Christmas Dinner Options 2017

[QuotaMan]

18 minutes ago, Evil Penevil said:

 

They are very different in terms of preparation, ingredients, taste and history.  Both are heavy on dried fruits that have been soaked in brandy or rum.  They use some of the same spices, but that is where the similarity ends. Christmas pudding is boiled or steamed for 7-8 hours, while fruitcake contains flour and is baked.

U.S. fruitcake is much closer to the U.K. Christmas cake, although the North American version is almost never iced.  Christmas cake and fruitcake share a common heritage, but pecans and walnuts are major ingredients in U.S. fruitcake- hence the phrase, "nutty as a fruitcake."

Fruitcake dates all the way back to the days of the Roman empire, while Christmas (plum) pudding had its start in medieval times. 

One thing that sometimes confuses Americans is the word "pudding."  In modern American usage, pudding almost exclusively refers to a creamy dessert like chocolate or tapioca pudding.  In the U.K., it has a much broader (and older) meaning which can apply to both savory and sweet dishes (black pudding, plum pudding, Yorkshire pudding, steak-and-kidney pudding, as well as U.S.-style dessert puddings).  

Traditional Christmas pudding:

As served at the Hard Rock last year:

U.S. fruitcake:

Santa Penevil

 

 

 

Ugh, fruitcake, at least the ones I've eaten in the U.S. have been wretched.

[sexy man]

12 hours ago, Petesie said:

Booked and paid for the one above and looking forward to it. 

mrs dafttits will enjoy it

[Petesie]

I hope so as she's paid for it. 

[Evil Penevil]

5 hours ago, QuotaMan said:

Ugh, fruitcake, at least the ones I've eaten in the U.S. have been wretched.

 

Cheap commercially mass-produced fruitcake is pretty bad, it's dry, leaden and tastes only of candied fruit. But homemade fruitcake and some of the more expensive commercial varieties can be great. Fruitcake improves a lot of it is doused with rum or brandy and allowed to age at least 10 weeks.  My Mom used to make her Christmas fruitcakes in September.

Two more dinner options:

 

Santa Penevil

 

[CyberPro]

32 minutes ago, Evil Penevil said:

Cheap commercially mass-produced fruitcake is pretty bad, it's dry, leaden and tastes only of candied fruit.

Used to sell that door-to-door each Christmas while in high school to buy uniforms for the school marching band, of which I was a member. 

Good of the kind people to buy that but less pleasant to eat. Ha Ha

[DaveLock]

7 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

... Christmas pudding is boiled or steamed for 7-8 hours, while fruitcake contains flour and is baked...

100% spot on.

====================================

And it's traditional to have coins in the pudding. Not the current currency it's poisonous, it has to be the old pence style coins.

The recipe we have in our family for xmas pudding, the fruit is soaked in brandy for 3 months, so the xmas pudding preparation starts in early October. Usually 2 puddings with coins and 2 without. Xmas pudding is best served with brandy flavoured custard.

In Aus we also have white christmas as a type of xmas cake.

 

[Evil Penevil]

Two in Jomtien:

 

Santa Penevil

 

[jpmelville]

Hilarious price on Hemingway's Thai christmas day dinner. Still laughing

[DaveLock]

Hemmingway's standard xmas dinner menu is EXACTLY what a traditional xmas dinner menu should look like IMO. They've kept it simple, traditional, it sounds delicious, and it seems good value. Resto owners take note, xmas dinner (like thanksgiving) shouldn't be exotic crap, it should be traditional and simple.

Honestly, I wish I were there, I'd be into that in a heartbeat, Thanks for posting Evil Penevil. Cheers.

[KittenKong]

4 hours ago, DaveLock said:

Hemmingway's standard xmas dinner menu is EXACTLY what a traditional xmas dinner menu should look like IMO. They've kept it simple, traditional, it sounds delicious, and it seems good value.

It is indeed a traditional Xmas dinner menu, but I dont see how it could possibly be called good value. That menu is barely worth half the quoted price, even when compared with other Xmas menus which are almost invariably way over the top price-wise here. For comparison just look at the George's menu next to it: 9 courses plus tea/coffee for the same price as Hemingway's 3 courses with no coffee.

[davidge]

5 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

It is indeed a traditional Xmas dinner menu, but I dont see how it could possibly be called good value. That menu is barely worth half the quoted price, even when compared with other Xmas menus which are almost invariably way over the top price-wise here. For comparison just look at the George's menu next to it: 9 courses plus tea/coffee for the same price as Hemingway's 3 courses with no coffee.

I think you’ll find that the George is 3 courses, with a choice of 3 options for each. It’s just they can’t write a menu properly. The only difference between it and Hemingway’s is the tea/coffee.

Sadly, just under 1000 is about the mark nowadays. I’m not there this year, but my friends will be deciding between Hemingway’s and Dicey Reilly’s. Same price but the latter is a buffet.

[Evil Penevil]

Another expensive option, this time at the Holiday Inn:

 

Santa Penevil

[KittenKong]

5 hours ago, davidge said:

I think you’ll find that the George is 3 courses, with a choice of 3 options for each. It’s just they can’t write a menu properly. The only difference between it and Hemingway’s is the tea/coffee.

Fair enough. As you say, not at all obvious.

They are both way overpriced then.

[striderman]

2 venues that i spotted yesterday. both in soi 7 between second rd and beach rd.....................

2 things to note with tequila reef.             

it's american style

it's plus 7 % tax so more like 670 bht

pig and whistle pattaya. but no idea of times, price or what the menu is as they are too bone idle to stick one in the window other than.................

[just hanging]

[gusincebu]

Welcome Inn Khao Noi ,sorry about pic quality

Sent from my vivo 1713 using Tapatalk

[just hanging]

On 12/9/2017 at 06:01, QuotaMan said:

 

Ugh, fruitcake, at least the ones I've eaten in the U.S. have been wretched.

I love fruitcake and always got many from friends who didnt like them.  Gotta be 90% fruit though. Costco has the best.  anyone who wants to bring me one, thanks in advance

[Cerberus]

555 the only thing I see missing from this thread is..................the Christmas Spirit . Thank (add whatever deity you prefer here ) that I am an  atheist which saves me the cost of this  paraphernalia, trees, balloons, lights etc. It also excuses me from labeling all local restaurants serving Christmas fare as scam artist 

[just hanging]

6 minutes ago, Cerberus said:

555 the only thing I see missing from this thread is..................the Christmas Spirit . Thank (add whatever deity you prefer here ) that I am an  atheist which saves me the cost of this this paraphernalia, trees, balloons, lights etc. It also excuses me from labeling all local restaurants serving Christmas fare as scam artist 

I like a Christmas tree.  I like a Christmas dinner.   I like Christmas fruitcake.   But.......thank God I am an atheist

[Cerberus]

2 minutes ago, just hanging said:

I like a Christmas tree.  I like a Christmas dinner.   I like Christmas fruitcake.   But.......thank God I am an atheist

Then I trust and hope you will enjoy them along with all others that follow the tradition.

 

[striderman]

16 minutes ago, just hanging said:

I like a Christmas tree.

cheap charlie xmas tree option as seen in south pattaya dec 2015

 

[Evil Penevil]

4 hours ago, Cerberus said:

555 the only thing I see missing from this thread is..................the Christmas Spirit . 

1

You can find a dose of Christmas spirit here:   George Washington's egg nog

I'm just waiting for a restaurant to offer a bowl of gruel and crust of bread as its Christmas special. It could be called  "Gabenezer Xmas deluxe"   after Pattaya's least generous punter.     

 

Santa Penevil

 

[Evil Penevil]

To clear up some confusion about the price of this year's Santa Rock Christmas Carvery Buffet at the Hard Rock Cafe:  it is 899 baht, inclusive tax and service. This year the HR is requiring pre-payment.  I have erased any identifying info from the invoice.

 

That's the SAME price it was last year without the free flow of booze option.  In 2016, I paid 1,389 baht, but that included the free flow of booze.  Without it, the cost last year would have been 899 baht.  This year,  there doesn't appear to be a free-flow option.

I tried asking about the difference between the Santa Rock buffet and the BBQ buffet but unfortunately, I haven't got an answer back.  I believe the only difference is that the BBQ buffet includes beef skewers and seafood.      

Santa Penevil

[DaveLock]

On 12/11/2017 at 13:51, gusincebu said:

Welcome Inn Khao Noi ,sorry about pic quality

That looks like a great xmas dinner menu too, well spotted gusincebu. It's even got the piggies, the Brits will be well impressed with that, even moreso if the yorkshire pud is also half decent. Cheers.

[baddog666]

On 12/9/2017 at 01:01, Evil Penevil said:

Cheap commercially mass-produced fruitcake is pretty bad, it's dry, leaden and tastes only of candied fruit. But homemade fruitcake and some of the more expensive commercial varieties can be great. Fruitcake improves a lot of it is doused with rum or brandy and allowed to age at least 10 weeks.  My Mom used to make her Christmas fr

Very true , for those familiar with a mail order company called Harry and David , they offer a high quality holiday fruitcake along with a large variety of other gifts.

Used to be a running joke..... get a cheap fruitcake for Christmas and it goes in the closet to be re-gifted the following year.