by Miss Terry Diner

There must be very few people in Pattaya who have not heard about Casa Pascal, the restaurant started by Pascal Schnyder and his wife Kim. It is probably one of the most ‘awarded’ restaurants we have, and always included in any citation of our top restaurants. Even the forthcoming Miele Guide to Asian restaurants has Casa Pascal in its initial listings.
Casa Pascal is fine dining in the European manner, and the surroundings are also of the same very high standard. There is never anything out of place, the staff is trained in silver service, and nothing is too much trouble. The restaurant is a mirror of the classical training given to chef Pascal as he made his culinary career from Switzerland to Asia.
Having decided on his future direction he made his way up through the kitchens of Europe. This included the Geneva Noga Hilton Hotel, from there to the kitchen in Switzerland’s best known hotel, the Dolder Grand in Zurich. The Ramada Renaissance is also on his resume, and private restaurants such as the famous Zeughauskeller Zurich.
Casa Pascal is located up a small soi from Pattaya Second Road. It is on the right, almost opposite Marriott’s More Pub on the left. Look hard for the Casa Pascal sign. It is next to Ruen Thai, an old established Thai restaurant. Parking is plentiful, and Casa Pascal offers a valet parking service to make this even easier!
So we came to the menu and I was immediately taken by his weekly special. If you have three courses this will cost you B. 580 net, or four courses is B. 680 net. If you want to have unlimited wines from the current special wine selection then it is B. 950 and B. 1,300. By the way, these prices include the VAT, and service is at your discretion.
On the week that we dined out, the special included an Italian seafood salad appetizer, a vegetable cream soup with bacon and croutons, grilled salmon on sautéed spinach and buttered noodles with white wine and estragon sauce or chicken in red wine sauce with pickled onions and mushrooms and finally nougat ice cream cake dessert.
However, this is just to give you an example of what is on offer at this very inexpensive price, since this special changes weekly.
I had decided to try the special menu, while Madame stuck with a la carte, beginning with Casa Pascal crystal prawn and crab meat salad (B. 360) followed by the oven roasted rack of lamb provencal with gratin potatoes and ratatouille (B. 710).
By the way, if you choose a grill there are many accompanying sauces, including Café de Paris, mushroom cream, red wine sauce, rosemary gravy, béarnaise, hollandaise, assorted mustards, mint jelly and black pepper sauce, a full selection as you would expect.
While still on the menu, where does Pascal stand in the culinary kitchen these days? “My personal favorite? French - it’s the most diverse food culture,” said Pascal without hesitation. He does also try to stamp his own individuality into his menu. “If you can create one dish that nobody has done before, this is a lot. Not just giving a dish a different name. It is very difficult - a clam is always a clam,” said the down-to-earth Pascal.
So to the dining. The selections we had chosen were simply superb, as one would expect in a restaurant of this caliber. However, the weekly special came at such a reasonable price that one would not expect in a restaurant of this caliber. Far from being small portions, quite frankly, I struggled to get through my four courses, but greed and the thought of nougat ice cream cake at the end was my downfall. However, Madame did assist with my dessert.
With an excellent menu, many choices, a well rounded wine list, and beautifully cooked food, Casa Pascal remains one of our top restaurants without any doubt. Highest recommendation.
Casa Pascal, 485/M10, Pattaya Second Road almost opposite the Marriott Resort and Spa (next Ruen Thai), Pattaya City, reservations (recommended) 038 723 660, email info@restaurant-pattaya. com. Secure valet parking and limousine pick up if required. Open seven days 11 a.m. until late. Lunch menu till 2 p.m.

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Spanish Omelette

An omelette (also spelled ‘omelet’) is a very easy and quick dish and extremely versatile. Clever cooks will go their fridge and find all sorts of interesting ingredients to throw into an omelette. The following recipe can be adapted to what you have left over in your fridge too, but if you are new to cooking eggs in this way, just be guided by this good old standard.

Cooking Method:
Break the eggs into a bowl. Add water, salt and pepper, and mix well. Leave to stand for 10 minutes.
In a non-stick frying pan put in the butter and melt over medium heat and swirl around to cover bottom of pan.
Stir the eggs, add the onion, bell peppers, garlic and ham and pour into pan, swirling to evenly spread the mixture.
Reduce the heat to low, gently lifting up edges of omelette with a spatula as it sets. Add some extra butter if needed to avoid sticking. When the omelette is almost set, fold into three, sprinkle the cheese on top with some more ground black pepper. Cook for one minute and serve immediately.

Ingredients                        Serves 4
Large eggs                                            4
Butter                                               60g
Large onion (chopped fine)                     1
Bell peppers (red and green)     2 chopped
Garlic (chopped)                           1 clove
Ham (sliced and chopped)             50 gm
Cheese (grated)                           15 gm
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Cold water                                 1 tbspn