The Enchanted Hut

During my short stay last week, there were two eating venues worthy of recommendation.

The first was the fish and chips at Niddies Nook which i've already mentioned.

The second was at The Enchanted Hut at Jomtien Complex.
I read in the forum a while ago that it was undergoing some renovation. Well the renovation is complete and what an 'enchanting' place it now is.

The owner Tim is an ex-film set designer and what a fantastic job he has done. Inside, it has the appearance of bamboo hut, with wicker walls, a water curtain like a waterfall along one wall, wooden thai artifacts and hidden lights . Its gorgeous. As is the Lao boy waiter who served me - what a smile, what a physique :albino:

I had a lovely 3 course meal served by two cheeky boys wearing traditional Thai silk pants and nothing else, at a very reasonable price. If you like your restauarant to be a bit out of ordinary it's well worth a visit.

... the whole service did deterate when Tim had his ex boyfriend work in the kitchen, ... and you will be in ore. so all in all give this restaurant a new visit ...

Did you go to school or is your sobriquet of "The Village Idiot" justified? I don't want to get a reputation for nitpicking but ...
Have you thought about buying a dictionary or using the spell check on the computer?

Deterate ??? Do you mean: (1) deteriorate? (2) detonate? (3) desecrate? (4) desperate?

Ore? (1) Iron ore? (2) Maybe an East London prostitute? (3) Abbreviation for Oregon (4) One hundredth of a Norwegian Krone ...
or was it AWE = a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder?

padlom:

It doesn't take long to discern the extent to which the elite farang poseurs in Thailand are a semi-literate throng. Their attempts to pass as well educated are readily betrayed.

[Brad the Impala]

The opening post is an excellent achievment. It managed to review a restaurant without once mentioning that special ingredient.......the food!

He did say it was lovely, so it must have been pretty food. Sounds like a gay restaurant to me!

"Gay" is putting it mildly. The "Hut" is the ponciest place into which I've ever stepped foot. Does anyone remember Wayland Flowers and Madame? Wayland's long lost twin is your humble host...

[bedbugy1-old]

who the fuck are you the board self appointented spell ckeck

"Gay" is putting it mildly. The "Hut" is the ponciest place into which I've ever stepped foot. Does anyone remember Wayland Flowers and Madame? Wayland's long lost twin is your humble host...
That could be fun if you're drunk enough, and then who cares about the food?

What a kitschy web site. Posting the "ladies menu" is an interesting touch, as is a floor plan with table numbers and seating capacity, so you can make a reservation for a specific table.

And, the tongue-in-cheek (I hope!) comment: "Formal wear is not required but does dress up the place." Go to the site and see the picture that goes with that caption for a little chuckle.

I definitely will give the place a try soon.

DELETED

I do venture to Pattaya once or twice a year, just to remind myself how godawful it is.

[Smiles]

Hey Georgie, I thought you and Mr Botting were friends? First an A-hole, now a flamin' sheila . . . what a way to treat a buddy.

Cheers ...


(ASIDE to John Botting: It looks as though a BJ from BG is probably out of the question).

[GWMinUS]

georgieboy, you are now dead meat!!!

[Dboy]

I used to have boygeorge on ignore. Now I'm a convert. He has the best posting on this board in my opinion.

Dboy

I used to have boygeorge on ignore. Now I'm a convert. He has the best posting on this board in my opinion.

Dboy

If I didn't know Boygeorge would suggest I give myself an uppercut to the jaw, I would have said a long time ago that I think I am falling for him! The funniest one liners on the board.

You OLD SLUT !

[Wazza]

Enchanted at the hut.

Having read of and about "The Hut" since its inception I stepped over the threshold tonight, was shown in by the naked to the waist greeter to the now infamous OTT interior. Could I say now that I have friends interiors that would make this place look minimalist. The decor is bold and busy its not air conditioned but well fanned and comfortable The Salad was dressed and tossed at the table as a starter it hit the mark and as an aside a simple salad is not easy to find in Pattaya.On to the chicken breast main well sauced and accompanied, finished with a Mango Parfait, beautiful. Negatives 1 the sole other customer at the end of his meal lit up a cigarette.
Recommendation yes will return

[catawampuscat]

For various reasons, I have not yet tried the Enchanted Hut.. Some friends dined there recently and thought it
was ok but had some issues with the management..Apparently the owner had baked a cake or a pie and insisted that
the farangs order it as it was just fabulous and amazing and so forth.. He really pushed the dessert and when the farangs
declined, the owner called out to his staff, no dessert just coffees.. The coffee wasn't included and the farangs were annoyed
that the owner pushed them and they won't return.. Of course, if you are offering dessert and coffee for free or treating someone,
it is no problem but don't push food on people and make it uncomfortable for them to decline at risk of being rude to the maker..

I am sure it is just the personality of the owner but some farangs don't like to be overwhelmed and put in a position where they
have to say no, so they just won't come back... Perhaps, the owner might consider hiring lmtu to be host as his experience running
fine hotels should make him a perfect choice.. Maybe, I would try the place then...

I had dinner last night at The Enchanted Hut. I arrived just before 1900h and was their first customer. Shortly after I arrived a couple (farang/Thai) came in, and a little later another single diner arrived. Not bad to have three tables occupied early evening on a Tuesday night in low season, I thought.

Not mentioned on the web site menu, they have a "set menu" with soup, appetizer, main course, dessert, etc. I asked about the soup with the set menu, and was told it was corn chowder. I had my heart set on trying the "Chilled mango soup with lime & coconut cream" so I declined on the set menu. I ordered "Thai coconut chicken with rice" for my main course.

Timing is important, as JB pointed out in the Nook thread. In usual (annoying, to me) Thai fashion, the waiter handed me a menu and before I opened it, asked what I would like to drink. What is it with that practice of handing you a menu and then standing there, shifting weight on their feet, acting almost impatient for you to order. But, I digress, as that is NOT unique to The Enchanted Hut. But, I feel better already just having spouted off. Now, where was I...?

Oh yes, after ordering a Pina Colada, which the menu says is served in a frozen pineapple, the drink appeared in about 5 minutes. Perfectly acceptable. But it was served in a brandy-snifter type of glass. The style of glass was ok, but it was not the frozen pineapple I was curious about.

In the five minutes I waited, I looked around and admired the decor. The owner's experience as a set designer sure shows ... the place is impressive. My only quibble is about cleanliness: If you are going to have glass top tables, the glass needs to be clean and clear, not with a haze that shows every movement of the cleaning cloth. Also, some of the plants immediately beside my seat were filthy. Not just a light dusting of today's dust, but black sooty grime. Small details, but they nonetheless take away from the otherwise impressive style, design and ambience. (If the table tops and plants are dirty, how's the kitchen?) And there was a spotlighted spider web (cob web?) right above my table.

After I received my drink, the waiter returned to say they "mai mii" the mango soup. Dang. Now, I actually wanted to switch to the set menu, but figured that they had probably already started on my main course of chicken, and would really cause problems. So, just trying to keep a low profile, I chose the "Vietnamese fresh spring rolls" as a substitute for my mango soup.

Then I watched as the waiter took the orders for the farang/couple. After a few minutes, the waiter returned and told the farang that "mai mii Fettuccini Alfredo", and the next choice of the farang (which I didn't hear, as he pointed at the menu) was also "mai mii". In mock exasperation, the farang jokingly said "What DO you have?" which met with a blank response. His third choice was, however, available.

My spring rolls then arrived. Fresh with nice crispy vegetables. Nice. However, I had to ask the waiter for a napkin. He had cleared away the extra place settings on my table, and also the glass containing my napkin. Picky detail, I know.

About five minutes later my main course arrived. Very tasty! Lots of ginger root slices, not too much pepper, and moist chicken chunks.

When he cleared my dinner plate after I finished, I grabbed the menu to point out the dessert I wanted, but he was too quick and was gone before I knew it. After a few minutes during which I know he looked at my table, I couldn't make eye contact, I finally waved him over to order dessert. Based on a previous comment in this thread about the owner aggressively pushing dessert, I was somewhat surprised. Anyway, I ordered the "Homemade Chocolate Layer Cake ". "Mai mii...."

When settling the bill, which was B310 (quite reasonable, I think), I put a B500 note in the folder, expecting to get B90 in small bills/coins for the tip. The folder returned with two B100 notes. Apparently they were short on change, and rounded my bill down? Fabulous!

I was there from just before 1900h to 1945h, and did not get to see "exotic Thai dances [performed] every half hour". I will assume it was because they were too busy? Or, is the restaurant still new enough that they are experiencing teething pains?

Oh, well. With such a small menu (which I MUCH prefer to a menu with a dozen pages and hundreds of items!), I was surprised that they did not have: (1) the mango soup, (2) fettucine alfredo, (3) another main course which the farang ordered, and (4) the chocolate cake. Also disappointing was expecting my sissy drink in a frozen pineapple as advertised, and missing the every-30-minute dance show. I was duly impressed with the design of the restaurant, the politeness and promptness of service, and the quality of the food.

Contrary to my nitpicking above, I did like the restaurant and will undoubtedly return.

DELETED

service ... 7/10

timeliness of service ... 9/10*

food quality/presentation ... 9/10*

menu choice availability ... 4/10

price ... 8/10 (extra point for rounding down the price when getting change)

restaurant design/ambience ... 9/10* (overlooking the cleanliness issues)

location/ease of finding ... 8/10*

* 10/10 would have to be SPECTACULAR, which these weren't
appeal of naked-to-waist-and-even-a-bit-lower waiter ... 10/10 :drunken:

[TrongpaiExpat]

What is it with that practice of handing you a menu and then standing there, shifting weight on their feet, acting almost impatient for you to order

That seems to be an annoying commonality of most Thai eateries. Also when the bill comes they wait for payment, not often enough time to review it.

What is it with that practice of handing you a menu and then standing there, shifting weight on their feet, acting almost impatient for you to order

That seems to be an annoying commonality of most Thai eateries. Also when the bill comes they wait for payment, not often enough time to review it.
Yes, this is absolutely the NORM. It drives me batty. Sometimes the way to get them to go away when looking at a menu is to just ignore them and then they get impatient and go away, but then good luck getting a waiter back when you are ready (in a busy place). The other method is to tell them in Thai that you need five minutes to read the menu, then again, they will go away, but good luck getting them back. I think in a farang oriented place where most customers are farang it is not unreasonable to suggest that staff be trained not to do this. Otherwise, just accept it, it is a Thai way.

It's finally time for our doors to officially open. Come Join the fun on Tues July 4th. All you can eat buffet for only 199 B. Live Thai music, exotic Thai dancing, georgeous waiters, and loads of California wine and spirits for sale.

Oh, my. I hadn't realized the place wasn't officially open. Time yet to Windex those tabletops and dust off those plants and cobwebs. :-)

"...georgeous waiters..." Not, I hope, as in boygeorgeous? The wait staff when I was there was MUCH preferrable to obese Aussie midgets...

"...georgeous waiters..." Not, I hope, as in boygeorgeous? The wait staff when I was there was MUCH preferrable to obese Aussie midgets...

Maybe that's why they can offer, "All you can eat." :pukeright:

Shame there is a wonderful picture of Tim with Lana La Moore but unfortunately Pictures and Proxy do not seem to mix.Are you using a proxy? Try accessing the board without one. Using my TT&T broadband line in Jomtien, Sawatdee Forum is not blocked 99% of the time.

[wowpow]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/wowpow/TIMOTHYBERGENkleinformaat.jpg

So heтАЩs also a ventriloquist?
Has he had his hand up the back of your frock, LMTU?

Just like I said...a Wayland Flowers and Madame clone.

Apparently a new Australian menu will be introduced at Enchanted Hut from July 4!!!
Lets hope it contains the "full monty" :bigsmurf:

It can't be true though, LMTY hasn't mentioned it. YET!!

[Monty-old]

Joh you need both hand to put over your big mouth.
Or you need both hands to pull yourself together,, not apart.

DELETED

[lonelywombat]

Apparently a new Australian menu will be introduced at Enchanted Hut from July 4!!!
Lets hope it contains the "full monty" :bigsmurf:

It can't be true though, LMTY hasn't mentioned it. YET!!

Lets hope it is better than meat and 2 veg, although there is some expertise available in that area.

The Enchanted Hut Is having a 4th of July Party Tues nite at 7pm-late. Jomtien Complex across from the Bondi. Barbeque, salads, all you can eat for 199 Baht. We are also having an auction to sell some of our lovely objects of art, wood sculptures from north thailand. Thai music and dancing and a special visit from Lana LaMoore, Hollywood''s oldest living star. see attachment.
see ya there!

Did anyone go?

...the food was a scummy type BBQ style buffet...Was the food good, or bad? "Scum" implies not very appetizing...