Pattaya Indian restaurant indian food why so expensive ?why so small portions ?

[liddelljohn]

Having worked in India , Pakistan  aqnd Bangladesh  and being a Brit brought up on superb indian  food in UK  I learned from talkking to chefs in UK indian restaurants and take aways they will tell u rhey have the best quality ingredients in UK   the Indian food in UK is not the same as In India  , some indian food in Thailand and pattaya  is abyssmal   and the ones that are good are overpriced and definitely very small portions compared to UK and India mor Pakistan

[ChipButty]

Learn to make your own loads of video's on YT I usually make a big pan of curry that way I can box some of it up and put in the freezer, search for a Chicken Balti aroi maak 

[Matzzon]

Terrible! As for not the everyday questions about why they have color on the walls and how they can fit so many tables in the restaurants?

[Skallywag]

8 hours ago, scoupeo said:

Just all cheaters or is there anything that I do not understand ?

1.35 Billion mouths to feed back home.  ????????????

[innosiem]

56 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

HH probably has more customers than any other place so can afford lower prices rather than the places that have few customers so sting you on the price

lowering your prices when you have demand doesn't make biz sense
he can afford to push the prices up if he has the demand
as i said he done the same when he had the nest
he also always looking to sell the biz

[zoza]

i used to purchase lamb madras at a restaurant close to where i stay, a decent meal and a decent portion, then the Covid -19 struck... 1st prices went up Then they decided you had to spend a minimum

...then my lamb madras went to a lot of Mango and a few bits of lamb Madras ? 

this is not run by Thai's but maybe they have been here to long? 

as this had also happened a few years ago and i went and spoke to the chef it was rectified, but it made me feel like i was having to check all the time, so i just done a bit more home cooking,   

[AhFarangJa]

Just be thankful it is chicken in the curry.............or maybe it isn't.....................

[Jingthing]

On the hot and spicy issue Indian restaurants just like Thai restaurants can be trained to make it how you like it with repeated visits. But on the first visit is true that they will usually totally ignore requests from westerners to make hot and spicy. Even if you make a drama about it. They do that for selfish reasons. You can't fix a dish that a customer can't eat because they find it too hot and spicy. Also many westerners really are insanely intolerant of hot and spicy food. 

[ThailandRyan]

8 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

''Pattaya Indian restaurant indian food why so expensive ?why so small portions ?''

 

The first question coming in my mind is ''why an Indian restaurant in Pattaya'' ?

 

During the last years i have never seen one of them with enough customers inside 

most of them seem to be empty most of the time, however they are still here

one more of these economic mysteries that Pattaya has the secret

Money Laundering?

[scubascuba3]

19 minutes ago, innosiem said:

lowering your prices when you have demand doesn't make biz sense
he can afford to push the prices up if he has the demand
as i said he done the same when he had the nest
he also always looking to sell the biz

he has demand because of the lower prices, he puts them up demand goes down, that simple. I guess he tries to increase prices and keep demand, may work sometimes

[pixelaoffy]

Yes. In bkk there's some Indian restaurants in shopping malls and the prices are 400-500 a dish with just s few mouthfuls . As ever in the city the restaurants are over rated and over priced . That's why need your own kitchen and cook yourself !

[worgeordie]

I just buy a variety of frozen curries from Curry Nights,British Curry,

there's a LOT of chicken in them,taste good,and are 105 Thb here in

Chiang Mai, then you have garlic Nan from Makro,79 Thb for 5,made

in India they are also very good.so a good curry and 2 Nan 135 Thb,

but you have to heat it up yourself,which might be too much for some.????

regards Worgeordie

[ChakaKhan]

As someone who went to culinary school and has been cooking over 30+ yrs I'll add to this...

Also was a Chef here in LOS(mistake and a tale for another day)

Typically when "costing" food you multiply the original cost by 3x  

So I buy chicken for 100--the final dish is 300......why?

You are paying for the "Experience"..same as buying a steak and bottle of wine..When you could buy the same steak and wine for a lot less and cook at home...

 

Thus, you are paying for the food, the other ingredients, sauce-bread--rice--veg--etc

Also paying the rent, the staff, lights to eat by, gas to cook it, water to wash dishes, music, alcohol

So after you eat that one dish the owner pays staff, landlord, utilities, etc...and now is covid

so business likely slow and has thrown out alot of food aka(money)..keeping food fresh vs quality

And still trying to make a profit to pay his bills at home, family, kids, car, education, etc....

 

I always eat street food, mostly as Im in it for the FOOD, not the music, the wine, the atmosphere

I just want good food as I know the cost of it and the vendor doesnt have all the overhead expenses.

 

I recall a Hiso sushi chef from BKK, he owns a outdoor place in CNX by mai hai market near 7-11

called the dragon.....fresh...cheap  and quality....he has his freedom and can focus on the FOOD itself

 

Another lady up the road does steak, fries, salad for 40 bt...tiny shop, always busy, again LOW overhead

 

Cut out all the "extras" and focus on the FOOD...I mean just look at fried rice in a hotel...200 baht!!!???

 

Also local ingredients/ availability, like when I want wine or cheese it is taxes to hell, thus costing more

 

Anyhoo is basically the factors when running a place, but I havent met this guy or know his backstory...

Edited July 22, 2020 by ChakaKhan

[scammed]

vote with your feet if you think its not good value

[Jingthing]

I was kind of joking about learning to cook. I do cook some dishes well mostly basic western and stir fried noodle dishes. I've tried to learn Indian before and found it way too challenging. Also what am I gonna do, buy a Tandoori oven? 

Economics can be a motivator though.

When I lived back in the USA I found Thai food there to be a ripoff so I learned to cook a killer pad krapow, pad Thai, and Tom yum. Of course I never bother to cook Thai dishes here. 

[tonray]

8 hours ago, Airalee said:

I ate at an Indian restaurant in BKK and the same small chicken tikka was close to 400 (rice was an extra 100) including the service charge and tax.  Never ate Indian here again.  Consider yourself lucky.

It's because the vast number of customers are tourists. I dare say that the majority of Thais would never even try Indian Food, let alone set foot in an Indian restaurant. When I was in Ao Nang Beach, I had  to slip some Chicken Tikka Masala onto my GF's plate while she wasn't looking to get her to taste it. She liked it after all...imagine that !

[baansgr]

29 minutes ago, ChakaKhan said:

As someone who went to culinary school and has been cooking over 30+ yrs I'll add to this...

Also was a Chef here in LOS(mistake and a tale for another day)

Typically when "costing" food you multiply the original cost by 3x  

So I buy chicken for 100--the final dish is 300......why?

You are paying for the "Experience"..same as buying a steak and bottle of wine..When you could buy the same steak and wine for a lot less and cook at home...

 

Thus, you are paying for the food, the other ingredients, sauce-bread--rice--veg--etc

Also paying the rent, the staff, lights to eat by, gas to cook it, water to wash dishes, music, alcohol

So after you eat that one dish the owner pays staff, landlord, utilities, etc...and now is covid

so business likely slow and has thrown out alot of food aka(money)..keeping food fresh vs quality

And still trying to make a profit to pay his bills at home, family, kids, car, education, etc....

 

I always eat street food, mostly as Im in it for the FOOD, not the music, the wine, the atmosphere

I just want good food as I know the cost of it and the vendor doesnt have all the overhead expenses.

 

I recall a Hiso sushi chef from BKK, he owns a outdoor place in CNX by mai hai market near 7-11

called the dragon.....fresh...cheap  and quality....he has his freedom and can focus on the FOOD itself

 

Another lady up the road does steak, fries, salad for 40 bt...tiny shop, always busy, again LOW overhead

 

Cut out all the "extras" and focus on the FOOD...I mean just look at fried rice in a hotel...200 baht!!!???

 

Also local ingredients/ availability, like when I want wine or cheese it is taxes to hell, thus costing more

 

Anyhoo is basically the factors when running a place, but I havent met this guy or know his backstory...

I'm pleased you pointed this out...it's always the case, meal will cost approx 3 times the ingredients...so chicken Madras etc should be no more than 100 baht, same with the basmati rice, why it's so expensive is beyond me.

[Jingthing]

Here's another aspect of this. 

If it was a French restaurant with the same ingredient costs and prices people would say it's a bargain. 

Westerners tend to demand that "ethnic" foods be super cheap. 

I remember a wonderful Chinese restaurant I used to eat at in the US. The Chinese groups were spending hundreds of dollars per table on gourmet dishes. Most of the westerners were ordering low priced fried rice and sweet and sour pork. 

[Kerryd]

Restaurants will almost always look for ways to cut costs and raise profits. Many fail for the simple reason they are under-funded and can't handle extended periods where they don't get enough customers to even break even on their overheads. Over here it seems to be standard practise that if you aren't getting enough business you should cut service and increase prices to try and make as much as possible off the few customers you may be able to lure into your establishment.

Of course, some are just cheap rip-offs that don't care and as soon as they run out of suckers, they dump the place on someone else.

Many foreign restaurants have to rely on imported, substituted or dried ingredients instead of fresh, original stuff. No different here than "back home".
I used to live in Vancouver where we are blessed with some of the best, authentic Chinese restaurants anywhere outside of China.

Why ? Most of the cooks/chefs have literally stepped off the plane from Hong Kong, Shanghai or Beijing and into the restaurant and there are a number of Asian markets where you can buy fresh ingredients.

But travel 80 kms outside of Vancouver ? Or to another province ? I used to hate going to Chinese (or Thai) restaurants when I travelled because invariably the food flat out sucked. They would substitute ingredients (i.e. ginger instead of galangal) or use powdered lemon grass and dried out red chilies instead of fresh ingredients.
Most of the "rural" Chinese restaurants basically served Sweet and Sour, Chow Mein, Chop Suey and Fried Rice. Try ordering a Beef with Black Bean sauce outside of Vancouver. Tastes like some watered down generic "bought in the frozen foods section" prepackaged garbage.

I ordered Tom Kha Gai (spicy chicken coconut soup) in a restaurant in a 5 star hotel in Dubai that was so bad I couldn't eat it. Instead of coconut milk I think they used coconut (cooking) oil ! (Judging by the large oily spots in the soup.) The taste was just horrendous. Probably a Filipino (or Indian) cook, trying to make a Thai dish in a Dubai hotel with substitute ingredients.)

I suspect that here (Thailand) things are similar. I thought this place (Pattaya) would be dripping in "real" Chinese restaurants. You know, where you could get real Dim Sum and authentic Chinese food.
Instead we get "Brit" Chinese food (barf) where every dish is more like soup than anything else. I stopped ordering because every time I did the food was a major disappointment. MK restaurant is the closest to a "Dim Sum" place I've found (so far, though I think there are a couple small little shops on North Pattaya road I haven't visited yet).

I've eaten street food in India but I can't make the comparison to what they serve in the Indian restaurants here as I haven't sampled many.

Restaurants will often cater the customers wants though, which may mean they cook more of one thing often while other things rarely are ordered so they may not keep as large of stock of ingredients (or want to pay for fresh ingredients that may not get used).

But if people don't make their displeasure known (i.e. through online reviews or by actually talking to the staff) then the restaurants may not even know that people are unhappy with what they are serving. In fact, they may decide that because no one is complaining, they can start cutting corners on other dishes as well.

Ever eaten at a fancy (Michelin rated) French restaurant where you pay through the nose for a meal that barely covers a quarter of the plate and even if you scarf all the soup, salad, bread and vegetables you've eaten less than you would have if you'd gone to McDonalds and had a quarter-pounder with cheese meal (with fries and a coke).

You're paying for the experience and "ambience", not for the cost of the food itself. If people complained about the portion size and started voting with their wallets, the restaurants would either have to buck up to draw more customers or close up when they can't draw enough to make it worthwhile.

 

[jimmjam]

Aloy of imported stuff puts up the price, spices, powders etc...

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, AhFarangJa said:

Just be thankful it is chicken in the curry.............or maybe it isn't.....................

A couple of cats have gone missing where I live

[Jingthing]

There are actually many real Chinese restaurants here now and there have been for years since the Chinese tourism boom. I don't know how many are left open though now in this viral era. 

A good one just showed up on the Hungry Now app called Chengdu restaurant on 3rd road. 

Obviously a Sichuan restaurant. I will eventually review on the hit and run though I have already tried it twice. 

Edited July 22, 2020 by Jingthing

[hackjam]

A little off topic. For British type curry, Retox Game on have on special every Wednesday, Chicken Tikka Masala, comes with chips and rice, nan bread popadoms, a mint yogurt sauce and is really good, great value at 199B.

The best Indian restaurants I have found in and around Pattaya are Masala Twist in Jomtiem and India by nature-drinks are a rip off here,

Out by the lake, Fishermans is good.

Sadly, most others I have tried have been a letdown. 

[ChipButty]

9 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

I ordered Tom Kha Gai (spicy chicken coconut soup) in a restaurant in a 5 star hotel in Dubai that was so bad I couldn't eat it. Instead of coconut milk I think they used coconut (cooking) oil ! (Judging by the large oily spots in the soup.) The taste was just horrendous. Probably a Filipino (or Indian) cook, trying to make a Thai dish in a Dubai hotel with substitute ingredients.)

 

I had a similar experience also in Dubai in a well known Thai restaurant they where all Filipino's not one Thai staff Sawat dee ka was all they could say I was taking the p!ss and ordered in Thai which was on the menu I figured it out it was order by numbers 

[Kerryd]

5 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Here's another aspect of this. 

If it was a French restaurant with the same ingredient costs and prices people would say it's a bargain. 

Westerners tend to demand that "ethnic" foods be super cheap. 

I remember a wonderful Chinese restaurant I used to eat at in the US. The Chinese groups were spending hundreds of dollars per table on gourmet dishes. Most of the westerners were ordering low priced fried rice and sweet and sour pork. 

Indeed. I've eaten at fancy French restaurants in Canada and at the "Chinese" restaurants that every little town seems to have at least one of. As you say, most (Westerners) order the "cheap" stuff, fried rice/chop suey/chow mein/sweet and sour because that's all they know. That's all I knew growing up until I moved to Vancouver.

But at the French restaurant they'll order the "vichyssoise"  and "escargot" and the "Crepes Suzette" and pay a ransom for it. It sounds "exotic" so it must be worth the price !

I was lucky in Vancouver as well as I had a number of Asian (Vietnamese/Thai/Chinese) friends and we used to go around to different places all the time. 

Don't have any Indian friends in this part of the country so I can't go with them and learn what to order (or what not to order) or judge the quality of the offerings. I'm hesitant to order anything online as well as I would hate to be disappointed with what arrived and then never want to try it again.

I've tried cooking some on my own, but really all I've done is add some spices to a dish. I could still smell it 3 days later too. (Maybe a wee bit too much spice.)

 

[kingofthemountain]

9 hours ago, mstevens said:

 

Perhaps some of us don't want to eat Thai food every meal!

 

Yeah thank you Einsten i get it

my meaning was why an Indian restaurant is in Pattaya?

There is obviously not enough customer for them to run on the long term

as i said in my post, if you bother to read it, most of them are empty all the time

[kingofthemountain]

3 hours ago, Yinn said:

New TVF thread......

 

Dual pricing Pattaya Indian Restaurant. Tourist Scam

As long as it's not writed on the menu. i have no problem

with a case by case pricing policy and discount.

On the other hand, a big sign at the enter with the double pricing

(Like it is at all the double pricing Thai venues) is a slap in the face for everyone

 

 

[scoupeo]

11 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

''Pattaya Indian restaurant indian food why so expensive ?why so small portions ?''

 

The first question coming in my mind is ''why an Indian restaurant in Pattaya'' ?

 

During the last years i have never seen one of them with enough customers inside 

most of them seem to be empty most of the time, however they are still here

one more of these economic mysteries that Pattaya has the secret

 

Not sure that it's the question asked...

 

But if it makes you feel better to say it, i am happy for you ❤️

 

 

[scoupeo]

10 hours ago, dimitriv said:

 

What can you get for 60 TBH ?  Even in Thailand that price is so low that you cannot expect much. What kind of food will that chicken get if it is sold for 60 TBH a kg ?

 

Good cooking often starts with good ingredients, more expensive ingredients.

 

 

 

Thank you for your kind useless reply. Now I have to tell you, there are no expensive ingredients in ANY Indian food.

Hope that you have learnt something useful for your future today !

 

❤️

 

 

[mike787]

I agree with OP...and also its garbage...go to KLM and Singapore - way better in every way.