Good news for Taco Bell fans in Bangkok

[fforest1]

Chicken or Pork can substitute Beef ok...........But nothing can substitute BEANS....

Its damm hard to find any restaurant in Thailand that serves beans..... 

 

Beans was the #1 reason I was looking forward to Taco Bell......

Their bean burritos are cheap and good...

 

I dont care about all that California burrito crapola I just want a bean burrito...

 

They seem to have no problem importing cheese from the USA and Avocados from Mexico.......Avocados are expensive......Beans are CHEAP......You could very easily import beans by the ton.......... WHATS THE PROBLEM? 

 

Very disappointed....

Mexican food is not Mexican food with out beans...Beans form the foundation of Mexican food.....

   

Edited January 25, 2019 by fforest1

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

33 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

Its damm hard to find any restaurant in Thailand that serves beans..... 

 

I don't know of any/many Mexican restaurants in BKK that don't serve beans (frijoles) as part of their menu. (Taco Thailand, of course, is a sad exception to that...)

 

Sunrise Tacos does, La Monita does, pretty sure Tacos and Salsa does. Same with Charlie Brown and El Diablo's.

 

I don't know that any of them offer just a plain beans (frijoles) burrito on the menu because they're restaurants, not cheapo fast food. But I think most or all offer frijoles or other styles of beans as a side dish or as a filling/ingredient in other entrees.

 

Sunrise, for example, uses frijoles in their huevos rancheros, nachos, Mexican pizzas, as a side with chiliquiles, flautas and fajitas, and inside most of their burrito choices.

 

And then you can also get their frijoles or black beans as standalone side orders.

 

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[fforest1]

TallGuyJohninBKK  

 

Thanks......But its just a insult that Taco Bell ( as in Mexican food) (Mexican food as in BEANS) serves no Beans......

 

I was excited about Taco Bell maybe opening a branch in Pattaya soon....Now I dont give a rats-ass........

 

Thailand has about a zillion stands selling Shish Kabobs with chicken and lettuce......Does Thailand really need a Taco Bell chicken and lettuce burrito?........Nope..... 

Edited January 25, 2019 by fforest1

[Damrongsak]

No beef, no beans ... Thaico Bell. 

[fforest1]

15 minutes ago, Damrongsak said:

No beef, no beans ... Thaico Bell. 

I was Thailands #1 Taco Bell fan....Now I hope the go out of business..

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

16 minutes ago, Damrongsak said:

 Thaico Bell. 

 

You say Thaico Bell... I say Taco Thailand...

 

The important part is, neither of us are saying "Taco Bell"!!!

[Damrongsak]

"Where's the beef?"  Great Wendy's commercial from years back ...

 

 

Being a vegetarian, about the only thing I eat from their menu is the bean burrito.  One burrito and about 20 packs of "hot" sauce is a nice snack.  If I plan ahead, I'll take some toasted and ground Thai chili pepper with me.

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Damrongsak

[singhajim]

Seen the queue of people, unreal. Free beer is the only reason I would join that line.

[fforest1]

Please change the name of this thread to Very Bad news to Taco Bell fans....

[fforest1]

No Chain restaurant opening in Thailand has ever had as much good will that Taco Bell had behind them....Their success was almost guaranteed 100%....

 

But now it looks like they are doomed to failure..... They will say Thailand does not like Mexican food.....Sorry dip shits Thailand loves Mexican food with BEANS AND BEEF.......

 

[keemapoot]

4 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

No Chain restaurant opening in Thailand has ever had as much good will that Taco Bell had behind them....Their success was almost guaranteed 100%....

 

But now it looks like they are doomed to failure..... They will say Thailand does not like Mexican food.....Sorry dip shits Thailand loves Mexican food with BEANS AND BEEF.......

 

It's interesting that in the many times over the years I have been in any of the Sunrise Taco locations, there seem to be more Filipina waitresses than Thai, and I always assumed it was because the clientele was mostly foreign (better English skills). And, it is true that Thais who have not traveled to the US or otherwise been exposed to Mexican type food do not normally try it.  

 

Taco Bell took forever to open in Thailand and opened with a splash. I hope they get their act together and realize no beans/no beef = no customers.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

49 minutes ago, keemapoot said:

It's interesting that in the many times over the years I have been in any of the Sunrise Taco locations, there seem to be more Filipina waitresses than Thai, and I always assumed it was because the clientele was mostly foreign (better English skills). And, it is true that Thais who have not traveled to the US or otherwise been exposed to Mexican type food do not normally try it.  

 

Taco Bell took forever to open in Thailand and opened with a splash. I hope they get their act together and realize no beans/no beef = no customers.

 

In the case of Taco Bell, I believe the lady who owns the company behind the Taco Thailand franchise is married to a Filipino guy. And they likewise have some Filipino staff at their IHOP outlets here... But I agree, I'm sure it's partly rooted in the fact that they want some EN speaking proficiency in those kinds of food outlets.

 

BTW, I think the owner of Sunrise may also be married to a Filipina....

 

PS - Just to be clear, it's NOT Taco Bell (the U.S. company) that opened a location here. It's a Thai company owned by a member of the super-rich Mahagatsiri family that paid to acquire a Thailand franchise for opening Taco Bells here. Same with IHOP, Krispy Kreme, Cinnabon, Jamba Juice and Pizza Hut U.S. franchises that they also hold here.

Edited January 28, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, fforest1 said:

No Chain restaurant opening in Thailand has ever had as much good will that Taco Bell had behind them....Their success was almost guaranteed 100%....

 

But now it looks like they are doomed to failure.....

 

Dunno about that dire prediction. But I will note the following, for whatever it's worth...

 

I've been keeping tabs with the Taco Thailand FB page since the day they opened. And based on those FB poster reviews, FB somehow automatically determines an overall review rating by customers based on a 0 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best.

 

On the day Taco Thailand opened, based on customer comments on FB, they had a 2.6 rating. A day or two later, it had fallen to 2.3. And now as of today when I look, it's down to 2.2 -- which is a pretty poor rating for a brand new, long-awaited restaurant that's just opened.

 

Now admittedly, the review scores are only based on those who post and comment, and probably the unhappy customers are more likely to complain and post than the happy ones... But still, 2.2 is really poor. And one of the interesting things to note when reading all the comments is it's not just farangs complaining about the lack of beef and beans, but a lot of Thai posters as well. So we're not alone in this.

 

Maybe Taco Thailand will be able to gut it out with their current menu once the typical Thai "opening phase" queue crazy wears off as it always does. Or maybe they'll come to their senses and change/augment their menu on their own.  But either way, they're clearly losing out and alienating a sizeable portion of their potential customer base with their current approach.

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[fforest1]

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/life/food/2019/01/29/cowed-by-social-media-bangkok-taco-bell-to-add-beef/

 

Now Taco Bell says they will have beef.....Thats a improvement but please get beans too and you will have a home run......

 

Bean burritos is by far the best thing at Taco Bell..... 

[tutsiwarrior]

2 hours ago, fforest1 said:

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/life/food/2019/01/29/cowed-by-social-media-bangkok-taco-bell-to-add-beef/

 

Now Taco Bell says they will have beef.....Thats a improvement but please get beans too and you will have a home run......

 

Bean burritos is by far the best thing at Taco Bell..... 

frijoles are hard to make from scratch and time consuming...maybe the TB parent company has got a 'frijoles mixture' that they can ship out from the US, just add water, etc...sorta like falafel mix...

 

when I was working in the ME there was always canned frijoles available in the supermarkets and when I'd come home to Thailand on leave I bring a few cans in my luggage...substitute fresh arabic bread for flour tortillas and bob's yer uncle...whip up some sauce in the blender from toms, onions, cilantro and fresh chiles, etc...

 

'ick! uncle tutsi what is that mess???' 'itsa bean burrito, very famous in falangland, have some...' and then the thai niece pretends to barf...

 

 

[fforest1]

18 minutes ago, tutsiwarrior said:

frijoles are hard to make from scratch and time consuming...maybe the TB parent company has got a 'frijoles mixture' that they can ship out from the US, just add water, etc...sorta like falafel mix...

 

when I was working in the ME there was always canned frijoles available in the supermarkets and when I'd come home to Thailand on leave I bring a few cans in my luggage...substitute fresh arabic bread for flour tortillas and bob's yer uncle...whip up some sauce in the blender from toms, onions, cilantro and fresh chiles, etc...

 

'ick! uncle tutsi what is that mess???' 'itsa bean burrito, very famous in falangland, have some...' and then the thai niece pretends to barf...

 

 

Refried bean cooked in your kitchen is time consuming.....But beans cooked on a large scale is no big deal with jumbo pressure cookers......Beans keep for a long time in the fridge..

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

48 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

Refried bean cooked in your kitchen is time consuming.....But beans cooked on a large scale is no big deal with jumbo pressure cookers......Beans keep for a long time in the fridge..

 

I make a healthier, simplified version of frijoles at home using just a regular rice cooker and then an electric food processor/blender (though a hand masher could handle the latter part in a pinch if need be).

 

I don't use lard or oil in mine. Just cook the pintos in the rice cooker, boiling them, with the lid partially removed to prevent boiling over, until tender.  Then rinse and drain, pop into the food processor, add a jar of El Sapo salsa for flavoring, and blend. Place the blended product into smaller-size food boxes to store in freezer until needed. Done!

 

[madmen]

No Chain restaurant opening in Thailand has ever had as much good will that Taco Bell had behind them....Their success was almost guaranteed 100%....
 
But now it looks like they are doomed to failure..... They will say Thailand does not like Mexican food.....Sorry dip shits Thailand loves Mexican food with BEANS AND BEEF.......
 

True. I had a few drinks at Margherita storm lower Sukhumvit with the Gf.
Ordered some beef taco's and she in typical thai style refused to even look at them let alone try one

After some gentle persuasion she took a teeny little bite.

It's now her favorite eat out food.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

fyi, just an update on the BEEF issue....

 

I haven't heard or seen anything official on this, but I stopped by the Mercuryville branch of Taco Bell today and spoke with the manager about whether they had BEEF available on their menu, and to my surprise, she said they DO.... finally!!!

 

The shift manager basically only spoke Thai, and I only speak a little, but we managed to pry out that they've begun offering beef lately at both the Chidlom and the newer Siam Paragon branches. There's no mention of BEEF visible on their restaurant menu boards as yet at Mercuryville/Chidlom, but the shift manager indicated they are planning to update those soon with the mention of BEEF!

 

Well, after griping about the lack of BEEF at Taco Thailand for so long, I figured I'd better try their offerings, so I ordered a California burrito and a Crunchwrap Supreme, both with beef. For starters, on those two menu items at least, there's a 30 baht surcharge for having beef instead of their standard chicken or pork filling choices, so the beef burrito was 159b and the Crunchwrap was 149b.

 

The Verdict: The staff there assured me they were serving up beef entrees. But honestly, I really couldn't tell there was any beef in either of the items I ordered and ate. If there was, the portion was small enough and the flavor undistinguishable enough and covered by the taste of the other fillings that I never would have known there was any beef filling inside of either item. And of course, still no refried beans on any of their entrees.

 

But at least, the management of Taco Thailand appears to have finally kept their promise to add beef. And so for that, I guess, they deserve some credit.

 

Tell me if you can spot any beef inside either of these entrees:

 

California Burrito (beef):

 

Crunchwrap Supreme (beef):

 

Edited April 17, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

BTW, for the price of my one 159b (approx. $5 U.S.) "beef" California burrito here in Thailand, here's what Taco Bell U.S. is offering for basically the same price:

 

 

Not to mention Taco Bell U.S.'s $1 (32 baht) Cravings menu:

 

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[DaRoadrunner]

Apart from making me incredibly hungry, Taco Bell are only going to increase the number of fat Thai girls we see around. 20 years ago you almost never saw a fat Thai girl. You'd see a stunner every five minutes. Now look. Think.... when did you last see a stunner?

 

As if that isn't bad enough, Da Roadrunner is vegetarian, the only meat I eat is pussy.

[atyclb]

34 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

Apart from making me incredibly hungry, Taco Bell are only going to increase the number of fat Thai girls we see around. 20 years ago you almost never saw a fat Thai girl. You'd see a stunner every five minutes. Now look. Think.... when did you last see a stunner?

 

As if that isn't bad enough, Da Roadrunner is vegetarian, the only meat I eat is pussy.

 

have you heard about the new entertainment venue franchise opportunity

 

"cellulite au gogo",  oh wait, it seems every one has become cellulite au gogo

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I'd sure love one of these, but apparently, it ain't gonna happen in Thailand.

 

[ricklev]

I think they really see their primary market as Thais and believe the Thais will be put off by savory beans as it is not part of their culinary tradition. 

Edited April 17, 2019 by ricklev

[Nyezhov]

11 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

BTW, for the price of my one 159b (approx. $5 U.S.) "beef" California burrito here in Thailand, here's what Taco Bell U.S. is offering for basically the same price:

 

 

Not to mention Taco Bell U.S.'s $1 (32 baht) Cravings menu:

 

 

 

 

I just got back from Taco Bell in Durham, NC. To ensure that my inner Baron Munchiehausen was awakened, I vaped some aromatic yuppie Kalifornia 21% oil, blinked my bloodshot eyes and tore into, nay....tore into, is not the right phrase.....I...

 

I savaged, yes much better, I savaged a fat, avocado loaded 7 layer Burrito, followed up up with a Steak Crunchwrap Supreme and a Steak Quesadilla for desert. I llike the 7 layer burritos becuase it squishes out the side when you mush it into your chomping and drooling gob so you get like these gooey gobs of bean and avocado mixed on your cheeks like you blew snot and just wiped on on your beard. I made glomphing and nasal snorbbling noises too. Heavenly meal. Fork Pad Krapow, I want to run Nachos all over my body. And the chick who served me had a nose ring, dreads and called me sugar! I'm like yummy old white meet here.

 

Sucks to be you guys hahahahahah. Hey I brought me home a Grilled Suffed Steak Burrito supereemo for breakkie.

Edited April 18, 2019 by Nyezhov

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Well, I finally found the "beef" today at Taco Thailand, and I'm not very pleased or encouraged.

 

From my order yesterday, I had one leftover entree today, and that was a California Bowl with "beef" that I broke out for lunch today. Unlike yesterday's burrito and crunchwrap where all the filings were mushed together and hard to identify, in the California bowl, I could spot and identify all the different elements separately in the serving tray -- "beef", Mexican style rice, some lettuce and diced tomato salad, guacamole and some sour cream like dressing.

 

Upshot is, Taco Thailand appears to be using some kind of very finely minced beef. It has absolutely zero chewiness to it, unlike ground beef, and had no discernable beef taste or flavor when I ate a spoonful of the VERY soft "beef" by itself. So not surprising I couldn't identify any kind of beef taste in the burrito and crunchwrap I had yesterday. Today's spoonful sampling of "beef" alone was kind of like eating a Gerber's baby food version of "beef". Although, I did get a couple pieces of gristle in my "beef" that were inedible.

 

Perhaps this is Taco Thailand's method of proving their original contention that customers in Thailand wouldn't be interested in them serving beef on their menu. Because, AFTER eating it, I'm NOT interested in eating the "beef" they're serving either. Total FAIL!

 

 

 

PS - The menu price above for the California Bowl is with chicken or pork. Similar to with yesterday's burrito and crunchwrap, I believe they added 30 baht extra for the "beef" to make that item a 159b order.

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just a bit of an update on the Mercuryville Taco Bell... AKA Taco Thailand.

 

As I posted above, for me, their addition of so-called "beef" as a menu option has been a disappointing failure -- absolutely no ground beef taste, no ground beef mouth feel or chewiness -- more like a tasteless baby food meat of some kind. And for that privilege, you get to pay an extra 30 baht per menu item.

 

So, having forsaken their beef and with them still having no beans/frijoles, I went back again lately just to try some of their non-beef menu items, and had a markedly better experience. On my most recent visit, I tried two other menu items that, with your eyes closed, you could generally believe you were eating at a Taco Bell in the U.S., as follows (even though both of these items per se I don't think are on their U.S. stores menu):

 

--Kickin' Chicken Tacos -- a pair of soft shell (flour) tacos with a deep fried/breaded chicken strip or strips at the bottom, covered with the typical taco mix of shredded lettuce, some diced tomato and what looks like a bit of shredded processed cheese. The chicken strip/strips were crunchy and had a bit of a spice taste to them, and the overall experience of eating the tacos was pretty decent. I'd order them again.

 

--California Bowl -- for me, this is probably the best item on Taco Thailand's menu -- a large plate with a scoop of the meat of your choice, a pretty good sized portion of Mexican-style rice, a lot of shredded lettuce and diced tomato salad, accompanied by scoops of guacamole and a sour cream type item.

 

The first time I tried their California bowl, it was with their optional 30 baht beef option, and the beef was horrible as described above. On this most recent visit, I tried the dish instead with their 20 baht extra "shredded carnitas pork" option, and that was considerably better. The pork had a vague kind of carnitas taste to it, and in and of itself wasn't bad, both in texture and in taste. Likewise, I would order the California Bowl with shredded pork again.

 

I ordered the Kickin' Chicken Tacos as a meal set, which meant two tacos, a portion of their (tasteless) taco chips and a small drink, with refill privileges, for 179 baht. The California Bowl regularly (meaning with chicken as your meat choice) is 129 baht, but with the pork option it increases to 149 baht. Total for the two dishes together with added tax came to 328 baht.

 

BTW, I've been there a couple of times lately during the weekday lunch period, and the opening days era of long lines appear to be gone. Both times I've been there lately, the Mercuryville outlet was doing OK business mostly with Thai customers, but there were no lines and plenty of seats available.

 

Edited May 5, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

BTW, I saw a FB post from Taco Thailand the other day saying that this past week they were adding what they call their "cheesy beef burrito" to the menu at their Mercuryville location.

 

It "sounds" like something I ought to like. But given how miserable and tasteless their "beef" was in the several entrees I already tried at Mercuryville, those being a regular burrito, crunchwrap supreme and California bowl, I'm almost scared to order the cheesy beef burrito....

[fforest1]

They managed to do almost the impossible with Taco Bell in Thailand....They managed to flush down the toilet about 50 years of good Taco Bell memories a life time of good will and probably the biggest BUZZ any restaurant has ever had opening in Thailand.....They did this all on their opening day.......The Pages and pages of crappy opening day reviews will live on forever on the web......Their BUZZ KILL opening will be costing them untold millions for years to come.....

 

Their only concern is serving up the cheapest food and charging the highest possible price...

I have never seen a Taco Bell charge a higher price for Beef or Pork....

Taco Bell success was built on serving value food...

Charging 99 Baht for a beef Taco (3X the USA price) is far from value...

Hell even Sunrise Taco which is not cheap sells 3 beef Tacos for 245 Baht..

 

Ok the management of Taco Bell Thailand Hates Beans...Fair enough....

But after countless people have requested beans and with plenty of vegetarians  world wide who have supported Taco Bell for their non meat offerings you would think they could at least offer a bean burrito....

Refried beans are easy and would take virtually no effort to add a single bean offering on the menu.......

 

So why dont they offer a bean burrito?

 

My guess is the bean burrito is the lowest cost burrito and they might have to charge less than 69 baht......That would would be terrible for their profit margin if low cost bean burritos caught on....We certainly cant have that....

 

The bottom line is bean counters at Taco Bell Thailand....Dont care about long term success..They dont care about Buzz or building a long term customer base.....They dont care about long term customer satisfaction...

They want their damm profits and they want them NOW....Maximum profits NOW is the bottom line.....Company policy is to steal as much value from the customer as possible and put those profits in their pocket NOW....

 

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by fforest1

[ricklev]

They really just don't care what expats, tourists and Thais familiar with Taco Bell abroad want.  Their major market is middle and upper  class Thais (they've decided) and that's what all decisions are geared towards.  And maybe it's the right decision....

Edited May 11, 2019 by ricklev