Over the last couple of months we have had people telling us about a new
restaurant called the Asian Moon Café. Every comment we heard was positive.
It sounded almost too good to be true, so the Dining Out team went to
investigate.
First, it is in the Jomtien Complex, which is opposite the Hanuman statue.
Asian Moon is in the soi closest to Thepprasit Road, between Poseidon and a
place called Bondi. Attractive Oriental hanging lanterns are outside, along
with some blackboards indicating the items on offer that evening, and there
are five western dishes and three Thai. And the all-inclusive price is B.
250.
The
restaurant is bright and airy, with one section outside with around five
tables for al fresco dining and smokers, and an air-conditioned area inside
with nine tables, which has a bar along one wall and buffet tables set up
along the far wall. But before you go and say “Oh, it’s a buffet,” this is
not like the usual buffet with mounds of luke-warm, picked over, tired food.
The buffet choices are in hot Bain Maries and the quantities cooked at one
time are very small, so that the chefs are continually cooking and what you
get is hot from the kitchen.
When we heard about the Asian Moon, we actually first went ‘unofficially’
for breakfast and found that their breakfast was B. 160 and was ‘all you can
eat’ and included bottomless cups of tea or coffee, fruit juice, fresh
croissants and cornflakes plus a full cooked English style breakfast, with
your choice of eggs, plus sautéed potato with mushroom, lovely back bacon,
sausages, tomato, the works. And eat as much as you like! And ‘breakfast’
went from 8 a.m. until around 2 p.m. And we enjoyed it thoroughly.
However, we then went “officially” for an evening meal to see what that was
like. We were three, one European, one Thai and one three year old. Would
there be enough to keep us all happy at the buffet? Little Miss Three had
some egg, followed by chocolate cake, ice cream and fresh watermelon. No
complaints there.
The adults in the team tried a variety of the dishes and if the chosen item
was in the process of being replenished, the staff would bring it to the
table, rather than have you waiting. And all done with a smile, too. The
Thai salad was fresh and to Madame’s taste. The yellow curry chicken (gaeng
gari gai) was smooth and mild and very flavorsome, and I was tempted to go
up for more, but the chicken in cranberry sauce was beckoning, and was well
worth the trip back to the Bain Maries. In fact, everything I tried was well
prepared, fresh and great tasting.
We left the Asian Moon Café amazed at the quality and the value. B. 250
covering all you can eat with five different European items and three Thai
(and the items change daily), and the bottomless cups of tea (PG Tips) or
coffee is exceptional. And what is more, children are free! The turnover in
the Bain Maries is so quick that the food never gets cold, and the chefs are
kept busy topping them up as the diners are busy popping up for more. The
quality is excellent, and the gaeng gari gai was the best I have had for
years. The chicken in cranberry sauce is again not the type of item you
would expect to find in a “café”, and the name ‘café’ for Asian Moon is a
misnomer. It is an almost unique style of buffet restaurant, not a ‘café’.
With different choices every night we could see why this restaurant has
gathered such a strong following. The venue is very pleasant, complete with
original artworks on the walls, the service staff are all very obliging, the
food is of an excellent quality, and the incredibly low price makes it
wonderful value. What more do you need?
Asian Moon Café, 413/11-12 Moo 12, Jomtien Complex (between Poseidon and
Bondi), telephone 084 376 7076, parking wherever you can, breakfast from 8
a.m. till 2 p.m., then sandwiches and snacks, and finally dinner from 6 p.m.
to 1 p.m.
Paper Wrapped Chicken
This is a well known Chinese appetizer, and one you may
have seen at a Chinese banquet. It is not difficult to prepare, and I do
recommend skinless fillets of chicken breast.
Cooking Method:
Cut the chicken meat into 3 cm wide and 5 cm long cross wise slices,
put in a bowl and marinate with sesame oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar,
rice wine (or sherry), ginger root and black pepper for 30 minutes. This is
best done in the refrigerator.
Using one sheet of rice paper, brush it with the chicken marinade, then
place some chicken strips inside and fold up like a small envelope or
parcel, wetting the ends so they stick down. Do this for around 15 parcels.
Heat oil in wok and drop the packages into the oil, around five at a time,
and deep-fry for about 2 minutes, remove from the oil, drain and then set on
serving dish.
Ingredients
Serves 4-5
Chicken breast meat
600 gm
Squares of rice paper (12 x 12 cm) 15
Light soy sauce
3 tbspns
Oyster sauce
1 tspn
Sesame oil
2 tspns
Rice wine (or sherry)
2 tspns
Ginger root (grated)
2 tspns
Sugar
1 tspn
Black pepper
¼ tspn
Oil for deep frying
6 cups
