Hard Rock Hotel’s Vibe manager,
Quest, taking in the sights in a songthaew.
Yang Huiwen
Photos by Alvin Toh
This popular beach resort in the Land of Smiles is out to charm, with
something for everyone.
There are few who can claim to know Pattaya better than Quest. As the Vibe
Manager of Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya, Quest is responsible for organising
family-friendly entertainment activities and creating musical and cultural
experiences unique to the hotel, including its much raved about foam
parties.
Having moved from Bangkok to Pattaya six years ago, he has seen this resort
city trans-form into a family-friendly holiday destination, where everyone
feels welcomed.
“Pattaya has changed quite a lot,” said Quest, who is eager to show us a
different side to this resort city he now calls home. “There’s a balance
between the vibrant city life and beauty of living by the sea. It is easy to
live comfortably here.”
Tour groups and vacationing families strolling on Beach Road, Pattaya’s main
promenade, are spoilt with a vast array of dining and shopping options.
Bustling open-air markets, street food vendors with their pushcarts and
local shops jostle for attention with fancy beach-front shopping malls.
Central Festival Pattaya Mall, a short 10-minute walk from Hard Rock Hotel,
is the new kid on the block and a favourite hang-out for locals and
foreigners alike. This grand complex is a shopping and dining haven, with a
supermarket, cinema complex, bowling alley and wide range of shops under one
roof.
Snacking seems to be a way of life here, and Quest, upon hearing that we
were feeling peckish, brought us to Nong Mon market, a popular pit stop for
locals en-route from Bangkok to Pattaya to shop for tidbits. Stretching for
one kilometre on Sukhumvit Road along the way to Bang Saen, the market is a
juxtaposition of sweet, sour, hot and salty flavours. We were spoilt for
choice with a vast variety of locally produced dried seafood products such
as dried fish, squid, and shrimp, hor-mok (spicy steamed fish cakes) and
hoy-jor (deep fried shrimp rolls). Those with a sweeter tooth may want to
try the local specialty khao lam (glutinous rice stuffed in bamboo) or
banana chips.
Pattaya’s supreme fried chicken,
a stone’s throw from the Hard Rock Hotel.
Night markets are equally popular for leisurely strolls
and takeaway dinners. We head to an open-air market adjacent to Mini Siam on
Sukhumvit Road, which is the smaller cousin of the more well-known
Thepprasit Night Market. The market, which runs from Monday to Thursday, has
been around for more than a decade and is a good alternative to the packed
weekend crowd on Thepprasit.
Some five minutes away on the inter-section of Nernplabwan Road and
Sukhumvit Road, is a pushcart stall, which serves what locals call the “best
Pad Thai in Pattaya.” Pad Thai, a staple in Thai restaurant menus, is rice
noodles stir-fried in a light taramind-based sauce with eggs and bean
sprouts. What sets this Pad Thai apart from the others is the addition of
pork slices and deep-fried pork skin so crispy it crackles. The rice noodles
are also chewier and springier. A queue forms instantly just as they turn on
the lights for business. On good days, they would sell out by 9 p.m.,
sometimes clocking more than 200 plates a night.
Since there is always room for dessert, we stop by for a round of mango and
glutinous rice. J. Noi is one of two stalls along Central Pattaya Road
selling this sticky sweet goodness topped with coconut milk. With hundreds
of ripened mangoes neatly displayed in rows and a whiff of enticing aroma,
it is hard to miss.
A pushcart stall serves up the
popular dish of Pad Thai.
From fruit to farm, we continue our culinary adventure
the next day by starting on a healthier note. A “fruit safari” awaits us at
Suphattra Land, a 128-hectare fruit farm in Rayong province about 40 minutes
drive from the hotel. A tramcar takes us to the most interesting and
attractive parts of the orchard, where we get the chance to pluck rambutans
off trees and feast on a buffet of tropical fruits, including durians,
mangosteens, papayas and mangoes.
For a dose of culture and art in Pattaya, Quest brings us to the Sanctuary
of Truth. This all-wood mammoth structure, which pays homage to the ancient
vision of earth, knowledge and Asian philosophy, commands one of the most
breathtaking sights in Pattaya, set against the azure backdrop of the sky
and the sea at Rachvate Cape. In fact, this art installation can very well
pass off as a UNESCO heritage site, until I find out it was conceived in
1981 by a wealthy Thai businessman and till today remains a work-in-progress
which will take another 20 years to complete. More than 200 Thai and Burmese
artists were roped in to produce intricate carvings and sculptures adorning
the walls and ceilings of the building.
There is also Art in Paradise, possibly one of the very few “museums” where
visitors are allowed to touch and pose with the paintings. Opened in April
last year, this illusion-art museum is a convenient stone’s throw from Hard
Rock Hotel. We walk through numerous halls decked in artwork cleverly
executed to give a 3D effect. The interactive nature of the gallery has
Quest hamming it up for the camera, getting creative with poses to make the
3D art-work come alive.
Soon after, we are back on our food trail. Up next is Naklua seafood market,
located next to Naklua Beach in North Pattaya. A little fleet of fishing
boats brings fresh catches to the market every morning, ensuring freshness
and affordability. Locals come here to buy live seafood such as blue swimmer
crabs, cockles, clams and squid.
A pushcart stall serves up the
popular dish of Pad Thai.
It is a shame not to eat seafood in Pattaya. Sitting on
the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, Pattaya offers bountiful harvests
for fishermen. We decide on Preecha Seafood, deemed as the go-to place by
locals. Fish, lobsters, clams and crabs are housed in tanks at the entrance,
ready for hungry diners to pick and choose. Located right on the beach,
Preecha also has an unobstructed view of the sea, without the hum-drum of
boats and beach makers to mar the dining experience. We have stir-fried crab
legs with yellow curry, steamed squid with lime and a local delicacy called
“Som Tum Puu Mar,” or papaya salad with raw blue swimmer crab.
We leave the place stuffed, but still head for fried chicken. In fact,
Pattaya serves up some of the tastiest fried chicken I’ve ever tried. “Tod
Lhaek - Pattaya’s Supreme Fried Chicken”, a ten-minute walk from the hotel,
has been featured on Thai television and boasts pictures with local
celebrities. The tiny shop sits on Pattaya Klang 16, a narrow walking lane
which branches off Central Pattaya Road.
Owner Toy Poottamongkol uses only fresh chicken from a trusted supplier,
which he marinates in a special concoction overnight. Palm oil is used for
the deep-frying and Poottamongkol changes the pot of oil every two to three
hours to guarantee freshness. The batter forms a nice seal around the meat,
which is cooked by its trapped moisture, sealing the juices within. The
result is fried chicken with a nice golden tan that is crispy on the outside
and succulent within.
As I sink my teeth into a chunk of juicy thigh, it feels somewhat comforting
to know that there’s so much more to this city than meets the eye.
A vendor and her array of local
snacks at Nong Mon market.
J. Noi, one of two mango sticky
rice stalls along Central Pattaya Road.
Deep-fried insects, a delicacy
from northeastern Thailand, found at a night market.
Khao Lam, a dessert made of sweet
sticky rice stuffed in bamboo.
Picking rambutans at Suphattra
Land.
Visitors can feast on rambutans
at the orchard.
The Sanctuary of Truth, a
cultural monument made completely from wood.
Stir-fried crab legs with yellow
curry at Preecha Seafood.
A popular breakfast choice for
locals is a bowl of fish ball noodles at the old Naklua market.
Carving based on traditional
Buddhist and Hindu motifs in the Sanctuary of Truth.
The variety of live seafood is a
main draw at Preecha Seafood.
The restaurant Mongkol Farm
offers diners an unobstructed view of the sea.
Bananas are available all year
round, while mangosteens are in season from May to October.
Art in Paradise, an illusion-art
gallery where visitors get to be part of the paintings.
Locals go to buy fresh catches at
the Naklua seafood market.
