Under 300 Baht ... And Good! (updated July 4, 2022)

[wacmedia 277]

Hi,

 

I think its sensible to charge without the sides as I can't corn and I would be paying for something I can't eat. Some of those burgers nearly give me a heart attack looking at them.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

I had the planked pork tenderloin at Harry's on Soi Diana last night. It was very tasty and filling for 195 baht.



It consisted of two pieces of tender pork on a bed of mixed vegetables and brown gravy surrounded by mashed potatoes. A grilled tomato, a piece of sweet corn, two bacon-wrapped spears of asparagus and bearnaise sauce were the other accompaniments.

 

I've seen more attractive presentations of Swedish plankstek, but there was nothing wrong with the taste.

 

Bottom line: I wouldn't hesitant to order it again. I'll also be back to try the version with imported Australian beef, but that is double the price limit for this thread.

 

Evil

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Rinapp Ristorante is a small Italian restaurant on Soi 13/1 (Soi Yamato) between 2nd Road and Beach Road. I had the pasta alla puttanesca (whore's pasta) a couple of days ago, It was good but not great at 290 baht.

 

 

I had a choice of pasta (linguine, penne or spaghetti) and I picked spaghetti. Several explanations exist as to why it's called whore's pasta. The most likely is that puttanesca is a quick and easy sauce invented by prostitutes who had only a short time to prepare meals between customers. Another explanation claims it got its name because the sauce "has everything in it." Garlic, capers, anchovies, chili and black olives add taste to the tomato-based sauce.

 

 

The sauce was good but lacked the "big flavors" that puttanescais supposed to have. I thought the chef had been a bit stingy with the anchovies and olives. The portion was also a bit small for 290 baht.

 

Bottom line: I'll be back to try some other Italian dishes on Rinapp's extensive menu.

 

Evil

 

 

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Time for an update on Hachiban Ramen 8 in Tukcom. I did a longer review here, so I won't repeat the basics.

 

 

A few days ago I had the cold noodles in a lemony sauce with Japanese roast pork, egg, shrimp, cucumber and ham, garnished with pickled ginger and a dab of mayonnaise.

 

 

It was good at 98 baht. The lemon sauce was particularly tasty. Water cost 18 baht for a bottle, so the total bill was 116 baht.

 

 

Yesterday I was back at Tukcom and tried a set meal at 155 baht for pork noodle soup, six pieces of gyoza and a glass of Coke.

 

Again, it was good and quite filling.

 

 

It's not the most exciting Japanese food I've had in Pattaya, but it goes down easily and is fine for a quick meal in a sit-down restaurant with A/C.

 

 

Bottom line: I don't think I would make a special trip to eat at Ramen 8, but when I'm in Tukcom the next time and feel hungry, I won't hesitate to try it again

 

Evil

Edited July 20, 2018 by Evil Penevil

[Chang_paarp 253]

The funny thing about Puttanesca is that it does not have any meat in it.

[chippendalesam 37]

Time for an update on Hachiban Ramen 8 in Tukcom. I did a longer review here, so I won't repeat the basics.

 

 

IMG_0280.jpg

A few days ago I had the cold noodles in a lemony sauce with Japanese roast pork, egg, shrimp, cucumber and ham, garnished with pickled ginger and a dab of mayonnaise.

 

IMG_0279.jpg

It was good at 98 baht. The lemon sauce was particularly tasty. Water cost 18 baht for a bottle, so the total bill was 116 baht.

 

IMG_0287.jpg

Yesterday I was back at Tukcom and tried a set meal at 155 baht for pork noodle soup, six pieces of gyoza and a glass of Coke.

IMG_0303.jpg

Again, it was good and quite filling.

 

IMG_0307.jpg

It's not the most exciting Japanese food I've had in Pattaya, but it goes down easily and is fine for a quick meal in a sit-down restaurant with A/C.

 

IMG_0304.jpg

 

IMG_0306.jpg

Bottom line: I don't think I would make a special trip to eat at Ramen 8, but when I'm in Tukcom the next time and feel hungry, I won't hesitate to try it again

 

Evil

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Freshly made gnocchi (potato-filled dumplings) with ground beef sauce at Pizza Italy off Soi Bukhao for 220 baht. This is a hearty dish perhaps better suited for snowy winter evenings than the tropical heat of Thailand, so fresh gnocchi is hard to find in Pattaya.

Pizza Italy can also be find hard to find, or at least explain where it is. However, the map is NOT to scale. Pizza Italy is close to Soi 15 and much closer to Soi Diana than Pattaya Tai.

Consistently good Italian food by an Italian chef at reasonable prices.

Evil

Edited August 2, 2018 by Evil Penevil

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Pizza Italy has a pretty enthusiastic crew. From its Facebook page:

The caption of the photo below was "GNOCCHI- My passion."

Evil

Edited August 2, 2018 by Evil Penevil

[aussiechic 209]

Hi Evil can i ask you to review a little French restaurant Le Freelax down the Soi behind the Buffalo bar.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Hi Evil can i ask you to review a little French restaurant Le Freelax down the Soi behind the Buffalo bar.

 

Yes, I'd be happy to try. I have been to Le Freelax twice, but no luck either time. First time it was closed, second time it was full. It wasn't actually, but they were holding tables for regular customers. Would anyone happen to know the hours at Le Freelax?

 

Evil

Edited July 26, 2018 by Evil Penevil

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

I searched and could only find a phone number on multiple links

 

+66 89 752 9656

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

 

For a late night snack or even a light meal, Yakuza Burger on Soi Marine (aka Soi Lucky Star) just off Walking Street has been a safe bet for a long time. It's open until 6.00 a.m. every day. While most noted for its burgers (beef, chicken and fish), it also serves up hot dogs, toasties, panini, fried shrimp, chicken nuggets and spaghetti.

 

Everything is cooked to order in front of the customer. The grill, food preparation area and counter were very clean, which isn't always the case at hamburger stalls. You sit on a stool at the counter, but it was more comfortable than the butt-assaulting stools at similar burger stands.

This morning at 3.15 a.m. I had the 99-baht cheeseburger. It consisted of a thick beef patty, a slice of processed cheese, fried onion, tomato and lettuce on a toasted sesame bun. The ingredients were fresh and it tasted fine. It's not a large burger, but it was enough for me at that hour.

The friendly cook asked me to take her picture.

Bottom line: This is one of my go-to places for a quick hamburger or hot dog after a night on WS. There was a steady stream past Yakuza Burger of girls who' work in bars that close at 3.00 a.m. Some of them smiled at me very invitingly.

 

Evil

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

I was hoping she had a green badge but then again I am incorigible.

[wacmedia 277]

 

The sauce was good but lacked the "big flavors" that puttanescais supposed to have. I thought the chef had been a bit stingy with the anchovies and olives. The portion was also a bit small for 290 baht.

 

Evil

 

 

Hi,

 

Anchovies are expensive in Europe, maybe the same there ?

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

I tried Wednesday's special at Retox Game On (Soi Honey near 2nd Road) by accident. I was walking past, it started to rain and I didn't have an umbrella, so I ducked in to have dinner while I waited for the rain to stop.

Conceptually, the day's special sounded a bit weird to me. Why serve Chinese chicken balls with chips and curry sauce? Was that what made it "English style?" Anyway, I gave it a try. I asked if I could substitute extra fried rice for the chips and the waitress readily agreed.

I'm including this in the "Good" thread because the chicken balls themselves were very nice- lightly battered pieces of chicken breast, fried crispy but juicy on the inside.

I was less impressed with the rest of the meal. The curry sauce was the blandest I've ever tasted- no heat and almost no curry flavor. The egg fried rice couldn't have fried for long, if at all. It seemed to me it was boiled rice mixed with peas and bits of fried egg. It tasted OK, but could have done with some seasoning.

Why in the world Retox didn't serve the chicken balls with a sweet and sour sauce on the side I can't begin to guess. That strikes me as a more natural pairing than curry sauce and chips. I livened up my chicken balls and rice with a few splashes of Tabasco and seasoning sauce from the condiment box.

Portion size isn't a major concern for me. I'd rather have a modest amount of good food on my plate than a heaping portion of mediocre or poor food. The special consisted of eight chicken balls and rice. It was OK for me as I wasn't very hungry, but I can imagine others would find it rather meager, even with chips. There are farang restaurants nearby where you can get a bigger meal for 150 baht or under.

Retox Game On is offering Hanoi Beer from Viet Nam at 95 baht. It also has an "all-you-can-drink" offer on Tiger draft on Mondays between 6.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. for 499 baht.

....

Bottom line: For me, it was a good meal because of the quality of the chicken balls. I'm less sure it was a good special at 149 baht.

Evil

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Two specials are worth mentioning. The pics come from the restaurants' Web sites.

Kilkenny on LK Metro:

At Retox Game On for 199 baht:

The description from the Retox Facebook page:

"Another new Retox Special.

Pepperoni pizza angus beef burger

Chargrilled angus beef burger then oven baked and topped with pepperoni and melted mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, onion rings , brioche bun and topped with a pepperoni aricini (sic)

Skinny fries

Warm side of pizza sauce

Only 199 baht."

Arancini are stuffed and deep-fried rice balls. No one can fault Retox for a lack of originality.

I'm in more of a pork chop than burger mood, so I'll try the Kilkenny special this evening.

Evil

[knortyboy 155]

I had the daily special at Retox yesterday. The burger looked great and tasted even better and at 199 baht was superb value for money.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Last Sunday I went back to the Marquee on Soi Buakhao to try the 100-baht roast dinner. I had the chicken dinner this time at about 4.00 p.m.

I certainly couldn't complain for the price. The chicken breast had been baked and was juicy. The Yorkshire pudding was crisp and light, not at all chewy. The vegetables and roast potatoes were fine as well.

I had a cup of coffee (40 baht) after the meal and it came in a larger cup than you usually get. All in all, I was happy with the meal. It's not a huge portion, but certainly enough for me.

I've been to the Marquee several times on Sundays at 6.00 p.m. or 7.00 p.m. and they had already run out of roast dinners. It appears to be a popular Sunday option, even in low season. Like with every carvery or fixed-plate roast dinner, the earlier you get to the restaurant, the better it will be.

Evil

Edited August 24, 2018 by Evil Penevil

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

This is the pork chop special I had last night at Kilkenny on LK Metro for 175 baht:

Everything was good. The pork had been fried properly and wasn't dry. The mashed potatoes and gravy were fine and the vegetables weren't overcooked.

My SML cost 60 baht, so I had a tasty and filling meal for 235 baht. BTW, the open bars and restaurants of LK Metro were doing a rousing trade last night. Plenty of foot traffic as well. I wouldn't have guessed it was low season judging only by the number of people I saw out and about.

Evil

[Kev 178]

Looks good

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Looks good

 

It was!

 

Time for a healthy meal, or at least a healthier one, at Five Star J, Pattaya's leading restaurant for vegetarian and vegan food. It's located on the corner of Pattaya Tai and 3rd Road. They don't have meat of any sort on the menu, nor do they use trans fats, palm oil, MSG or refined sugar in their dishes. Vegan and Jain options without animal products of any sort are also available. For less strict vegetarians, there are dishes with eggs, dairy and root vegetables.

 

 

I had one of my personal favorites, Swiss rösti with fried eggs, for 189 baht. Rösti is essentially a big potato pancake made from grated potatoes. At Five Star J, diners had the option of topping it with non-gelatin Parmesan cheese or vegan cheese. I took the Parmesan. The rösti and eggs were fried in coconut oil, Not much more to say than it was very good! It would have been even better with an 8-oz. piece of rib eye cooked medium rare, but that's not in the spirit of this restaurant.

 

 

I also indulged myself with black sesame dumplings in ginger syrup (69 baht) for dessert. The syrup had a much stronger ginger flavor than you usually get in Chinese restaurants. Loved it!

 

 

One thing to note: Five Star J does add 7% VAT to the menu prices. The rösti and eggs cost 189 baht, the dumplings 69 baht, which is 258 baht. With the VAT (18 baht), my total bill was 276 baht. Water is free. I left 24 baht as a tip for the friendly service.

 

Five Star J has an extensive menu with vegetarian and vegan variations of many Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Chinese and Indian dishes. There are also several Western dishes including vegetarian versions of hamburgers, pasta and pizza. Prices are reasonable, with a lot of dishes under 200 baht. Everything is cooked to order, so you may have to wait longer than usual for your order to appear in front of you.

 

I did a longer review of Five Star J last year in this thread. (Link)

 

Bottom line: If you want to give yourself a break from steaks, Western fast food, Sunday roast dinner and Thai food from the stalls and carts as well as English breakfasts, Five Star J is a good place to start for tasty options. I'm not about to become a vegetarian, but in the interests of my digestive system, cholesterol level and waistline, I do try to eat at Five Star J a few times a week. You can also order online and have the food delivered.

 

Evil

Edited August 24, 2018 by Evil Penevil

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

StarMax is a small restaurant on Soi Buakhao near the intersection of Soi 15. It's next door but one to the Italian restaurant Volare on the corner. The exterior pics are taken from the StarMax Facebook page. It's open daily from 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.

Prices are cheap at StarMax. The most expensive items on the menu, the beef and salmon steaks, are 219 baht each. It offers the usual farang items- hamburgers,hot dogs, pasta.salads, sandwiches, meat dishes, etc. as well some Thai dishes.

I like the table decorations at StarMax, which perhaps inadvertently are a profound symbol of Pattaya: wizened paper flowers in empty whiskey bottles.

I tried the pork burger with cheese (129 baht) a few days ago and found it surprisingly good. It included fried mushrooms and onions, but I asked the waitress to hold the onions.

The thick-cut crinkle fries were about average for what you get in Pattaya, OK but not exceptional. They aren't really French fries unless they have been in the fryer twice.

On an earlier visit I had the beef taco (119 baht) and a watermelon smoothie (60 baht). It included salad, sour cream and sauce. The presentation wasn't very impressive, but the taste was good. As the menu said, it was Tex-Mex and tasted very similar to what you get in the U.S.

StarMax also features 99-baht daily specials. From what I've seen, the daily offer is usually Thai food. I had the red curry and it was OK, but not, uh, special.

One detail that caught my eye was the malt vinegar in the condiments' basket. It was almost empty but the idea was there.

Bottom line: StarMax is a decent option for inexpensive farang food. I won't hesitate to have the pork burger again or try more of the menu items. The friendly service is a definite plus for me. I think StarMax appeals mostly to those who live or stay in the vicinity. It's not the sort of restaurant to which many people will be making a special trip.

Evil

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

The Golf Club on LK Metro is a long-time solid performer for good food at reasonable prices with plenty of main dishes under 300 baht. The emphasis is on U.S.-style comfort food, but there are also numerous Thai and U.K. standards on the menu.

In a fit of nostalgia last night, I had the Chicken a la King at 150 baht. It's an American classic, invented at least 130 years ago. Stories of its origin vary. One version says it was named for a hotel owner in New York City; another claims it carries the name of the Philadelphia chef who invented it.

It consists of cubed chicken, mushrooms, sweet peppers and sometimes other vegetables served over rice, toast or noodles. It's always been seen as a great way to use up leftover chicken or turkey, but at the height of its popularity in the 1950's, it was often made using fresh chicken breasts. I remember it fondly from both elementary school lunches over noodles and post-Thanksgiving and Christmas meals at home on toast.

The Golf Club's Chicken a la King adds broccoli to the basic ingredients and is served over rice. It was very good!

Last week I had another iconic American specialty, a Reuben sandwich, at 195 baht. It's a signature dish at the Golf Club.

It consists of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing grilled between pieces of rye bread. It was real New York deli rye, not the faux variety you sometimes get in Thailand.

The Reuben was good, but didn't contain as much corned beef or sauerkraut as I remembered from past visits. This what a Reuben sandwich at Katz Deli in NYC looks like:

The above pic is from the Web. By Ernesto Andrade - Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3022275

However, it's not likely you'll be getting anything like that in Thailand and if you did, it would cost far more than 195 baht. You have to be realistic in your expectations for foreign specialties here.

An American classic the Golf Club does very well is the chili burger. It's a thick patty of beef topped with U.S.-style Springfield chili con carne. The chili is spicy but not firehouse hot.

A couple of other points: The Golf Club has "steak nights" when steak is grilled in front of the restaurant, but the price puts it outside the under-300-baht category. It's also one of a very few restaurants in Pattaya with grits on the menu.

Bottom line: The Golf Club remains one of the better options in Pattaya for U.S. comfort food.

Evil

[tallguy 1,473]

Maybe you could review the Golf Club bbq nights in your steak thread. It's a while since I have eaten the steak there but seem to remember they used crossbred beef and a 400gm steak was around 400-500 baht.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Maybe you could review the Golf Club bbq nights in your steak thread. It's a while since I have eaten the steak there but seem to remember they used crossbred beef and a 400gm steak was around 400-500 baht.

 

Yes, I plan to do that.

 

Speaking of Reuben sandwiches, I had a good one from Pattaya Meals.com (pattayameals.com) the other day. Pattaya Meals is a food preparation and delivery service without dine-in facilities. You order by phone or through Facebook and your food arrives at your door within 45 minutes, depending on where you live, traffic and what you order. I usually have my order in 30 minutes. There's no delivery charge and you don't have to tip the driver, but I always do. The Reuben in the pics cost 265 baht and came with a dill pickle and a choice of macaroni salad, potato wedges or onion rings. A good Reuben for Pattaya but still light years from what you get at a U.S. deli.

 

Pattaya Meals offers about 100 different meals in various categories: Western, Thai, healthy and pizzas, plus side orders and a few desserts and beverages. The most expensive dishes on the menu are a couple of pizzas at 325 baht. All the rest come in at under 300 baht, with many under 200 baht. Check out the Web site (pattayameals.com) for a complete list with prices and pictures. Every 10th meal is free. Operating hours are 11.30 a.m. to 11.30 p.m.

I have ordered from Pattaya Meals dozens of times and never been disappointed. It's a very convenient option on the days I don't feel like going out to eat or cooking.

Evil