottom line: I'll be back- and that's the highest accolade a restaurant can earn.

 

Evil

Edited August 16, 2014 by Evil Penevil

[Nightrider 340]

This is one of my pass by on the way home places , i like to get the duck and noodle soup as a light supper , it always tastes great in this place......

[jacko 8,822]

I think this is what I used to call 'The Yellow Shirt' restaurant years ago. All the serving staff seemed to be kids with little or zero English and often got confused, but I had some great meals there despite the chaos.

[marleyboy 140]

Never once had a bad meal there. Cracking value too.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

An update after another meal at Pakbungloyfah.

 

My companion started off her meal with her favorite appetizer, raw oysters.

 

 

 

I admired an appetizer, but didn't partake just then.

 

 

We began with lab talay, or herbed seafood salad. It was very fresh and delicately flavored, no heat at all.

 

 

 

The main course was spareribs on a sizzling platter:

 

 

 

 

We also had pak bung:

 

 

 

Low season is also affecting even venerable Thai restaurants. There were very few other customs at 6.30 p.m.

 

 

Our meal, excluding drinks, was 600 baht. The restaurant also has value-for-money sets for both seafood and shabu-shabu meals.

 

 

Evil

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Another update from a couple of days ago. I decided to try the duck soup with rice noodles for 60 baht. The waiter's reaction was a bit surprising when I ordered it. He appeared dumbfounded for a full minute, then said in a voice full of incredulity:

"But YOU not Cheap Charlie!"

 

 

It certainly wasn't a microscopic portion. The broth was very rich and full of flavor. There was quite a bit of meat, but you don't really order duck soup for the meat. It's the broth that is important and this bowl ticked all the boxes in terms of ingredients and seasoning.

 

 

I then had the pork spareribs with pineapple (200 baht).

 

 

 

Very tasty and a good balance between the slightly salty sauce and sweetness of the pineapple.

 

 

 

The flavors all blended well.

 

 

My friend and his companion had a spicy shrimp salad for 130 baht:

 

 

 

stir-fried morning glory at 90 baht

 

 

and two different chicken dishes with rice. One cost 45 baht, the other 55 baht

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was all very good and very moderately priced. It's not a fancy place, but a excellent choice if you enjoy Thai food.

 

Evil

[jacko 8,822]

Stir-fried morning glory, 90 baht seems a bit more than I am used to paying.

Was there meat in it?

You should give us a review of the 'Flying Vegetable', I am thinking of the one on Klang.

Edited August 16, 2014 by jacko

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Stir-fried morning glory, 90 baht seems a bit more than I am used to paying.

Was there meat in it?

You should give us a review of the 'Flying Vegetable', I am thinking of the one on Klang.

 

Not sure if there was meat in it, but it looks like it in the pic. It was a large potion intended for two people and served on a sizzling platter. I've had the "ordinary" stir-fried morning glory there and it was cheaper, but I can't remember the exact price.

 

Evil

Edited August 16, 2014 by Evil Penevil

[jacko 8,822]

 

Not sure if thee was meat in it, but it looks like it in the pic. It was a large potion intended for two people and served on a sizzling platter. I've had the "ordinary" stir-fried morning glory there and it was cheaper, but I can't remember the exact price.

 

Evil

It is something I have often, perhaps the price was good if a double portion.

Another thing I like is fried kale with crispy pork.

 

Have to get my veggies!

[JONPAT 222]

 

Swamp Cabage with Mushrooms; Some kinda Fish; plus two large LEO and two cooling rags (15baht each); total was 956 baht. I though a bit expensive but it was delicious and healthy.