If there is one hotel in Pattaya that is an icon for its restaurants, the Montien must be near the top of that list. The Marco Polo is still one of the best Chinese restaurants in town under Chef Kajorn, La Mer is famous for its quality dining, and the Verandah coffee shop is renowned for its buffets. So when Mon, the energetic PR lady from the Montien invited the Dining Out team to dinner at the International and Seafood BBQ buffet at the Verandah Coffee Shop, we naturally said yes.
However, before launching in to the review of one of the largest buffets in town, I have to make one correction. The Verandah is not a “coffee shop” – it is a very large and very well appointed restaurant adjacent to the swimming pool and gardens enjoying both the sea breezes and it has an air-conditioned section behind glass. Interestingly, the international tourists all went for the sea breezes, while we went straight for the air-conditioning. The tables are large and the padded chairs are most comfortable, making the physical side of dining very pleasant.
“While I was desecrating my tomato basket, Madame was enjoying the herb encrusted salmon which was over by the BBQ grill section.”
The Verandah buffet features live cooking stations on two sides, plus salad bar, Thai food bar and a central hot food section. It is definitely necessary to do two or three reconnaissance tours, the range of offerings is just so great. I also suggest that you just ‘sample’ your favorites, or else you will miss some others of your favorite items – and there are plenty of them.
It is tempting at this juncture to begin to list all the items, but quite frankly, there are too many for me to even write down, so instead I will indicate some of the dishes Madame and I tried on our Saturday Dining Out at the Montien.
The Thai artistic eye makes each dish a work of art, including the duck breast shown here.
The International and Seafood BBQ is under the watchful eye of Executive Chef Horst, now a long-time feature in the Montien. His seafood is market-fresh that morning, and the presentation would be well-nigh impossible to better. The Thai artistic eye makes each dish a work of art!
For example, the cooked prawns were offered in a “basket” made from a scooped out tomato, complete with tomato handle and egg. I felt ashamed to be destroying such arty expression! But I did and it was most refreshing!
While I was desecrating my tomato basket, Madame was enjoying the herb encrusted salmon which was over by the BBQ grill section. I joined this section with some BBQ chicken breast (though the pork medallions were tempting) and added some roast potatoes as well. By the way, the staff will bring your selected BBQ items to your table, you do not have to wait there.
I mentioned pork medallions, and these were also available from the hot food table, set on a mango sauce, and I selected some mashed potatoes to go with them as well. The number of serves in each covered dish is kept purposely low, so that the replenishments are constantly coming from the kitchen, making sure of the warmth and freshness of each dish. With my appetite whetted, I had a small plate of garlic and pepper pork which was excellent, and I followed that up with several portions from the cheese board, being a sucker for cheese. One which captivated Madame was a nutty brie, also being a cheese lover.
I normally do not indulge in desserts, but the lovely young lady on the Crepes Suzette station did not have to try hard to get me to agree to one, to which she added a scoop of ice cream to make it a real indulgence.
Did we enjoy the Montien’s International and Seafood BBQ Buffet? Yes we did, and both of us considered that the Saturday offering represented very good value at B. 995 (children B. 550). This promotion was excellent last year, and this year it is even better. Very highly recommended.
The Montien Hotel, Pattaya Second Road (200 meters past the Central Pattaya Road intersection), Pattaya City, telephone 038 428 155, or 038 361 340 ext 1620, email [email protected]. Secure parking within the grounds. This BBQ promotion on Saturdays only, 6.30 p.m. until 10 p.m.
The Verandah buffet features live cooking stations on two sides.
