Dining Out: Greg’s Kitchen - upwardly mobile?

by Miss Terry Diner

Greg’s Kitchen on Second Road has been at their current location for over four years, and has become well entrenched in the local dining scene. However, Greg himself is well aware that if you stand still in Pattaya you are in reality going backwards, and has not let the grass grow under his feet (or his competitors steal a march on him while his back was turned)!
Recently he has re-modelled the front terrace of the restaurant, with a black and yellow lattice wood fence around the perimeter with some new tables and chairs giving it a real “brasserie” feel to it, and probably even more importantly, has expanded the menu.
The restaurant can now be considered to have three dining areas with the outside terrace, an indoors area and the air-conditioned section as well. These being balmy evenings, Madame and I decided to try the terrace and were not disappointed. There may be a little traffic noise at times, but somehow it all added to the “Pattaya” nature of the experience. We are, after all, in tropical Thailand. The tables have bright tablecloths, the seats are padded and the glassware good quality.
The menu is now most extensive. It begins with an (all day) English breakfast at 130 baht, with all the bibs and bobs the English expect, but there are 10 other breakfast favourites (B. 35-90) as well. A new addition is the “Starters” section. These include 3 soups (tomato, chicken or mushroom B. 95), smoked salmon, a prawn, crab or seafood cocktail (B. 160), and a mushrooms, prawn or seafood Provencal.
The main dishes are also extensive (B. 165-490) with 28 choices on offer covering pies (with potatoes of choice and vegetables), roasts (beef, pork and leg of lamb), and the higher priced items are the imported NZ steaks. Sandwiches are next (B. 50-125) and then 10 kinds of filled jacket potatoes (B. 130-170), followed by 11 salads (B. 95-180).
Almost at the end, and there are a couple of pages of beverages, beers around B. 70-80 and wine B. 380-650 per bottle or B. 120 per glass. There are two pages of Thai dishes (B. 95-150) including all the usual ethnic favourites and finally the desserts, including such British favourites as bread and butter pudding and apple pie.
Knowing the size of Greg’s portions, Madame and I decided to share a prawns Provencal starter, to be followed by fish and chips for Madame and the roast loin of pork with applesauce and Yorkshire pudding for Miss Terry. With the trencherman portions, we decided to stick to beer, and yes, Greg has Singha Gold!
Before we began, cold towels were brought to the table, nice touch, plus a wicker basket with various sauces - try tartar, horseradish, Worcestershire, HP, tomato ketchup, chilli, American mustard and Coleman’s English mustard.
The prawn starter was really excellent. A beautiful Provencal sauce and the prawns were not at all rubbery as so often happens with these type of dishes. Greg told us that they are fried in garlic first, then transferred to the sauce and served.
Our main dishes appeared on very large plates which were filled to capacity. The roast pork included stuffing, carrots, peas, cauliflower, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and the applesauce. The items were all cooked correctly and tasted great, but beat me with the sheer size. Sorry Greg! The fish and chips had real thickly cut English chips and two pieces of fish, which Madame said was excellent, but she too could not get through it all.
We both thoroughly enjoyed our evening at Greg’s Kitchen. The food is good and the quantity is enormous. We loved it, there was just too much for us. Greg does say he does a child’s portion, so next time Miss Terry will either not eat for 24 hours beforehand, or order a kid’s size! Highly recommended for all lovers of British/European cuisine, and bring a healthy appetite. By the way, to cope with the Xmas demand, Greg is doing Xmas turkey and all the rest specials for B. 675 on the 24th, 25th and 26th. I’d book!
Greg’s Kitchen, 370/21-22 Pattaya Second Road, (opposite Soi 6), telephone 038 361 227.

Hedonist’s Haven: The Penthouse sleeping palace (Pattayaland Soi 2) has recently unveiled its plush Babylon Suite. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t bother remarking on a bunking den, but this room is not designed for those determined to extract eight hours or more of slumber. In fact, it’s not really designed for sleep at all. With three double beds, three Jacuzzis, six televisions, two MP3 players, an Internet connection, mirrors on the ceiling and six chrome poles along with a couple of medium-sized fluffy toys, the Babylon room has more in common with elements of Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion than a common garden-variety Holiday Inn. The fluffy toys all seem to wear the kind of smirk usually only seen on animals that’ve been caught doing something they know they shouldn’t.
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