Siripanna "Business Lunch" Buffet thing - any good?

[scooterboy]

Have any of you guys recently (as in this year) tried the buffet lunch at Siripanna Hotel? It's apparently called a "Business Lunch" and operates Mondays to Fridays. That's about all I seem to know about it.....

The wife wants me to kindly "invite" her to eat there when we next come to CM - but only if the food's good and the place is not overrun with hordes of tourists.

I know there are a lot of you CM guys that are avid fans of (or like to try) buffet breakfasts, lunches and dinners - so I'm sure you'll be able to help out with some good info.

Thanks in advance

SB

[CMKiwi]

sorry I havent been this year but from what Ive been told its still good value. Weekends are more expensive but the weekday buffets are good. Nice food and good setup...ie not a backpackers doss house.

It is a good place to take someone if you want to impress....

[scooterboy]

Thanks, sport!

It wasn't so much the backpackers I'm concerned about - it's more the "shrimp collectors" (nudge, nudge) and the like that can scare me/us off.

Ta for the info!

[jobin]

If seeking to avoid a certain class of tourist, look for the hotel or restaurant without a parking lot. Esp good will be those where buses must park 500 meters away. I know that class of tourist and they won't be walking.

[MrBrad]

The quality and quantity of food is quite good, as far as I'm concerned. However, at 12 noon it seems that a bus or two of tourists always arrive, and they're generally loud and not on their finest behavior.

The price Monday through Saturday is 189 baht. On Sunday it's quite a bit more, something like 300 baht or a bit more, but then they offer a lot larger selection including lots of seafood on Sundays.

[northernjohn]

The quality and quantity of food is quite good, as far as I'm concerned. However, at 12 noon it seems that a bus or two of tourists always arrive, and they're generally loud and not on their finest behavior.

The price Monday through Saturday is 189 baht. On Sunday it's quite a bit more, something like 300 baht or a bit more, but then they offer a lot larger selection including lots of seafood on Sundays.

I managed to find some information about their buffet on Bing.

To me it looked like it was mainly a Thai Buffet. Is that correct.

[MrBrad]

They do indeed have Thai or other Asian foods, but Westerns or Europeans will find an adequate amount of dishes that will be satisfying. Myself, I've never really thought of it as a Thai buffet, not even close. I've looked into those at other hotels, and they don't appeal to me at all.

Besides the main dishes, their salads, cakes, ice creams, and their fruit and herbal drinks all make it well worth the visit. I don't think you'll go away hungry.

[Oscar2]

about 6-7 years ago we used to go there about 3 times a week. everyone knew us. food was excellent. everything on the menu was (as i recall) 49 Bath. it started at 11:49 and ended at 13:49.... the restaurant was run by a falang who was a professional chef. they had 7' pizzas, Caesar salad, pasta, and a few other items and excellent desserts. they also had khao soi, Thai desserts and i forget what else now. the falang prepared the gourmet Western food while the Thai chef prepared the equally delicious Thai foods. it was fantastic and a great bargain. i believe that falang has since moved on. we went maybe a year or more ago and it was not very good and yes there were many Chinese there. actually i should say that the Western food not so good but the Thai foods very good.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Oscar2

[chiang mai]

Zillions of Chinese tourists, food of just OK quality, an experience!

[MadMac]

Do they fight there for the shrimps? That would be a nice show

[elektrified]

about 6-7 years ago we used to go there about 3 times a week. everyone knew us. food was excellent. everything on the menu was (as i recall) 49 Bath. it started at 11:49 and ended at 13:49.... the restaurant was run by a falang who was a professional chef. they had 7' pizzas, Caesar salad, pasta, and a few other items and excellent desserts. they also had khao soi, Thai desserts and i forget what else now. the falang prepared the gourmet Western food while the Thai chef prepared the equally delicious Thai foods. it was fantastic and a great bargain. i believe that falang has since moved on. we went maybe a year or more ago and it was not very good and yes there were many Chinese there. actually i should say that the Western food not so good but the Thai foods very good.

Actually it was 39 Baht for every item on the menu and it started at 11:39 and ended at 14:39. It was supposed to be a promotional thing for a month or so, but it ended up going on for more than a year.

We also were regulars there. In typical Thai fashion, they would scoop up my child (who was only a few months old at the time), as we arrived, and we would not see the baby again for 90 minutes or something while the baby was was taken around from one person to another at the hotel!

The problem was that the farang owner was too strict with the lovely ladies who worked there (so they said). He was always peering over their shoulders and expecting more of them, lecturing them, etc. Completely not the Thai way.... It created a lot of resentment and dislike of him. Nobody wanted to work for him. At some point it went up to 59 or 69 Baht per item and fewer items were offered and on [much] smaller plates (which my wife hated). That was the end of it. But it was a great place at the time. Haven't been in years now....

[Somnambulist]

about 6-7 years ago we used to go there about 3 times a week. everyone knew us. food was excellent. everything on the menu was (as i recall) 49 Bath. it started at 11:49 and ended at 13:49.... the restaurant was run by a falang who was a professional chef. they had 7' pizzas, Caesar salad, pasta, and a few other items and excellent desserts. they also had khao soi, Thai desserts and i forget what else now. the falang prepared the gourmet Western food while the Thai chef prepared the equally delicious Thai foods. it was fantastic and a great bargain. i believe that falang has since moved on. we went maybe a year or more ago and it was not very good and yes there were many Chinese there. actually i should say that the Western food not so good but the Thai foods very good.

Actually it was 39 Baht for every item on the menu and it started at 11:39 and ended at 14:39. It was supposed to be a promotional thing for a month or so, but it ended up going on for more than a year.

We also were regulars there. In typical Thai fashion, they would scoop up my child (who was only a few months old at the time), as we arrived, and we would not see the baby again for 90 minutes or something while the baby was was taken around from one person to another at the hotel!

The problem was that the farang owner was too strict with the lovely ladies who worked there (so they said). He was always peering over their shoulders and expecting more of them, lecturing them, etc. Completely not the Thai way.... It created a lot of resentment and dislike of him. Nobody wanted to work for him. At some point it went up to 59 or 69 Baht per item and fewer items were offered and on [much] smaller plates (which my wife hated). That was the end of it. But it was a great place at the time. Haven't been in years now....

The current owner is Thai and I was told that he built it. He is the same man who built the Parano condos across the highway from Promenada. Could you be thinking of the restaurant farang?

[elektrified]

about 6-7 years ago we used to go there about 3 times a week. everyone knew us. food was excellent. everything on the menu was (as i recall) 49 Bath. it started at 11:49 and ended at 13:49.... the restaurant was run by a falang who was a professional chef. they had 7' pizzas, Caesar salad, pasta, and a few other items and excellent desserts. they also had khao soi, Thai desserts and i forget what else now. the falang prepared the gourmet Western food while the Thai chef prepared the equally delicious Thai foods. it was fantastic and a great bargain. i believe that falang has since moved on. we went maybe a year or more ago and it was not very good and yes there were many Chinese there. actually i should say that the Western food not so good but the Thai foods very good.

Actually it was 39 Baht for every item on the menu and it started at 11:39 and ended at 14:39. It was supposed to be a promotional thing for a month or so, but it ended up going on for more than a year.

We also were regulars there. In typical Thai fashion, they would scoop up my child (who was only a few months old at the time), as we arrived, and we would not see the baby again for 90 minutes or something while the baby was was taken around from one person to another at the hotel!

The problem was that the farang owner was too strict with the lovely ladies who worked there (so they said). He was always peering over their shoulders and expecting more of them, lecturing them, etc. Completely not the Thai way.... It created a lot of resentment and dislike of him. Nobody wanted to work for him. At some point it went up to 59 or 69 Baht per item and fewer items were offered and on [much] smaller plates (which my wife hated). That was the end of it. But it was a great place at the time. Haven't been in years now....

The current owner is Thai and I was told that he built it. He is the same man who built the Parano condos across the highway from Promenada. Could you be thinking of the restaurant farang?

I only meant the 1st restaurant you see when you walk in the front entrance to the hotel. Not the hotel itself.

[Somnambulist]

It's just one department of the hotel; the restaurant manager answers to the same bosses and attends the same meetings as all the other managers, so there was never a separate restaurant owner.

[elektrified]

It's just one department of the hotel; the restaurant manager answers to the same bosses and attends the same meetings as all the other managers, so there was never a separate restaurant owner.

Chef/owner of the business....whatever you want to call it. Doesn't matter to me.

[Somnambulist]

It's just one department of the hotel; the restaurant manager answers to the same bosses and attends the same meetings as all the other managers, so there was never a separate restaurant owner.

Chef/owner of the business....whatever you want to call it. Doesn't matter to me.

It does to me, and I assume it does to others, too. Owner and employee seem like entirely different notions to me.

[northernjohn]

It's just one department of the hotel; the restaurant manager answers to the same bosses and attends the same meetings as all the other managers, so there was never a separate restaurant owner.

Chef/owner of the business....whatever you want to call it. Doesn't matter to me.

It does to me, and I assume it does to others, too. Owner and employee seem like entirely different notions to me.

Indeed. Here in Thailand the employees changeover often.

[chiang mai]

We've eaten there a couple of times in the past six months but stopped going for two reasons: the first was because of the noise and behaviour emanating from the people around us, everyone chattering away at full volume then walking by out table and stopping to examine what we're eating (the same food as you of course) then pushing in to serve themselves, ignoring the people around them. The second and perhaps most important reason was the quality of the food. OK so it's only 189 baht but even still, I'd rather have one good dish than five poor ones and most of the dishes seem aimed at the visiting crowd. On the plus side it's an interesting place to people watch, especially the staff who always seem overjoyed to see a westerner and a Thai come to eat, their treatment of some of the visiting guests is quite funny if you watch closely.

[JaseTheBass]

about 6-7 years ago we used to go there about 3 times a week. everyone knew us. food was excellent. everything on the menu was (as i recall) 49 Bath. it started at 11:49 and ended at 13:49.... the restaurant was run by a falang who was a professional chef. they had 7' pizzas, Caesar salad, pasta, and a few other items and excellent desserts. they also had khao soi, Thai desserts and i forget what else now. the falang prepared the gourmet Western food while the Thai chef prepared the equally delicious Thai foods. it was fantastic and a great bargain. i believe that falang has since moved on. we went maybe a year or more ago and it was not very good and yes there were many Chinese there. actually i should say that the Western food not so good but the Thai foods very good.

Actually it was 39 Baht for every item on the menu and it started at 11:39 and ended at 14:39. It was supposed to be a promotional thing for a month or so, but it ended up going on for more than a year.

We also were regulars there. In typical Thai fashion, they would scoop up my child (who was only a few months old at the time), as we arrived, and we would not see the baby again for 90 minutes or something while the baby was was taken around from one person to another at the hotel!

The problem was that the farang owner was too strict with the lovely ladies who worked there (so they said). He was always peering over their shoulders and expecting more of them, lecturing them, etc. Completely not the Thai way.... It created a lot of resentment and dislike of him. Nobody wanted to work for him. At some point it went up to 59 or 69 Baht per item and fewer items were offered and on [much] smaller plates (which my wife hated). That was the end of it. But it was a great place at the time. Haven't been in years now....

Always a problem finding rofessional Thai staff who can work 'un-chaperoned'.

Sent from my R2D2 using my C3P0 manservant

[scooterboy]

Thanks for all the replies, guys - interesting to read,

The wife reckons it's still worth a chance, as

1. The food is (according to your replies) excellent - pretty good - or good.

2. Maybe a bus-load of pushers and grabbers won't turn up while we're there (in July, I might add).

We'll try to remember to sit far away as possible from the buffet table - maybe the noise will be less.

Thanks - appreciated

[Thailand]

Been a few times. Quite good food ,good value,and a good selection to suit most tastes. A few parking spaces or park on the road.

Only downside,last time the fresh prawns most definitely were not!

[scooterboy]

The wife's allergic to prawns, so it's no bother at all. I don't eat prawns (or other seafood, really). To me they're absolutely nothing special (overrated, perhaps), and I'd rather eat something different. Still, everybody has a different opinion about certain foods, thank goodness - and it's more for you lot! (or the grabbers, maybe!)....

[WinnieTheKhwai]

We also were regulars there. In typical Thai fashion, they would scoop up my child (who was only a few months old at the time), as we arrived, and we would not see the baby again for 90 minutes or something while the baby was was taken around from one person to another at the hotel!

Sounds like heaven to me..

As an aside, a friend of mine had that happen in Soi 6 Pattaya. Girls ended up taking the kid all the way to a 7-Eleven somewhere to buy him some snacks when he was beginning to wonder if/when they'd bring him back.