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Under 300 Baht ... And Good! (updated July 4, 2022)
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Evil Penevil 7,628
I don't have any distain for tomato paste. It's a great ingredient and I use it a lot myself. However, I don't think the flavor of tomato paste should dominate the taste of any pasta sauce. Tomato paste needs herbs and spices to offset and balance the tomato taste.
Evil
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Evil Penevil 7,628
Here's one for North Americans: homemade pork corn dogs from Tigglebitties Tavern. I ordered them (100 baht each) for delivery and added a slice of apple pie for 80 baht to clear the free-delivery threshold at 250 baht.
A corn dog is a hot dog sausage on a stick that has been dipped in a cornmeal batter and deep fried. It's a relatively new entry into the U.S. fast-food pantheon, having been invented in the late 1930s or early1940s. One story credits a hot dog vendor who had missed the delivery of buns and decided to coat them with batter used for frying fish. The stick was added so customers could eat them on the go. Like the hamburger and hot dog, the corn dog was first sold at fairs and carnivals.
Tigglebitties' corn dogs were excellent. A good-quality hot dog had been used, covered with a light layer of cornmeal and properly fried to golden brown. It came with ketchup and U.S. ballpark mustard. It was the perfect food to trigger memories of visits to state and county fairs in my childhood.
Corn dogs aren't on Tigglebitties' regular menu, but appear from time-to-time as a daily special.
That's just as well, as corn dogs aren't exactly health food. They're waist-expanding and artery-clogging, with about 40% of the 330-calorie count coming from fat. I have them a few times a year as a treat. I doubt I'd schlep out to Soi Regional Land just for a corn dog, but home delivery got them to me in 20 minutes.
And I didn't make my meal any healthier with a piece of apple pie, but it is the quintessential American dessert that I long for on occasion.
Tigglebitties offers the best apple pie I've had in Pattaya. The crust is light and flaky and the filling isn't too sweet.
Bottom line: Tigglebitties is one of the best options in Pattaya for American favorites at reasonable prices. Home delivery makes it hard to resist the temptation.
You can check out the daily specials and delivery menu at https://www.hotmeals2u.com. Delivery is available from 8.30 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.
Evil
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Evil Penevil 7,628
It had been months since I tried the 100-baht Sunday roast dinner at the Marquee, so I went back last week. Very little had changed; I could almost repeat the review I wrote in February (LINK post #304). That's both positive and negative.
It means the Marquee's popular Sunday roasts are holding a decent standard for the low, low price of 100 baht. I had been worried that if the chicken dinner slipped further in quality it would cross the low into the mediocre category. That didn't happen. The slide appears to have been checked.
The chicken breast fillet, as before, seems to have been poached in water rather than roasted or pan fried. It was tender and tasty, no complaint on that account. The vegetables and roast potatoes remained good and weren't overcooked.
The downside is that the meal hadn't improved on its weak point, the Yorkshire pudding. It was still too heavy and eggy for me. The recipe the Marquee is using probably needs to be adjusted.
By way of comparison, below are two pics from the dinner I had in February. Not much has changed, except the sliver of sweet corn was missing this time.
The Marquee remains one of the busier bars in Pattaya.
I ate at about 3 p.m. and counted 50 guests at that time. Another 20 arrived during the 45 minutes I was there, while 10 or so left.
The Marquee was about two-thirds full. It wasn't hard to find a seat, but I had to sit at the counter as all the tables were taken.
Bottom line: The Sunday roast chicken dinner at the Marquee is far from the best in Pattaya, but it's still good value for money at the price. I'm not a fan of the roast beef and pork dinners as they use packaged pre-cooked and sliced meat, but that's a matter of personal preference. I'm sure there are others who eat them with gusto.
Evil
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Evil Penevil 7,628
For nearly three decades, the Sailor Bar & Restaurant on Soi 8 has been dishing out low-priced food and drink to chea-, uh, thrifty charlies.
Everyone agrees the Sailor's 60-baht cocktails are probably the cheapest buzz in central Pattaya, but opinions have always been sharply mixed regarding the food. Some loved it, others were, shall we say, less enthusiastic. I belonged to the latter category and wrote a very negative review back in 2013. I've quoted it at the end of this post by way of comparison with this review.
I thought I would take one for the team , so I ate breakfast at the Sailor Thursday morning. Actually, it was pretty good for 70 baht.
There are three main choices for breakfast at the Sailor- fried eggs, scrambled eggs or boiled eggs.
All three come with toast and jelly; back bacon; an odd Thai hot dog sausage; a dab of salad; coffee or tea and a small glass of orange drink.
The eggs had been roughly fried, nor was it the most attractive plating I've seen, but the parts I ate tasted good. I skipped the sausage on grounds of its weirdness and didn't touch the salad because it was extremely wilted. It had been hanging around since at least the previous day. I drank the coffee, but it was very weak.
On the plus side, the eggs and toast were fresh and the portion of bacon was bigger than you usually get in many restaurants. The bacon wasn't exactly high quality and most of its taste probably came from liquid smoke, but it went down easily enough. For 70 baht, you can't really complain.
Breakfast is served at the Sailor from 7.00 a.m. to 3 p.m. I had mine at about 11.00 a.m. and the restaurant had roughly ten other guests. There were 20 customers or so in the bar and a few were really knocking back the drinks despite the early hour. Most items on the Sailor's menu range in price from 70 baht to 130 baht. The only items which are more than 130 baht are a half-dozen whole fish dishes (steamed or fried) at 300 baht.
In the past, I have encountered the notorious surliness of the Sailor's wait staff, but things seem to have improved. One of the waitresses actually smiled at me!
Bottom line: For those who want bacon and eggs for breakfast but not necessarily a full English fry up, the Sailor's 70-baht meal is a reasonable option.
It seems as if things have turned around regarding both food and service. I plan on giving Sailor another chance in the near future. It's not a restaurant I want to rush back to. I've seen customers at Sailor do some off-putting things. I hope they no longer serve guys who aren't wearing shirts.
In 2013, I thought the food was truly horrible, others thought it was great. However, even the fans of Sailor's inexpensive drinks and food would comment on the rude service. An example:
It seems as if things have turned around regarding both food and service. I plan on giving Sailor another chance in the near future. It's not a restaurant I want to rush back to. I've seen customers at Sailor do some off-putting things. I hope they no longer serve guys who aren't wearing shirts.
Through the years, some wild stories have circulated about Sailor. Here's one from a thread on Addicts.
I've heard several times about the wife of the owner chasing customers down Soi 8 with a pistol in her hand. That's hard to believe, but I guess it could be true.
Evil
The 2013 review:
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jacko 8,933
Certainly does not look it, looks like molasses!
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Evil Penevil 7,628
The Shack is the abbreviated sucessor to the former Richman Poorman Restaurant on Jomtien Beach Road. It is a street stall located in the Jomtien Complex, with the entrance to the Complex about two-thirds down the dog-leg section of Thrappaya Rd to Jomtien Beach Road. The Shack is diagonally across the sub-soi from Tinnie's Pie Shop.
The Shack keeps alive the BBQ and TexMex dishes that were the signature of Richman Poorman. I would assume most of its business is takeaway, but there is counter dining and one table for four.
On Thursday I took the baht bus to The Shack. I ate two hot dogs with sauerkraut at the counter for 120 ฿ and took home a Reuben sandwich for 250 ฿. Both were good.
My reservation about the hog dogs was the sauerkraut. It simply didn't have enough of a vinegar taste for me.
I put the deli mustard on the dogs myself. Ballpark mustard was also available.
The Reuben consisted of pastrami, sauerkraut, cheese and sauce on grilled brown bread. The pastrami was plentiful and high quality. A slice of dill pickle came along with it.
The Shack's Reuben differed from the traditional Reuben served in the U.S. A traditional Reuben uses corned beef rather than pastrami and has more sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. "Russian dressing" is preferred, but the sauce used by The Shack was close. A Reuben is served between grilled slices of what's called Jewish or deli rye in the U.S.
The Shack's Reuben isn't a copy of the sandwich you'd get at many U.S. restaurants, but pastrami Reubens are very popular. It's on the menu at Katz Delicatessen in NYC, which a lot of foodies regard as the top Reuben shop in the world. The owner of Richman Poorman is famous for his smoked meats, so it's understandable he'd use pastrami, as it's smoked. Corner beef is boiled.
I'll be back to try the BBQ ribs and brisket as well as some of the TexMex dishes on the menu. Almost everything is under 300 ฿, with most under 200 ฿.
One important note: The Shack is supposed to be open from 9.00 a.m. to 9 p.m. everyday except Wednesday, when it's closed. However, hours tend to be a bit irregular and it has been closed on some days when it was supposed to be open. It can also run out of certain dishes as the day progresses.
Always call to make sure The Shack is open and that the menu item you want is still available. The telephone number 065 491 3747. You could also check the Facebook page, listed as Richman Poorman, but it's best to call.
And from the FB page, Saturday and January's specials:
Some other pics of menu items from the FB page:
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Evil Penevil 7,628
Kilkenny on LK Metro is one of my personal favorites for farang food in Pattaya. It serves up big plates of tasty fare at reasonable prices. The Sunday roast lamb dinner at 199 baht is real value for money,
as is the pork chop special for 175 baht.
On Thursday I tried the chicken parmi special at 199 baht.
Here's what I got on my plate:
I don't rate it as highly as the Sunday lamb or the pork chop special, but it was still good and the portion huge. You'd have to have one hell of an appetite to walk away from Kilkenny wanting more.
I may have run into some cultural differences. Chicken parmi is an Australian term for chicken parmigiana, which is called chicken parmesan or simply "parm" in the U.S. Chicken parmi is customarily served in Australia with French fries and salad, as in the pic. In the U.S., chicken parm stays closer to its Italian roots and is served with spaghetti. It's also common in the U.S. to see chicken parm on a hero roll as a sandwich.
The U.S. and Australian recipes are similar. A chicken breast fillet is breaded and fried, then topped with tomato sauce and a mixture of Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. The cutlet is baked or placed under a grill for a few minutes to allow the mozzarella to melt and brown slightly.
The cutlet was breaded and fried properly as the chicken remained moist. My criticism would be that the Kilkenny version was a bit bland. It needed more parmesan cheese and the tomato sauce should have had a more Italian flavor.
Bottom line: The chicken parmi was good, but could be improved.
Kilkenny was busy at 8.30 p.m. Thursday. It's a good place not only to have a meal, but also for people watching, espoecially the goings-on at the Billabong across the street.
Kilkenny Bar & Restaurant has daily specials, almost always farang comfort-food favorites. Friday's specials:
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Evil Penevil 7,628
I planned to have dinner last night at Cheap Charlie's on Soi Buakhao, but when I got there at 6.30 p.m., every single seat, inside and out, at the counters and tables, was taken. The pic below is from an hour later and the crowd had thinned a bit, but it was still very busy. I've been critical of the food at Cheap Charlie's, but you can't argue with success. They must be doing something right and it can't just be low prices. Maybe the discount "Rewards" card was a smart move?
The Hungry Hippo and the Chunky Monkey also had plenty of customers, but not a full as CCs. Nearby Prime Burger, Harry's and Kilkenny were well frequented as well.
I tend to avoid crowded restaurants as that's when serving times get long and it's easy for the cook and service staff to make mistakes. I popped across the street and had dinner at 18 Coins. It was good, but since I had Thai food, a review would be out of place in this thread. I did notice one of the least enticing promotions I've ever seen, plus a creepy robot watched me eat:
Some Saturday specials in the LK Metro area. Most pics are from Facebook.
Cottage pie and lasagne at Kilkenny.
The Robin's Nest is under new management. I haven't tried it, but hopefully the food has been lifted from its previous steep decline. As I passed by, a staffer handed me a 10% discount coupon.
Note that it's "local fish."
The Tuesday special looks good.
You can have beer and lasagne specials on Thursday:
The regular menu includes pasta bowls and paninis.
Harry's has a value-for-money pork planksteak every day. I've had it and it's good.
This isn't a special, but Prime Burger has begun with a Beyond Meat plant-based burger. To the right is a pic of Prime's signature smash burger for comparison.
A bit away from LK Metro at The Avenue Shopping Plaza you have the Robin Hood Tavern with some decent specials. The chicken parm is today's special, but I would have been more tempted by Tuesday's special, the Cajun salmon with penne pasta. Both are ฿249.
Evil
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Evil Penevil 7,628
On Sunday I ordered the "special of the day" for delivery. It was an excellent meal. To crossthe 250 ฿ threshold for free delivery, I added a 50 ฿ side order of diced potatoes, onions and sweet peppers to bring the order total over the 250 ฿ threshold for free delivery.
This is what the order looked like upon arrival after a one-hour wait. Everything had been packaged separately so all the components remained hot and weren't soggy.
The Country Fried Steak order included country gravy, brown gravy, mashed potatoes and steamed mixed veggies as well the steak itself.
Country fried steak, also known as chicken fried steak, is a U.S. favorite which dates to the 1850s in Texas. German immigrants are usually credited with inventing it as an adaptation of the classic Austrian wiener schnitzel. In its modern form, country fried steak is a piece of top sirloin or round that has been tenderized through pounding or with a blade tenderizer. The meat is dipped in egg batter and dredged in seasoned flour, then fried in a skillet or deep fried. It is most often served smothered in country gravy, aka white gravy, milk gravy, sausage gravy, sawmill gravy and several other names. In some areas of the U.S., country fried steak is served with brown gravy with onions instead of country gravy.
The steak had been cut into strips. I'm guessing that was out of consideration for delivery customers in hotels who don't have access to metal silverware and have to use the plastic knife and fork that comes with the order. It's not always easy to cut meat with a plastic knife.
The cubed steak was tender and flavorful. It had been properly breaded and wasn't overcooked. The steamed carrots, broccoli and cauliflower were fresh. Only the kernels of corn had been frozen. The country gravy was the right consistency, had been well seasoned and contained plenty of American-style sausage bits. The mashed potatoes were the weakest point, bland and a bit stodgy, but the brown gravy helped a lot.
Bottom line: It was a very good meal that I enjoyed a lot. The portion size was perfect for me.
I saved the side order of potatoes for another meal. I had them with corn on the cob from 7/11 and a couple of eggs that I did a bad job of frying myself. Two filling meals for less than 300 ฿ isn't bad at all.
Evil
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Evil Penevil 7,628
I'm posting this on behalf of a friend who isn't active on the boards but is convinced I-Rovers Sportsbar and Restaurant on Soi LK Metro deserves more attention than it gets. I can't comment myself about the food at I-Rovers as it's been years and years since I had a meal there, but my friend- admittedly not a picky eater- recommends it both for breakfast and dinner.
I-Rovers was the home of the original Baht Buster Breakfast and still serves it after the demise of Retox on Soi Lengkee. The Baht Buster Light Breakfast at ฿99 or the Breakfast Sandwich or Beans on Toast with fried eggs for the same price will be a big enough breakfast for some people. Not everyone wants a full-scale fry up as the first meal of the day.
The prices on the dinner specials are competitive:
The Web site (https://i-rovers.com/cam-sports-schedule/) has a clear web cam of LK Metro outside the I-Rovers:
It was interesting that Billabong looked looked deserted at about 3.30 p.m. in the afternoon. As I recall, Billabong used to be a popular daytime watering spot thanks to its 2-for-1 drink offer.
Evil
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tallguy 1,517
Far more options around the Buakhau / LK area in the afternoon now, where you don't have to buy 2 beers at a time to take full advantage of the discounted price. Even Billabong's sister bar Climax has a happy hour until 6pm with single beers around 55-60 baht, (sorry can't remember exact price, I haven't been in there for a while).
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Evil Penevil 7,628
If I remember right, Time Bar across the street from Billabong has a Happy Hour price of ฿50 for some bottled beer. But Billabong is always jammed later in the evening despite the deafening level of music from the live band:
Evil
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Evil Penevil 7,628
Since I'm not in Pattaya, I can't contribute any on-site reports about good farang food under 300 baht. However, inspired by checking a few websites, I decided to highlight some of the under-300 dishes at Nicky's Bar and Restaurant on Soi Buakhao and the Robin Hood Tavern in The Avenue shopping plaza.
There's plenty of good stuff under 300 baht at Nicky's:
Daily and weekly specials are even cheaper:
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Evil Penevil 7,628
The Robin Hood Tavern also has regular specials and promotions:
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Evil Penevil 7,628
I know a lot of BMs are interested in breakfast deals. The mega breakfast at Nicky's for 195 baht looks to put more food (and calories) on the plate at a lower price than any other restaurant in Pattaya.
The pic above is from a Twitter post.
According to Nicky's FB page, there's also a "full English breakfast" for 99 baht. It's more food than most of us need in the morning.
Both the mega breakfast and the full English include a choice of tea or coffee. They look to be proper English fry-ups!
The Robin Hood Tavern in The Avenue shopping plaza also has some good breakfast options, but the prices given are limited specials. Full Irish brekky including tea or coffee for 249 baht:
The breakfast bagel or sunrise skillet are healthier options and still value for money.
I haven't been in Pattaya for 14 months so I can't vouch for the quality of the food these days at Nicky's or the RHT. But unless things have gone downhill, the food holds a good standard at both restaurants.
Evil
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jacko 8,933
I am a fairly frequent partaker...... it could do with a slice of black pudding for me.
Let me step in here..... they are both holding up. Pity there aren't more people around to frequent them.
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TaaSaparot 11
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