by Miss Terry Diner

The Dining Out Team was alerted to Tim’s Place a couple of months ago and we went round to see if it was as good as its reputation. There was only one thing wrong with that plan - the ever energetic roads department had decided to dig up Soi Chaiyapruek 1 in Jomtien (again!), and you needed an all-terrain vehicle to get there. We did manage to have a brief chat with Tim and we decided we should wait until the restaurant was accessible by passenger car before doing a review. Fortunately, it is now open to vehicular transport.
Tim’s Place is at the Sukhumvit Road end of Chaiyapruek 1, around 50 meters from the intersection. It is well signed and you will have no trouble finding it. There is also adequate parking in front and around the side of the building.
The interior is very warm, with red/orange colors used to heighten the effect, the seating is on water hyacinth chairs and the ambience is relaxed. The cutlery is polished stainless steel and very decorative. Along one wall is a bar area and in the corner is a kitchen behind glass. I should say, a spotlessly clean kitchen behind glass.
We sat back with an aperitif and perused the menu. This is a very colorful photographic item and begins with some international favorites in snacks and appetizers (B. 110-200) and then full meals including steaks, spare ribs, pork, chicken, prawns and pan-fried fish fillets (B. 320-460). If only more restaurants would realize that photographic menus make it easy for visitors who speak neither Thai nor English.
Tim is very proud of his Italian food and his pastas (B. 150-250) all come with Tim’s own home made sauces. There are also antipasti plates, generally under B. 200. Continuing in the Italian vein there are two pages of pizzas (B. 200-320) including a very interesting cheese lover with four types of cheese.
After the Italian cuisine comes several pages of Thai items and again very reasonable priced such as a roasted duck in red curry sauce at B. 220 or baked crab claws with glass noodle at B. 290. This menu is extensive.
There is a separate drinks menu. The wine choices are not large, but cover both old and new worlds. Whites are in the B. 1200-1500 range, and the Extra Dry Prosecco at B. 1290 is worth considering. Reds range between B. 980-1480 and the Hardy’s Shiraz/Cabernet/Sauvignon at B. 1290 is also a good wine with Italian food.
We ordered a pizza first, and asked for half to be cheese lover and the other half to be the meat lover. We followed that up with the steamed sea bass, which comes with its own small bowls of rice and another soup bowl to place the broth in and savor afterwards.
Despite suggesting the prosecco or the Hardy’s red, we decided to stick with the house wines, white and red, and found them both to be very quaffable.
At the end of the night we sat back and evaluated what we had eaten. The pizza was undoubtedly one of the nicest we have had recently. We watched the cook prepare it and then did not have to wait long before it came from the pizza oven. Hot, strings of cheese everywhere and exceptionally tasty. We would go back to Tim’s Place just for the pizza (and there is even free delivery locally)!
Then we had the steamed sea bass from the Thai menu. Very well done, with the right amount of spiciness to offset the sweet nature of the fish itself. Believe me when I say we had two perfect dishes.
Tim’s Place is somewhere you can go with a Thai partner and both of you will be more than satisfied with your individual choices. We were. So many times we find that the Thai menu is very limited, and sometimes supplied by the noodle shop next door! This is not the case at Tim’s Place. This restaurant definitely gets our recommendation. Do try it.
Tim’s Place, Soi Chaiyapruek 1, telephone 038 233 693, plenty of parking out front and in the car park behind, open seven days, 11 a.m. until 11 p.m.

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Chicken Curry Stew

Stews are great for large hungry families, and for cooks without much time. It is a case of set and forget and call to the table 30 minutes later.

Cooking Method:   In a deep frying pan, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain; crumble and set aside. Add chicken parts to the pan; cook over a medium heat for about 15 minutes, turning, or until browned. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, remove but keep warm. In the pan add celery, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook over a medium heat for about five minutes. Add tomatoes, curry powder, thyme and sprinkle of salt. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Return chicken to the pan and add currants and broth; cover and cook over a medium heat for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, crumbled bacon and toasted almonds.

Ingredients            Serves 4
Broiler chicken 1.5 kg, cut in parts
Bacon                            4 slices
Salt                                ½ tspn
Pepper                            ½ tspn
Celery, chopped                ¾ cup
Onion, chopped                 ½ cup
Green bell pepper, chopped      1
Garlic, minced               2 cloves
Fresh tomatoes, chopped 2 cups
Madras curry powder       2 tspns
Thyme leaves                  ½ tspn
Chicken stock, hot            1 cup
Currants or raisins            ½ cup
Chopped fresh parsley     1 tbspn
Slivered toasted almonds   ½ cup