lapd

3 hours ago, AlexCanada said:

Yoshinoya Terminal 21

 

It was my girlfriend's choice again today.  I wanted to go to Marugame Udon but she asked about Yoshinoya next door.  I told her I had only tried it once in Jakarta and it was only ok.  She still wanted to go.  There were some specials but it's not what I wanted so ordered a full price item.  I got the Beef Bowl which came with a tiny but delicious salad, some extremely salty miso soup, and a green tea ice tea.  The beef bowl was ok but I prefer the gyudon at Sukiya at Central Marina more.  My girlfriend ordered the chicken teriyaki and she loved it.  I tried it and didn't like it.  Total bill for both of us was 410 baht.  

 

FYI, many seats available at Pier 21 and many restaurants completely empty.  Saw a Thai couple order what I believe is the Tomahawk Steak at Arno's and it looked mouthwatering.  My girlfriend isn't even a big beef eater and even she was drooling over it.  Arno's only semi busy now that the hamburger special is over.  

 

Saw a buffet called Washi International buffet or something like that.  It's a bit pricey at 799 baht for steak and seafood combo.  Cheaper optons available.  Anyone tried it?

4

If you want to be disappointed with food in Thailand, order the beef.  Especially from a non-beef specialized restaurant.

On 10/24/2018 at 6:12 AM, DrTuner said:

Tried Jim's yet? https://www.facebook.com/jimsburgerpattaya/

 

I've had their M16 a few times, nice and spicy and the lava thing, which was also good. Their waffle fries are great. Everything I've eaten there has been good to great, especially when chased down by the craft beers that they have on tap, a changing menu of them. Brilliant place. Parking used to be real good right in front but I'm fairly sure T21 traffic screwed it up now.

My friend was not that impressed with Jims or Arno's.  Still prefers Carls Jr.  I think Carls, McD, Burger King is garbage food and never eat there myself.  I might give Arno's a try though.

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Here's the final day skinny on the Arnos free burger bonanza at T21. Tomorrow is the last day. Be there or be payin'! No need to say a word or having a fb account. Just order. Theoretically it is limited to the first 300 of the day but not sure if they're enforcing that.

So I went for my free burger today and it was the best burger I've had in Thailand. The fries were just OK. Next time I'll try the curly fries. Ordered medium but it came medium rare which is what I wanted anyway. I don't like to order medium rare in Thailand as that's often read as rare or should I say red as rare.

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

Friend of mine had it and said it was just ok.  He prefers Carls Jr.

 

They usually make it more rare than what you order so if it comes back they just have to cook it a bit more rather than throw it away.

On 10/20/2018 at 3:35 AM, AlexCanada said:

Not sure why they closed the Terminal 21 thread and opened a new thread with nothing but negative posters.  

 

Did not get to go to Chutney Indian as my Thai girlfriend says Indian restaurants stink.  I left it up to her so of course she chose a Thai restaurant.  Not sure what the name is since the name of the restaurant is in Thai.  It's a very nice looking place that has all white decor with black chandeliers.  

 

We both agreed that it was on the pricey side for a Thai restaurant.  The yellow one is snails in some sauce accompanied with 6 rolls of dried noodles and fried garlic.  My dish was chicken in coconut curry sauce that costed 200 baht.  Even though it made no mention of mushrooms it was basically all mushrooms and a few scrawny pieces of chicken.  I don't eat mushrooms.  I ordered fried morning glory for 120 baht which was good value and tasted good as well.  My coconut sauce was ok and went well with my rice.  My girlfriend loved her snails.  Total price including 2 waters and 2 bowls of rice was 650 baht.  

 

Would I return?  Unfortunately it looks like I will have to.  If it were just me I would not return as there are way too many better options at T21.  Staff here does not smile. The owner is sitting by the menu with a very worried look on her face.  Many people looking at the menu and walking away.  Restaurant less than half full.  All Thai customers.  Downfall of this place is likely going to be it's too high priced especially with Pier 21 literally steps away.  

6

I saw a lot of worried looking restaurant owners/managers on opening day.  My guess is at least 1/2 of the places will ultimately fail.  Especially a lot of the more expensive places. I think almost all of Central restaurants on the upper floors have changed/moved a few times.  Seems to be par for the course in Thailand in general.

1 hour ago, champers said:

699 is way too much. Shabushi, Sizzler and other buffet type places are half that.

The rent is probably quite high in that location.  I don't see it making a go of it at that price.

On 9/20/2018 at 11:44 PM, Jingthing said:

There are better fresh noodles at other places such as Grandma's Kitchen in South Pattaya.

 

 

Where is that Gradma's kitchen?  I googled it and the only place that came up was some place up on Pratumnak hill soi 4.  There is also "The Kitchen" on 2nd road near Soi 10.  Do they make their own noodles in house from scratch?  I would love to find a place that did that.

That dim sum place at the A1 hotel is failing. Always empty when I go by.  It probably won't be around much longer.  Looking at the prices and menus it doesn't look like anything to get excited about to me.

 

That chinese restaurant across from Soi 6 is failing as well.  Walked by there at 6:30 pm the other day and nobody there.  The guys who work there were sleeping on the tables.  Not surprised as the main dish, which is the steamed dumplings, are not very good imo.  Seems two or three people here like the wonton in peanut sauce dish but it's not even mentioned on the menu.  You just have to know what the picture looks like.  That's not a recipe for a successful restaurant if you just have one good dish that is not even properly labeled on the menu.

27 minutes ago, rumak said:

I wish i knew their secret......actually the less i think the better i feel.

3

You answered your own question.

6 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

No, I just like good BBQ.  Richman Poorman is my go-to if I need a fix. Though most of the time I do the ribs myself, but having teenage kids I'm sometimes forced to drive them to the malls to meet their friends. Usually people grow out of the malls by the time they reach adulthood, I was never a fan.

Try Saturday/Sunday all you can eat pork ribs and tacos at Beefeaters.  I think it's around 350-400baht.  We go at least once a month.

10 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

I was sort of hoping for the return of the Great American Rib since it's supposed to have a US themed floor. When Central opened they had their sign on the wall but never materialized. Would at least have had somewhere to escape for meat & beer when I inevitably have to chauffeur the kids in.

Do you also like to hang out at Hooters, Texas grill, Hard Rock and any other place from Murica or with Murican name because......Murica?  

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Review I read.  I wonder if it is true that they don't pay rent?

 

"Here is the cheapest food court for the shopping mall in Bangkok. Because the owner want to attract more customer to come here, he doesn't need the restaurants in the 5/F to pay for any rent. The condition for free rent is to have the very low price for their food. It is a win/win/win situation. Owner has more customers to visit, restaurants are free rent, customers eat cheap food. Owner also invited famous chef in town in here. So it is not just cheap but delicious. Window seat can see bangkok city view, what a romantic sunset dinner with your love one."

https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g293916-d4064159-r566670953-Pier_21_Food_Terminal-Bangkok.html#

That is just the Bangkok one.  I doubt Pattaya will be the same.  It's not the same in Korat.  Also, as I have said repeatedly, it's still not that great a deal because the portions are really small.  I got Pad Thai Kung at T21 Bkk for about 50-60 baht as I recall.  It was maybe half the amount of shrimp and noodles as the Pad Thai Kung I get in Pattaya for the same price at my favorite little Thai restaurant

4 hours ago, champers said:

Shabushi is hugely popular, especially with Thais. At peak times people queue for an hour and more at the Central Beach Road branch.

They are mostly empty every time I walk by.  The one exception is probably the one in Central although that only looked about half full when I walked by the other day during lunchtime.  I stopped going after they raised their prices.

8 hours ago, digbeth said:

Was in Bangkok for a couple of days so I dropped in to this place that's opening in Terminal21 Pattaya

 

Apart from the gimmick of steaming soups on hot stone bowl and steaming chimney, everything else was so so, the soup was average, the soba noodles, despite being made on premise taste not that different from store bought ones. Ingredients of cabbage and beans sprout was very Thai in presentation and cheapens the dish. I was excited before but I'd give this chain a miss. There's plenty of genuine independent Japanese restaurant and ramen place to be had around (Maybe not in Pattaya).

 

For Japanese at Terminal21 Pattaya

Shakariki is probably the best bet so far, they're expanding into proper chain territory now but still retain character and charms of independently run restaurants

5

All of T21 is a gimmick.  The whole mall is designed to be like an airport.  Out front, where the planes are, is designed to be like a runway. They even have lights embeddd in the runway.  Not sure what that is all about because they all stick up an inch or two and there are a whole bunch of them.  I can see lots of people tripping on them.  Don't think anyone thought of that or maybe since TiT, they just don't care.  Maybe it is going to be some sort of animated light show or something. 

 

Looking inside there is still some scaffolding around. The tile floor has the plastic cover removed now and is being shined up.  Looks like they may be painting something onto the big airplane out front.  My guess is that at least half the restaurants are just more of the same restaurants you already find in Pattaya.  Probably some of the other locations are going to be shut down once it's up and running.  How many Shibushi's do you really need?  I think there is one in every mall in town including Harbor.  There is one in Central Marina just 5 minutes walk from there.  My guess is they close that one down once the T21 restaurant is has been running for awhile.  Unless maybe they are all franchises and the parent company is just selling as many franchises as they can.

Most farangs do not run into smart educated Thais because they generally do not want to have anything to do with us.  They don't need our money.  We are second class citizens to them that are tolerated, as long as we don't get in their way. You will never be dating their daughter or associating with them in any other way.  If you somehow become an inconvenience to them, the last thing you will see is a helmet wearing motorcycle driver waiting outside your door in the morning.

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

My personal opinion is there is no religion that is reasonable sane behavior.  However all religion causes thought - thinking be it good or bad.  I don't think religion is sane thinking or war is sane thinking but both cause thinking.  If the topic was Thai morality or ethics mental health then that would be a different subject matter. 

Buddhism is not really a religion.  It's a philosophy.  Unlike religions, I believe buddhism encourages critical thinking.

11 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I already explained that the wontons in peanut sauce is NOT the English description on the menu. I posted before how it's described on the menu and I also posted a PICTURE of the dish (which you could show).

ACTUAL DISH.

Dish on the menu is called MIXED WONTON, 100 baht.

It's a popular dish with that brand but it's a CHINESE brand. I don't care at all if you don't like it. I have not tried to oversell the place. I even posted that I was told by a Chinese person that the brand has a general bad reputation in China and even though many thousands of locations, many thousands have closed. I think they have some good dishes, at good prices, and to me they're a welcome option in Pattaya. 

I still think those steamed dumplings at 80 baht are very good when they are served fresh. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't.

As far as your feeling that they are FROZEN, I am highly confident that you are MISTAKEN. 

Why do I say that?

Because I've visited when they were making them by hand on a table two times already.

 

On the water thing, you "win" but actually I have observed that most tables are not even ordering water. Could be Chinese Cheap Charlies, eh? 

 

This place is doing a roaring business, almost all with groups of Chinese tourists, so I'm sure losing you isn't going to be noticed. The owner does not speak English or Thai. Given his customer base, he doesn't need to, but in my experience he is sincere and friendly and welcoming of westerners (even though he doesn't really need the business). I don't speak Chinese either. 

Another general comment about Chinese restaurants right now in Pattaya. We are now in the middle of GOLDEN WEEK. It's the peak Chinese tourism period for the entire year. That means that some Chinese restaurants in Pattaya now will be very packed and the kitchen's stressed. I don't know about this place because I haven't been there during GOLDEN WEEK. But I have in the past accidentally visited a local Chinese place during such a week and it was madness. 

 

Have fun. 

 

It was empty at 6:30 PM when we were there.  So yea, "roaring business".  I am 95% sure it will be out of business in a few more months.  They may make it through one high season but one more low season and they are gone.

5 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, I had mentioned before the steamed dumplings might not be very fresh depending on your luck because they seem to always have them ready so what you get might have been sitting around. You might want to try the boiled version or the wontons in peanut sauce. So I guess they don't serve beer. On the water thing maybe their core customer based the Chinese tourists don't tend to order bottled water? I have every time and it's been cold every time. I'm not saying you're wrong about anything. The menu is inconsistent -- some good, some not so good. But I wouldn't expect great service at what is basically a Chinese fast food concept.  The owner himself doesn't speak English but with me he's tried to use his phone translator to tell me things before I understood the menu better. Sometimes there has been a Thai waitress that speaks rough English. 

So you are suggesting chinese don't drink water?  Lol.  I guess the stacks of bottled water they have lying on the floor is for their dogs?  You're funny!  They don't have anything else to drink but they most certainly have water.  They just forgot to put it in the cooler which seems pretty dumb if the only thing they serve to drink is....water!

 

I asked about the wontons in peanut sauce.  The guy looked at us like we were from mars.  He spoke no english and maybe not Thai either.  It was absolutely hopeless trying to communicate.  And when he got someone else, that person could only speak Thai and not engrish [sic].  It was hopeless.  If it wasn't something you could point to on the menu, there was NO WAY it was going to happen.

 

There is not fresh and there is what we got which tasted like it was several hours old and maybe even previously frozen.  Like I said, we won't be going back.  No idea why anyone would recommend that place.  You could get frozen dumplings from the grocery store that would taste about the same as that.  I would not be surprised if that is what they served us.  Everyone here said the steamed dumplings were the thing to get so that is what we got.  I don't imagine boiling or deep frying would make a difference.  They are the same several hours old (and maybe even previously frozen) dumplings.

6 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

You don't need to think for that...it's like the rubik's cube, some people "see" the path and some don't...difficult to explain, but nothing to do with thinking or being smart...just about having the right wiring...

 

Probably the dumbest comment I will read all day.  Internet rando's come up with the darndest things just to disagree.

Properly motivated they will think very hard.  I know IT and software and a lot of Thai girls, who don't know anything about anything, can show me things I never knew were possible......on my Android phone.

Thailand education free to grade 9 Mattayom 3. 

I think most only go to grade 6 for whatever reason. Should be mandatory to 12. It would be a hard change for a relatively poor country where parents need their kids to start work at a young age. But it would improve the country

My wife sometimes points to my head and says "tick tock, tick tock"  I've never really been sure exactly what she is implying. Maybe its because I go cross eyed when I think to hard. 
 

 
 

I think that stopping govt paid education at grade 6 has a lot to do with it. If i was PM I would extend it to grade 12 no matter what cost and social upheaval.

Thais are just as smart as anyone given proper motivation.

How much is this Pala pizza people are talking about (even though it will probably cost even more in Pattaya).  Maybe it's good but at what price?  No, I don't believe in you get what you pay for.  You can often get just as good or better for less in Thailand.  Especially when comparing to franchise businesses.

4 hours ago, champers said:

They will have one in the new Terminal 21, if signage is anything to go by. I found quite big variances in quality between some branches, not the uniformity you should get in a chain.

Just what we need, another coffee club.  Whoopee.  Who repeatedly goes there anyways?  There is nothing special about that place, other than the fact they don't include VAT on their already overpriced menu.  Unless maybe S&P does the same thing. Another kind of overpriced coffee place but probably alittle more reasonable than coffee club.  Not sure as I haven't stepped into one of those franchises in years either.

You do not come to thailand for the beef, full stop. I'll never understand people who come to thailand then constantly complain about the beef but keep eating it.  Stop eating it and then you will not have anything to complain about, otherwise you are guaranteed to be disappointed more often then not.  Even at places that specialize in imported beef for top dollar sometimes.