For a restaurant to still be going strong after
more than a decade, it has to have something going for it. On our recent visit
to King Seafood on Walking Street, the ocean deck out over the water was very
busy, with many being returning tourists. This restaurant must know how to
maintain its customer base.
The entrance from Walking Street itself does not really give the indication of
the dining areas. You walk past a table with fresh seafood and vegetables and a
wine rack selection. On your left is the glassed-in kitchen area. Stop and watch
the speed of preparation of the dishes, and note the cleanliness as well.
There are two distinct dining areas, with the first being a covered section for
use if it is raining, which in turn leads out to the ocean terrace with many
tables laid out, though it is noticeable that the ones closest to the sea
generally have ‘reserved’ signs on them!
Of course, I do believe that for seafood to be great seafood requires a special
ingredient - the sea! Dining on seafood in a concrete box on a busy city street
does not have the magic of dining on seafood out over the water, no matter how
nice the decor.
However, King Seafood has its own special decor too. Large illuminated sea
horses are spaced along the balustrade on the edge of the ocean deck, to let you
know that seafood really is the specialty of the house, although you can even
get a plain omelet if that is what you want, (which one of our party did,
despite protestations from King Seafood’s owner Premruedee ‘Toy’
Jittiwutthikarn).
Adding to the overall ambience are the ornamental lights on the tables, the palm
trees, the light sea breezes from Pattaya Bay and the happy service staff.
Mention must also be made of the very entertaining singer, who added to the fun
of the evening as he performed all the old standards, involving some of the
staff in his routines.
The menu is the same large affair and multi-lingual, complete with many
photographs to point to if you do not understand the English, Thai, Russian or
French descriptions. The seafood items include lobster, rock lobster, tiger
prawn, sea prawn, river prawn and many fish varieties - and these are priced
depending upon the weight. Your table service personnel will tell you the cost
for today’s catches (for example grouper was only B. 60/100 gm).
The items are also not overly expensive (mains around B. 160), and when we
worked out later the cost per head, it was very reasonable. We stuck to local
beers as one of our party had become very enamored of the rather fetching Miss
Heineken who was roaming the tables!
We went for a wide selection of dishes (including the above mentioned omelet),
which we shared in Thai fashion (and I suggest you do too). Stand-outs were the
sea bass with lemon and the prawns in curry sauce which had just the right
amount of spiciness to add to the flavor of the prawns, without overpowering the
diner. A delicate balance is required, and this dish had it perfectly. If I had
not been so full by the end of our meal, I would have ordered another one! We
did succumb to Toy’s suggestion of crepes suzette, cooked at the table and
bananas in Grand Marnier, plus a couple of Irish coffees, prepared with all the
theatre and bell ringing. It was a fun evening.
So, what can you say about an ‘old friend’? King Seafood has made its name
through the combination of good food and good surroundings. The staff greet you
with a smile, and you are still smiling yourself when you leave. Highly
recommended and a great place to take visitors to Pattaya (as we did on this
occasion). In fact, they enjoyed it so much they went back themselves the next
evening!
King Seafood, 94 M.10, Beach Road (Walking Street), South Pattaya, telephone 038
429 459, fax 038 428 337, open seven days, 12 noon to 12 midnight. I would
suggest booking if you want a table next to the sea.
Pad Thai (Thai Stir-Fried Noodles)
Pad Thai is one of those Thai standards that you will get
all over the world. Variations come from generations of Thai cooks who add
their own signature to the dish. Basically it is a noodle dish (generally
(large) sen yai), prepared in the wok, with whichever meat or fish/seafood
you would like. Do not omit the roasted peanuts, an important ingredient.
Other than that, you may experiment to produce your own variation.
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Cooking Method:
Boil noodles until just soft (1-3 minutes). Drain and place noodles in separate
bowl. Heat oil in wok on high heat and add garlic, shallots, oyster sauce, pork
and stir-fry until cooked. Add eggs and cook quickly, stirring in with the pork.
Add noodles, fish sauce, soy sauce, pepper and sugar, stirring quickly so that
noodles do not stick together. Stir in bean sprouts, green leaf vegetables and
peanuts.
Garnish with fresh coriander and serve immediately. |
Ingredients Serves 4
Dried rice noodles 1 packet
Pork, cut into thin strips 100 gm
Garlic, chopped 2 cloves
Shallot, chopped 1
Eggs 2
Oyster sauce 2 tbspns
White pepper 1 tspn
Vegetable oil 4 tbspns
Sugar 4 tbspns
Fish sauce 2 tbspns
Dark soy sauce 2 tbspns
Green leaf vegetables,
cut into 2 cm strips ½ cup
Bean sprouts 1 cup
Roasted peanuts crushed ½ cup
Coriander, fresh, chopped for garnish
