The homey atmosphere of the
Mata Hari restaurant.
In Bahasa, Indonesia, Mata Hari literally means the ‘eye
of the day’. The translation is ‘The Sun’. For those in Thailand who find
this strange, the true Thai word for ‘sun’ is not Phra Arthit but Tawan.
This translates as the eye of the day.
Most of us know Mata Hari the individual, though. She is highly romanticised
and movies have been made about her, the most famous starring the incredible
Greta Garbo. Of Dutch parentage, she made a speciality of Asian dancing and
spying. A lot of this goes on in Pattaya, but at the Mata Hari restaurant,
they make a speciality of cooking. And what cooking this is!
When we walked into the restaurant, which had many customers, my companions
and I took this a sign of good food to come. The clientele were also
regulars. We knew this, as our dapper host for the evening was greeting
everyone with smiles of recognition and assiduously checking that everyone’s
food was to their taste.
Light and tasty Classic Dutch
meatballs.
The customers received a bit of a shock though, as my
female companion, who is a native of a country world-famous for its sweets,
saw the dessert of the evening; a very generous piece of apple tart with ice
cream and vanilla sauce.
This was a popular dish and her eyes increased in size as she seductively
walked by tables upon which this dish was present. People managed to fend
her off though. The sweet smile didn’t fool them.
Our host told us that the Mata Hari functioned on the French ethos of fresh,
fragrant herbs and savoury sauces. These sauces were not from cubes or out
of bottles or envelopes, but fresh.
The food is not based on any one ‘cuisine’, but the closest ‘school’ of
cooking one could come to in description would be that of Escoffier.
Our meal began with three appetisers. Classic Dutch meatballs, which were
very ‘light’ if one can describe a meatball as such. We also tried
Mediterranean style chicken salad with courgettes, aubergine, a light yet
savoury dressing and a quintet of fresh herbs. We also ordered Paté.
Our photographer friend seemed to get great joy out of torturing us. ‘Wait
just a minute, let’s wait until everything comes. That way I can get a more
textured picture.” He sat sanguinely, as my famished friend and I slid out
of our chairs from weakness. He also made a great production of finding the
chicken’s best angles and getting the tomatoes to smile.
When we were finally allowed to eat, it was like being in a garden. No heavy
or artificial oils were used; instead everything was sautéed in just the
right amount of fresh butter. Mother nature would have been proud.
Everything was fresh from her forests, fields and meadows.
My female companion managed to keep up with us, all the while keeping her
eyes on the apple tart like a Cobra on a rabbit. ‘Tell the owner to save
some for us; it will be all gone,’ she said through gritted teeth, her voice
full of desperation.
The main courses were Pork Filets with apples in an apple brandy sauce,
Chicken Satay with a delightfully refreshing creme and dill sauce and Three
Filets (beef, chicken and pork) with Three butters.
There were gardens of fresh herbs and light yet full textured sauces served
with all these dishes. The Pork Filet with Apple was not over-sweet and did
not have a harsh brandy taste, which these dishes can often have. They all
disappeared in no time. Every bit of my meal was disturbed by my friend’s
Cheshire Cat smile and muttered admonitions, ‘Order the apple tart, NOW!’ It
was the first time I had ever heard anyone scream in a whisper. I kept her
quiet by handing her the delightful Greek Feta Cheese salad and saying, ‘Bet
you can’t eat this.’ Wanting to show me she was equal to any challenge, it
disappeared with great rapidity.
All of the main dishes were served with comforting and lightly seasoned
fried potatoes with bacon, Dutch style.
Another wonderful plus for Mata Hari was the music; ear soothing Vivaldi at
just the right volume.
When it finally came time, we did put in three orders for the apple tart. My
friend, who is usually annoyingly right, was annoyingly right. It was all
gone. We would have to wait for next time. I did not hear the end of this
for three days.
All joking aside, the Mata Hari presents truly first class cuisine at
ridiculously low prices. The same meal in America or Europe would be well
over 1,500 per person, without wine. At the Mata Hari, 3 appetisers, 3
salads and main courses came to approxi-mately 1,100 baht total.
This restaurant is highly recommended.
The Mata Hari is on Pattaya 2nd Road, near Soi 8.
