DINING OUT - ENTERTAINMENT

The Food Wave

Tasty, trendy and up-market

by Miss Terry Diner

Remember the old Food Court at the Royal Garden Plaza? Well, forget it, because it is not there any more! In its place there is now the Food Wave.

The Dining Out team went to the new Food Wave floor during the soft opening period, and there are several more stand-alone restaurants planned for completion in 2005, but we really wanted to try the ‘new’ food court to see what changes had been made. In a word - everything!

About the only similarity between the old and the new is the use of plastic swipe cards at the point of sale, but even that is quite different from before.

The Royal Garden Plaza has been extended - upwards, and the Food Wave is on this new upper floor. Along the Beach Road side there is an outside dining area, with incredible, almost uninterrupted, views of Pattaya Bay. There is also an air-conditioned mezzanine section which has even better views, but when we carried out our review it was not yet open.

The Food Wave live cooking stations section is entered via a ‘race’ where you are given a Food Wave ‘map’ with an inserted swipe card. Instead of stating how much you want on the card, you have an automatic B. 1,000 credit that you can draw upon. However, it should be noted that if you lose your ‘credit’ card you are up for the full amount!

With the area being lit through floor to ceiling windows, it is very bright and airy. Undoubtedly the architects were given the brief to make the place look ‘trendy’ and it certainly is that, with wood, glass and polished metal predominating. It is the scene to see and be seen in!

In the middle are several cooking stations, including Italian, Indian, Russian, Thai, noodles, steak, Thai joke, papaya salad, coffee, desserts and drinks. These stations are in the main all glassed in, and spotlessly clean.

With the varied stations, you get many, many choices, with all the Thai favourites, plus a strong selection from the other cuisines. Most of the serves are around B. 50, though some can go up as far as B. 150. For example, steaks cover beef, pork and chicken and come with salad and French (or Belgian) fries. Or go to the Italian station and you can have a Caesar salad to accompany your calzone or made on the spot pizzas. For the lovers of Russian food there is the traditional borsch (beetroot soup) or pelimeny dumplings. I noticed that some of the ‘ethnic’ stations also had nationals overseeing the preparation to ensure authenticity.

For desserts there are many choices, from blueberry cheesecake, to tiramisu to Thai sweetened sticky rice with mango.

We tried several dishes and the consensus was that the food was fine, the price not exorbitant and the view spectacular! The items also come on true china plates and the cutlery is of a high standard. Definitely more ‘up-market’ than the old Food Court’s melamine and (Uri Geller) bending spoons!

The service staff were most obliging, taking our meals out on to the terrace and removing the dirty plates very quickly. The atmosphere is much more that of a restaurant, where you get the opportunity to order from the chef!

When you leave there are four ‘check-outs’ where your card is swiped again and totalled. One surprise is that there is a five percent service charge added, so your total is slightly more than your mental arithmetic worked it out to be! However, since service charges elsewhere generally run out at around 10 percent, and the service was good, I did not begrudge the Food Wave the small extra charge.

There can be no doubt that Pattaya is moving upwards, and the Food Wave evolved from the old Food Court by moving upwards, literally and metaphorically. It is a very central location in which you would not be embarrassed to take any overseas visitor. A very worthwhile addition to the dining scene in this city. Highly recommended.

The Food Wave, Royal Garden Plaza, Beach Road, Pattaya. Secure parking in the basement. Open seven days, 11 a.m. until the shopping centre closes.