by Miss Terry Diner

“There’s just so many choices,” said the man standing next to me as we looked at the Montien’s Seafood BBQ offerings. “The trick is to just select small quantities and go up many times,” I said. These days I am well versed in the Montien’s BBQ buffet culture.
The Montien Hotel on Pattaya Second Road has long been part of the dining out culture in Pattaya, with its Marco Polo Chinese restaurant, La Mer Mediterranean restaurant and the buffets in the Verandah restaurant (Montien call it the “Verandah Café”, but it is much more than a café).
Being one of Pattaya’s landmarks (over 30 years at the site) it is not difficult to find, being on Second Road around 100 meters past the Central Pattaya Road (Pattaya Klang) intersection, on the left and before Hard Rock.
The Verandah is on the level down from the main lobby entrance. One section is covered, but opens out to overlook the free-form swimming pool and tropical gardens. The other section is behind glass and is air-conditioned. Chairs are cane and cushioned and invite you to linger, as does the relaxed atmosphere of the place, aided by the friendly staff who know when to remove your plate and when to just leave you alone. It is a no-pressure place.
The buffet stretches along the edge of the pool and along one wall of the restaurant and around a very large circular table in the center of the area. As the gentleman said, “There’s so many choices,” that there has to be a large section for cooking and display.
The Appetizer section has fresh oysters and NZ mussels, river prawns and rock lobsters, plus shrimps, roast beef, smoked fish and smoked chicken breast with mango dressing. And that’s just some of the appetizers.
The BBQ items are just as numerous, and taking the seafood items first, there is rock lobster, river prawn, crab, squid, mackerel of snapper, salmon fillet and mussels, plus veal, pork and even a vegan BBQ item along with baked potato and grilled corn on the cob and multiple sauces, garlic, herb and mustards and BBQ sauce.
While still on hot food items, the central round tables have many choices. The amount of food in the heated containers is kept deliberately small, so that they are frequently replenished with freshly cooked items. These include a Thai mixed seafood in coconut milk (tom kha talay), green beef curry, sweet and sour fish, fried pork with cashews, red snapper in charmoula butter, duck breast with apricots, pork spare-ribs and a four cheese pasta.
But it doesn’t end there - look at the salad bar, ‘Frito misto’ (similar to tempura style) items, desserts, bakery and more! “So many choices!”
We sampled many of those choices, returning to those which we were really fond of. For me, that included the fresh oysters! I am also rather partial to rock lobster and this included the boiled rock lobster on ice and the BBQ rock lobster as well. For good measure I also enjoyed the creamed tomato soup with croutons. For Madame, her favorites included the roasted duck and BBQ crab. The carvery also beckoned to us both with a wonderfully moist baked ham, while I finished with some deep-fried ice cream. I did say at the outset that the secret of the Montien’s buffets was the selection of small quantities and go up many times!
Now I did mention coffee. The Montien has added a fun coffee experience called Coffee “Ole” which stands for Original - Lover - Extraordinary, and you can get these coffees in the Lobby Bar (7.30-9.30 p.m.) and afterwards at the Montientong Karaoke (just off the main lobby). You can get Cappuccino, Cappuccino Caramel, Latte, and Irish coffee. I finished our evening with the Irish coffee, to make it a totally relaxed evening in every way.
The Dining Out team can continue to recommend the Montien’s BBQ and Seafood Buffet, and do stay for a coffee afterwards! The Buffet is B. 750++ and B. 400++ for children.
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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Tod Mun Pla
Tod Mun Pla (fish cake) is a Thai classic and is in every Thai restaurant menu in the world. It can be tricky to cook, to make sure it is firm but not oily or rubbery in texture. An important step is to make sure the mixture is thoroughly mixed, otherwise it will tend to break up during cooking.

Ingredients            Serves 6 Vegetable oil                            1 cup Sugar                                     2 tbspn Salt                                        1 tbspn Kaffir lime leaves                            6 Green beans                        200 gms Fish paste                            600 gms Egg                                                   2 Red curry paste                   2 tbspn

Cooking Method
Stack all the kaffir lime leaves and roll them tightly. Slice the roll of leaves into very thin strips. Slice green beans into cross-sectional pieces, ¼ cm thick.
Mix all the ingredients, except for the oil, kaffir lime leaves and green beans, in a bowl. Stir (around three minutes) until the mixture becomes a paste with smooth and shiny consistency again. Now add the kaffir lime leaves and green beans and stir again thoroughly.
In a flat bottom pan, heat the oil on medium. When the oil is ready, the mixture should puff around the edge. Drop a tablespoonful in the pan. When the underside has cooked, use a spatula to loosen the fish cake, then turn over and push it down with the spatula to make it flat like a pancake. Do not overcook the fish cakes. Drain or pat with paper towels to remove the oil and serve.