I have a soft spot for the Montien. It was the first hotel I stayed at in Pattaya, so long ago it was then called The Regent of Pattaya, but has now been the Montien for the past 25 years. In that time it has not resorted to trendy make-overs, but is like a favorite aunt, always there and always welcoming.
This was brought home while I was meandering around the buffet tables, deciding what to choose next when I overheard one chap saying, “This place is like my second home.” I can understand a returning tourist saying that.
There is also a certain security when you see the happy staff. The same ones you saw last year. Madame started her culinary career many years ago working as a trainee in the Montien’s kitchen. All the way through the dinner, for her it was ‘catching up’ time with the staff at many of the live cooking stations. It’s a nice feeling. For me, it was also catching up time with the Montien’s energetic PR lady Pornpimon Geybui, always a fun person.
We had come to review the Friday night Seafood Buffet, but these days it is an expanded Seafood and BBQ buffet, with a selection of meats, as well as seafood, and even a vegan BBQ. The Montien is also a venue which welcomes children, so the junior member of the Dining Out Team, Little Miss aged five joined us for the evening.
The Seafood buffet and BBQ is held in the Verandah Coffee Shop (and it is a full size restaurant, with one area open, but under cover), and adjoining is a glassed in air-conditioned section. The tables are large, and the chairs are comfortable. Always pre-requisites for a relaxed evening, in my book.
The stations are arranged in the under cover area, with many of them being ‘live cooking’. In the center there are two hot food stations, and the contents are kept hot and moist through the simple fact of only having a couple of servings held there at any one time. Freshly cooked items are continuously coming from the kitchen.
The number of items available is well over 70, not including accompaniments, so I am not going to list them in full! There are oysters in the shell over ice, with one darling young diner advising me “Very good, give power,” so it must be true!
The BBQ station has veal, pork, baked potato, vegan items, corn on the cob, rock lobster, river prawn, crab, squid, mackerel, salmon and mussels.
There are many, many hot and cold items, plus a table of temptations from the Montien bakery, itself a very well known and highly praised section of the hotel.
As always, the secret with buffets is to have small portions, or otherwise you will not make it through to try everything you want to try! Between us we tried many dishes, and for me, the dish of the evening was the BBQ rock lobster, which I smeared heavily with the lemon butter sauce. By the way, on your table will be a container with tabs being the number of the table. Take one with you when you order the BBQs and the staff will bring it to your table when it is ready. In the meantime, sample something else! For me that was three medallions of seared pork tenderloin on honey mustard and mango salsa.
BBQ buffets are very popular in Pattaya and the Montien’s Friday night Seafood Buffet and BBQ is certainly one of the least expensive at B. 750 ++ and B. 400++ for children. In fact, in the value for money stakes it is hard to beat. We all enjoyed the evening. There were more than enough choices and Little Miss backed up for a second creamed bell pepper soup with shrimp. I also liked the fact that there were many different sauces/dressings available, such as a Gazpacho, blue cheese, lemon butter, Wasabi cream and many more. Highly recommended.
The Montien Hotel, Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, telephone 038 428 155, or 038 361 340 ext 1620, email [email protected]. Secure parking. Friday buffet 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.

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Jamaican Chicken

This is a very simple recipe to produce a very tasty way to present chicken breast. The herbs and spices are all readily available here, and most cooks will have them in the cupboard already.

Cooking Method Pound the chicken breast fillets to around 1 cm thick. Heat cooking oil in the wok over medium-high heat until very hot. Quickly cook the chicken, turning once. Do not overcook. Remove from wok, set aside and keep warm. Add the orange juice to wok. Quickly bring to a boil, scraping bottom with a spatula to loosen any browned bits. Add the onion, green peppers, red peppers. Cook, stirring, for three minutes, until vegetables are tender. Place the cornstarch in a cup. Add the apple juice and stir until smooth. Add the minced garlic, ground cayenne pepper, cumin, thyme, and salt and add to the wok, and cook for another three minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Pour over the chicken breast and serve immediately with steamed rice.

Ingredients                           Serves 4
Chicken breast fillet                 750 gm
Orange juice                                1 cup
Onion, chopped                        1 large
Green bell pepper, chopped             1
Red bell pepper, chopped                 1
Cooking oil                                 30 mls
Cornstarch                               2 tspns
Apple juice                            2 tbspns
Garlic, minced                         2 cloves
Ground cayenne pepper         ½ tspn
Ground cumin                           ¼ tspn
Dried leaf thyme                       ¼ tspn
Salt                        1 pinch to season