Pattaya Is Dead Dead Dead

[Jingthing]

That is kind of my point. To get business in times like these, try harder, offer more, offer something really good and different not available other places, or be a major brand name that can hardly fail like Mos Burger or Fuji. A huge number of local businesses are going down in the next year. A lot of them DESERVE to!

[Humphrey Bear]

Every restaurant in town has to have Thai food

FALSE.

So would you eat there as often at full price?

I actually thought the choices were stereotyped and boring. I am sick of so many places doing exactly the same thing. Personally if I find a menu boring, I won't even bother trying a place even once. I know many people will, but I still think that place doesn't have a prayer at their normal prices. Also it sounds like your major enthusiasm for the place is the special, limited time, giveaway. Also their coffee drinks are very expensive. There is a McCafe on the other side of the mall.

Businesses prepare and sell what SELLS.

If you want an individual dish prepared to your wishes, then you'll have to pay the price for it - which will be high.

I used to run a place in London's West End and we kept a fridge full of half-cooked pasta, to speed up the order-to-table timing.

We had a limited menu that was well prepared and tasty and made yonks of boodle.

I was also an omelette chef in the window of a place just off Leicester Square (that's Lester - not Lysester - for our colonial cuzzins) and that got me through University.

Do your on cooking and you'll save money and eat what you want. Although after a few weeks that usually turns out to be sandwiches and left-overs most of the time.

[MeetJohnDoe]

Every restaurant in town has to have Thai food

FALSE.

So would you eat there as often at full price?

Also their coffee drinks are very expensive. There is a McCafe on the other side of the mall.

I think they have a rather nice selection of farang foods that are not often found together at one place.

I would guestimate that 95% of farang eateries in town also serve Thai food...even high-end places like Brunos and Mata Hari. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any that don't except the fast-food chains and a couple pizzerias.

The coffees are also 2-for-1...that probably brings them down to the prices at McCafe (or less) if it's a couple.

The pasta dish I have had there a couple times is about the same price as any air-con restaurant in town so yes, I would.

As to longevity, nothings for certain in these economic times but when I have been there, people have been there.

That suggestion of having bourst for the Russians was really daft...why would a Russian want to get borst in Pattaya? Like would a Thai visiting a resort town on the Black Sea seek out a restaurant serving Thai food

[Humphrey Bear]

That suggestion of having bourst for the Russians was really daft...why would a Russian want to get borst in Pattaya? Like would a Thai visiting a resort town on the Black Sea seek out a restaurant serving Thai food

If it was my wife - YES!!

And she'd then criticise it for not being prepared / cooked as it is in her home village.

(And the same is true of 90% of Thais - they prfer their own unique meals. As do other nationalities)

[MeetJohnDoe]

That suggestion of having bourst for the Russians was really daft...why would a Russian want to get borst in Pattaya? Like would a Thai visiting a resort town on the Black Sea seek out a restaurant serving Thai food

If it was my wife - YES!!

(And the same is true of 90% of Thais - they prfer their own unique meals. As do other nationalities)

[Jingthing]

Not going to argue the Thai food thing. Its not as widespread as 95 percent and by cutting it out, it allows a smaller venue to focus on what they do well, and do it better, at a more cost efficient price point. You jump on borscht. My idea was a gourmet soup bar (something new in my experience in Thailand). By offering borscht it invites Russians in. Yes, Russians eat borscht in Thailand. Go to a Russian restaurant and be amazed. I have never seen cold borscht served here, I don't actually know if Russians may prefer that here in the tropics, seems to me it would be worth a try if you were doing a soup bar anyway.I was not talking about ONLY offering borscht. BTW, borscht is delicious. The concept of a gourmet soup bar business model is cooking large quantities of soup to be sold at moderate prices. A volume would have to be sold of course. The ideal model involves constant change in the TYPE of soup, this bringing back regulars to try new things. Always offering some cold soup options is a tropical adaptation, and also underlines that the menu would be innovative and not the same old same old. Bagels of course of any quality are not available here, so I reckon doing stuff differently and better than anyone else almost always drives in curious first time customers. If you are good, they return. There are no guarantees in business. I understand why a business would go boring and safe with the same old stereotyped farang in Thailand dishes, and that can work often, but in that location at those prices, I think it is poor business model.

To pull off an excellent gourmet soup bar and best bagels in Thailand, you would of course need a very talented creative chef and also a good baker.

That all said, the gourmet soup bar/bagel bar business concept is yours to steal (and go broke with maybe!) so please don't suggest I do it. I am a lazy uppity old bugger, you won't find me running a resto here or anywhere!

Another point, a tired concept like Coffee Club as it is not a name brand chain, even if it survives, at best can hope for lukewarm profits and success. If you take bigger risks and go for the gold with a totally new concept and do it very well, your potential reward is so much greater. You can rationally dream of full houses and franchises when you take the bigger bolder RISKS. Sorry, I have probably bashed the CC too much, there are many other examples in town, and I am sure they are nice people and cook a creamy spaghetti carbonera (yum yum yum).

[patsfangr]

That suggestion of having bourst for the Russians was really daft...why would a Russian want to get borst in Pattaya? Like would a Thai visiting a resort town on the Black Sea seek out a restaurant serving Thai food

If it was my wife - YES!!

And she'd then criticise it for not being prepared / cooked as it is in her home village.

(And the same is true of 90% of Thais - they prfer their own unique meals. As do other nationalities)

John, were you joking? I'm fairly certain that I've noticed places selling Fish & Chips to Brits; sausages to Germans; and burgers to Americans; here in Thailand. How is that different from selling borsht to Russians?

[MeetJohnDoe]

John, were you joking? I'm fairly certain that I've noticed places selling Fish & Chips to Brits; sausages to Germans; and burgers to Americans; here in Thailand. How is that different from selling borsht to Russians?

George - You engineer's logic is getting the best of me again

And JT's idea of a soup-bar is a good one. There is such a chain of places in SFBay Area that serves health and hearty "homemade" style soups and does very well. Seems the logistics of such an operation would be easy as well.

I too would love a real bagel store (as some others have said) but I wonder about the size of the market making it viable. For now, I have learned to live with ABPs double-cheese jalapeño and poppy bagels as decent substitutes.

And where is our Tex-Mex burrito joint dang-it!

[CTBC]

But goods and ETC. Still expensive though

[patsfangr]

John, were you joking? I'm fairly certain that I've noticed places selling Fish & Chips to Brits; sausages to Germans; and burgers to Americans; here in Thailand. How is that different from selling borsht to Russians?

George - You engineer's logic is getting the best of me again

And JT's idea of a soup-bar is a good one. There is such a chain of places in SFBay Area that serves health and hearty "homemade" style soups and does very well. Seems the logistics of such an operation would be easy as well.

I too would love a real bagel store (as some others have said) but I wonder about the size of the market making it viable. For now, I have learned to live with ABPs double-cheese jalapeño and poppy bagels as decent substitutes.

And where is our Tex-Mex burrito joint dang-it!

LOL! Not "engineer's logic", John. I was in Materials Management. Just as logical and structured, however!

Lots of those soup places in most of the major cities in the good ol' USA. ... And lots more coming as Obama's socialism takes hold over the next 2-3 years!

I have spoken with the owner at 'Lakeside' about bagels, during some discussion about my enjoyment of the 'Deli Bean' menu, and delis in general. He said that a friend, who will soon be joining his staff as a chef, claims to be able to show him how to make good bagels, and will try to do so here. Stay tuned!

As for Mex food, I still enjoy going to 'Mike's Mexican Restaurant', on Theppraya. In fact, I just had lunch there yesterday. It's not the best Mex food I've ever had. (I lived in So Cal for over 25 years, surrounded by outstanding 'mom and pop' Mexican places.) But I find it more than acceptable; with very good margaritas. Considering where we are, I can't complain about it. (Except for the salsa; which is far too mild for me.)

[Jingthing]

Lots of those soup places in most of the major cities in the good ol' USA. ... And lots more coming as Obama's socialism takes hold over the next 2-3 years!

That was funny. Soup kitchens! I get it. Here I am talking about gourmet soup bars where people pay money for it. BTW, the Washington Post reports today that the greatly feared GREAT DEPRESSION (which had been a real possibility) has been avoided, we are NOT going to have one. A bad economy yes, for many years, but things are slowly going to get better.

[patsfangr]

Lots of those soup places in most of the major cities in the good ol' USA. ... And lots more coming as Obama's socialism takes hold over the next 2-3 years!

That was funny. Soup kitchens! I get it. Here I am talking about gourmet soup bars where people pay money for it. BTW, the Washington Post reports today that the greatly feared GREAT DEPRESSION (which had been a real possibility) has been avoided, we are NOT going to have one. A bad economy yes, for many years, but things are slowly going to get better.

Don't believe that, JT. When the real affect of Obama's "enlightened" programs takes hold, both higher taxes AND inflation are going to devastate the American economy as never before. Then add the cost to every business and individual of his outrageous 'cap and trade' energy proposal, and new 'auto emission and minimum mileage standards'; and you've got most wage earning Americans seeing their standard of living fall into the drudgery that eventually kills the incentive, initiative, and ambition of all socialist societies. Is there a socialist state in the world that has succeeded to the level that America's "evil capitalism" achieved? Well ... maybe the Soviet Un ... oh, that's gone. Well, then, maybe North Kor ... oh, they're starving by the millions. Socialism does not work. It will strangle America, as it has strangled every nation that has adopted it. "Distribute the wealth" was not the principle upon which America was founded; and it most certainly was not the principle upon which the American economy grew to be the world's strongest for so many years. Those days are rapidly drawing to an end under the socialist policies of Obama and his Congress.

So, if you go back to the USA, you'll be able to review lots and lots of soup kitchens. None, however, will be quite to the gourmet level that you envision.

[Ulysses G.]

Don't believe that, JT. When the real affect of Obama's "enlightened" programs takes hold, both higher taxes AND inflation are going to devastate the American economy as never before...blah, blah, blah

Yes, we've been hearing all this for quite some time - over and over again - and some day one of you nuts will actually be right, but it will be by pure chance and have nothing to do with your brand of "logic".

[LenB]

Friendship, on Pattaya Tai, has been asking 40 Baht/hour during the recent holidays. Car park packed out mostly, too.

A little bit up the road from Friendship (Towards 3rd road intersection) There is a car park which is I think 20 baht. I think its Tonys car park. I think Friendship also charge on Tuesdays and Fridays because of the Soi Bua Khao market. But you won't be charged if you have a stamp on your ticket (And are probably within some time limit) ..Can't really blame them for doing this though as everyone going to the market would park there if they didn't enforce some charges.

If you purchase anything from Friendship even a papaer they wiull stamp your ticket and no charge is incurred, although if you stay over 2+hrs then 10bht is the going rate.

As an alternative and no charge - when the Buakhao market is not there (Sat/Sun/Mon/Wed/Thur) then park by the family mart and walk around the corner to Pattaya Tai Rd

[thaimate]

Tonys car park is no more ,its dead and gone ,land for sale ,mind you i never saw more than 5 cars parked at any 1 time.

[whitethai]

Oh Man

How depressing

I was there for seven months in 2007 best time of my life found it 20 years too late.

Just before the troubles I had to return to this crap country UK.

I was going to return to Pattaya somehow to make living get out of UK.

Now you make it sound not good.

Maybe Bangkok somewhere?

[Ulysses G.]

Believe me, Pattaya is still great. There is a big world economic problem going on right now, so business is down for the moment, but when things pick up, it will be back to business as usual. Don't dispair!

[Orac]

I 'passed through' Pattaya on Saturday night and couldn't believe how much more handsome I have become in a couple of months!

[patklang]

Pattaya is still the place to retire too and its more quieter now the 2 week millionaires are skint lol.

Went out Sunday night and spent 2,000 baht on drink and moaned,then i remembered 6 years ago i spent about 120 gbp a night drinking.Brings everything into perspective.

[soundman]

I have deleted a few posts and replies.

While Thai Visa may have become a little more "liberal" recently with respect to the subject of the adult entertainment industry, discussing the specifics, such as "barfines" for example, is over the line.

[basjke]

^^^ok how is the food in pattaya

[MeetJohnDoe]

^^^ok how is the food in pattaya

I've always liked perusing the menus at all the "sushi" bars in town.

For the other team, I guess it's scarfing down at the "hotdog" stands.

[neil324]

Pattaya is still the place to retire too and its more quieter now the 2 week millionaires are skint lol.

Went out Sunday night and spent 2,000 baht on drink and moaned,then i remembered 6 years ago i spent about 120 gbp a night drinking.Brings everything into perspective.

How much of the 120gb was for coke? and i dont mean the drink.

[bangkapiboy]

Pattaya is still one of the best values in all of Thailand. Food, entertainment offers so much choice. Sure it is going to get slower now -- it is low season.

[thaimate]

I 'passed through' Pattaya on Saturday night and couldn't believe how much more handsome I have become in a couple of months!

me too, that extra spare tyre around the middle gives us a certain something. apart from heart trouble

[jupiler]

Just come back from Pattaya.

The city looks more like a ghosttown then a tourist place.

I wonder how many business gonna survive this.

Royal garden and Mike shopping mall gonna feel the pinch from Central.

Hardly any people theyr...

[cigarchuck]

Just come back from Pattaya.

The city looks more like a ghosttown then a tourist place.

I wonder how many business gonna survive this.

Royal garden and Mike shopping mall gonna feel the pinch from Central.

Hardly any people theyr...

Was at RG last tuesday and it was DEAD DEAD DEAD. Spent about two hours and the parking charge was 50baht. They really know how to encourage people to return.

[Humphrey Bear]

I walk daily up and down Soi 17 - Caddy Shack to Tukcom and back.

Not necesssarily a representative slice of Pattaya as it is basically new development over the past 2-3 years, but most shophouses are empty, for rent/sale - and friends who have had businesses there are mostly pulling out.

Maybe the hard centre area will survive, but the expansion over the past five years (small local businesses) has become a very burst bubble.

Suksabai Villa has some very nice houses for rent/sale, as well as the usual grotty ones. So you don't need to run to the darkside - make a good deal within walking distance of Walking Street and Tesco/Outlet Mall. (For me, anyway, it's all within walking distance).

[IanForbes]

I 'passed through' Pattaya on Saturday night and couldn't believe how much more handsome I have become in a couple of months!

Funny how that happens, isn't it.

As far as the capitalism vs the socialism issue goes we need a balance of both. Pure socialism doesn't work, but neither does pure capitalism. Pure capitalism is putting a gun to someone's head and saying "Give me all yah got." The capitalist system of the United States worked properly about 40 years ago until the people at the top got too greedy. After that the whole world followed the US lead into destruction of the world's economy. It will recover, but slowly and hopefully with a few checks and balances in place to keep the highs from getting too high and the lows from going too low. There will ALWAYS be collateral damage... with any system. It is only natural because we are all humans with the human traits of greed and power.

[Tolley]

A lot of interesting comments about Pattaya and many of them very true.

Pattaya does have a lot of women and many of them are not easy on the eye.

However those who have spent a lot of time in Pattaya know that once you spend a bit of time in the place you do find some very attractive women indeed. The sheer volume of women means that there is bound to be some good ones available.

As for pricing again if you spend a bit of time in the place you quickly learn that you can get plenty of bang for your baht.

Pattaya is in a downturn but it is still the cheapest and best major tourist spot in Thailand for me.

Bangkok and Phuket are both much more expensive and less fun imho.