Re: FANTASTIC new regional Chinese restaurant in Pattaya!
The chefs take your order and bring it to your table. It is not a buffet. What this means of course is that if they are busy cooking at the time you walk in your service will be slowed down as they aren't going to walk away from a dish in progress.
In recent months (it is still a newish restaurant really) they have usually been open about 2/3 of each month, open evenings only from about 6 PM even though their sign says 5 PM, and closed Mondays. They have taken to posting their longer closing periods (travel to Hong Kong) on a signboard so regulars can know what to expect. I also plan to post closure news here. Think of this as a charming quirk. I know I do.
Perhaps I have overestimated the food sophistication of the gay audience here. Well, I'm sure at least of few of you are potential appreciators of the Pao experience. I had thought the gay expat market was a natural for this unusual place but perhaps I was wrong. Alas, this isn't San Francisco.
BTW, some dishes in my view are better than others. Personally, I wouldn't suggest the Xianlanbao for first timers. Those are a foodie cult in Shanghai but although I am no expert on them, my impression is that they are a little weak. I would suggest instead of course the handmade noodles with spicy meat sauce (no doubt the best in town and only about 70 baht) and the pork dumplings (steamed then pan fried). The chewiness of the pork dumplings due to the cooking method is mind blowing.
Re: FANTASTIC new regional Chinese restaurant in Pattaya!
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
The chefs take your order and bring it to your table.
Wow, that concerns me greatly in terms of hygiene !! One minute they are in the kitchen cooking the pig entrails or whatever it is they seem to serve ( which sound disgusting to me the way) and the next they are out in the public area serving customers, I just hope they wash their hands in between these activities as it's very bad kitchen practice to jump between raw and cooked meats and then the public I think :-(
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
It is not a buffet.
Maybe as you are trying to help them out you could suggest that to them as I know at my local Chinese restaurant the buffet is very popular, I think they have an all you can eat menu for a very low price on a sunday and the place is really busy with people after they come out of the bar next door after watching the football, but I guess as they are a bit drunk they really that idea and it's really cheap too just like your place, so perhaps they could do something like that to drum up more trade ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Narakmak
What this means of course is that if they are busy cooking at the time you walk in your service will be slowed down as they aren't going to walk away from a dish in progress.
Oh dear :-( See maybe this is why they aren't busy, strange opening hours, no waiter service, no buffet and now it seems there could be quite a delay until you get your food !! ?? That's not good :-( In my local Chinese your food is with you almost immediately once you hear the microwave ding from the kitchens and there's no wait at all, perhaps you could suggest they speed service up to maybe get more customers through the door and if they don't already use them ( but I'm sure they do as all restaurants seems to these days) purchase a microwave themselves?
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
they have usually been open about 2/3 of each month, open evenings only from about 6 PM even though their sign says 5 PM, and closed Mondays.
Open 2/3 what ? - is that evenings or weeks you're talking about there please ? - wow that's very little but I guess if their food is different than the normal it maybe takes them longer to do ( as you've said) so probably takes more out of them remembering the different recipes that are so different from everyone elses ( have they written them down do you know, maybe that may help then not get as tired when having to remember everything from scratch?). I'm guessing that's why they need the Monday off as well to get over the weekend rush- see, again there's were that buffet idea could help as with that they could feed more people with less effort and not get so tired and I don't know if they have one or not but they could get those big heat lamp things which keeps the food and the chips etc warm for longer and stuff so that they wouldn't have to work as hard or cook it all from fresh each time - maybe that would help them too ??
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
Perhaps I have overestimated the food sophistication of the gay audience here. Alas, this isn't San Francisco.
Oh I don't think you have Narakmak, I think we're all about the same levels on here FOR SURE, hell I bet we all enjoy eating out and actually I class myself as a quite sophisticated eater, actually sometimes when I cut out the discount two for one and money off vouchers in my local paper I save them up and then go to one of the quite classy pizza restaurants here in town where sometimes you even have to book and everything ( although only on Mondays as that's when the vouchers are only valid) - well when I say book, I mean perhaps more just queue and wait for a table as they are always busy with families and stag and hen parties and things etc.
I always enjoy their food and have stuff like prawn cocktail and sirloin steak and everything ! and even sometimes I have two puddings afterwards ( and different ones at that just to try them all) this is as I consider myself a bit of a food critic on nights like that and enjoy going back and telling my friends how it all tasted ( not that they can afford to go as they're not smart enough to cut the coupons like me but of course I never tell them that's how I afforded it) so I think we all like fancy eating out sometimes - although to be honest your place doesn't sound HALF as fancy as mine I'm afraid :-( .
And as for it not being San Fran - yeah you're SO right there I think, actually was in San Fran once as I was travelling to visit relatives who live in a trailer park just outside one of the suburbs and the restaurant I was in was great! the service was fast, the plates were piled high with food, there were as many chips as you could eat, they gave free coffee refills and the steak just melted in your mouth if you ate it fast enough when it came out of the kitchen while it was still warm - AND it was all served by a waiter I hasten to add ! So yeah I think you're right, you're place sounds nothing like San Fran at all, I see your point there, perhaps you could give your guys some tips there as to how they might bring their place up to scratch quickly to maybe help trade improve ?
Re: FANTASTIC new regional Chinese restaurant in Pattaya!
No dumplings for you!
Again they don't have pig trotters and I find the place clean and hygienic and have never had any stomach issues after eating there. Again, they are not in the slightest bit interested in meeting western standard expectations of Chinese food and they won't add any menu items to cater to yob tastes, nor will there ever be a buffet. Some have asked them to do crispy noodle Hong Kong chow mein and no doubt they could sell that dish, the answer is NO! I love that attitude. Not saying there is anything wrong with that dish but it's not a dish you do with the kind of special handmade noodles they do. To do that dish they would need to buy in noodles and it wouldn't fit the theme of their menu. Not their vision. They make it work with their concept or not. Take it or leave it. If not enough people do take it, it would be a major loss the local Pattaya Chinese food scene.
Re: FANTASTIC new regional Chinese restaurant in Pattaya!
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
they won't add any menu items to cater to yob tastes
What do you mean "yob tastes?" is that a cooking style ?
Re: FANTASTIC new regional Chinese restaurant in Pattaya!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Narakmak
Again, they are not in the slightest bit interested in meeting western standard expectations of Chinese food --- they won't add any menu items to cater to yob tastes ---- will there ever be a buffet. They have been asked to do crispy noodle Hong Kong chow mein, they could, the answer is NO! ---- They make it work with their concept or not ----- Take it or leave it.
I think I'm beginning to see where they're going wrong........there's lots of our way or no way in there and lots of No's to good suggestions - first rule of business surely is to listen to what your customers want and them give it to them - no ?? Or are they that arrogant perhaps that they believe what they are doing is right and EVERYONE else is wrong - which is maybe why they have an empty restaurant - maybe for all you know they are terrible cooks and you just don't know it ? is that possible ( although from reading your posts you seems to like food so I'd be surprised if thats the case, but have you eaten out much in other places so you can compare ?
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
If not enough people do take it, it would be a major loss the local Pattaya Chinese food scene
But surely if no one likes it and no one eats there anyway then it would be absolutely NO loss to the local food scene - except to yourself perhaps - which again brings me back to my point above about are you SURE it's good - maybe you've just got besotted with the owners ideology and actually their food isn't that great at all perhaps ??? Is that possible ?
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
I love that attitude
Again - see my above - maybe you love the attitude more than the not very popular food ?? Maybe you should go to a few different chinese restaurants in the area and compare then and see what you think then, you might be pleasantly surprised ??
Re: FANTASTIC new regional Chinese restaurant in Pattaya!
This whole thread cracks me up :laughing3:
Narakmak, I understand your passion for the type of place you describe. If I had more time in Thailand or was an expat, I am certain I would check it out and probably enjoy it.
During my short visits, I enjoy the Thai food you can find on just about any street and I don't go out of my way for dining experiences. Dining is just not the reason I am in Thailand.
It does remind me of a hilarious advertisement I saw somewhere in Pattaya. Someplace was offering Chinese food prepared just the way it is back in America. WTF? Travel all the way to Thailand to enjoy Chinese food that has been Americanized beyond recognition.
Re: FANTASTIC new regional Chinese restaurant in Pattaya!
There never was such a Chinese restaurant in Pattaya. You mean the ones targeted to UK style Chinese tastes. I get your point and agree tourists are smart to stick with Thai food in Thailand. For expats, it gets boring for almost all of us.
Re: FANTASTIC new regional Chinese restaurant in Pattaya!
You are pretty dense if you think I haven't tried what is available as "Chinese" in Pattaya! Very little that is actually Chinese. Mostly Thai Chinese. Then there are the UK style places. That's it. I'm extremely knowledgeable about Chinese food but not from eating in Pattaya which is a mostly horrible town for Chinese food. Pao is attracting sophisticated people, like foodies, like chefs, like actual Chinese people. There may not be enough such people to have a viable livelihood for these chefs, but they mean to try it out, and I for one applaud them greatly for it. I also agree it would be wrong for their restaurant to do ANY dish with bought in noodles because the core of their business identity is ALL noodles and dumplings being fresh and handmade.
I don't think you get it. Pao isn't about mass market, dumbed down food. It's about attracting a core of regulars who get it.
Re: FANTASTIC new regional Chinese restaurant in Pattaya!
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
You are pretty dense if you think I haven't tried what is available as "Chinese" in Pattaya!
Now come on, how would I know that, all I asked was do you go out and eat much, I'm happy to read your reviews but for all I know you're the sort of person who goes out once a month, to the same place, has the same food and goes home, it's not dense to seek to clarify that so that I can get a better gauge for the levity with which to take your opinion as so far all you've told us is that you've gone to a few Chinese's in Pattaya, didn't like them for some reason ( even though they were busy) and one prefer this other one, which is empty and seems to have loads of really negative issues attached to it ?
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
I'm extremely knowledgeable about Chinese food
Again unfortunately there's nothing you've posted yet that backs that statement up other than giving a positive review to a restaurant that by your own admission is dying and no one else seems to like .......have you ever thought perhaps your own pallet and food preferences may just be slightly out of sync with everyone else's as masses or not good old gravy and chips is still one of the most popular Chinese dishes all over the world I'm sure.
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
Pattaya which is a mostly horrible town for Chinese food.
Yes from reading your comments about your favourite place it certainly sounds like it :-( I hope the the owners get with the programme soon and start serving proper food like the gravy chips I've suggested to you a few times now that people seem to like before it's too late ! :(
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
Pao is attracting sophisticated people
But as I've already mentioned I for sure am a sophisticated person, who enjoys fine dining in various high street restaurants (on Mondays with the coupons remember) so if as it appears that I'm not liking the sound of your favourite place then perhaps it's not quite as sophisticated as you thought perhaps as I'm an excellent judge of food you know :-((
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Originally Posted by Narakmak
I don't think you get it. It's about attracting a core of regulars who get it.
It appears you're correct on that one, unfortuantely it also appears that most of Pattaya don't "get it" also which unfortunately for you means that either your eatery may close or will have to vastly increase their prices beyond the 70 baht a meal you had mentioned earlier - although I have to say at those prices if i were you I might question the ingredients perhaps ? - which you see again unfortunately leads me back to my original question about "have you actually eaten out much elsewhere" to allow you to experience high end dining of the likes that I perhaps am more used to? If not I'll happily extend an invitation to you to join me as my guest some evening ( it''ll have to be on a Monday of course if you don't mind) to a restaurant of my choice to enable me to show you just what good food actually tastes like and then we can compare on a like for like basis as I have a fine pallet and would be very happy to share my favourite dishes with you?
Re: FANTASTIC new regional Chinese restaurant in Pattaya!
They have small portions as anyone who has actually read the thread would know. The concept is more Chinese tapas style so every diner can experience a variety of tastes to have a balanced, affordable meal. A typical full meal is in the 300 baht range. 70 baht for a noodle dish, but you can spend 150 baht for their salt and pepper squid dish which also isn't a large portion. Yes you could just get the noodles and some customers do but it would be more like a snack for a typical westerner. No I don't question the quality of the ingredients at all. Everything is very fresh in the true Chinese style. For example the shrimps in the shrimp with scrambled eggs dish at 150 baht, a classic Chinese dish, is meticulously cleaned (unlike at Thai places) and simple as it sounds, it was one of the best egg dishes I have ever had in my entire life. So silky. The chefs feel they have a viable restaurant at that level assuming they continue to attract a core of fans and the usual walk by trade from mostly Chinese and Russian tourists. There are already quite a few regular fans. Yes, they need more core customers. But not too many more as they aren't set up to be a mass market operation. Chips and gravy isn't Chinese food. Give me a break!
I meant sophisticated as in foodie. Not in high society fine dining. Not the same thing.
Its kind of sickening how cynical and negative some people are considering they haven't even tried the place in question.