I have eaten in all of the 76 restaurants there and I have had a stomach upset from I guess 22 of them.

I hope that helps.

PS: No surprise to read that most people on here eat in the food court.

You've got a problem with your digestive system. Have you been checked out for worms? Tapeworms can cause an irritable bowel and considering you like to experiment, it's highly probable you've picked up a parasite or two.

Edited October 29, 201312 yr by tropo

Carls Jr (great burgers), food court, Sizzler, Italian next to Carls Jr. No problems and I am in my 80's.

Carls Jr is beautiful new restaurant on beach end of the 3rd floor. Definitely NOT KFC.

They must have moved. I can't say I was impressed with their burgers.

Edited October 29, 201312 yr by tropo

I never saw a "restaurant" at the basement of festival centre, only fast food sellers ....

for me it´s kind of freaking horror show and to see, how people without (obviously)no kind of decent education/upbringing are actually living ...

in my family, we were taught skills of dining.

It seems, mostly people who never learned those skills prefer to eat at these feeding places...

sorry

the restaurants at the 4/ 5th (?) floor offer some more enjoyably atmosphere ... (ZEN ...)

Zen and Fuji chains don't serve actual Japanese food that would please most Japanese people. Thai taste style "Japanese" is what they do, yes?

Edited October 29, 201312 yr by Jingthing

The food at Zen, Fuji and Sukishi is very good, but expensive

As another poster said: the food bears little resemblance to real Japanese food.

What I can't understand is why people wouldn't eat at an air conditioned Mall in Thailand

Probably the same reason I do not eat at McDonalds et al. I hate the ambiance and life is too short to eat mediocre food in crappy surroundings. But each to their own.

Zen and Fuji chains don't serve actual Japanese food that would please most Japanese people. Thai taste style "Japanese" is what they do, yes?

Ah, the Capo of the "Real and Authentic" mafia strikes again!

No one has said that the food in Zen (I have eaten there many times, less so in Fuji) is exactly as in Japan, even though I'd be hard pressed to spot the difference, having eaten plenty of sushi and sashimi in Tokyo.

Don't know what pleases most Japanese but what I can tell you is that just about every time I eat there I see Japanese customers as well.

They do have several dishes that end with "XXXX, Thai style". But isn't that part of the fun - eating food from different parts of the world in different parts of the world?

Zen label themselves a Japanese restaurant, and I think they're right!

I eat there I see Japanese customers as well

Not sure I understand the logic. Thus, McDonalds is authentic Western food because Westerners eat there?

i shop every week in Central tops and have eaten in most of the restaurants in there

depending on my appetite, i now rotate lunches at the following :

yuyo

la turca

black canyon

sizzler

hilton

oushi

fuji

PS Carl Jrs its in the same place it always was, its never moved

some folks are getting confused, its in the location once occupied by KFC not the other way around

however , i digress, in my opinion, its the worst burger ever, just a sloppy mess, returned onion rings twice for being hard and overcooked and finally got a refund on them

never again

even so i did not get a bad stomach there nor anywhere else in Central

must be that the OP's tummy is a tad sensitive

plenty of clean toilets though

Edited October 29, 201312 yr by blackman

Food acceptable,but too much people there for my liking.

Really? I want to eat in busy restaurants where there's a guaranteed turnover of food... and the number of customers will give you an idea that the food is good.

I stay away from quiet restaurants.

No problem with the tables being filled up with people eating,but to many milling around there all the time.......... .

Food acceptable,but too much people there for my liking.

Really? I want to eat in busy restaurants where there's a guaranteed turnover of food... and the number of customers will give you an idea that the food is good.

I stay away from quiet restaurants.

No problem with the tables being filled up with people eating,but to many milling around there all the time.......... .

agreed, its like eating in a works canteen

I like to grab a chicken schwarma at the supermarket kitchen or some Thai food in the food court.

Upstairs, I like the Turkish place, Japanese or Carls Jr.

It must have been awhile since you ate there. Carls Jr is now KFC.

Carls Jr is on 3rd fl Beach rd end.

Some good people watching in the food court area, that's for sure.

The food is ok.

I find the Pad Thai noodles are cooked to my taste here. Very nice.

Well, I sometimes go to Burger King. I know what I'll get and I believe the taste is the same as in North America. Of course there are better burgers in the West but we are in Thailand and Thai beef doesn't work for me.Perhaps it's just what we are familiar with.

I don't think Carl Jr. will survive in its third floor location - it's just too hidden.

Edited October 30, 201312 yr by BugJackBaron

Some good people watching in the food court area, that's for sure.

...

The matronly Russian ladies tell me so ...

Food acceptable,but too much people there for my liking.

Too many tourists for me

I don't eat out that much nowadays in Thailand. The food is loaded with salt, sugar and MSG. The oil may well be reused. The vegetables may well be unwashed.

Somewhere like Central Festival Pattaya will have a high percentage of restaurants staffed by untrained, uneducated workers who have no stake in the success or failure of the business and a high percentage of non-repeat tourist business.

Taking all the above into account I am not surprised at the OP's comments.

I don't eat out that much nowadays in Thailand. The food is loaded with salt, sugar and MSG. The oil may well be reused. The vegetables may well be unwashed.

Somewhere like Central Festival Pattaya will have a high percentage of restaurants staffed by untrained, uneducated workers who have no stake in the success or failure of the business and a high percentage of non-repeat tourist business.

Taking all the above into account I am not surprised at the OP's comments.

You must find it very difficult to eat out,in most countries of the world

I think it's the stress of being around all those Russians..

I never saw a "restaurant" at the basement of festival centre, only fast food sellers .... for me it´s kind of freaking horror show and to see, how people without (obviously)no kind of decent education/upbringing are actually living ... in my family, we were taught skills of dining. It seems, mostly people who never learned those skills prefer to eat at these feeding places... sorry

"Eating skills" vary with nationality.

Talk about narrow minded - expecting the whole world to conform to what you think is the right way to eat.

Perhaps you could develop the skill of understanding cultural differences, because based on your post you didn't receive a decent education or upbringing.

I probably eat at that food court too often. It's just convenient I guess and I enjoy the buzz of the crowds.

I think the Tammanthai Thai place is fairly decent, especially for morning glory.

Yesterday I tried the Thai seafood place in the court for the first time, the place with the whole fried fish, etc.

That was a mistake!

Got the shrimp in vermicelli hot pot.

Properly done this dish is flavored with some pork fat and lots of GARLIC.

There was neither.

It was quite tasteless except of course for the salt.

At 230 baht, a poor value.

Someone else didn't like that dish as when leaving I saw a finished table that had ordered the same thing and had left the entire dish uneaten!

Yes Russians tend to prefer no spice and lots of Russians eat there ... so ...

Edited October 30, 201312 yr by Jingthing

I never saw a "restaurant" at the basement of festival centre, only fast food sellers .... for me it´s kind of freaking horror show and to see, how people without (obviously)no kind of decent education/upbringing are actually living ... in my family, we were taught skills of dining. It seems, mostly people who never learned those skills prefer to eat at these feeding places... sorry

"Eating skills" vary with nationality.

Talk about narrow minded - expecting the whole world to conform to what you think is the right way to eat.

Perhaps you could develop the skill of understanding cultural differences, because based on your post you didn't receive a decent education or upbringing.

Yea, but what about those Chinese people. Didn't their mom teach them how to properly hold a fork?

They are digging at the food with sticks.

The shrimp vermicelli pot also MUST have some ginger in it. None there.

I have eaten in all of the 76 restaurants there and I have had a stomach upset from I guess 22 of them.

I hope that helps.

PS: No surprise to read that most people on here eat in the food court.

Why don't i believe you?

I find the food court to be overpriced and above all too full of Russians.

I do occasionally go to Sizzler where I have just the salad bar (the main courses are quite simply too boring), and somewhat more often I go to the Hilton for lunch.

I dont go anywhere else in Central regularly though I have tried many of the restaurants there at one time or another. Most are boring and many are overpriced.

The last time I had a bad stomach was about 30 years ago in Manila; amoebic dysentery from a farang-run pizza restaurant.

Thanks for the "Tip" about Manila.......if ever I do go there I will remember not to eat the Pizza....especially if it is run by a "Farang".....next you will tell me that an Italian invented pizza

Only joking

I never saw a "restaurant" at the basement of festival centre, only fast food sellers .... for me it´s kind of freaking horror show and to see, how people without (obviously)no kind of decent education/upbringing are actually living ... in my family, we were taught skills of dining. It seems, mostly people who never learned those skills prefer to eat at these feeding places... sorry

"Eating skills" vary with nationality.

Talk about narrow minded - expecting the whole world to conform to what you think is the right way to eat.

Perhaps you could develop the skill of understanding cultural differences, because based on your post you didn't receive a decent education or upbringing.

Yea, but what about those Chinese people. Didn't their mom teach them how to properly hold a fork?

They are digging at the food with sticks.

Yeah. My Filipino wife enjoys eating with her hands. I made a joke that she must have taste buds in her fingers as she enjoys touching food so much.

What about the Arabs? You'll see them sitting on the floor eating with their hands - and the Indians love touching their food too, as does the whole of Africa.

We should send Dieter1 to these countries to teach them proper dining etiquette. Is it any coincidence he has a German name?

I find the food court to be overpriced and above all too full of Russians.

I do occasionally go to Sizzler where I have just the salad bar (the main courses are quite simply too boring), and somewhat more often I go to the Hilton for lunch.

I dont go anywhere else in Central regularly though I have tried many of the restaurants there at one time or another. Most are boring and many are overpriced.

The last time I had a bad stomach was about 30 years ago in Manila; amoebic dysentery from a farang-run pizza restaurant.

Thanks for the "Tip" about Manila.......if ever I do go there I will remember not to eat the Pizza....especially if it is run by a "Farang".....next you will tell me that an Italian invented pizza

Only joking

Don't worry too much about Manila. I've never had a problem in years of eating in Malls over there.

The last time I had a bad stomach was about 30 years ago in Manila; amoebic dysentery from a farang-run pizza restaurant.

Thanks for the "Tip" about Manila.......if ever I do go there I will remember not to eat the Pizza....especially if it is run by a "Farang".....next you will tell me that an Italian invented pizza:D

Don't worry too much about Manila. I've never had a problem in years of eating in Malls over there.

It wasn't a mall: it was a very up-market and quite expensive fancy pizza restaurant. I mentioned "farang-run" to differentiate it from chain pizza places like Shakey's in which I never had any trouble in the RP.

When I got to the hospital (which was a voyage in itself) the doctor asked if I had been eating anything like western chicken salad or pizza and he went on to explain that one is much more likely to get that particular ailment from food like that as the basic pre-cooked ingredients tend to be laying around unused for a long time and the style of cooking, if any, may be too quick to kill the germs. Made perfect sense to me.

For what it's worth he also recommended I eat dry toast and bananas until the problem went away, which did the trick nicely and I was fine a couple of days later.

Edited October 30, 201312 yr by KittenKong

I probably eat at that food court too often. It's just convenient I guess and I enjoy the buzz of the crowds.

The crowds (and their buzz) is exactly what I hate about it.

I stop in and get the banana roti now and then when I feel like some air conditioning and I can't find a street vendor. But they always use the egg with the batter and I prefer the simple no egg roti.

Other than that, I can't say much about the food there. I would take the KISS rice dishes over most anything I see in there. KISS is busy and I prefer a place with a lot of turnover.