New Sports Bar Kad Falang

[samsara]

Fair comments, Chiengmaijoe, agree with most of what you say, and I also wouldnt want to be embarrassed when out socialising. The fact about Chiang Mai, though, unlike Bangkok is that most of the foreign residents are living here in retirement and generally most people would be living on quite a bit less than pre retirement days, and as a result, budgets do have to be balanced.

As for The Game, I still want it to succeed despite early teething problems, but in order to do so, the owners will have to take a look at pricing strategies because Chiang Mai is not Bangkok, and what they seem to have done so far is replicated everything from their place on Sukhumvit Road including, crucially, prices. In order to succeed, a place surely has to work around and alongside the competition, and unless theres something totally unique, which in this case there isnt, people will make choices based on value for money, and as many have pointed out, there are loads of places where you can comfortably watch sports, whilst drinking cheaper beer and eating decent but cheaper food!

I m not a fan of the expression "market forces" but in this case its a direct and crucial issue. The Game is convenient for me because I live less than ten minutes away, but if the place is to attract people to drive from the city centre, or the other side of town, it will have to make people want to go there, and so far none of that is happening. In simple terms, there needs to be a full range of the sports people want to see (they are available, as the UN Irish proves), reasonable priced drinks, not just happy hours which end at 6pm, and right now the food looks OK but is being charged out at Bangkok not Chiang Mai prices.

The other thing crucial to success is to have a streetwise sports geek who not only knows whats on, but also how to get it (and I dont mean illegal streams which could be dangerous for them with the law). People should be able to walk right in five minutes before a particular event starts, be it The Ryder Cup, or Formula 1, or important football games, confident in the knowledge that it will be onscreen without needing to ask staff to look for stuff!

Pretty much sums it up.

First I wish this new venture the best. Over the years business from Bangkok and Pattaya have tried to expand to Chiang Mai and business from Chiang Mai have tried to expand in Bangkok and Pattaya both directions they failed. Demographics of these two regions are polar opposites. On a scale of 1 to 10 I give the success rate a 4.

Unless drastic price decreases happen i give it a 2.5 % chance.

Mostly depends on how stubborn/cashed up the owner is. The current offering does not stand a chance, but if he's willing to bleed his pockets for a year or more...who knows. 5 star prices for a slightly above avg exp does not work when there are other options. They'll surely tweak stuff in the coming weeks. But they missed the mark so badly initially, I fear the outlook's rather dim.

[pgrahmm]

I have not been but live close enough that we shop at the Rimping next door.......From what I've heard from friends that have been is the food is over priced and mediocre at best 180B for Pad Thai.......the non Thai food is not very good with small portions at a high cost versus other places (sounds like a remix from the Rosewood that use to be there - hope they didn't hire the same cook he single handedly drove people away with his food)......the beer is over priced.....the pool tables are poorly placed with one camped against a wall to too close to one.......

Undoubtably there is a very high rent factor in place - KF is known for that.......

On the plus side was the multiple TV's and decor.....location if you happen to live there (fair smattering of farangs - but not enough for this place)....there will be a McD's nearby but personally I hate seeing them popping up 10K away from each other......hate to see them at all in Thailand......

I think the Rimping will do well as time goes on - as far as the Game - I look at it and think wrong approach and location......when I lived close enough to bicycle to Rimping the neighborhood is a very high percent Thai and all are established purchased homes with few rentals - not exactly the perfect market for this place.....two nights a week there is a nice clean night market there the wife loves & sometimes I'm the only farang I see - other times might see 5 farang there but certainly not from what I've seen from when I lived there for over a year is there enough support for this place....the little bar right across the way on nights and market nights used to have live music .......even with called mixed drinks at 100-110B it was unusual to see up to 8-10 farangs there & the Thai's would buy their food at the night market then come and use the tables for hours and listen to the music.......

[Diplomatico]

Good luck to frankwhite and his "friend's" bar.

Edited August 21, 2014 by Diplomatico

[Diplomatico]

I d like to congratulate Chiengmaijoe who, based on his comments must be the only person in CM who doesnt take account of prices! Most of us mere mortals work within a budget of some description and certainly have to take account of what things cost!

My point is, that so long as somewhere is offering something a bit different then I don't mind paying a bit more

I admit, I am on the cheapskate list,

No kidding. You're so cheap you should change your name to Highlander (with apologies in advance to scottishjohn), lol.

[BB1955]

I stopped in and had lunch . I had been for warned , the prices were steep and the food was well lets just say Dukes ahs nothing to worry about . I had a Chili Cheese dog with fries and a coke lite .

Chili Cheese dog was 160 baht was very small from what I expected . The fries were good . Coke lite 80 baht . That's steep , The staff was nice . But I can assure you that will be my one and only visit . Have talked to may that were at the grand opening and they all said the same ... Two times I have been by there it did not look like they were going to be any lines ta the door ...

If I want a good meal I ll drive to the Dukes .....

[Thighlander]

was there 17.7% on top of that? Yikes......that's a lot of money for ground up pig dicks.

[Diplomatico]

was there 17.7% on top of that? Yikes......that's a lot of money for ground up pig dicks.

I think it's just 12%,,,,IIRC, the place in BKK is only 5% service charge, not 10%. So there's that.

Then add the 7% VAT.

[DaamNaam]

I stopped in and had lunch . I had been for warned , the prices were steep and the food was well lets just say Dukes ahs nothing to worry about . I had a Chili Cheese dog with fries and a coke lite .

Chili Cheese dog was 160 baht was very small from what I expected . The fries were good . Coke lite 80 baht . That's steep , The staff was nice . But I can assure you that will be my one and only visit . Have talked to may that were at the grand opening and they all said the same ... Two times I have been by there it did not look like they were going to be any lines ta the door ...

If I want a good meal I ll drive to the Dukes .....

I live next door to it and I'll drive to The Dukes...

[DiamondKing]

I live literally 3 minutes from the game and I have not visited yet other than multiple times to the Rimping supermarket next door and the reason is the prices and what I have read here to be fair though I don't normally go out drinking around Hang Dong but my family and I eat out multiple times a week and we visited the Rosewood multiple times even though that was also mediocre but the familly liked it there on occasion.

Now I am not short of money I do very well but I still cannot stomach paying those prices for food or beer, I travel a lot and have no problem paying those prices if I am in Bangkok or even more if I am in LA or NY but we are in Chiang Mai and it would have to be really something special for me to take my family there (5 of us) which means the bill would be at least 2000 baht according to prices stated on this thread and sorry I would not do it even though I can afford it

A note to the owners if they are reading this

Take a look at DUKES they have a great reputation and as you can see from the posts above people will travel from far and wide to eat there and while its not as pricey as your place the food is excellent and still on the high side for Chiang mai and if they are making a solid profit then so can you the portions are good size and tastes good according to patrons and that is something that should be taken notice of since it will be imperative to the success of your business.

As far as Beer I drink Chang (because I like it) and I would never pay more than 120 baht for a large bottle 100 Baht is optimum but 120 would be maximum not because I am cheap but because that is a fair price for surroundings in CM

I hope this place stays too but its not looking good at the start if they cannot get people like me through the door when I live just a few minutes away.

[DaamNaam]

I live literally 3 minutes from the game and I have not visited yet other than multiple times to the Rimping supermarket next door and the reason is the prices and what I have read here to be fair though I don't normally go out drinking around Hang Dong but my family and I eat out multiple times a week and we visited the Rosewood multiple times even though that was also mediocre but the familly liked it there on occasion.

Now I am not short of money I do very well but I still cannot stomach paying those prices for food or beer, I travel a lot and have no problem paying those prices if I am in Bangkok or even more if I am in LA or NY but we are in Chiang Mai and it would have to be really something special for me to take my family there (5 of us) which means the bill would be at least 2000 baht according to prices stated on this thread and sorry I would not do it even though I can afford it

A note to the owners if they are reading this

Take a look at DUKES they have a great reputation and as you can see from the posts above people will travel from far and wide to eat there and while its not as pricey as your place the food is excellent and still on the high side for Chiang mai and if they are making a solid profit then so can you the portions are good size and tastes good according to patrons and that is something that should be taken notice of since it will be imperative to the success of your business.

As far as Beer I drink Chang (because I like it) and I would never pay more than 120 baht for a large bottle 100 Baht is optimum but 120 would be maximum not because I am cheap but because that is a fair price for surroundings in CM

I hope this place stays too but its not looking good at the start if they cannot get people like me through the door when I live just a few minutes away.

Hear, hear.

The Game management, you hear?

[Thighlander]

44 THB small Changs at John's Place if you have a card. Otherwise 55 and Leo 59. Likely still one of the better values if your Thai isn't good enough to order a promotion at a more Thai place.

[DaamNaam]

44 THB small Changs at John's Place if you have a card. Otherwise 55 and Leo 59. Likely still one of the better values if your Thai isn't good enough to order a promotion at a more Thai place.

Mee promotion na krap? How hard is that? 555

Good ole Johns place huh, still going after all these years.

I used to call in for a coffee after a night on it around 5-6am, back in the day.

[frankwhite]

Just left The Game

AFL on the large screen

NRL on other tvs

Had a 95thb pint of Leo

They are listening but it seems its easier for people to complain behind a computer than pay a visit to check the place out themselves.

Also heard them say they will launching a 99thb breakfast with coffee or tea in the next few days

Edited August 22, 2014 by frankwhite

[DiamondKing]

Just left The Game

AFL on the large screen

NRL on other tvs

Had a 95thb pint if Leo

They are listening but it seems its easier for people to complain behind a computer than pay a visit a check the place out themselves.

Also heard them say they will launching a 99thb breakfast with coffee or tea in the next fee days

Thats great that they are listening FrankWhite

People wont bother to check it out themselves until they see a reason to do so and previous comments from people WHO DID CHECK IT OUT AND POSTED their experiences did not warrant people such as myself to check it out when I knew it would not be a good fit.

Now you have updated the thread with some good news about prices and the fact that management is taking note of FEEDBACK from past customers and reasons why others may not visit THAT IS GOOD NEWS

I will look forward ti checking it out next week.and writing my own review

Edited August 22, 2014 by DiamondKing

[PostmanPat]

it seems its easier for people to complain behind a computer than pay a visit to check the place out themselves.

Also heard them say they will launching a 99thb breakfast with coffee or tea in the next few days

frankwhite? Oh yes, the possible owner of The Game, allegedly, but no matter, please dont accuse everyone of slagging but not visiting. I think I was one of the first paying customers, after the usual bunch of freeloaders turned up as they do everywhere on the first night for their free food and free drink, you know the ones, they go there once because its free but wont ever go again especially if they have to pay !!!!!

The reason I started this thread was not out of negativity but out of a desire to see the place flourish and grow, but it doesnt help when your first visit to watch the advertised Premiership match results in no football at all, and a pint of beer well over 150 baht when the secret taxes are added on, and a food menu charging almost double what many of its competitors charge for burgers pizzas etc !!!

I hope teething problems are being addressed and that we can look forward to a long and happy environment !

[nivram4491]

............ after the usual bunch of freeloaders turned up as they do everywhere on the first night for their free food and free drink, you know the ones, they go there once because its free but wont ever go again especially if they have to pay !!!!!

I must have missed the free drink. Won't ever go again, especially if they have to pay 80 Baht plus tax for a can of Sprite.

The pool tables may as well not be there because there is no room to play a lot of the shots one would normally play. How can they spend that much money without proper planning?

[naboo]

Do they have thew football yet?

[PostmanPat]

............ after the usual bunch of freeloaders turned up as they do everywhere on the first night for their free food and free drink, you know the ones, they go there once because its free but wont ever go again especially if they have to pay !!!!!

I must have missed the free drink. Won't ever go again, especially if they have to pay 80 Baht plus tax for a can of Sprite.

I m talking about the "official opening" on Thursday last. If you look at the event photos in Citylife you will note that whenever theres any kind of launch or opening of anything in Chiang Mai, the very same people are always there.....I guess its the "VIP" list !! (by the way, not a comment out of jealousy, I pay my way to everything and proud to do so. Not a fan of freeloaders !!)

[TheGameSportsBar]

Good day my name is Andrew and i am the GM for The Game. I would like to thank you for your comments(positive & negative). We will be doing a market analysis over the next few days and adjusting prices for the CM market. Our goals is to make our customers happy. Please bear with with us. Until then stop by and enjoy our live sports and drink specials. We look forward in being your part of your community

Thank you

Andrew

We also will be adjusting our pool tables to make playing more enjoyable.

[TheGameSportsBar]

Do they have thew football yet?

Yes please join us every saturday & sunday

Please check our fb page or our website for our live sports schedule

Thegamechiamgmai.com

Facebook.com/thegamechiangmai

We will also run beer specials during live BPL games

[tyznd]

Do they have thew football yet?

Yes please join us every saturday & sunday

Please check our fb page or our website for our live sports schedule

Thegamechiamgmai.com

Facebook.com/thegamechiangmai

We will also run beer specials during live BPL games

FYI your website redirects to thegamebangkok.com and all it has is some photos of the Chiang Mai branch on it, Why not get the Chiang Mai website up and put your prices and specials on it which you should have been doing from the start.

[DaamNaam]

Do they have thew football yet?

Yes please join us every saturday & sunday

Please check our fb page or our website for our live sports schedule

Thegamechiamgmai.com

Facebook.com/thegamechiangmai

We will also run beer specials during live BPL games

FYI your website redirects to thegamebangkok.com and all it has is some photos of the Chiang Mai branch on it, Why not get the Chiang Mai website up and put your prices and specials on it which you should have been doing from the start.

I'll second that.

[Happyman108]

A friend who live nearby ask me to go on the opening day to check out this new place, so I was there on the opening day after their free buffet hour (never like to have free food anyway). When arrive there as usual walk around to check the place out and my friend already ordered a beer sitting outside as in aircon area full of "common faces".... I was hungry and wanted to order some food and drinks, but look at the price of burger, beer etc and told my friend to move with me for dinner at other local bar. Sorry, their price is really not right in CM, not to mention is way out of city.

Even the neighbourhood resident is not willing to pay such price, I don't think I will drive 20-30 mins out of city unless the food is really good.....

[PostmanPat]

Good day my name is Andrew and i am the GM for The Game. I would like to thank you for your comments(positive & negative). We will be doing a market analysis over the next few days and adjusting prices for the CM market. Our goals is to make our customers happy. Please bear with with us. Until then stop by and enjoy our live sports and drink specials. We look forward in being your part of your community

Thank you

Andrew

We also will be adjusting our pool tables to make playing more enjoyable.

Hi Andrew, good that you have the bottle to respond to what has been said, and thanks for doing so. For me ( and I am in no way a "cheap charlie") the two issues are prices and sports coverage. As I said a few posts ago, you have merely transposed your Bangkok prices for food and drink to Chiang Mai, and that wont work. Its the same as London prices and Provincial prices in the UK. There is a significant difference. A pint in Londons West End will cost about £5 whereas in most Provincial Cities it will be closer to £3. I would suggest that the same kind of principle applies between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. A lot of your clientele in Bangkok will be either tourists or foreigners with jobs. Because of where you are positioned in Chiang Mai, your clientele at this point will be almost entirely retirees, quite a different market from Bangkok.

With regard to sports coverage, we need to be pretty sure that the major event we want to see will indeed be screened as we walk in five minutes before kick off, and that applies not only to football and rugby but also events like formula 1, golf/ ryder cup, etc etc. At the moment your website doesnt seem to have a Chiang Mai page. It reverts to Bangkok, and to be honest, we aint bothered what youre showing in Bangkok as we are all in Chiang Mai!!

Most of us are excited and happy about the new place and really want it to succeed, and of course all new places will have teething problems, but glad that you are addressing them. In summary, if on a saturday or sunday evening when most of the main live events take place, people are faced with beer at well over 150 baht a pint, and food snacks at around 300, then they will vote with their feet and go elsewhere! Its no good advertising a pint at 95 baht if it ends at 6pm happy hour finish!!

Edited August 23, 2014 by PostmanPat

[Thighlander]

Maybe they should go head to head with SoHo and changed the name to "The Gayme."

[dcutman]

Good day my name is Andrew and i am the GM for The Game. I would like to thank you for your comments(positive & negative). We will be doing a market analysis over the next few days and adjusting prices for the CM market. Our goals is to make our customers happy. Please bear with with us. Until then stop by and enjoy our live sports and drink specials. We look forward in being your part of your community

Thank you

Andrew

We also will be adjusting our pool tables to make playing more enjoyable.

Hi Andrew, good that you have the bottle to respond to what has been said, and thanks for doing so. For me ( and I am in no way a "cheap charlie") the two issues are prices and sports coverage. As I said a few posts ago, you have merely transposed your Bangkok prices for food and drink to Chiang Mai, and that wont work. Its the same as London prices and Provincial prices in the UK. There is a significant difference. A pint in Londons West End will cost about £5 whereas in most Provincial Cities it will be closer to £3. I would suggest that the same kind of principle applies between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. A lot of your clientele in Bangkok will be either tourists or foreigners with jobs. Because of where you are positioned in Chiang Mai, your clientele at this point will be almost entirely retirees, quite a different market from Bangkok.

With regard to sports coverage, we need to be pretty sure that the major event we want to see will indeed be screened as we walk in five minutes before kick off, and that applies not only to football and rugby but also events like formula 1, golf/ ryder cup, etc etc. At the moment your website doesnt seem to have a Chiang Mai page. It reverts to Bangkok, and to be honest, we aint bothered what youre showing in Bangkok as we are all in Chiang Mai!!

Most of us are excited and happy about the new place and really want it to succeed, and of course all new places will have teething problems, but glad that you are addressing them. In summary, if on a saturday or sunday evening when most of the main live events take place, people are faced with beer at well over 150 baht a pint, and food snacks at around 300, then they will vote with their feet and go elsewhere! Its no good advertising a pint at 95 baht if it ends at 6pm happy hour finish!!

Maybe you could be more specific with the sports you want to watch. I am sure if you or anybody asked, the staff would be happy to change the channel, or give you the remote and indulge yourself.

As for beer prices, I drink local, Chang and Leo 95 baht a pint not unreasonable for sitting in aircon, with 14 TV's to watch, IMO. I hve indulged in some spirits and was not shocked by the pricing what so ever. What other place in CM has 14 TV's?

Food and prices, I have eaten many items on the menu, have not had any complaints on portions by any means, and quality is well above any other place I have eaten in CM.

I can only assume you know how much it cost to maintain an establishment such as The Game or any others for that matter, so maybe you can give the management some tips how to reduce costs, so they can give you the experience you desire, for the price you and others are willing to pay.

[tyznd]

Good day my name is Andrew and i am the GM for The Game. I would like to thank you for your comments(positive & negative). We will be doing a market analysis over the next few days and adjusting prices for the CM market. Our goals is to make our customers happy. Please bear with with us. Until then stop by and enjoy our live sports and drink specials. We look forward in being your part of your community

Thank you

Andrew

We also will be adjusting our pool tables to make playing more enjoyable.

Hi Andrew, good that you have the bottle to respond to what has been said, and thanks for doing so. For me ( and I am in no way a "cheap charlie") the two issues are prices and sports coverage. As I said a few posts ago, you have merely transposed your Bangkok prices for food and drink to Chiang Mai, and that wont work. Its the same as London prices and Provincial prices in the UK. There is a significant difference. A pint in Londons West End will cost about £5 whereas in most Provincial Cities it will be closer to £3. I would suggest that the same kind of principle applies between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. A lot of your clientele in Bangkok will be either tourists or foreigners with jobs. Because of where you are positioned in Chiang Mai, your clientele at this point will be almost entirely retirees, quite a different market from Bangkok.

With regard to sports coverage, we need to be pretty sure that the major event we want to see will indeed be screened as we walk in five minutes before kick off, and that applies not only to football and rugby but also events like formula 1, golf/ ryder cup, etc etc. At the moment your website doesnt seem to have a Chiang Mai page. It reverts to Bangkok, and to be honest, we aint bothered what youre showing in Bangkok as we are all in Chiang Mai!!

Most of us are excited and happy about the new place and really want it to succeed, and of course all new places will have teething problems, but glad that you are addressing them. In summary, if on a saturday or sunday evening when most of the main live events take place, people are faced with beer at well over 150 baht a pint, and food snacks at around 300, then they will vote with their feet and go elsewhere! Its no good advertising a pint at 95 baht if it ends at 6pm happy hour finish!!

Maybe you could be more specific with the sports you want to watch. I am sure if you or anybody asked, the staff would be happy to change the channel, or give you the remote and indulge yourself.

As for beer prices, I drink local, Chang and Leo 95 baht a pint not unreasonable for sitting in aircon, with 14 TV's to watch, IMO. I hve indulged in some spirits and was not shocked by the pricing what so ever. What other place in CM has 14 TV's?

Food and prices, I have eaten many items on the menu, have not had any complaints on portions by any means, and quality is well above any other place I have eaten in CM.

I can only assume you know how much it cost to maintain an establishment such as The Game or any others for that matter, so maybe you can give the management some tips how to reduce costs, so they can give you the experience you desire, for the price you and others are willing to pay.

Problem is they, like every other business, have fixed costs but customers don't give a hoot what the operation costs are. People are looking for value for their money and if you can't deliver that you will most likely fail. Just basic economics of what works and what doesn't.

Regarding The Game, add in the two or more farang managers/staff they are paying plus the local help plus the rent and utilities and you have a monthly expense that probably makes it near impossible to reduce prices to the point they need to be.

For this place to have any chance, they will have to dramatically reduce their prices and pray this will in turn bring in the volume of regular customers they need to stay afloat and make a profit. Anything less and you can add The Game to a long list of others that have tried and failed.

My guess is this place was DOA based on the demographics alone. Like the real estate saying goes it is all location - location and this is not the place to put in a high end sports bar. I give it 6 months but that may be generous. Hopefully I am wrong but this is gong to be one hell of an uphill battle if they make it.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

This looks more reasonable: a 105 Baht and 93 Satang breakfast.

Not quite the deal Rimping is in that part of town of course where just about everything is in that range (bit less actually), but it's not unreasonable. Although if my kids order anything else like a sandwich or something then I'd be looking at 200+ baht just for that I suppose.

Edited August 24, 2014 by WinnieTheKhwai

[DaamNaam]

This looks more reasonable: a 105 Baht and 93 Satang breakfast.

Not quite the deal Rimping is in that part of town of course where just about everything is in that range (bit less actually), but it's not unreasonable. Although if my kids order anything else like a sandwich or something then I'd be looking at 200+ baht just for that I suppose.

This is no "big boy" breakfast by any means. 2 strips of bacon? C'mon, 3-4 mouthfuls there, 2 eggs, and a piece of toast, and a coffee...

50-60 baht tops. And the 7 % VAT, why? Just show the full price from the beginning, misleading otherwise.

Another place doing a breakfast similar to this is charging 130 baht for 4 pieces of Canadian back bacon, 4 sausages, black pudding, tomato and onion mix, potato hash, 2 eggs, a coffee or a juice. Oh, and 2 thick slices of decent bread.

Edited August 24, 2014 by DaamNaam

[Thighlander]

If I came in and it was 59 THB, I would probably say to myself, "well, everything else is a rip-off, might as well get the breakfast special." There would be a fair chance, that I would simply walkout without ordering anything. 17 THB 2 egg omelettes with rice, practically out my front door...........I don't think they will last until Thanksgiving..........That draft beer must be starting to get old by now.