Dining with the British Queen

by Miss Terry Diner

No, unfortunately the Dining Out team was not given two First Class air tickets to the UK, to meet the Queen Elizabeth and dine at Buckingham Palace, but we were invited to the Queen Victoria Inn on Soi 6 Beach Road, Pattaya.
After parking in the soi, and experiencing the noise and general mayhem and madness that is Soi 6, walking into the Queen Victoria Inn is like arriving at an oasis after a trudge through a desert! With a long central bar, it is so pleasant to find there are actually no half naked girls dancing on it. The only girls here are well dressed in dark uniforms and are behind the bar, not on top of it.
There is much dark wood panelling and pub memorabilia around the walls, and all along one side there are comfortably padded dining alcoves, each with a window to the (un)real world of Soi 6 outside. Inside, it has definitely a pub ambience.
If your restaurant is in a ‘fun’ street, you may as well put some fun into dining, seems to be the theme of this restaurant, and this was borne out after talking to mine host Vic King. An apt moniker for the man at the helm of Queen Vic!
The light hearted approach can be seen immediately in the menu, with The Pie’s the Limit, Chuck ‘n’ Cluck, Lettuce Tempt You and other ‘bon mots’ thrown in for good measure.
All day breakfasts are on page 1 and includes Scottish kippers and Arbroath smoked haddock for all the Haggis eaters. These are followed by a page of starters (B. 65-95) and then some Italian offerings (B. 220) and “British” curries (B. 220) with one advertised as hot enough to blow your hoofs off!
All kinds of pies were also B. 220, as were the fish dishes, other than the imported Norwegian cod at B. 270. Old favourites include Bangers and Mash, Toad in the Hole, Ploughman’s lunches, with about everything B. 195-220.
Chicken choices and steaks follow, plus a 1 kilo rump steak at B. 595, or a 400 gm burger at B. 295 and a foot long Mad Dog roll at B. 220.
There’s lots more, but you can already see this is not an expensive restaurant.
A visit to the spotless new toilets continues in the humorous vein, patrons being forced to linger just to read the cartoons on the walls.
Drinks are reasonably priced. House wines B. 90 per glass and local beers B. 60-75, plus plenty of spirits and mixers.
After ordering, we were brought laminated place mats, which were cartoons from the Pattaya Mail’s Mike Baird, a man who can see the humour in all our lives in this fun town.
For starters we tried three and shared them. They were all good, but the deep-fried mushrooms were superb. Moist and flavoursome and B. 95. However, only just beating the hot, succulent mini chicken drumsticks with an excellent home made BBQ sauce and again B. 95.
Once more, with three of us, I could sample three main dishes. The traditional gammon steak I found a little dry, but it was still a good meal (lovely chunky British chips) and good value at B. 220. The huge plate of chicken kebabs was excellent (B. 220), and not overcooked as many kebabs can be, but the star of the evening for Madame and I was the Steak New Yorker (B. 280) which arrived on a sizzling platter, cooked exactly to order, and very, very tender, with melted cheese on top. Definitely recommended.
The Queen Victoria Inn supplied us with good helpings of good food and good humour. It is well worth having a good meal and a few drinks with the British “royalty” and then a fun night out watching the eye candy on Soi 6 afterwards. We enjoyed our dinner. I see no reason why you would not as well.
The Queen Victoria Inn, 437/136-140 (left hand side) Soi 6 Pattaya Beach Road (closer to the Second Road end than the Beach Road end) and grab parking wherever you can. Open seven days, 8.30 a.m. until around midnight. Telephone 038 425 418, email [email protected], www.queenvictoria-inn.com

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Irish Stew

There are many variations of this recipe, but all of them come back to potatoes and meat. Stewing beef cut into cubes is my preference, but you can substitute lamb leg. Remember to serve it piping hot (pre-heat the serving dish) just the way the womenfolk did to feed their men after a long day howkin’ tatties in the fields. This was a staple in Ireland and when the potato famine came in 1845, it had catastrophic results for the Irish people.

Cooking Method:
Lightly cook the diced beef, onions and seasoning in a heavy-bottomed pan in a little oil, until golden brown. Then add the stock and gently simmer until tender, this takes approximately 1-1½ hours.
Add the potatoes and carrots, simmer until cooked about thirty minutes (test with a fork), and then adjust the seasoning to taste.
Arrange attractively in a pre-heated earthenware dish and serve garnished with barley and parsley.

Ingredients                       Serves 4
Stewing steak or chuck                 1.5 kg.
Potatoes                                      1.5 kg
Carrots                                           1 kg
Onion                                         125 gm
Stock                                         500 ml
Seasoning
Rosemary to taste, 1 clove, a bay leaf, celery stick, salt and ground black pepper.
Garnish
Chopped parsley, and 50gms pre soaked and boiled barley. Hint – boiled rice is an acceptable alternative to barley.