Many years ago, Spike Milligan starred in the TV comedy “Curry and Chips”
where he played the part of an Irish Pakistani. Whether this was the concept
behind the latest Thursday special at Jameson’s Irish Pub I was not sure,
but when landlord Kim Fletcher suggested the Dining Out team come and try
the new lasagna and chips, I presumed that he must have changed chefs and
the new chap came from Italy and had served an apprenticeship in Belfast!
The truth was nothing quite as romantic. Having decided that lasagna would
be a good item for the daily rotating specials, local chef Vinai set to and
came up with his own recipe. This was an immediate hit with Kim and
Jameson’s regulars, but one diner asked to have chips with his lasagna. The
unlikely combination of Bologna and Belfast caught on, and soon there were
dozens of people ordering the lasagna with chips.
Now, is there anyone who does not know the location of Jameson’s? It is next
to Nova Park on Soi AR (Sukrudee) which you can easily find by driving up
Soi 4 Second Road to the top. Jameson’s has its own private car park as
well.
Inside it is the archetypal Irish/British pub, with dark wood everywhere and
many areas for dining as well as others for some serious thinking, or was
that drinking? It also has some of the happiest service staff around.
Being a weekly Thursday special means that the lasagna and chips is actually
a three course meal, so for my first course I chose the goulash, a very well
packed soup served hot to the table. A great start for my dinner.
The main course was the lasagna, and this was not a small piece surrounded
by half a dozen chips and a limp lettuce. Quite the contrary. It was an
enormous slab of lasagna on a pre-warmed plate, with two side plates, one
with a mountain of chips and the other a mountain of fresh salad. These
Irish-Italians must like their tucker, there was no doubting that!
Madame was unable to make it to Jameson’s that day, so a substitute was
roped in and my dining partner had a penchant for fajitas, and the thought
of “Irish” fajitas had taken his fancy. The menu assured us that the meat
for the fajitas was cooked in the traditional way in Guinness (that’s Irish
traditional not Mexican), and he asked for a mixed selection of beef and
chicken. Again the helping that arrived at the table was huge, on a sizzling
plate with lashings of capsicum plus another large plate with the trimmings
of cheese, salsa, guacamole and sour cream, and another plate with the
tortillas. Madame’s stand-in was a big lad, and even he had to say he was
unable to finish it all, believing that there was more than enough for two
people in his serving. This was confirmed by landlord Kim Fletcher, who said
that it was a dish very often shared between two. Whatever, the Irish
fajitas were given top marks.
I had to admit that I was in the same situation, being unable to finish all
my lasagna, but the combination did go down well, especially with the
vinegar and salt liberally applied to the fries. A chip isn’t a chip without
the salt and vinegar. After clearing away the plates, our waiter wanted to
know which dessert did I want. Dessert? He had to be joking. Quite
impossible! Totally out of the question.
Next came the bill. The Thursday three course special lasagna and chips
costs only 195 baht. That is an incredible bargain. Just make sure you are
really hungry, so you can do justice to it all. The Irish fajitas were 415
baht, and remember that it will easily feed two, so again a bargain.
Jameson’s Irish Pub continues to be one of the leading value for money
restaurants in Pattaya. Do try it! Highly recommended.
Jameson’s Irish Pub, 80/164 Moo 9, Soi Sukrudee (Soi AR), Central Pattaya.
Secure parking. Open seven days 8 a.m. until 1 a.m. Telephone 038 361 873,
email [email protected], and website www.jamesons-pattaya.com.
Secure parking just around the corner.
Minestrone Soup
Minestrone soup would be as Italian as Michelangelo’s
David, but unlike the famous statue, you can substitute many vegetables and
not take away from its Italian heritage. It was, after all, a soup made by
Mumma, with whatever was available at the time.
Cooking Method:
Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the frying pan and warm to a medium heat.
Add the chopped streaky bacon pieces and turn them frequently for two
minutes. Add the chopped onion and cook for a further two minutes.
Turn the heat down low then add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil,
carrots, celery, tomato and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook for
15 minutes stirring every five minutes.
Add the risotto rice and stir well for three minutes. Add the stock, tomato
puree and basil to the pan. Bring the soup to the boil then simmer for 30
minutes.
Add the chopped cabbage. Stir in well and cook for another 30 minutes,
seasoning when necessary.
Ingredients
Serves 4
Italian risotto rice
100 gm
Streaky bacon (chopped small) 50 gm
Carrots (chopped small)
200 gm
Celery (chopped small)
2 sticks
Onion (chopped)
1 medium
Tomatoes (chopped)
2 medium
Potatoes (diced)
200 gm
Cabbage (chopped)
150 gm
Garlic (chopped fine)
2 cloves
Tomato puree
1 desert spoon
Olive oil
3 tbspns
Basil (fresh)
2 tbspns
Parsley (fresh)
2 tbspns
Chicken stock
1.1 liter
Salt and pepper to taste
