I like Thai food (and Indian and Italian and Turkish and …).  Unless you live in Dili under a rock, you should have noticed the steady growth in this segment of the eating scene.

I finally got around to going to the Thai Pavilion near the Pertamina wharf.  Looked flashy, looked a good candidate for a big let-down, but no, I give this one the big thumbs up.  I will need to go a few times to give the extensive menu a good (chili) workout but looks good.

You can eat inside in the air-con or on either the lower or upper floor balconies.   There is a waiter who can actually describe what you might be considering eating.  If you regard this as a good thing, it joins the 2 Burmese restaurants plus the Golden Star Chinese in Audian.  You also get a real cloth napkin and cloth tablecloth … plus large LCD screen for karaoke.

The main thing is that it felt so uniquely different than anywhere else and the prices are not excessive.  I have marked my card for the $5 lunch buffet, but I will not hold that against it if is not as good as a la carte.

“Thai Foods” near the Esplanada Hotel has now moved into the old Paradise restaurant premises across the road from Hotel Dili 2001.  Based on the significant increase in after work road traffic in the Cristo Rei direction (ie east), it may be a good move.  The old Thai Foods premises is currently being re-worked into a Filipino restaurant just as it was before Thai Foods appeared.

If you like “padh thai” noodles, you can now get them at Bangkok Thai, Bangkok Spice 2, Dili Club, Thai Foods, Bagan Beach Cafe, Thai Pavilion, Harbour View Cafe and Dili Beach Cafe.

With the Thai Pavilion adjacent to the “new” Comorro fruit and market, it struck me that I could return to going to the market on Saturday morning and following it up with a good cheap lunch in relaxed setting, just like back in OZ.  Now, all we need is the delicatessen with the cheeses, fresh pasta, freshly sliced pastrami, espresso coffee, continental butcher and …  Drats, just dribbled on my keyboard.