I found to our horror that it had been three years
since we last reviewed the Thai Garden Resort’s Moon River Pub. We had been in a
couple of times to listen to the music, but a formal review was not done. We
apologized to the GM of the Thai Garden Resort, Rene Pisters, and dropped in
last week.
Having got there reasonably early, we decided to sit outside in the beer garden
area to relax first. Ordering two beers, we were very pleased to receive two
frosted beer mugs that had been kept in the freezer and two very cold bottles. A
really cold beer is such a thirst quencher at the end of the day and the Moon
River Pub knows how to present a really cold beer!
Going into the “log cabin” of the Moon River Pub, it was a familiar sight. The
rustic ‘wagon wheel’ tables and chairs, the memorabilia on the walls, the 7,000
egg cartons on the ceiling, it was a welcome home, in many ways, made even more
enjoyable by the ready smiles of the service staff.
One side of the dining area is elevated, whilst the centre is at floor level,
with a sit-up bar in one corner. The pool table has been relocated to its own
dedicated snooker room, and right at the front is the elevated dais for the
band, a very important part of the Moon River Pub experience. The pub actually
opens at 6 p.m., but the band starts its entertaining shortly after 9 p.m. so
the diners can concentrate on their dinner till then.
We decided to continue with the cold bottled beer, but mention should be made of
the individual ‘beer towers’ with their cold pack jackets to keep the beer cold
while you dispense for yourselves.
Perusal of the menu showed that the affordable concept still applied to both the
food and beverages. The bulk of the bottled wines, from both old and new worlds
were under B. 1,100, and if you chose the Chilean house wine, for B. 1,100 you
would get a one liter carafe. That is cheap drinking.
The food menu begins with three starters, all at B. 150, including smoked
salmon. They are followed by soups, all at B. 100, and then sandwiches and
snacks (B. 110-180) followed by assorted salads (B. 100-150).
Something new since our last review was the Dutch Corner (B. 80-120) including
the famous bitterballen and french-fries.
From there it is pastas (B. 180), seafood (B. 290) and meat dishes (B. 180-330.
Finally there are pages of Thai food (B. 120-150).
We began with a starter for Madame, a smoked salmon with horseradish sauce (B.
150). This was a very pleasant beginning, smoked salmon rosettes with the
horseradish sauce presented in a scooped out tomato.
I had chosen the goulash soup (B. 100) which came with a warm bread roll and a
plastic and foil wrapped butter pat. The soup was very hearty and served hot. I
liked it very much, mind you, wrapped butter pats are one of my pet hates.
Fortunately the butter had not been frozen to Arctic ice cap temperature and was
spreadable.
For mains, Madame had chosen the steak with peppercorn sauce which came with
garden vegetables and boiled potatoes (B. 330). A thick cut of meat and
correctly cooked.
I had decided to sample the poached fillet of sole with almonds (B. 290) which
also came with the boiled potatoes and garden vegetables and its own container
of tartare sauce. Once again a perfectly satisfactory dish and inexpensive.
It was another pleasurable night at the Moon River Pub. The popularity of this
venue is undiminished after 14 years, and with its affordable pricing, makes it
an ideal night out of dinner and dancing. We will try and not leave it so long
next time!
The Moon River Pub and Restaurant, in the Thai Garden Resort, 179-168 North
Pattaya Road (almost opposite city hall), telephone 038 370 614-8, fax 038 426
198, email reservation@thaigar den.com. Secure parking in the resort grounds and
outside the Moon River Pub. Open seven days from 6 p.m. until late.
Plakapong Fillet Mediterranean
Mediterranean cuisine is very popular at present, and
this is a very simple recipe using the readily available Plakapong fish in
Thailand, but any white meat fish will be fine. Frozen fillets can also be
used, but leave them out for some time to make sure they are fully
defrosted. The coriander garnish can be omitted if your guests are not used
to this Asian flavor.
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Cooking Method
Put a very little cooking oil in the wok and heat over medium heat
until hot. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is
transparent. Add tomato, white wine and oregano and cook until water
evaporates, stirring occasionally.
Place fish filets in a baking dish coated with nonstick cooking
spray. Top with garlic/tomato/oregano mixture and bake uncovered at
350 degrees for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Sprinkle with Feta cheese and olives and garnish with chopped
coriander leaf.
Serve with boiled potato or rice. |
Ingredients
Serves 4
Plakapong fillets 4x100 gm
Medium onion, chopped ½
Cooking oil 25 ml
Garlic, minced 2 cloves
Medium tomatoes, seeded and diced 2
Dry white wine ¼ cup
Dried whole oregano 1 tspn
Feta cheese (crumbled) ½ cup
Black olives (sliced) ¼ cup
Coriander leaf (fresh) ½ cup
