Pasta Factory Review - very impressed

[DawnHRD]

Bamboo Grove, myself, a couple who are friends of BG, but have become friends of mine & my little boy decided that we would like to have a nice meal. So we went out last night.

Both BG & I had been to Pasta Factory in its old location (opposite Sofitel), but neither of us had been to the new location (I went opening night, but it's not the same as a paying sit-down meal). Because our experiences bore no resemblance to the reviews we've read on HHAD, we all decided to give it a try, so that BG & I could give everyone our honest opinions.

My first impression was favourable. I walked through the door & the first thing I saw was a box filled with children's toys & puzzles (marked childrens' box). As I was walking in with a six year old boy & didn't have his usual compliment of toy cars in my bag, this impressed me straight away!

We were led to a table. It was a fairly quiet night, only 2 or 3 other tables occupied. The layout & gardens are beautiful. Much nicer than I remembered. There is also citronella mosquito spray available in a few strategic locations for those who tend to get bitten.

The menu featured a wide range of Italian, Thai & fusion foods. There is an adequate cocktail list & a good wine list. We started with cocktails for us & a coconut shake for littl'un. My Tom Collins was lovely - sour & very more-ish.

Starters were asparagus in butter & parmesan cheese for me, crostini, soup & mussels for my companions. The asparagus was perfect & a large portion - which suited me. No complaints from any of my companions (nor my little boy who refused the asparagus, but managed to beg 2 mussels!)

Main courses were pasta for our friends, and pizza for myself and BG. Littl'un had a homemade burger in fresh bread roll & French Fries on a Mickey Mouse shaped plate (the kids menu comes in the form of a wooden puzzle that none of us adults could put together once dismantled )

My pizza was a fusion one called "Go to hell". It was basically Thai spicy pork & basil (can't remember how to spell it in Thai!) on a pizza. It was absolutely heavenly - crispy base, spicy topping. My only complaint is that I would have preferred it to be twice the size! No sharing or tasting - it was mine, all mine!! Everyone else enjoyed their main courses, as well.

Dessert for me was bananas flambeed in orange & rum with ice cream on the side. I don't usually eat dessert, but I demolished every last morsel.

Drinks were a good bottle of red & (complimentary! Thanks Hannes!) limonella as a digestif.

Service was quick & efficient. Hannes was the perfect host - even playing 'peek a boo' with my little boy at the end of the meal. I really cannot think of a single complaint. Even the much wriiten about traffic noise didn't bother me, as some beautiful classical music (I'm sure I heard Nimrod at one point) was playing.

All in all - 5 thumbs up from me & I'd definitely go again! Can't imagine why I left it this long.

[PeteC]

What a change from the majority of past reviews! If I was a tourist (which I am concerning HH) up to reading Dawn's current post, be avoiding the place like the plague. Wouldn't even bother to waste my time or the evening.

Perhaps in the future concerning bad restaurant reviews, HHAD should dispatch the "Mod Squad" with a small stipend to cover some of the meal costs for them to verify if the review was legit? Pete

[Kraka's Dad]

What can I say but I told you so !!!

Yes Dawn the asparagus is lovely we have had it many times !

[DawnHRD]

We were unannounced, Pete. Although Hannes knows me (vaguely-ish) from HHDRC, I really don't think he associates me with HHAD. I am sure that what we experienced was what any patron would experience - and I would recommend it.

[Big Boy]

Pete's idea sounds good, athough I'm not so sure about

It would probably be for free and you would get a good indication of the real situation by showing up in that manner.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, and owners would probably be expecting a good report in return for the free meal.

Turning up unannounced and writing a totally independent review (Egon Roney sp?? style) would carry much more weight - even better if the establisment did not know who you were, or what you were doing.

Maybe even award establishments HHAD chillies or lizards.

[PeteC]

Pete's idea sounds good, athough I'm not so sure about

It would probably be for free and you would get a good indication of the real situation by showing up in that manner.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, and owners would probably be expecting a good report in return for the free meal.

Turning up unannounced and writing a totally independent review (Egon Roney sp?? style) would carry much more weight - even better if the establisment did not know who you were, or what you were doing.

Maybe even award establishments HHAD chillies or lizards.

You're right BB. I've edited my original. Non-payola Pete

[Bamboo Grove]

I agree with Dawn. The athmosphere was very nice and the service was great. Our waitress really made us feel welcome there. I had a daiquiry for a drink to start with and that was good. Just as much as the crostini I ordered for starters. And again, I would have hoped my salami pizza to be of a bigger size as it did not fill me up. But then again it takes quite a lot to fill me up. Anyway, that was the only minus point there, it wasn´t the best salami pizza I´ve had but it was good enough. I didn't have any dessert but decided to go for a cappuccino instead and this was a nice one again.
So all in all, I was quite happy for the visit and would like to put my thumbs up for our friend for suggesting we´d try it out ourselves rather than count on some negative (or they could have been overly positive) comments.

[Gabachao]

Nice that you had a good meal, but the manner of your review is troublesome. The owner of the Pasta Factory is probably well-aware that both his personal reputation and that of his restaurant have been absolutely hammered on this website. Upon seeing people from HHAD (a site he continues to advertise on, correct?), he would very likely go out of his way to please you. Dawn, sorry, but your claim that Hannes knows you from HHAD but does not associate you with HHAD seems culled from a Bush Administration press release. And therefore your review is about as "fair and balanced" as Fox News.

I'm sure the Pasta Factory can crank out a nice meal if they wish. Any restaurant can. The question, however, is whether they will trouble themselves to do so for an average person, not a VIP. And the answer to that question, judging by the previous Pasta Factory thread and by the opinions of friends who never bothered to write into HHAD, is clearly, "unlikely."

Lastly, I have to question why your review was the start of a new thread at all. Shouldn't there be only one place to find reviews of a single restaurant? The reaction in the previous thread was heavily negative but certainly honest and current. People spend time writing into your website with information, but if you are going to simply disregard their opinions by diluting them with multiple threads based on biased reviews, we have to ask, "Why bother?" And if the Pasta Factory wants a better reputation, then they should earn it with reliably good food and service, not puff pieces.

[Lev]

The fact that we allow both good and bad reports on here says it all, whether it be restaurants, bars or housing developments, can't be more "fair and balanced" than that ... "you report - you decide".

[DawnHRD]

Gabachao,

Firstly you need to read more carefully. I said Hannes knows me vaguely from HHDRC - Hua Hin Dog Rescue Center, where I am the manager, and that I doubt he knows my association with HHAD - Hua Hin After Dark. I assume this because I've never seen any evidence that he reads the forum nor posts on it, though he might do (and simply not be the type of guy that gets bent out of shape by bad reviews).

Secondly, I thought the new thread was needed, because if I'd put a positive review on the old thread, any guest or new member would not have been likely to see it. Now, they can see your thread with the negative comments & mine with the positive ones and make up their own minds. I think that it's only fair both to the restaurant & to potential patrons to be able to clearly see both sides.

At no time have I negated anything you, or any other member has put on the other thread. I simply related our experience, which was good. I do not write "puff pieces". I never endorse anything that I don't personally feel to be good.

[Bamboo Grove]

Also in my report I stated what I thought was good and what I thought could be improved. He certainly does not know me nor our friend who was with us.

[big jimmy]

Also in my report I stated what I thought was good and what I thought could be improved. He certainly does not know me nor our friend who was with us.

So does eveyone get a complimentary bottle of wine with their meal if the owner doesn't recognise the diner ?..methinks he had Dawn and you pegged....

[dtaai-maai]

I think you'll find it was the limonella that was complementary. Since the original thread slagging the place off contained a negative reference in the title, it seems fair enough to me to start a new thread making positive comments.

Maybe we could start a thread criticising threads?

Have never been to the pasta factory.
Don't know BG or Dawn from Adam (or Eve).
Just in case I'm accused of bribery and corruption.
Relax.
Enjoy life.
Now I'm off to mind my own business.

[BaaBaa.]

Nice that you had a good meal, but the manner of your review is troublesome. etc etc

Then referring back to the other pasta factory thread.

The worst meal I ever had in Hua Hin was last night at the Pasta Factory. The tall farang running the place is one the rudest clowns in town. I had to literally pull my bag away from him after we sat down, because for some reason he wanted to put it outside while we ate. There was only one other couple in the restaurant and it was blazing hot, so I positioned a fan to cool us down (the staff could not have cared less about the diners). After a few minutes, the aforementioned clown came out in a huff and moved it back to its previous useless position, cooling down absolutely nobody, and making us hot again. Two plastic bottles of water were unceremoniously dumped on our table, not opened or poured while the staff went back to chatting among themselves. then the food - my girlfriend's curried pork had the tenderness of a steel radial. They offered jasmine rice on the menu, but all we got was some grade B, year old junk for the unheard of price of 50 baht (and since my girlfriend used to grow hom mali, she knows her rice). And my pesto pasta had . . . no pesto! It was just plain pasta, about a child-size portion, with mere olive oil. When I pointed this out to the waitress, she gave me an argument and said the pesto was in there but I couldn't see it because I had ordered fettucini instead of spaghetti! I pushed the food away and considered doing a runner, then after a few minutes she came back in a huff and said OK, we put more sauce. It came back with half a teaspoon of old sour pesto sauce. Crikey, they sell the stuff in jars across the street. Was it impossible to go get some?

So what words do we use to describe the Pasta Factory? "Suck" comes to mind, as does "blow," "utterly lame," "crap," not to mention "overpriced" and "unfriendly." I advise people to avoid the ol' factory, which in fact sounds a lot like a factory due to truck and motorbike noise from the highway. And guys like the farang clown running the joint should not be encouraged in anything except to leave town. I kind of hope some drunken knucklehead will go in there, get the same treatment, and knock that guy through his tacky crap bamboo decor.

Hidden agenda me thinks.

In contrast there is that fine Italian deli across from All In Hua Hin. I am sorry that I don't have the name and address of the place, because the pasta is great, the staff are so friendly, and the owner seems to really take pride in the food. Like when you walk into Crawford's and feel that suddenly you're in Dublin, going into that deli is like entering one in Calabria. :-) OK, perhaps a small exaggeration, but not beyond the imagination. If I may, I would also recommend the Thai/Isaan restaurant almost directly across the street from the P. Factory, called Ruum Saep (sp?). The traffic noise is the same, but the experience is completely different. Just ask that the food be "Phet nid noi," because they make it village style!

[dtaai-maai]

Baabaa, maybe no hidden agenda, but conceivably not the ideal customer?