On ‎10‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 11:48 PM, digbeth said:

it's fine if each cuisine has their own restaurants serving their own countrymen, but maybe the transient tourists population of Pattaya means that the 'foreign' restaurant doesn't have to rely on repeat customers or local populace to stay profitable. Hence in many of the places that landed the tour bus makes little or no accommodation toward walk ins customers. Maybe Pattaya is too successful as a tourist town for a multicultural cuisine culture to develop. But some sections like Korean and Japanese is managing to gain foothold with locals too.

 

And on the other scale, street foots served to local Thais are very unremarkable compared to other provinces and hardly worth travelling for.

 

Western foods geared towards expats is the only redeeming point in price/quality but a lot of the higher end fine dining in Bangkok has upped their game and moved on

 

What do you think is needed in order for the city to develop a sustainable foodie culture?

less red tape? practically anyone can set up their restaurant/business with minimum of fuss anyway. 

parking? anything off street is dead to car driving locals, remember the wonton soup nazi on Klang? how long did that last anything with decent parking in malls is too anodyne 

 

 

 

Less discouragement for foreign owners might help.

I liked a small restaurant by Bamboo bar near Walking Street, owned by a farang. He was harassed with the CCTV requirements, the "can't cook himself breakfast" ban, etc etc. He gave up and the restaurant is no more.

Lets face it, if people want authentic foreign food, employ people that can cook it in restaurants owned by people that know what those restaurants should be like. Thai owners and Thai cooks don't cut it.

19 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Less discouragement for foreign owners might help.

I liked a small restaurant by Bamboo bar near Walking Street, owned by a farang. He was harassed with the CCTV requirements, the "can't cook himself breakfast" ban, etc etc. He gave up and the restaurant is no more.

Lets face it, if people want authentic foreign food, employ people that can cook it in restaurants owned by people that know what those restaurants should be like. Thai owners and Thai cooks don't cut it.

I wasn't aware that Work Permit rules applied to restaurant owners. I can think of plenty of foreign chef/owners without trying too hard. Some are actually out in the open doing the cooking.

3 hours ago, champers said:

Some are actually out in the open doing the cooking.

Yes here in Naklua many of the German restaurants , the chef in the kitchen is the owner, he try to hide lol , but I see them working in the kitchen . 

 

Not complaining , normally the food is great . 

 

23 hours ago, champers said:

I wasn't aware that Work Permit rules applied to restaurant owners. I can think of plenty of foreign chef/owners without trying too hard. Some are actually out in the open doing the cooking.

I'm sure there are some that do have a work permit. I had the misfortune of encountering one such in a fish and chip place. Most unpleasant fellow.

I only meant that the one I was referring to didn't have a WP, so he couldn't cook in his own restaurant as it was a place of business.

The police were watching him, so he would have been banged up if he had.

A work permit is easy to get as an owner, you just need to employ at least 4 Thais for every expat working there last I checked.

 

I know of several expats that cook in their restaurants and know of the pains and annoyances that they endure to stay legal sometimes.