by Miss Terry Diner

The Montien Hotel is an icon in Pattaya (initially being the Regent of Pattaya). It has been there for 38 years, though it does not look it, the refurbishing over the years has kept it looking sparkling and inviting. The Montien has also built up a name for itself recently with its very reasonably priced Theme Buffet evenings, so when their energetic PR lady Pornpimon Geybui invited the team to come and try this year’s offering, we needed no second invitation.
We went on the Friday evening for the BBQ and Seafood buffet dinner, which costs B. 750 ++ for adults (and this is an all-you-can-eat offer) and B. 400++ for children. The Saturday evening International Buffet is even cheaper at B. 650++ and 350++.
The venue is downstairs in what the Montien calls the Verandah Coffee Shop, but for my money it is much more than that and is a true restaurant. There are three separate areas, a smokers corner around the pool, an indoors non-aircon section and another section behind glass which is air-conditioned. The furniture is comfortable cane with cushions, the tables covered in lime green tablecloths and the staff is decked out in tropical gear. All very relaxed.
Being a buffet, the food is on display in 12 different sections, so initially can be a little daunting, but take your time to walk around and peruse just what is there. By the way, the buffet items are different each week, so you can go for many weeks in a row before you have explored them all.
There are also many live cooking stations, including the BBQ itself. You will find there are small numbered tags on your table, and you give these to the live cooking stations and the friendly staff will then deliver the cooked items to your similarly numbered table. Simple, and while you are waiting, there are many items to choose and enjoy (as we did).
We began with some Australian oysters, and threw in some shrimps from the pyramid and some crabsticks with the gazpacho dressing. A wonderful start to the evening.
On my walk around I had noticed the rock lobsters at the BBQ station so left my table tag with the BBQ chap while I went and served myself to some pork medallions on a spicy mango salsa and some beef tenderloin with brandy prunes and a couple of roasted potatoes. Both of these meats were excellent and not dried out and very flavorsome.
When I had finished that plate, the BBQ rock lobster arrived, complete with the lemon butter sauce I had asked for. A simple dish, but with the addition of the sauce it becomes a gourmet item. I enjoyed it so much that I went up like Oliver Twist and asked for more. And more came, and just as enjoyable.
Madame was also eating her way through the buffet and came back with a plate groaning with roasted duck which was enjoyed immensely (by the way, if you like Peking duck, we can also recommend this item from the Montien’s Marco Polo Chinese restaurant).
There are so many choices, that to name them all would take up the entire space for the review, but there is definitely something for everyone, including many salads with different dressings and condiments, kebabs, and Mongolian, Italian and Spanish items, hot and cold. There were 11 desserts plus another three prepared for you on the spot, including the perennial favorite deep-fried ice cream (which was wonderful).
The previous high standard of the Montien Buffets has been maintained. There were more than enough choices of high quality items, and the Verandah Coffee Shop is still an excellent venue (though it should be called a ‘restaurant’, it is much better than a ‘coffee shop’). With the prices and the choices, this makes the buffets an excellent choice for families, and get our highest recommendation.
The Montien Hotel Pattaya, Second Road (between Pattaya Central and Pattaya North Roads, and around 100 meters from Central Road), telephone 038 428 155-6, fax 038 423 155, email [email protected], secure parking in hotel grounds. Theme buffets Friday (BBQ and Seafood) and Saturdays (International), both 6 p.m. through to 10 p.m.

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Thai Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin is a very underrated vegetable. It can be used in many ways, and making soup is one of them. The pumpkin base is enough to be able to add many ingredients, such as curry powder, or as in this case, many items from a Thai kitchen. Pumpkin is also very inexpensive while we are all watching the cost of living going up.

Cooking Method:
In a large pot, heat oil and gently cook onion with brown sugar and garlic over low heat until softened (8-10 minutes).
Skin and chop pumpkin into 2 cm chunks. Add pumpkin, water, coconut cream, chili, lemongrass and fish sauce. Season with freshly ground pepper.
Simmer for about 25 minutes until tender. Remove and puree until smooth.
Just before serving, adjust seasoning to taste and mix in chopped coriander.
Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a fresh coriander leaf.

Ingredients                       Serves 4-6
Vegetable oil                          2 tbspns
Onion, finely chopped             1
Brown sugar                          1 tbspn
Garlic, crushed                      2 cloves
Small pumpkin                      1
Water                                   500 ml
Canned coconut cream          250 ml
Sweet Thai chili sauce          1 tbspn
Lemon grass, finely chopped 1 tbpsn
Fish sauce                           1 tbspn
Freshly ground pepper
Fresh chopped coriander       50 ml
Coriander leaves for garnish