A Charming Beach Bistro

by Mick and Di
       The Food Lovers

FOR A CLEAN, bright and breezy beach café it would be hard to beat Nanda’s on Jomtien Beach Road. It is the new baby to the family of flourishing restaurants owned by Kanikar and Ib Ottesen and is managed by siblings Nanthida and Panida; hence the name. Kanikar is responsible for the attractive white decor describing it as “Oriental Victorian”. It certainly has oodles of charm creating a café-cum-coffee-house-cum-snack bar. Whether you sit out on the terrace overlooking the bay of Jomtien or in the cool interior it is so pleasing and agreeable.
The in-house bakery is prolific producing most of the bakery items sold in the café from baguettes and speciality breads to croissants and their popular pizzas. From the crack of 8.00 am breakfast at Nanda’s is the place to be. For as little as B.135 you will be served a generous breakfast set of your choice (we were told “the Danish” was the best seller) but there are masses of items from which to choose.
The menu strives to cater for all tastes and occasions – and it is certainly all-embracing catering to the tourists on the beach or passing trade lured by the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the attractiveness of the pastries, or the evening diners who want to sit on the beach side terrace and quietly enjoy their evening meal.
Mick and I visited one lunch time having heard lots of good things about this eatery. On entering the décor is certainly pretty and pleasing and the staff smart and welcoming. I chose a rustic sandwich with a tuna and cheese filling (B.100) while Mick opted for a Parma ham salad. I must say the bread was delicious, it was pleasantly toasted making the liberal sprinkling of tan and black sesame seeds atop the bread crisp and deliciously nutty. We shared the sandwich and the salad and it certainly hit the spot for a midday snack. Many baguettes were prepared while we were there with filling of smoked chicken, ham, cheese or bacon at only B.100. The pitta bread is another in-house item and a popular filling is a Greek salad with creamy cubes of feta cheese or any combination of the fillings that takes your fancy. They also do a roaring trade throughout the day with “the beach set” popping over for a take-away drink and snack.
There really is an array of creative dishes to order here at Nanda’s. Do they have sushi or California rolls? Yes, they do for only B.120. Do they make fresh spring rolls or chicken meatballs? Yes, they do. Any tapas? Yes, their seafood tapas plate consists of garlic prawns, mussels and calamari. Thai food? Yes, half a dozen favourite dishes with tom yam kung (spicy prawn soup) leading the way and closely followed by fried rice with a choice of main ingredient.
We were told about their popular pizzas and pastas (and many a huge pizza wafted past us as we sat and chatted with the Ottesen family), the salami variety and Hawaiian being, apparently, the most ordered, but they all looked great. The smoked salmon pizza at B.270 was a joy to behold while the house special, four seasons, would give a multiple taste pizza. A full evening meal can be ordered. Perhaps beef stroganoff, pan fried Norwegian salmon fillet (B.295) or the pork cordon bleu with home fries would surely satisfy after a full day’s activity on the beach.
The desserts and confections are sweet-toothed heaven. Luscious concoctions created out of ice cream, meringues, waffles, cake, fruit and all things sweet sit waiting to be enjoyed or many can be ordered specially. Nanda’s also offers cocktails and all proprietary brands of spirits, wines and beers together with their speciality coffees, smoothies and soft drinks. What could be nicer as dusk breaks over Jomtien Beach than to sit on this pristine terrace and sip a Nanda cocktail as the sun slowly sinks into the horizon. Do check out Nanda’s – the food is top notch, beautifully presented and the ambiance is unique and charming.
Located on Jomtien Beach Road (just before Jomtien Boat House on the left, and Soi 8). Open daily from 8.00 am till 11.00 pm. Tel: (038) 756 143 Ext. 300.

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Dear Food Lovers,
We made your recipe for crumpets and they were delicious – we ate them smothered in butter and strawberry jam and cannot tell you how yummy they were! As Easter is approaching can we have a hot cross buns recipe? Regards, Phyllis.
Dear Phyllis, so pleased the crumpets turned out well – here’s a recipe for supposedly the best hot cross buns – let us know your opinion. Regards, Mick and Di.

HOT CROSS BUNS
Makes 12
Prep 15min
Cook 25min
Ingredients
450g strong bread flour
1tsp salt
2tsp ground cinnamon
2tsp ground allspice Sachet
(7g) dried yeast
75g raisins
75g glacé cherries
Grated rind of 1 orange,
1 lemon,
1 lime
110g caster sugar
50g unsalted butter
2tsp vanilla extract
250ml milk
1 egg, beaten
Paste of 80g plain flour,
2tbsp sugar,
100ml water
Glaze of 2tbsp brown sugar,
3tbsp milk,
1tbsp marmalade

METHOD
Sift flour, salt and spices into a large bowl and mix in the yeast, fruit, rind and sugar. Melt butter, stir in milk and vanilla extract and heat until tepid. Whisk into egg, add to flour mixture, form a dough and knead on a floured surface for 10min until smooth and elastic. Divide into 12 buns, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for about 90min, till doubled in size.
Mix the paste, bung it in a piping bag (or a plastic freezer bag with one corner snipped off) and pipe a cross on each bun. Bake at 180C for 10min, reduce the heat to 150C and bake for a further 15min. Lightly brush with the glaze and cool on a rack and enjoy!
P.S. Mike Mayne very kindly sent us an email to let us know that crumpets can be bought at Western Wholesale Meat Co.Ltd. in Soi Chaiyapruek 2 (Tel: 081 577 4244 – contact Wayne) or Best Supermarket at the Dolphin Roundabout, North Pattaya. Many thanks Mike – now we can all have crumpets for tea!