The world’s economic melt-down has produced much suffering, but as they say, in every cloud there is a silver lining … what the depressed economy has brought out is some great bargains in the dining out scene on the Eastern Seaboard.
A newcomer to the hospitality industry in Pattaya is the LK Renaissance hotel in Soi Diana (between Second Road and Soi Bua Khao), with a restaurant attached with the novel name of ‘Dine for 99’, which advertises ‘all you can eat’ daily specials for B. 99. It is certainly not difficult to find, being around 50 meters up Soi Diana on the left hand side from the Second Road entrance. The restaurant has its own dedicated entrance from the street or through the hotel foyer.
The tables are all topped with cheerful red and white check covers, and the similarly cheerful staff are in black uniforms with red aprons, and it has an ‘American’ feel to it visually. When you talk to Bobby, the man who runs it, you find he is also a dyed in the wool American!
The B. 99 menu which is all you can eat, is predominantly displayed, both inside and street-side - but there’s a catch (there always is, isn’t there), that to be eligible for the outstanding bargain, you have to purchase at least one drink. However, the drink prices are so very reasonable, with Singha and San Miguel B. 65 and Heineken B. 70, for example. Italian house wine is only B. 75 for a glass, so the ‘one drink’ rule is no great imposition.
More on the B. 99 all you can eat bargain. These are different items each day, so in theory you could dine at Dine for 99 for an entire week for under B. 700. That’s a real recession buster!
The daily items (3 p.m. until 11 p.m.) are:
Mondays - pasta,
Tuesdays - chicken,
Wednesdays - burgers,
Thursdays - lasagna,
Fridays - BBQ kebabs,
Saturdays - pizza
Sundays - roast dinner.
But it doesn’t stop there, as on each day there are multiple choices. For example, on the Saturday offering of pizza there are choices including sausage, Bolognese, margarita, Hawaiian or chicken and salad, and even the Sunday roast has beef or chicken to go with the traditional Yorkshire pudding. All you can eat roast for B. 99. It is almost unbelievable.
There is also a standard set menu, which has Thai items, or a rib eye steak or a pork chop, complete with salad and fries. Obviously the set menu items are not ‘all you can eat’ items, but they are B. 99 as well.
In addition, there is a breakfast menu (7 a.m. to 2 p.m.) which again is B. 99 with all the usual breakfast items such as omelet, pancakes, ham, sausage, bacon and more.
It was a Friday when we did the review, so our choices came from within the BBQ kebabs and our options included chicken, pork or seafood, complete with steak fries and salad.
We began with chicken, and the first taste showed that the BBQ chicken on their skewers had been smoked, and were very, very tasty. The smoking is done in-house, and Bobby is proud of the homemade items the kitchen can provide, including the breads, pastas and the apple and blueberry pie desserts.
After the BBQ chicken, I tried the seafood, a lightly grilled white meat fish and was perfectly filleted - not one bone. More steak fries and the ‘all I could eat’ was achieved for me, but if I had wanted more, it was there just for the asking. And B. 99, don’t forget. Bobby seemed disappointed I had run out of room so early!
Bobby’s final words were “Recession? What recession?” You would have to agree with him. Great food, as much as you want to eat, and B. 99. This restaurant gets a high rating. Do go, and save yourself some money at the same time.
‘Dine for 99’ in the LK Renaissance hotel, Soi Diana, telephone 038 720-720 ext 106, open seven days breakfast 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner 3 p.m. until 11 p.m. Parking available in LK Metro hotel another 50 meters up Soi Diana.

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Lemon Fish

This week’s recipe is for the fish lovers out there and almost all types of fish can be used, but the flat fish such as Pomfret, Plaice or Lemon Sole are particularly appropriate. It calls for four long red chilies, but if the family like this toned down, you can simply reduce the number, and I recommend that you remove the seeds before chopping. With all chilies, remember not to rub your eyes while chopping!

Ingredients                          serves 2-4 Pomfret/Plaice/Sole                   1 medium Cooking oil                                30 ml Garlic finely chopped                  2 cloves Chilies, long red finely chopped   4 Fish sauce                                30 ml Lemon juice                               15 ml Sugar                                        2 tbspns Soup stock                                60 ml Corn flour                                   2 tbspns Coriander leaves as garnish

Cooking Method
Clean the fish, rinse and pat dry. Now shallow fry the fish, making sure it remains moist, remove and set aside.
Heat the oil and add the garlic, frying until it is golden in color. Now add the chilies, stirring quickly and then the fish sauce, lemon juice, sugar and soup stock.
Pre-mix the corn flour with 30 ml of water and add 5ml of the flour mixture at a time to thicken the sauce slightly. When the consistency is thick enough, place the fish on a serving platter and pour the sauce over it. A garnish with coriander leaves finishes the dish and serve immediately.