What's Your Favorite Supermarket... And Why?

[basjke]

Foodland Supermarket, a lot of farang love this place but I can't see the attraction. Can anyone give me one good reason why this place is better than 'Friendship'?

Cleaner,fresher food,better organised,free parking,closer to sukhumvith,own bakery,good promotions,restaurant attached............................

Let me know if you need some more reasons.

[Michaelaway]

Foodland Supermarket, a lot of farang love this place but I can't see the attraction. Can anyone give me one good reason why this place is better than 'Friendship'?

Cleaner,fresher food,better organised,free parking,closer to sukhumvith,own bakery,good promotions,restaurant attached............................

Let me know if you need some more reasons.

Hmm... those do sound like some good reasons... gotta go hava nother look at Foodland.

[syd barrett]

Foodland Supermarket, a lot of farang love this place but I can't see the attraction. Can anyone give me one good reason why this place is better than 'Friendship'?

Cleaner,fresher food,better organised,free parking,closer to sukhumvith,own bakery,good promotions,restaurant attached............................

Let me know if you need some more reasons.

Cleaner? I disagree, the cleanliness of Friendship is outstanding.

Fresher? Fruit & vegetables in Friendship are equally fresh.

Better organised? I disagree, as I said the checkout process is faster at Friendship than any other supermarket in Pattaya.

Free Parking: Same at Friendship with stamped receipt. (Although more parking space at Foodland).

Own bakery: Friendship bakery is probably the best in Pattaya.

Promotions are also available at Friendship, some are very good.

I don't judge a supermarket by attached restaurant/cafes.

So, you make one valid point: More parking space at Foodland.

I need more reasons....................!

Edited May 2, 2010 by syd barrett

[basjke]

Foodland Supermarket, a lot of farang love this place but I can't see the attraction. Can anyone give me one good reason why this place is better than 'Friendship'?

Cleaner,fresher food,better organised,free parking,closer to sukhumvith,own bakery,good promotions,restaurant attached............................

Let me know if you need some more reasons.

Cleaner? I disagree, the cleanliness of Friendship is outstanding.

Fresher? Fruit & vegetables in Friendship are equally fresh.

Better organised? I disagree, as I said the checkout process is faster at Friendship than any other supermarket in Pattaya.

Free Parking: Same at Friendship with stamped receipt. (Although more parking space at Foodland).

Own bakery: Friendship bakery is probably the best in Pattaya.

Promotions are also available at Friendship, some are very good.

I don't judge a supermarket by attached restaurant/cafes.

So, you make one valid point: More parking space at Foodland.

I need more reasons....................!

So maybe the most important reason for you will be that at foodland you can drink your chilled Chang beer in airconditioned environment while sitting on a chair instead of in the hot humidity on the dirty stairs where the beer degrades quickly.

[Michaelaway]

Whoa, now.

Eeeeeeeeasy there, Bud- Good imput... but isn't this a fairly pleasant, benign subject? Sabai sabai, krap!

PS- Hava nice day...

A little bit tongue in cheek which I had hoped the emoticon would infer.

No I don't go to the supermarket armed with my AK47, personally I prefer the AK74 a much more efficient killing machine.

Honely joking Jose.

But I still hate <deleted>' shopping.

Atta boy: tongue in cheek. Yeah... that's the ticket!

PS- 'Round here it's better to be a drilling machine than a killing machine, n'est pas? Make love, not war! And lose the weaponry, dude... (AK's? We don't need no stinkin' AK's!!)

"Shopping can be fun for all ages... and is!"

-a famous blonde celebrity

[syd barrett]

So maybe the most important reason for you will be that at foodland you can drink your chilled Chang beer in airconditioned environment while sitting on a chair instead of in the hot humidity on the dirty stairs where the beer degrades quickly.

The seated drinking area at Friendship Supermarket is shaded, there is no need to sit on the (dirty?) steps, (that stepped area is reserved for lottery ticket vendors).

Sitting in the shade on a hot sunny day is preferable to being stuck indoors with A.C. and the camaraderie amongst fellow farang at Friendship is priceless.

More reasons required....!

[Phil Conners]

Friendship doesn't have a bakery, they bake baguettes (that although pricey are delicious) but that's all. All the rest of the bread they have delivered from external providers.

Other than that I think they're both good, but for those of us from the darkside Foodland is much more conveniently located.

[syd barrett]

Friendship doesn't have a bakery, they bake baguettes

Surely they bake other stuff like crusty cobs, muffins and stuff?

Puzzled about that news though.

[tropo]

Foodland Supermarket, a lot of farang love this place but I can't see the attraction. Can anyone give me one good reason why this place is better than 'Friendship'?

Cleaner,fresher food,better organised,free parking,closer to sukhumvith,own bakery,good promotions,restaurant attached............................

Let me know if you need some more reasons.

Cleaner? I disagree, the cleanliness of Friendship is outstanding.

Fresher? Fruit & vegetables in Friendship are equally fresh.

Better organised? I disagree, as I said the checkout process is faster at Friendship than any other supermarket in Pattaya.

Free Parking: Same at Friendship with stamped receipt. (Although more parking space at Foodland).

Own bakery: Friendship bakery is probably the best in Pattaya.

Promotions are also available at Friendship, some are very good.

I don't judge a supermarket by attached restaurant/cafes.

So, you make one valid point: More parking space at Foodland.

I need more reasons....................!

Foodland vs Friendship

Foodland - Cleaner and brighter

Foodland - Far better organised. Friendship looks and feels like an Asian supermarket. That may have been ok when they first opened because they didn't have much competition but as a Western style supermarket they've been left far behind. It needs a total makeover.

Foodland - Much better fruit and veges section. Superior selection, packaging and layout by far

Foodland - Fastest checkout in Pattaya with experienced, intelligent and curteous staff. No other supermarket comes close in this area

Foodland - Meat section is far superior.

Foodland - Frozen food area is tidy and it's easy to find what you want. Friendship's frozen food section is a disaster.

Friendships bakery section is a disaster too. I wouldn't buy anything there because it's open and exposed. The only bakery products people can touch in Foodland is packaged. All the exposed products are behind the counter where only the service staff can touch them.

These are only a few reasons why Foodland is superior to Friendship.

[Michaelaway]

Foodland Supermarket, a lot of farang love this place but I can't see the attraction. Can anyone give me one good reason why this place is better than 'Friendship'?

Cleaner,fresher food,better organised,free parking,closer to sukhumvith,own bakery,good promotions,restaurant attached............................

Let me know if you need some more reasons.

Cleaner? I disagree, the cleanliness of Friendship is outstanding.

Fresher? Fruit & vegetables in Friendship are equally fresh.

Better organised? I disagree, as I said the checkout process is faster at Friendship than any other supermarket in Pattaya.

Free Parking: Same at Friendship with stamped receipt. (Although more parking space at Foodland).

Own bakery: Friendship bakery is probably the best in Pattaya.

Promotions are also available at Friendship, some are very good.

I don't judge a supermarket by attached restaurant/cafes.

So, you make one valid point: More parking space at Foodland.

I need more reasons....................!

Foodland vs Friendship

Foodland - Cleaner and brighter

Foodland - Far better organised. Friendship looks and feels like an Asian supermarket. That may have been ok when they first opened because they didn't have much competition but as a Western style supermarket they've been left far behind. It needs a total makeover.

Foodland - Much better fruit and veges section. Superior selection, packaging and layout by far

Foodland - Fastest checkout in Pattaya with experienced, intelligent and curteous staff. No other supermarket comes close in this area

Foodland - Meat section is far superior.

Foodland - Frozen food area is tidy and it's easy to find what you want. Friendship's frozen food section is a disaster.

Friendships bakery section is a disaster too. I wouldn't buy anything there because it's open and exposed. The only bakery products people can touch in Foodland is packaged. All the exposed products are behind the counter where only the service staff can touch them.

These are only a few reasons why Foodland is superior to Friendship.

The above, ahhh, seem to be some cogent reasons there, Syd; enough to entice (me, anyway) to have a good look at Foodmart... and what about those freebies!

[Jingthing]

Friendship has SOUL!

[Michaelaway]

Friendship has SOUL!

Been wondering if/when you'd weigh in with a comment... care to explain? 'Smatter, anyway? The rest ain't got no soul?

[syd barrett]

The above, ahhh, seem to be some cogent reasons there, Syd; enough to entice (me, anyway) to have a good look at Foodmart... and what about those freebies!

Where is Foodmart?

[Jingthing]

Friendship has SOUL!

Been wondering if/when you'd weigh in with a comment... care to explain? 'Smatter, anyway? The rest ain't got no soul?

It's self explanatory. Yes there are funky things about Friendship and people who like everything sterile and corporate might not appreciate it, but the place has CHARACTER. Either you feel it or you don't.

[syd barrett]

Friendship has SOUL!

Been wondering if/when you'd weigh in with a comment... care to explain? 'Smatter, anyway? The rest ain't got no soul?

It's self explanatory. Yes there are funky things about Friendship and people who like everything sterile and corporate might not appreciate it, but the place has CHARACTER. Either you feel it or you don't.

Exactly! Friendship Supermarket has real 'character'.

How I laughed when somebody suggested that Friendship Supermarket was 'too Asian'.

That's like complaining about Thailand's weather being 'too tropical'.

[tropo]

Exactly! Friendship Supermarket has real 'character'.

How I laughed when somebody suggested that Friendship Supermarket was 'too Asian'.

That's like complaining about Thailand's weather being 'too tropical'.

I believe the comment (I made) was "Friendship looks and feels like an Asian supermarket".

In this thead we're mainly discussing Western style, modern supermarkets.

Most people would understand what I mean by "Asian supermarket" as compared to a modern Western type supermarket, but you're obsessed with Friendship and believe that a good supermarket should have an outdoor beer drinking area where you can relax and gossip with friends in the tropical heat while drinking your beer at supermarket prices.

Sure, there are people who prefer messy, unorganised supermarkets that haven't quite made the transition into the modern era, but others prefer clean places with a more modern feel.

Each to their own. I live close to Friendship and only go there once every few months. I prefer to travel 5km further to shop at Foodland and sometimes Carrefour. Perhaps if I needed to drink beer immediately after I shopped I would prefer Friendship too, but then I'd be in the company of you and Jing.

[R123]

My favourite supermarket in Pattaya = Villa.

Why? :

The place has lots of goods for the foreign taste.

[PhilHarries]

How I laughed when somebody suggested that Friendship Supermarket was 'too Asian'.

That's like complaining about Thailand's weather being 'too tropical'.

Well I have heard tourists complaining about the heat.

eerrrrrr 'scuse me but I think it might have something to do with the proximity of the equator.

Anyway Thailand will be a far better country when they get rid of all those scruffy Asian markets, shops and restaurants. What is needed is more western style supermarkets and western shops in air conditioned shopping malls complete with MacD's, KFC, Starbucks et al. They also should get rid of the currency and use the Euro or Dollar and save folks worrying about the exchange rate.

NOT

I never used Friendship but only because Foodland was more convenient from soi Khaw Noi. I don't care much for Tesco-Lotus as it's just too dam_n big and not very conveniently located (either of them) for me.

There are very few supermarkets here in VN. The Vietnamese prefer to do their shopping daily from the markets. I have a large fridge/freezer but my partner insists on going to the market daily, sometimes twice a day. I guess things will change and the Tescos and Carrefours will soon be springing up around every town. But I'll probably be pushing up the daisies before that happens.

[Mobi]

Nobody has mentioned all the great goodies to be found on the second floor of Friendship - a veritable treasure trove of stationery, hardware, cookware and goodness knows what else.

And then there's the basement.......

[basjke]

Nobody has mentioned all the great goodies to be found on the second floor of Friendship - a veritable treasure trove of stationery, hardware, cookware and goodness knows what else.

And then there's the basement.......

And you care to tell us what can be found in the basement?By the way tell us at the same time where to find the entrance

[Jingthing]

Perhaps if I needed to drink beer immediately after I shopped I would prefer Friendship too, but then I'd be in the company of you and Jing.

I don't drink beer outside like that anywhere, but if I did, the feeling is mutual, dude.

Edited May 3, 2010 by Jingthing

[JimmyTheMook]

I live in Foodland.

Mainly at the lunch counter.

[basjke]

I live in Foodland.

Mainly at the lunch counter.

Oh that's you.I always wondered what would be your name.

[tropo]

Perhaps if I needed to drink beer immediately after I shopped I would prefer Friendship too, but then I'd be in the company of you and Jing.

I don't drink beer outside like that anywhere, but if I did, the feeling is mutual, dude.

I'm certainly glad to hear that....dude.

[lemel]

foodland, for meats and imported goods

carre 4, fresh bread, hamburgers and sausages

naklua market, fish/prawn/squid

local markets, veg and fruit

big C, makro and tesco only for ease when in a rush

[sattahip]

Someone denies Friendship is "too Asian". Well it passes one of my main tests-no fire exits. Notice 2 out of the 3 doors all of which were almost certainly needed for building safety approval are blocked/locked. Ho Hum you say but I remember the Jomtien fire where 60 odd people were turned in margarine against locked fire exits.

[Michaelaway]

Nobody has mentioned all the great goodies to be found on the second floor of Friendship - a veritable treasure trove of stationery, hardware, cookware and goodness knows what else.

And then there's the basement.......

THE BASEMENT...?!!?

Ok... if you're gonna start talking about the (bleedin') basement at Friendship (again), then at least be dude enough to give us a decent explanation of this heretofore mysterious (possibly fictitious!?) subterranean hotspot! Including where the heck the door is...!

[Mobi]

Nobody has mentioned all the great goodies to be found on the second floor of Friendship - a veritable treasure trove of stationery, hardware, cookware and goodness knows what else.

And then there's the basement.......

And you care to tell us what can be found in the basement?By the way tell us at the same time where to find the entrance

I must admit that it is a little obscure.

look carefully and you will see the basement steps just next to the entrance that leads out to Mornington Crescent.

Once found, never to be forgotten.

[Jingthing]

Mornington Crescent? Is that the secret password?

[Rimmer]

Mornington Crescent? Is that the secret password?

Now you've gone and given the game away