I ate Saturday night at Pupen, the well-known crab and seafood restaurant at the far end of Jomtien Beach Road, as one of a group of 11 people (three farang males, eight Thai ladies) . I'd eaten there in the past, but hadn't been back for about a year. This time round, the food was just as delicious as I'd remembered it. And the blue crab outside the restaurant was photographed as much as always.
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The iconic photo from the Internet, not one I took:
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Pupen, which I've been told means "live crab" in English, opened in the mid-1980's as a no-name restaurant with five beach-side tables. It's specialty was fresh seafood, with crabs kept alive in baskets lowered into the sea until needed. The restaurant expanded considerably through the years and now the fish and crabs are held in tanks. I don't know how many seats it has (500? maybe more?), but it's big. Most of the customers, probably 80%-85%, were Thais. The reminder were mostly Asian tour groups. I also saw some Russians, but not many other farang. The menus we got were in Thai except for the cover page. I always let my TGF order anyway, so no problem for me.
I was responsible for seven of the group and here's what we ordered:
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The main feature was two kilos of crab at 560 baht per kilo.
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I don't eat much crab (or lobster) for medical reasons, but the ladies had no problems in polishing it off on their own. We also had a lovely fried fish:
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And a squid dish:
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A coconut-based seafood stew (never had it before, but really liked it):
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My GF wanted som tam and we also got a place of vegetables and herbs:
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My lady doesn't think I eat enough vegetables, so she ordered the shrimp-veggie stir-fry for me:
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We also had a bowl of tom khai gai that arrived towards the end of the meal, but I forgot to take a pic of it.
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Some shots from the interior of the restaurant:
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We got there at about 6 p.m. and didn't have a problem getting a table. The outside tables facing the sea were all occupied, but there were plenty of seats inside. However, by the time we left at 7.30 p,m,, the restaurant was quite full. I imagine it's nightmare to even try to get a table on a Thai holiday weekend. And forget about a beach-side table unless you get there very early.
I've read criticism of Pupen for the slowness of service and the rudeness of the staff. We certainly didn't have those problems on Saturday. The food came quickly and the waitresses and waiters were as polite and friendly as they usually are in LOS.
Total damages were 2, 650 baht, very reasonable for such a meal for seven people. Considering the two kilos of crab cost 1,120 and I had two SMLs and a watermelon smoothie to drink, the rest of the meal was cheap indeed. The ladies all drank water.
Bottom line: Pupen is one of the best places for fresh seafood in Pattaya. It loses a few points due to the lack of English-language menus and the hassle involved in getting to and from Pupen as well as the difficulty you might encounter in finding a table on a busy night.
Evil
The iconic photo from the Internet, not one I took:
Pupen, which I've been told means "live crab" in English, opened in the mid-1980's as a no-name restaurant with five beach-side tables. It's specialty was fresh seafood, with crabs kept alive in baskets lowered into the sea until needed. The restaurant expanded considerably through the years and now the fish and crabs are held in tanks. I don't know how many seats it has (500? maybe more?), but it's big. Most of the customers, probably 80%-85%, were Thais. The reminder were mostly Asian tour groups. I also saw some Russians, but not many other farang. The menus we got were in Thai except for the cover page. I always let my TGF order anyway, so no problem for me.
I was responsible for seven of the group and here's what we ordered:
The main feature was two kilos of crab at 560 baht per kilo.
I don't eat much crab (or lobster) for medical reasons, but the ladies had no problems in polishing it off on their own. We also had a lovely fried fish:
And a squid dish:
A coconut-based seafood stew (never had it before, but really liked it):
My GF wanted som tam and we also got a place of vegetables and herbs:
My lady doesn't think I eat enough vegetables, so she ordered the shrimp-veggie stir-fry for me:
We also had a bowl of tom khai gai that arrived towards the end of the meal, but I forgot to take a pic of it.
Some shots from the interior of the restaurant:
We got there at about 6 p.m. and didn't have a problem getting a table. The outside tables facing the sea were all occupied, but there were plenty of seats inside. However, by the time we left at 7.30 p,m,, the restaurant was quite full. I imagine it's nightmare to even try to get a table on a Thai holiday weekend. And forget about a beach-side table unless you get there very early.
I've read criticism of Pupen for the slowness of service and the rudeness of the staff. We certainly didn't have those problems on Saturday. The food came quickly and the waitresses and waiters were as polite and friendly as they usually are in LOS.
Total damages were 2, 650 baht, very reasonable for such a meal for seven people. Considering the two kilos of crab cost 1,120 and I had two SMLs and a watermelon smoothie to drink, the rest of the meal was cheap indeed. The ladies all drank water.
Bottom line: Pupen is one of the best places for fresh seafood in Pattaya. It loses a few points due to the lack of English-language menus and the hassle involved in getting to and from Pupen as well as the difficulty you might encounter in finding a table on a busy night.
Evil