Eateries In Shopping Malls

[Pseudolus]

I've never really noticed a plethora of Japanese people in Bangkok shopping malls. So why is it that 95% of all restaurants in shopping malls are Japanese? First time I went to Central rama 9 I felt a bit peckish and EVERY place was Japanese. It's almost as if the Thai business fraternity all think "Hmmm new mall. I know, I will open a Japanese restaurant there - got to be a winner" without realising that all the other people are thinking the same. I used to like Japanese food. Now I avoid them with a passion.

[kurnell]

I was just going to open this very topic. Seacon, Central World, The Nine are the same. Boring. I can only cope with so much sushi and jap curry.

[pipo1000]

Maybe because Japanese food is accepted to be sold at inflated prices.

[webworldly]

To the extent that Pseudolus' observation is statistically accurate (I'm not doubting it!).....perhaps it's less "food demand" driven and more "restaurant lease space demand" driven. If the shopping mall's developer has a marketing approach that, for whatever reason (marketing related, sociological, economy related, currency exchange rate, etc.) is bringing in restaurant space demand from Japan.....that'd be a part of the reason. In that scenario, the landlord likely has tied down the restaurant operator with personal guarantees, deposits, etc....so that even if "all those Japanese restaurants can't survive and a bunch of 'em go out of business"......well, the landlord doesn't necessarily feel as much pain, and in the meantime the developer can promote his high "occupancy rate" whenever he seeks additional bank financing.

Then again.....it could just be a poorly thought out bet by shopping mall developers that soba noodles are the next "french fries". :-)

CHEERS!

D

[thrilled]

As long as I can find some western food at the Malls then i'm ok.

[manarak]

Thais regard Japanese restaurants as being of refined taste if not hi-so.

Many Japanese-style places are packed with Thai customers on weekends.

I can't complain about restaurants in malls, my main problem is always to choose what I would like to eat, most things look (and are) very yummy.

[DP25]

There are a lot of them because Japanese food is foreign enough that it can be sold at high prices, yet close enough to Thai that you will have lots of customers packing in to eat it. There isn't enough demand for similarly western food places in most Thai malls and people won't pay high prices for Thai food when it is so cheap in the food court, so Japanese must seem like the most profitable option

[tutsiwarrior]

As long as I can find some western food at the Malls then i'm ok.

yeah, me too but burgers and tacos are too much to ask for...every time I see that pseudo 'japanese food' on offer I just say: 'gimme a break' but the thais they ain't too picky...they wouldn't know a nice yosenabe if it was poured on their heids...

and in the local shopping malls when de young girls slink by in dey short skirts and dey tight jeans I keep my eyes on me bowl of kweiteo and me pitcher of Chang draft for fear of being denounced as a middle aged falang pervert...a desire for burgers and tacos has no meaning for them...they, who would demand authentic thai food in overseas shopping malls everywhere...

Edited March 25, 2012 by tutsiwarrior

[koknia]

More or less the same as Thai food in the USA.

[jinjinswing]

Seems not just jap food is popular it's the shopping centre cafe status is now a fully fledged restaurant, where I come from these places are fast food chains and I have a problem going to them more than once in a while, I've explained to the gf the concept here of these places are regarded as cafes/fast food type places feeding the masses in AU, she loves Japanese food I just grin and bare it every now and then.

[TheWalkingMan]

I have eaten at the CoCo Curry place once in Tokyo. Ugh... FYI - In Japan, I believe that the curry is pre-made at the factory and then delivered to the shops in plastic bags which are then dumped into large pots for re-heating. I would not be surprised if the same procedure is used in Thailand.

[lomatopo]

I looked at the Central Rama 9 website and "dining" category where it looks like ~ 20 % of the listings are Japanese or partially Japanese. That of course doesn't cover the ~ 100 or so stalls in the two Food Courts, so figure based on covers the percentage probably drops closer to 5%?

I guess Japanese food is popular here for any number of cultural reasons: size of the country, influence in the region, familiarity and different at the same time, rice-based.

The food choices at Central Rama 9 are indeed impressive, seems quite easy to find non-Japanese fare.

It's a bit like asking why most of the movies here are 'foreign'?

[Pseudolus]

I looked at the Central Rama 9 website and "dining" category where it looks like ~ 20 % of the listings are Japanese or partially Japanese. That of course doesn't cover the ~ 100 or so stalls in the two Food Courts, so figure based on covers the percentage probably drops closer to 5%?

I guess Japanese food is popular here for any number of cultural reasons: size of the country, influence in the region, familiarity and different at the same time, rice-based.

The food choices at Central Rama 9 are indeed impressive, seems quite easy to find non-Japanese fare.

It's a bit like asking why most of the movies here are 'foreign'?

I was there about 2 days after it opened and the only places open were Japanese. Even looking at the list, it is still closer to 80% when you chuck into the mix Korean as well.

[ultramarine]

No complaints from me. I love Japanese food. Fuji is ubiquitous and I enjoyed the one immensely at Central Plaza Lard Phrao. Good value, too although they can be kind of big and noisy. I also tried Ootaya at Chamchuri Square. Not great, but they specialize on salty fish rather than sushi. Also a little more expensive. When I get back to Thailand in the fall, I will happily check out my neighbourhood Fuji.

Truth be told the stuff isn't that much cheaper than in the West. We have tons of sushi places in Canada now. Most pretty reasonable. Full sushi dinner platter for $10-12 for dinner. Maybe you get a bit more in Thailand and don't have to tip, but the difference isn't that great.

I think I like J-food more than Thai food now. I find the reliance of spice a bit much. I must be getting old.

I agree that J-food has a certain cultural currency attached to it. Maybe like French food in the West.

[farang000999]

What else do you expect?

Thais have absolutely no interest in Myanmar or Cambodian food. Vietnamese people have white skin so they allow a couple of those restaurants to float around. Muslims and Indians smell bad and their food is loso.

So that leaves:

Crappy terrible unediable Western fast food

Thai Food

Japanese Food

Korean Food is quite complicated and really does not fit well into the restaurant format in Thailand because it is too expensive and time consuming to make it taste good. whereas what they call japanese food is easy to prepare and tastes good. it is simple but still tastes good imo.

you guys really dont like Fuji?

Edited April 20, 2012 by farang000999

[farang000999]

for Fuji try this

Salmon Menti

Yaki Gyoza

Alaska Salmon Roll

Karage Squid

You will leave happy imho.

[jinjinswing]

Footnote....was taken to a pasta restaurant at MBK...turns out to be a Japanese spaghetti restaurant, i could not contain myself, was no more Japanese than than i am Thai, my Japanese spaghetti was very Italian to me im still laughing about how my Thai partner was worried that i might not like this Japanese place.

[farang000999]

well i am sure the prices were Japanese.

[jinjinswing]

We went again last night mainly cause its the closest i can get to Italian in BKK without paying silly money, dinner for 2 with entree each, ice tea for the princess and a singa for me under 500B......this time i ordered something diferant...found it sweet which put me off..still not complaining.

[farang000999]

dam_n that is expensive pasta. personally we just make our own pasta. it is very cheap and rather easy.

[tartempion]

Yep, went at Fuji's in renewed Udon Thani Centara shopping mall.

Too many Japanese eateries on the 4th floor.

Bill for two was 1150, not worth it. Tried two others in April after re-opening, won't be back.

We do visit Shabushi at UD town once a month though and like it enough to come back.

[Ulysses G.]

No complaints from me. I love Japanese food.

Me too and the local Japanese chains serve pretty much the same thing that I ate in Japan - I have to add that I only ate in cheap restaurants there however.

Edited June 8, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[TheWalkingMan]

No complaints from me. I love Japanese food.

Me too and the local Japanese chains serve pretty much the same thing that I ate in Japan - I have to add that I only ate in cheap restaurants there however.

Were you a fan of Matsuya or Wako (tonkatsu)? I think those are the best fast food-ish restaurants in Japan.

[samran]

I'll take Thai mall food over what you'd find in a Western Mall any day, save for the odd tex-mex. But that is another story.

[pauljones]

A scam. Come on, I mean warm wine and raw fish?

At the prices they charge one would think they would take the time to cook it.

[lomatopo]

Footnote....was taken to a pasta restaurant at MBK...turns out to be a Japanese spaghetti restaurant, i could not contain myself, was no more Japanese than than i am Thai, my Japanese spaghetti was very Italian to me im still laughing about how my Thai partner was worried that i might not like this Japanese place.

I noticed a "Spaghetti Factory" restaurant in Central Rama 9; the menu looked quite good and reasonable, it was busy. Apparently there are other outlets including at Central World. It seems to get good reviews. The food choices at Central Rama 9 are indeed impressive - note that there are two separate food courts. Inside the Tops area (basement) there is a pretty good shwarma stall, not up to Avengers quality, of course.