The Malibu restaurant and cabaret on the corner of Soi Post Office and Second
Road in Pattaya was something akin to a national monument. Everybody knew it.
Everybody had been to it, many ate there and everybody had howled with laughter
over the antics of Malibu’s number 1 Tina Turner. Then someone said it had gone.
Impossible! Malibu should have been on the World Heritage listing. But it was
definitely gone!
However, it was not gone for ever. Malibu has returned, a little further down
Second Road and can be found between Mike’s Shopping Mall and the Siam Bayview
on the left hand side, and now called Tina Malibu. The old crew was there, with
the performers we have loved and laughed with over the years, and especially
Dwee (AKA Tina Turner). We had found the new location, but were the food and
entertainment as good as it used to be? The Dining Out Team descended to find
out.
The new location is based in a double shophouse, so not as large as the previous
one, but a clever mirror wall does make the area look larger. There is a bar
along one side, close to the stage, while immediately in front of the stage area
are tables and chairs for the non-smokers. Behind them are rows of seats for
smokers. There are also some monitors scattered around for those who might feel
they are missing some of the on-stage action. Many overhead ceiling fans
complete the picture (no air-con I’m afraid, but there was none at the previous
location either).
The menu is an illustrated one, a very good idea when your clientele is
international. The Thai cuisine items generally are in the B. 120-170 range and
include various salads, stir-fries and curries. The European items are mainly B.
200-240, though light meals and snacks are around B. 100. Local beers B. 95-110.
We ordered a pork steak with mushroom sauce (B. 220), which was not tough in any
way and was enjoyable. We also had a chicken cordon bleu and a salmon steak,
again good value, though the salmon was perhaps just a little dry.
The show starts at 8 p.m. and Tina comes on at 9.45 and again at 11.45. Until
Tina comes on stage, there is one act after another, with around one minute
between each one. Simply amazing! The performers all seem able to laugh at each
other, and the antics of the male lead dancer were hilarious. Be prepared to be
dragged onto the dance floor by some statuesque ladies taller than you are, but
it’s fun with a capital F.
The new Tina Malibu was really a side-splitting experience from go to whoa. It
was even better than before. The entertainers just that little more
professional, but still able to poke fun at themselves. This is a venue where
you go for the show, rather than the food, but which is still quite satisfactory
and not expensive. A pepper steak for B. 240 is a bargain anywhere. The Dining
Out Team recommends you try the new Tina Malibu if you have never seen the show
before, and if you have, reacquaint yourself. Considering there is no cover
charge and the food is inexpensive, this is certainly a most enjoyable bargain.
Do go.
Tina Malibu Restaurant and Cabaret, Second Road (between Mike’s Shopping Mall
and Siam Bayview), telephone 038 428 667. Street parking wherever you can!
