Sunrise Tacos Coming To Jomtien!

[Jingthing]

After talking with the owner and experiencing the place, I am confident it will be a success in Jomtien.

So am I. Congratulations again to the owner for getting this great adventure of his started.

[janverbeem]

frankly JT, i think you are doing yourself more harm than good here

i have been to this restaurant, i made my thoughts very clear to Gil face to face

having done that, i said i would not post them here, good or bad

i will be keeping my promise to him but JT you have not been there and seem to be critical of every poster that has been there and found it lacking

for the second time, i suggest you get in there and see for yourself because until then your thoughts on the experiences of others are really just speculative and without merit

personally i still fail to see how one can make such exhaustive positive posts on somewhere you have never been ........

Strange that after almost 24 hours , and several posts made in this thread since ,JT hasn't answered your question.Commercial interests spring to mind.

[Jingthing]

frankly JT, i think you are doing yourself more harm than good here

i have been to this restaurant, i made my thoughts very clear to Gil face to face

having done that, i said i would not post them here, good or bad

i will be keeping my promise to him but JT you have not been there and seem to be critical of every poster that has been there and found it lacking

for the second time, i suggest you get in there and see for yourself because until then your thoughts on the experiences of others are really just speculative and without merit

personally i still fail to see how one can make such exhaustive positive posts on somewhere you have never been ........

Strange that after almost 24 hours , and several posts made in this thread since ,JT hasn't answered your question.Commercial interests spring to mind.

Even stranger, he didn't ask me any question!!!!!

If you seriously think I have a commercial interest in this place, you aren't paying attention or bothering to even read my posts. For example the one about the service charge and how I feel it makes people feel confused about whether they are still expected to tip or not. Normally I would just report an obnoxious post like yours as an off topic baiting, but sadly you aren't the first person to suggest this silly idea.

So here goes: NO! Not connected to this restaurant or ANY restaurant. BTW, if they WERE paying me to post about them, they would be justified to cancel the check. Mr. Puff Piece, that ain't me. Satisfied? If not, please keep it to yourself from now on, OK? Or if you can't, PM me about it, because this kind of off topic noise does not belong here.

Edited December 6, 2011 by Jingthing

[janverbeem]

frankly JT, i think you are doing yourself more harm than good here

i have been to this restaurant, i made my thoughts very clear to Gil face to face

having done that, i said i would not post them here, good or bad

i will be keeping my promise to him but JT you have not been there and seem to be critical of every poster that has been there and found it lacking

for the second time, i suggest you get in there and see for yourself because until then your thoughts on the experiences of others are really just speculative and without merit

personally i still fail to see how one can make such exhaustive positive posts on somewhere you have never been ........

Strange that after almost 24 hours , and several posts made in this thread since ,JT hasn't answered your question.Commercial interests spring to mind.

Even stranger, he didn't ask me any question!!!!!

If you seriously think I have a commercial interest in this place, you aren't paying attention or bothering to even read my posts. For example the one about the service charge and how it makes people feel confused about whether they are still expected to tip or not. Normally I would just report an obnoxious post like yours, but you aren't the first person to suggest this silly idea. So here goes: NO! Not connected to that restaurant or ANY restaurant. Satisfied? If not, please keep it to yourself from now on, OK?

Oh.I hurt your feelings and normally you go cry with the mods in that case?Not able to defend yourself when things get though.?

By the way,the thing about people feeling confused about tipping when service charge is applied doesn't need explanation as it has been done over times and times again.A tip is given for service received,so if it is seperately charged on the bill already then everything is cleared for the customer.

By the way,where I come from they pay there employees a monthly salary plus fees and don't expect the customers to take care of it.

[Jingthing]

Oh.I hurt your feelings and normally you go cry with the mods in that case?Not able to defend yourself when things get though.?

No you didn't hurt my feelings. You ANNOYED me. Big difference. So it's settled now. You realize I don't work for the Mexican joint. Move on!

As far as tipping, we all come from different countries with different tipping cultures. I know for a fact many Americans are going to feel uncomfortable not tipping at a plus plus place because they are not used to the idea that a service charge covers the tip. Tipping is definitely greatly influenced by culture. We are mostly foreigners in Thailand here. So we have a mix of the tipping culture we come from with the tipping culture here, which of course has been rather greatly corrupted and changed in a venial tourist resort city like Pattaya.

Edited December 6, 2011 by Jingthing

[janverbeem]

Oh.I hurt your feelings and normally you go cry with the mods in that case?Not able to defend yourself when things get though.?

No you didn't hurt my feelings. You ANNOYED me. Big difference. So it's settled now. You realize I don't work for the Mexican joint. Move on!

As far as tipping, we all come from different countries with different tipping cultures. I know for a fact many Americans are going to feel uncomfortable not tipping at a plus plus place because they are not used to the idea that a service charge covers the tip. Tipping is definitely greatly influenced by culture. We are mostly foreigners in Thailand here. So we have a mix of the tipping culture we come from with the tipping culture here, which of course has been rather greatly corrupted and changed in a venial tourist resort city like Pattaya.

OK I get your point,it's only a case of

[Jingthing]

I am glad to allow you the last word on that. Shall we move on?

[SurfRider]

.

"You are not required to buy sour cream extra or guacomole (a lot extra)"

For whatever it's worth, the sour cream, guacamole, and salsa came with the deal for FREE! I asked for the corn tortillas, but no - only soft flour. Since the menu states that, I doubt it had anything to do with a broken machine. Ditto, the complimentary chips - answer, NO!

Yes, any cheap charlie could order water and get away for the minimum - should be obvious without you having to flog it.

Is there any end of the earth that you won't go to defend a place that you haven't even tried? . . .

.

Edited December 6, 2011 by SurfRider

[Jingthing]

...

that you haven't even tried? . . .

.

Edited December 6, 2011 by Jingthing

[toenail]

I am sure the Russian population in Jomtien will find Tex-Mex/ (taccos, burritos..) a bit strange. I hope they do not sniff their noses around the salsa bar trying to figure out what the cut tomatoes are...I see them open containers in grocery stores sniffing the cream cheese, dip, even face creams trying to figure out what the items are.

[Ulysses G.]

Strange that after almost 24 hours , and several posts made in this thread since ,JT hasn't answered your question.Commercial interests spring to mind.

Jingthing must own an awful lot of restaurants if every good review suggests your theory.

[Jingthing]

I am sure the Russian population in Jomtien will find Tex-Mex/ (taccos, burritos..) a bit strange. I hope they do not sniff their noses around the salsa bar trying to figure out what the cut tomatoes are...I see them open containers in grocery stores sniffing the cream cheese, dip, even face creams trying to figure out what the items are.

Interesting. Well, in the US they have sneeze guards at salad bars. Perhaps a skies-guard for the Russkies?

The more I think about it, my jokey idea about a borscht-like birria soup is sounding better.

How about tortillas with caviar?

Chicken burrito Kiev?

Pelmeni drowned in ranchero sauce?

Beef nachos Stroganoff?

Oh, BTW, in case my last post was too cryptic.

I've been there, I've been there, I've been there.

It was a ADJECTIVE experience. The food was the WORD GOES HERE Mexican food I've ever had. I will A DIFFERENT WORD GOES HERE be a frequent customer there.

As promised before, there will be NO review from me on this restaurant. Case closed.

So, let's all go there and spend oodles of money and decide our opinions for ourselves, shall we? You know you want to.

Edited December 6, 2011 by Jingthing

[janverbeem]

I am glad to allow you the last word on that. Shall we move on?

Ok,then please also stop the silly PM's.Anything concerning this topic can be discussed on the open forum,no need to enforce your opinions through private messages.

[Jingthing]

Post withdrawn. Decided the message was better communicated by PM. :jap:

Edited December 6, 2011 by Jingthing

[janverbeem]

Post withdrawn. Decided the message was better communicated by PM. :jap:

Am I glad that you don't have my phone number.I thought the PM system was meant to discuss things,not to terrorise other members with pushing ones will down their throath.

[Jingthing]

Post withdrawn. Decided the message was better communicated by PM. :jap:

Am I glad that you don't have my phone number.I thought the PM system was meant to discuss things,not to terrorise other members with pushing ones will down their throath.

That is a blatant lie and you know it. If you actually believe that, please REPORT the PMs to a mod. There is a report button in the PM system. I am confident your charges are totally fabricated and if you don't report the PMs I am happy to supply all the text to a mod as well if requested. Stop harassing me here. It's tedious both to me and I'm sure the members. Goodbye.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Jingthing

[Awohalitsiktoli]

I am sure the Russian population in Jomtien will find Tex-Mex/ (taccos, burritos..) a bit strange. I hope they do not sniff their noses around the salsa bar trying to figure out what the cut tomatoes are...I see them open containers in grocery stores sniffing the cream cheese, dip, even face creams trying to figure out what the items are.

As stated in a previous post, I did eat at the place. But having spent a lot of time in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, I must emphasize that there is no "Tex-Mex" on the menu. It is not Tex-Mex (which is much heavier and richer); it is some sort of variant of California-Mex (which focuses a lot on visual presentation) . I could complain that the place does not serve Tex-Mex like I like (or even northern Mexico food like I like), but that would be like expecting a restaurant that specializes in northern Italian food to make southern Italian food and complaining that there is no southern Italian food on the menu. Sunrise is not trying to make Tex-Mex. Why? Probably they know something about the local market that I do not know. Russians and Thais might walk away from real Tex-Mex. Having said that, I do wish they would offer: 1) free chips at the table for each guest (no, not a huge bowl, but a few chips to go with the salsa bar), 2) inform the waitresses to let the customers know that there is a salsa bar and that they can help themselves to it, (or that the waitress will bring them a sample plate), 3) offer soft corn tortilla substitutes for items like enchiladas (I have never seen an enchilada made with a soft flour tortilla anywhere), 4) offer a lunch special 99 baht burrito (cheese, beans and small amount of meat) for cheap Awohalitsiktoli's ST is what it is. And to make a profit they have to do what they do. If I owned the place I would turn the entire menu into Tex-Mex, but I might go out of business after doing that.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Awohalitsiktoli

[Jingthing]

I know Cal-Mex much better than Tex-Mex and I agree there is a strong Cal-Mex influence (works for me!). However, I had thought the crispy tacos was rather Tex-Mex? No? Definitely not Cal-Mex.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Jingthing

[timekeeper]

I am sure the Russian population in Jomtien will find Tex-Mex/ (taccos, burritos..) a bit strange. I hope they do not sniff their noses around the salsa bar trying to figure out what the cut tomatoes are...I see them open containers in grocery stores sniffing the cream cheese, dip, even face creams trying to figure out what the items are.

Interesting. Well, in the US they have sneeze guards at salad bars. Perhaps a skies-guard for the Russkies?

The more I think about it, my jokey idea about a borscht-like birria soup is sounding better.

How about tortillas with caviar?

Chicken burrito Kiev?

Pelmeni drowned in ranchero sauce?

Beef nachos Stroganoff?

Oh, BTW, in case my last post was too cryptic.

I've been there, I've been there, I've been there.

It was a ADJECTIVE experience. The food was the WORD GOES HERE Mexican food I've ever had. I will A DIFFERENT WORD GOES HERE be a frequent customer there.

As promised before, there will be NO review from me on this restaurant. Case closed.

So, let's all go there and spend oodles of money and decide our opinions for ourselves, shall we? You know you want to.

so you have been there after all

were you the big fella in the back directing traffic in the kitchen?

[Ulysses G.]

Sunrise is not trying to make Tex-Mex. Why? Probably they know something about the local market that I do not know.

Actually, from what I've heard, it is because the original owner of Sunshine Tacos in Bangkok learned to make Mexican food from a guy in Chiang Mai who owned a few non-Mexican restaurants in California that had some Mexican dishes on the menu.

[vpi78]

I am sure the Russian population in Jomtien will find Tex-Mex/ (taccos, burritos..) a bit strange. I hope they do not sniff their noses around the salsa bar trying to figure out what the cut tomatoes are...I see them open containers in grocery stores sniffing the cream cheese, dip, even face creams trying to figure out what the items are.

As stated in a previous post, I did eat at the place. But having spent a lot of time in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, I must emphasize that there is no "Tex-Mex" on the menu. It is not Tex-Mex (which is much heavier and richer); it is some sort of variant of California-Mex (which focuses a lot on visual presentation) . I could complain that the place does not serve Tex-Mex like I like (or even northern Mexico food like I like), but that would be like expecting a restaurant that specializes in northern Italian food to make southern Italian food and complaining that there is no southern Italian food on the menu. Sunrise is not trying to make Tex-Mex. Why? Probably they know something about the local market that I do not know. Russians and Thais might walk away from real Tex-Mex. Having said that, I do wish they would offer: 1) free chips at the table for each guest (no, not a huge bowl, but a few chips to go with the salsa bar), 2) inform the waitresses to let the customers know that there is a salsa bar and that they can help themselves to it, (or that the waitress will bring them a sample plate), 3) offer soft corn tortilla substitutes for items like enchiladas (I have never seen an enchilada made with a soft flour tortilla anywhere), 4) offer a lunch special 99 baht burrito (cheese, beans and small amount of meat) for cheap Awohalitsiktoli's ST is what it is. And to make a profit they have to do what they do. If I owned the place I would turn the entire menu into Tex-Mex, but I might go out of business after doing that.

Good post.

TexMex like a good Pappasitos would be awesome. Even Taco Bell would be welcome.

Perhaps Yum Brands will one day re-enter the Thai market and put TBs next to KFCs like they do in most places in the States.

[gerry53]

I did the Taco Tuesday and found the operation had improved from my first visit. The all you can eat tacos were a great way to try the various types like fish, beef, chicken and pork, I got some with hard shells to sample those also. The salsa bar was a nice addition and the waitress's were helpful with one with great english assisting others who were having any difficulty getting the orders correct.

Someone wrote the tacos only came one at a time, my experience was the first order came with 3 and each one after that came individually. This 220 baht meal also came with your choice of apple or pumpkin pie, the apple pie was very good.

I for the life of me can't understand how any self proclaimed culinary expert (who rates everything else) will not rate this restaurant after the volume of posts he has generated on this particular restaurant plus being the OP .

Edited December 7, 2011 by gerry53

[Awohalitsiktoli]

I know Cal-Mex much better than Tex-Mex and I agree there is a strong Cal-Mex influence (works for me!). However, I had thought the crispy tacos was rather Tex-Mex? No? Definitely not Cal-Mex.

Not sure if we want or need to go down this road, but I would say that the "crispy taco shell" could be considered a Tex-Mex variation, but a bad one. What is most important is how the taco shell is cooked and what goes inside it. The really good Tex-Mex restaurants (and this is obviously a generalization based on my opinion) tend to not serve the hard, crispy taco. Rather, they serve a variety that is not too soft or hard..........sort of in between and a little chewy. This cooking method makes it more difficult for the taco to break apart when you eat it (this is precisely what Tacos and Salsa does in Bangkok, but the owner is from Mexico). The ingredients are usually tender and cooked a long time (beef, chicken, pork and many other things cooked similar to "pulled pork" so that it falls apart and/or can be chopped up properly). They are fragrant (not necessarily hot) and delicious, IMHO. And, the really good cooks use two corn tortillas, not just one. There is a big difference between the Taco Bell variety and the real deal. I think the version you are thinking about is not the "real deal Tex-Mex" that I am thinking about. But you certainly can find it in the Southwestern states. One poster just wrote about pie at the ST, and I wish I had known that

[WyattEarp]

As much taco you can eat and two margaritas for 500 baht sounds like a good deal to me. But please drop the ++ stuff, just put the price down as it is. I never go to any restaurant with ++ prices. Just a rule I have.

[Jingthing]

I for the life of me can't understand how any self proclaimed culinary expert (who rates everything else) will not rate this restaurant after the volume of posts he has generated on this particular restaurant plus being the OP .

For me personally, in this special case, I feel there is an ethical conflict in the sense that because I have been literally begging openly here for a Sunrise or similar from Bangkok or Chiang Mai to open locally for years, it seems wrong for me to post a negative review of the place IF I did feel that way, as just by opening they have realized a wish that is important to me. So if I am unwilling to be so ungrateful as to consider posting a negative review (IF I felt that way) it seems unfair to post a positive one either. If you're going to review restaurants fairly, you have to have the potential of positive or negative ones. If you think my logic is crazy, I don't care. It's my choice and I'm under no obligation to "review" anything. It ain't my job, just something I like to do, and in this case, I don't want to do it, so I won't.

Also, given that taste in Mexican food tastes appear to be even more subjective than tastes in pizzas (if that's even possible) get real here -- most all people who like Mexican food in town are going to try this place themselves and form their own impressions. As well they should. Exceptions may be people who are down to their last baht or have tried Sunrise in Bangkok and don't like it.

If some think I am being paid to be a shill for Sunrise, I can't stop what you think. I wish it were true as you may have noticed, I ain't the wealthiest expat. I'd be a funny kind of shill, unwilling to post a glowing review, or any review, but whatever ...

Edited December 7, 2011 by Jingthing

[PackMan81]

Well, at least now I can get some OK Mexican food on Jomtien Beach in addition to awesome pizzas and deli sandwiches at Deli-zza!

[Jingthing]

Well, at least now I can get some OK Mexican food on Jomtien Beach in addition to awesome pizzas and deli sandwiches at Deli-zza!

Yeah, it's cool that many Pattaya people will be forced to come to Jomtien to get food they can't get there, instead of the same old vice versa.

[SurfRider]

.

"But please drop the ++ stuff, just put the price down as it is. I never go to any restaurant with ++ prices"

"went to Shenanigans and had a great steak for B260 no ++"

"number of people who will boycott due to the ++, I fully support them"

The unfortunate thing about the addition of ++ in a country where it is clearly the exception as opposed to the rule-- is that it's hidden in the background where nobody would look for it. Essentially, it is using a mild form deceit to pad the check-bin. I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of diners in a restaurant of this type would not expect it-- but what recourse do they have when it surreptitiously shows up in the final tally?

.

[jehricaholic]

.

I tried the Tuesday & Friday all-you-can-eat feed. We arrived expecting a crowd - wrong! - only 3 customers.

Took 10 minutes to get a Margarita while the bartender stood around doing nothing - probably the order had to be placed into an automated system before he could swing into action. No complimentary chips and salsa, like most Mexican restaurants provide.

Tacos are all single item order, not three per order like their regular menu-- but they don't tell you that, nor do they mention the salsa-bar unless you ask. Tacos were all soft-flour, not the corn chip type.

Tacos were OK, but not extraordinary. Have had better in Southern California. Once you dress them up with guacamole, salsa, and sour cream, they're not bad. Took 20 minutes to get the first order. You can try up to 5 different types of Taco - The Baja-Fish was my favorite.

Since they compound the 10% + 7% additional charges, the total equals a 17.7% add-on, or almost 18%. If you think that 500 Baht (or US$16) is fair for an all-you-can-eat deal (including two Margaritas), then that's your place. Service was good, but would be nice if the wait-staff had something better to do than stand around staring at you as if they had never seen foreigners before . . .

.

sounds too expensive for me. good place for the wealthy elite.

villa and friendship sell frozen mexican food. fairly tasty. 120 for a bag of 4 burritos plus sour cream and salsa a good meal for under 200B. NO ++ GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some comments on the all you can eat taco deal.

The price is 220 baht.

You are not required to buy sour cream extra or guacomole (a lot extra).

You are not required to buy TWO margaritas (at a good deal of 99 baht coupled with the special day).

You could buy the all you can eat tacos plus water at 20 baht.

That's 240 baht plus 17 percent plus plus totaling under 280 baht.

280 baht is hardly an elite level cost for a meal.

About the buffet. I would have have thought the first choices SOFT TACOS would have the OPTION of corn tortillas because those are done with a choice of regular corn, crunchy corn, or flour tortillas on the regular menu. However, on the buffet, the type of tortilla is not mentioned for the first choice, soft tacos. PERHAPS you can ask for corn tortillas for the soft taco choices. Keep in mind the owner has posted here that the TACO MAKING MACHINE was broken. So the issue with lack of corn tortillas MAY have been related to that. I do think it would be unfortunate if you can't get some CORN tortillas with the taco all you can eat deal. I am guessing either this was a temporary issue, or they didn't tell you that you could CHOOSE corn tortillas for the soft tacos.

Here is the menu for all you can eat. Note that type of tortilla not mentioned under the first soft taco set of choices:

http://www.sunriseta...tuesdaymenu.pdf

Has he eaten there yet, or is he still a fountain of misinformation?

[Jingthing]

Well, regulars are sure going to notice the plus plus, sooner or later!

About the tortilla question in the buffet days for tacos, I remain totally unconvinced that you are stuck with only flour ones.

I would like to ask the owner to post here and state what the actual long term policy will be about that, rather than what might be a current opening crisis type of issue with the production of tortillas.

Refer to this menu --

http://www.sunrisetacos.com/tacotuesdaymenu.pdf

As you can see there are three taco "flavor" choices. The last two types, al pastor and fish, SPECIFICALLY call out FLOUR tortillas. The first set, soft tacos, does NOT specify type of tortilla. Given on the REGULAR MENU, for those same kinds of soft tacos there are THREE choices for tortilla type (flour, corn, and crunchy corn) I think it is fair to ASSUME the intention of the buffet is to offer those same choices for the SOFT TACOS set, first choice on the menu.

As far as the comped sour cream and guacamole mentioned here by a customer, that's a great perk for him but I would not expect that to be a regular free feature of the buffet in the long term, as it's not on the menu that way and avocados are very expensive. The "free" salsa bar though is always part of the deal of eating there.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Jingthing