H for Hilton, H for Hamburgers

Hamburgers are part of the western culture. As far as I can ascertain, the “hamburger” has been around since the 1880s and a chap by the name of Ray Kroc, who bought out the McDonalds brothers, is responsible for bringing the hamburger to the masses.
Some more history, the name “hamburger” originated from German immigrants who came from the town Hamburg in Germany. To make meats more tender the German immigrants would grind up beefsteak and the steak was called “hamburg steak”. That was later shortened and changed to “hamburger”.
Some other irrelevant facts and some folklore:
In 1982, a 1,628 kg hamburger was cooked and shared by almost 10,000 people, earning it the claim to World’s Largest Hamburger.
Hamburgers and cheeseburgers are responsible for a whopping 71 percent of all the beef served in U.S. restaurants.
Americans eat about 14 billion hamburgers a year!

And so to the reason for this week’s review - the Hilton’s Hamburgers on Wednesdays at The Edge restaurant. Edge runs the width of the Hilton building, with views across all of Pattaya Bay. Seating can be outside on the balcony area, or inside and air-conditioned behind glass, so the views are still there to be enjoyed. The chairs are comfortable and the tables adequately sized, and the napery of high quality. Around two walls are the buffet tables, with cold items separate from the hot items and a la minute live cooking stations, plus a free standing counter with desserts.
The lunch buffets are themed with a Monday After Weekend BBQ, Tuesday Mediterranean fare, Wednesday is Salads, Sandwiches and Burgers, Thursday is Extended Asia, Friday is Seafood and Saturday features Signature dishes and Desserts. The prices are B. 420 net for all, except the Seafood on Fridays which is B. 480 or the Saturday Classics and Confectionaries also at B. 480. Being all you can eat deals, with two and a half hours to do it in from noon each day, this is not expensive fare.
By the way, even though we went to The Edge to review the hamburgers, do not think that is all there is. There are many other dishes, both Thai and European for you to try, plus a large range of desserts (and I can recommend the lemon ice cream with raisins to your order). It was sheer piggery after two hamburgers, but a wonderful hedonistic experience, nevertheless.
The hamburgers are cooked to your order and there are eight varieties, including Tex-Mex, Chicken Caesar, Pepperoni burger, Blue cheese burger, NYC dogs and the Classic burger.

To accompany your burger choice is a huge choice of sauces with yellow mustard, Tabasco, tomato sauce, A1 Steak sauce, chilli sauce and more.
Madame and I put in our orders for two burgers each, with Tex-Mex, Chicken and a Classic burger with the chef. A few minutes later they were brought to our table, hot and toasted, and were significant by the size of the ground meat patty and the fact that the meat was cooked correctly. Quite honestly, it is a while since I have eaten a better burger.
If you like designer sandwiches, once again there are many choices including three extremely large subs - a grilled vegetable, lean roast beef and one called a Hip’s Club sandwich. The staff will cut slices off these for you to try if you wish.
All the other buffet choices just make this B. 420 great value, and the view across Pattaya Bay is just another plus for the Hilton.
By the way, we got there at noon and The Edge filled up very soon after. Consequently I do recommend that you book if you know you will be there any later than 12.30. (Good lunch deals are never undersubscribed!)
The Edge restaurant, 14th floor Hilton Pattaya, 333/101 M9, above Central Festival shopping center, and with Second Road and Beach Road entrances and secure parking, telephone 038 253 077. Valet Parking too, which is a boon (I actually detest the Central Festival car park where you go round and round and round and get dizzy or lost, so the Hilton Valet Parking suits me down to the ground).

Chicken soup like mother used to make

Chicken soup is said to be a cure for the common cold; however, this healthy recipe uses some different herbs and spices to enhance the flavor, and will probably cure just about anything. The preparation time is only 15 minutes and the cooking time is 40 minutes, so you have a very popular dish to the table under one hour.

Ingredients	Serves 4
Chicken thigh cutlets, excess fat trimmed	approx 1 kg
Brown onion large, halved, finely chopped	1
Carrot large, peeled, finely chopped	1
Celery stick, trimmed, finely chopped	1
Garlic cloves large, finely chopped	2
Coriander finely chopped	2 tbspns
Water	2 liters
Black peppercorns whole	½ tspn
Sea salt flakes
Coriander finely chopped as garnish	2 tbspns

Cooking Method

Combine chicken, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, coriander, water and peppercorns in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 40 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.
Use tongs to transfer the chicken to a clean work surface. Hold with tongs and cut the chicken meat from the bones. Discard bones. Finely chop the chicken meat and add to the soup.
Taste and season with sea salt. Ladle soup among serving bowls. Sprinkle with extra coriander and serve immediately.