Restaurant reviews in Pattaya and Bangkok

[SirL]

I have a vague feeling that the portion size I was given was connected to that I had entered with an Eatigo discount, ie that the serving staff had the attitude that "he's not paying full price, we'll won't give him full quantity".  That's not something I've felt before when using Eatigo.  I don't know if that's any kind of official policy from RH management - I can't see why the serving staff could be bothered to think such thoughts themselves, as there'd be nothing in it for them.

[CuppaTea]

Sirl Im really enjoying your topic and thanks for putting in the effort, please keep it going.

I just have one question.

Do you ever buy any drinks in these restaurants ?

Casa Pascal includes them but I know Sizzler's doesn't and I assume most of the rest don't either.

Don't you get thirsty ?

[mcfish]

Pier 21 at Terminal 21, Asoke, Bangkok                              Food: B58

I didn't like the food on this visit, but on many previous visits I've eaten good food here.

Pier 21 is a very popular food court on the fifth floor of the Terminal 21 building near soi Cowboy. I've been here about twenty times in recent years, and I like this place. It's now so popular that it's very crowded and difficult to find an empty table.

BangkokBits wrote some good stuff about this food court, a couple of years ago, on http://www.bangkokbits.com/food/the-complete-guide-to-pier-21-terminal-21/

She seemed to know what she was writing, so on my visit I tried to target her favourite dishes to eat something new to me. Reading her review, I made notes that the dishes I wanted to try were

#15 Skyluck. Rice with Korean pork, Yakitori chicken, or Gyoza

#19 Thomchai Tom Yum Noodle. Hot and spicy noodle soup with marinated pork and boiled egg

#21 Kuay Jab Sam Toom. Sticky rice noodle rolls with roast pork

#22 Pad Thai. Pad Thai with shrimps

#25 Jae Auan Champ Rad Na Yaowarat. Wide rice noodles with pork in gravy w vegetables

#26 Kha Moo Nakornpathom. Rice with stewed pork leg + egg

#28 Tai Heng Sukiyaki. Stir fried sukiyaki with pork

 

Hot and spicy noodle soup with marinaded pork and boiled egg B29. This was far too hot and spicy for my taste, so hot and spicy that I was blowing my nose half a dozen times within the first few mouthfuls. The marinaded pork was almost tasteless. Sorry, but this was a Don't Order Again.

 

Wide rice noodles with gravy pork and vegetable B29. This was lukewarm, and the gravy a bit congealed. I wasn't having much luck, because this was a Don't Order Again as well.

 

Food taste 4/10 I didn't like either of BB's recommendations at all, though the hot and spicy noodle soup would probably go down well for different people. Perhaps the moral of this is just to choose dishes by sight that I like the look of, rather than ones suggested by some random online, and maybe I don't like dishes as spicy as BB. In the past I've happily eaten many dishes that cost B30-50, that I'd give 6/10 or 7/10 for taste.

Value for money 9/10 At B29 for each dish, maybe I shouldn't be too picky, but I've done much better than this before at Pier21

Would I go again? Yes, definitely. I've been here about twenty times before, and always enjoyed it more than this. Thousands of meals a day are produced in here, and some won't work out. It's a good place and I recommend anyone go there.

 

Another notable thing about Pier 21 is the toilets, which contain those fancy Japanese toilets that fire warm water at your ass, blow dry it, and for all I know waft a puff of talcum powder over it. If you're into those sort of toilets, here they are, in a public shopping centre for free.

Not sure if 30 baht food is worthy of review, it's just there to fill a hole.

[SirL]

4 minutes ago, mcfish said:

Not sure if 30 baht food is worthy of review, it's just there to fill a hole.

Fair point, I agree with where you're coming from, except that often Pier21 kitchens produce things which really do do more than just fill a hole.  It's usually not just hole-filling stuff, I just lucked out on my last visit but I've had some good stuff there before and I expect I will again.

Just look at the length of what BangkokBits wrote about the place!

[mcfish]

Fair point, I agree with where you're coming from, except that often Pier21 kitchens produce things which really do do more than just fill a hole.  It's usually not just hole-filling stuff, I just lucked out on my last visit but I've had some good stuff there before and I expect I will again.

Just look at the length of what BangkokBits wrote about the place!

I actually own a condo 5 minutes away on soi 13 and eat their regularly. It's mind boggling that you can eat for that price in a new shopping mall

 

The only thing I rate a 2/10 is the lack of tables (probably 100) and all taken so I go at 11am for brunch

 

Never really had a bad meal but I love spicy so that helps

 

[SirL]

18 minutes ago, mcfish said:

Not sure if 30 baht food is worthy of review, it's just there to fill a hole.

I'm not sure I'm doing much of a review, I don't claim to have the tasting skills or English prose style to do that.  I'm not big on the fancy adjectives of proper reviewers.  I think of the point of this thread as more just identifying good stuff to guys who may not have heard of it, along with the key details of where it is and the menu etc.

Oh whoops, the title says "reviews".  I'll show myself out....

[navidnavid]

great topic Sirl... I'm tuned into this one. 

[SirL]

3 minutes ago, navidnavid said:

great topic Sirl... I'm tuned into this one. 

Welcome on board.  There's a long way to go, I'm here until early March.  Try to reply a bit, I don't want this to be me just rambling on.

[SirL]

I went for a long walk this afternoon from Central to the end of the point and then up the hill and around to the baht bus home.  I was trying to work out in my own mind exactly what annoys me so much about the Robin Hood staff and what I want out of it.  I'm certainly not primarily motivated by getting some refund, I mean I'm B239 down from the RH experience but that's peanuts really.  Refunding me B239 won't cure my anger.

I think the problem is that I feel insulted by those RH liars, they thought they could con me, but I'm no fool and I'd looked at enough pics of the large roast that I wasn't going to be conned.  Maybe they usually succeed in giving guys who pay B299 the small plateful, or maybe they think Eatigo customers don't deserve the full item.  I just want an apology and to be sure they won't spring that trick again.  Maybe they don't actually ever serve the large B299 plateful now?  They just give guys small platefuls and no-one complains.  Con artists.  And the food was stone cold as well.  And all those f**king peas.

If anyone seriously wants the big B299 plateful in the near future, I advise having that publicity pic I used of the large tempting B299 plateful ready on your phone as you go in, and be ready to fight or walk out if what you get doesn't resemble that.

[baddog666]

42 minutes ago, mcfish said:

I actually own a condo 5 minutes away on soi 13 and eat their regularly. It's mind boggling that you can eat for that price in a new shopping mall

 

The only thing I rate a 2/10 is the lack of tables (probably 100) and all taken so I go at 11am for brunch

 

Never really had a bad meal but I love spicy so that helps

 

I have eaten there many times and would call it average compared to other food court type places in similar venues.

Terminal 21 has been there 7 years , so I would hardly call it "new" , but does have some of the best public toilets in Bangkok.

Many people eat here including the huge staff who work in the area, so going at prime time 11: 45-12:45 it will be crowded.

Although Terminal 21 itself is very clean and well maintained , the food court, not so much..... have seen cockroaches at several vendors.

[SirL]

Simon David Peatfield has replied to me on FB to say that he sold the Robin Hood a while ago, but he kindly gave me the contact details of the new owner, Nick Scott, who I have now messaged to invite him to comment here.  Does this mean the Robin Hood is no longer part of the Retox group?  I guess so, I didn't know that.  Could that be why the RH has declined recently?

[SirL]

Dream on boys, this is misleading.

[mcfish]

I have eaten there many times and would call it average compared to other food court type places in similar venues.

Terminal 21 has been there 7 years , so I would hardly call it "new" , but does have some of the best public toilets in Bangkok.

Many people eat here including the huge staff who work in the area, so going at prime time 11: 45-12:45 it will be crowded.

Although Terminal 21 itself is very clean and well maintained , the food court, not so much..... have seen cockroaches at several vendors.

Your arguing semantics 7 year old for a mall is still very much new maybe not brand new , When the rest of the malls are 30 years old

 

The only one newer is the next bts station up EM Quartier and it has

3 floors of absolutely amazing resteraunts and a number of 5star . By far the best in bangkok

 

But that must be 4 years old now. There are no "new malls"

 

I never seen a roach in 5 years of dining at t21 haven't seen a roach in Central world Pattaya either.

 

[CuppaTea]

6 minutes ago, SirL said:

Simon David Peatfield has replied to me on FB to say that he sold the Robin Hood a while ago, but he kindly gave me the contact details of the new owner, Nick Scott, who I have now messaged to invite him to comment here.  Does this mean the Robin Hood is no longer part of the Retox group?  I guess so, I didn't know that.  Could that be why the RH has declined recently?

I'm very surprised that Captain Dave on here the Retox darkside manager didn't mention the sale of Robin Hood.

Sirl, you've not commented on my asking you about you seemingly not buying drinks in restaurants.

Not that have you to of course but I'm now wondering if your taking your own in ?

Like I said anyways, thanks for starting and continuing with this topic.

[baddog666]

3 hours ago, mcfish said:

Your arguing semantics 7 year old for a mall is still very much new maybe not brand new , When the rest of the malls are 30 years old

 

The only one newer is the next bts station up EM Quartier and it has

3 floors of absolutely amazing resteraunts and a number of 5star . By far the best in bangkok

 

But that must be 4 years old now. There are no "new malls"

 

I never seen a roach in 5 years of dining at t21 haven't seen a roach in Central world Pattaya either.

 

I like Termianl 21....  but I wasn't hallucinating seeing roaches in the Pier....  

[KittenKong]

11 hours ago, SirL said:

Thanks for your sympathy.  In reply to your bottom line about someone with a big appetite, all I wanted was just the plateful in my top pic, ie the publicity pic of the B299 version.  I didn't really want AYCE (I've been doing a bit too much AYCEating recently!).  I just wanted that publicity pic.  Is that unreasonable?  (Yes, I know, of course it's not)

 

Of course it isnt and I would have been annoyed too. I was just pointing out that the buffet option is there for those who want it.

[KittenKong]

7 hours ago, SirL said:

I think the problem is that I feel insulted by those RH liars, they thought they could con me, but I'm no fool and I'd looked at enough pics of the large roast that I wasn't going to be conned.  Maybe they usually succeed in giving guys who pay B299 the small plateful, or maybe they think Eatigo customers don't deserve the full item.  I just want an apology and to be sure they won't spring that trick again.  Maybe they don't actually ever serve the large B299 plateful now?  They just give guys small platefuls and no-one complains.  Con artists.  And the food was stone cold as well. 

 

One thing I would mention: some people are unaware of the lengths Thais will go to to avoid having to admit they are wrong or have made a mistake or did their job wrong. Losing face is very important to them.

Doesn't make it any less annoying to non-Thais though.

[KittenKong]

11 hours ago, SirL said:

I have a vague feeling that the portion size I was given was connected to that I had entered with an Eatigo discount, ie that the serving staff had the attitude that "he's not paying full price, we'll won't give him full quantity".  That's not something I've felt before when using Eatigo.  I don't know if that's any kind of official policy from RH management .......

Definitely not supposed to happen, and it's not something I have ever come across as a long-time Eatigo user. Retox places do also offer an in-house discount with their VIP card, so one would not expect them to worry unduly about it.

To me this all sounds like a new owner who may be feeling the pinch a little. I've been here for many years and I've lost track of the number of failed businesses I've seen in the Avenue in general and in that outlet in particular since it was built. I always think of it as the kiss of death mall.

[Pheat]

14 hours ago, SirL said:

Simon David Peatfield has replied to me on FB to say that he sold the Robin Hood a while ago, but he kindly gave me the contact details of the new owner, Nick Scott, who I have now messaged to invite him to comment here.  Does this mean the Robin Hood is no longer part of the Retox group?  I guess so, I didn't know that.  Could that be why the RH has declined recently?

I give RH 12 months maximum before it goes out of business Great piece of flipping by Mr Peatfield .

[SirL]

15 hours ago, CuppaTea said:

I'm very surprised that Captain Dave on here the Retox darkside manager didn't mention the sale of Robin Hood.

Sirl, you've not commented on my asking you about you seemingly not buying drinks in restaurants.

Not that have you to of course but I'm now wondering if your taking your own in ?

Like I said anyways, thanks for starting and continuing with this topic.

In post #61, I'm just passing on what was written to me in a FB message from Simon David Peatfield.  If others know more about the Retox group ownerships etc, please write here.  I wonder if this sale is in some way being kept quiet?

I don't remember you asking about not buying drinks in restaurants, but yes, it is true that I don't buy many drinks for myself in rests.  My thinking is that we all drink a lot in Pattaya, and I'm trying to cut down a little.  In relation to the price of drinks in girlie bars, I accept the argument that you're not just paying for the drink, you're paying for the entertainment happening in front of you.  In a restaurant there's none of that sort of entertainment, so it's restaurant drinks that, yes, I do try to cut out.

I'd never take my own drink into a restaurant, but I might buy a Coke Zero or something from a 7-11 immediately before or after a rest meal.

[SirL]

In respect of the sale of Robin Hood etc, my only source of information is these messages which I received on FB yesterday.  Perhaps there is some factual error, if so corrections welcome.  I'm sorry I can't assemble it onto one screen for a good screenshot.

 

 

[SirL]

Benjamit Coffee                                          Cappucino: B65

Friendly place with excellent coffee, popular with local expats

I'd just about run out of ground coffee for the greedy coffee machine in my condo, and the obvious place to buy more was Benjamit. Many people say it's the best coffee in Pattaya, though I personally haven't tried many others to compare. I'm not a great coffee expert.

There are several sorts of coffee beans to choose between, ranging from B200 to B400 for 250g. On the shelf it is whole beans, but they grind it for you to a grade suitable for whatever machine you're using.

I went for 250g of the Premium blend ground medium for B250, as well as a large cappucino for B65.

Coffee taste: 8/10

Value for money: 7/10

Would I return? Yes, it's the obvious place to buy ground coffee around Pattaya.  Apparently it's hard to get a table on market days (Tues and Fri)

 

Sorry this is a bit boring compared to the Robin Hood thing, but gotta keep the show moving along and all that...

[KittenKong]

2 minutes ago, SirL said:

Yes, it's the obvious place to buy ground coffee around Pattaya.  Apparently it's hard to get a table on market days (Tues and Fri)

I buy my ground coffee there, and yes it is ridiculously busy on market days. You usually cant park anywhere nearby either, so I tend to get my coffee on other days.

Friendship over the road has a fairly wide selection of beans too.

Sometimes BigC discounts the various imported French blends that they stock and I have had some bargains there in the past.

[KittenKong]

15 hours ago, CuppaTea said:

you've not commented on my asking you about you seemingly not buying drinks in restaurants.

Not that have you to of course but I'm now wondering if your taking your own in ?

RH provide free iced water from a dispenser for diners so you dont need to buy a bottle if you dont want to. Or perhaps I should say that they used to provide free water and may still do.

[SirL]

4 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

RH provide free iced water from a dispenser for diners so you dont need to buy a bottle if you dont want to. Or perhaps I should say that they used to provide free water and may still do.

RH actually provided me with a glass with some ice in it, but no water ever appeared.  Probably I was supposed to get it for myself.  No big deal.