A Year of Dining Out

Hilton hamburger.

At the end of each year, the Dining Out team likes to sit back and discuss the restaurants which have left a favorable impression on our respective palates. We do not try to say, “This is the winner!” because you cannot compare a budget eatery with a five star fine dining restaurant, though both may be very good examples of their genre. What we have done is to put the restaurants into three broad sections, called “Bargains”, “Medium” and “High”. Obviously very rough grouping, but this way we hope we can give the reader some suggestions of where they might go to have an enjoyable night out. Remember that a review looks at the venue, the staff, the food and the presentation and the price. By the way, we have omitted venues where we went for exclusive wine dinners, such as the Royal Cliff Grill Room which is always first class.

Pascal Greek platter.

Beginning with Bargains, the ones that came to mind were:
The Jomtien Boathouse a perennial favorite, Jomtien Beach Road (corner Soi 8, telephone 038 756 698).
Samis International Restaurant (Map Yai Lia, Soi 28 (next to Paradise Village 1), telephone 088 522 7318).
Thai Garden Resort Buffets, North Pattaya Road (179/168 M5, telephone 038 370 614.
You will enjoy a good meal at those three which will not burn a hole in your wallet.
And so to the “Mediums” and there were quite a few here:
La Ferme (Woodlands Resort, 164/1 M5 Pattaya-Naklua Road, tel 038 421 707).
Louis at Naklua (Pattaya Naklua Soi 31 or from North Pattaya Soi 6).
Yupins - new this year (413/42 Jomtien Complex, Thappraya Road, telephone 038 303155).
The Edge buffets 14th floor Hilton Pattaya, (333/101 M9, telephone 038 253 077).
Oktoberfest German (Mimosa, telephone 038 110 312 or 082 207 0400).
Pullman Pattaya Hotel G evening specials (445/3 Moo 5, Wongamart Beach, Pattaya-Naklua Road, Soi 16, telephone 038 411 940-8).
Don Joe (still one of the best Italian restaurants - just like Mamma used to make; 112/2 Moo 10, Walking Street, South Pattaya, telephone 038 710 733).
Coco’s blossoming under new professional management (Chaiyapruek 1 (50 meters from Sukhumvit Road, tel 038 074 675).
Now to the High end:

Samis yellow curry.

The Hilton features again with its Flare restaurant (15th floor Hilton Pattaya, booking recommended 038 825 3000); Horizon (34th floor Hilton with spectacular views, tel 038 825 3000).
Centara Grand Mirage Italian Acqua (277 M5, telephone 038 301 234).
Centara Grand Phratamnak (352/430 Moo 12, Tel: 038 306 337).
Mantra (Pattaya Beach Road just before the corner, telephone 038 429 591).
Bruno’s (306/63 Chateau Dale Plaza, Thappraya Road, tel 038 364 600-1).
Mata Hari (482/57 Thappraya Road ground floor Nirvana Place, tel 038 259 799)
Casa Pascal (485/M10, Pattaya Second Road, telephone 038 723 660).
Do try the suggestions from the Dining Out columns of 2013, and please remember that if your favorite restaurant isn’t in this group, it just means we didn’t go there during the year. Send us an email with your suggestions.

Brochette.

Food.

Thai Crab and Prawn Pie

Ready for something different? This recipe makes for a very unusual kind of pie. Forget the steak and mushroom, this is a healthy, fast and easy to make seafood pastry pie recipe which makes a great side dish, lunch or meal for a family dinner.

Ingredients	Serves 4
Thawed short crust pastry	250 gm
Canned crabmeat, drained	2 cups
Jumbo tiger prawns, chopped, shelled and deveined	2 cups
Pickled lemon grass and ginger chunks, finely chopped	1/3 cup
Full cream milk	½ cup
Cream	½ cup
Egg, beaten	1

Cooking method
Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Roll out the thawed pastry until it is thin (around 0.5 cm) and line the inside of a pie dish, leaving enough for the lid of the pie. Set aside.

Combine crabmeat, prawns, lemon grass, ginger and cream and milk. Season according to taste. Spoon mixture into the pie. Make sure that the mixture completely fills all the pie dish.

Moisten edges of pie shell with half of the beaten egg. Put on pastry lid and crimp edges to seal.

Using remaining egg, brush lid to glaze. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden. Serve hot with a light salad and white fluffy rice.