IHOP Says Opening at Siam Paragon on April 16

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Stopped by the promised IHOP location in the lower level of Siam Paragon this past weekend, and still not open. In fact, very little visible change from my prior visit there about two weeks earlier, except the addition of a bit more interior signage for the restaurant.

 

They're now a full month past their promised opening day in mid-April. I've sent a couple FB messages to their account asking for an update, and the only responses that come back are automated ones saying they'll get back to me soon. It's hard to figure what's going on there.

 

The place looks like it's pretty much ready to open at this point, but I've never actually seen anyone working on it there on any of the times when I've stopped by... Maybe they only work after hours, dunno. Perhaps missing their promised, announced opening date by at least a month, at this point, is just the normal scheduling process for anything getting done in Thailand.

 

 

[Pdaz]

Still miss the old Denny's in the basement of Orchard Towers Singapore. Had some great "after party" breakfasts in there. It was pretty popular with Thais too back in the day.. 

[Sure]

I miss the Denny's in Bangkok back in the 90's. One was in Sukhumvit Soi 33, open all hours

[Rob13]

IHOP sucks. Bland, over priced  hospital food. Never figured out how they stay open. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

UPDATE:

 

Was in Siam Paragon today, and passed by the IHOP location there, and actually saw some activity, including what looked like some staff hiring discussions and some initial staff training.

 

Stopped and asked the guy who looked to be in charge when they were going to open. And he replied, the new opening date for the IHOP outlet in Paragon is supposed to be Monday, June 12. Which, for those keeping track, is just about two months late beyond what was their original promised opening date.  Let's see if they can manage to stick to the new date.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Well, the answer to the above question is NO, they didn't make the promised June 12 date. Nor will they make a subsequently promised June 16 soft opening date (a promise I only knew about because I saw it had been taped over/erased on their current promotional posters at the site.  The varied and unmet opening date promises are getting a bit beyond silly at this point.

 

However, I did stop by the Siam Paragon IHOP location again earlier this week and happened to run into one of the business people involved in opening the restaurant, and that source had a variety of interesting things to say, as follows.

 

--the latest promised dates are a "soft opening" planned for this coming Saturday, June 17, followed by an official opening for some reason planned for Thursday, June 29. See the photo below of the current promotional posters at the site.

 

 

 

The menu for the ground floor IHOP location at Paragon is going to be limited to just simpler things like pancakes, crepes, waffles and such. Not surprisingly, the business person indicated that because of their central island/open air location there, Paragon wasn't going to allow them to cook any smokey-smelling meats (sausage, bacon, etc.) at that site.

 

However, the surprisingly good news that the business person offered was that the franchisee behind the Thai IHOP operation also has plans to open a full-menu IHOP location on the fourth floor of Paragon in an enclosed restaurant space where all of IHOP's typical kinds of dishes could be prepared. The business person estimated that the second, full-service IHOP location might come online about 4 months after the current one opens. So based on past performance, that might reasonably end up being six months or a year later, who knows.

 

Another interesting tidbit that surfaced from the conversation was that the franchisee behind the IHOP opening at Paragon is the same hi-so, well-heeled Thai woman whose was/is behind the Krispy Kreme franchise coming to Thailand and opening at Paragon and elsewhere some time back.

 

That would be Ausanee Mahagitsiri, president of the King Food Group Co., who according to Forbes also recently acquired the Pizza Hut franchise in Thailand. And according to another article, already has Cinnabon and the newly acquired Jamba Juice rights for Thailand. Her family/father is one of the richest men in Thailand, through his joint venture with Nestle in Thailand.

 

https://insideretailthailand.com/2017/05/king-food-group-plans-regional-thrust/

 

Quote

 

King Food has just received the Thailand rights to run Jamba Juice, a vegetable and fruit smoothie and juice brand from the US, and iHop, an American pancake restaurant chain.
 

Jamba Juice’s first branch opened at Siam Paragon in Bangkok last week with 15 seats and 20 employees.

With a 10-year contract, the company plans to open 40 to 50 Jamba Juice branches in Thailand.

 

https://www.forbes.com/profile/prayudh-mahagitsiri/

Quote

 

Prayudh Mahagitsiri

 

Real Time Net Worth — as of 6/15/17

$1.68 B

Thailand's coffee king Prayudh Mahagitsiri's Quality Coffee Products is a long-standing joint venture with Nestlé. With a 60% market share, it has been cashing in on the country's rising coffee culture. He also has interests in steel, copper, shipping, offshore drilling and property development. His daughter Ausanee, who runs the Krispy Kreme franchise in the country, recently acquired the Pizza Hut franchise in Thailand. Son Chalermchai, a Boston University grad, is CEO of holding outfit PM Group.

 

 

[CLW]

"Her family/father is one of the richest men in Thailand, through his joint venture with Nestle in Thailand"

Another reason not to go there. Just throwing more money into their pockets...

[bbi1]

On 2017-3-30 at 6:39 PM, tutsiwarrior said:

 

yeah...I'd line up at a Taco Bell anytime...'two tacos and two green burritos, please...'

 

(consume inna frenzy and then 'burp'...memories of the past)

 

 

You could always go to Sunrise Tacos and get that exact same menu :)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 6/15/2017 at 11:07 PM, CLW said:

"Her family/father is one of the richest men in Thailand, through his joint venture with Nestle in Thailand"
Another reason not to go there. Just throwing more money into their pockets...

 

Recall that Thais went crazy and queued up around the block at Siam Paragon for days/weeks after the original opening of the Krispy Kreme branch. I'm not sure how or why it became one of those stereotypically frenzied Thai food things (like roti a few years back or the Japanese fish-shaped croissants more recently), but it did. I know KK because I'm an American and grew up with them, but I always wondered how the interest got piqued among Thais here.

 

In regards to IHOP, the U.S. version is one of my favorite breakfast haunts when I'm in the States, so I'm hoping for good things from the inaugural venture here. I kind of doubt IHOP Paragon is going to attract the same kind of craziness as KK did, but who knows, the folks behind it certainly have the resources and connections to make things happen. I'll just be happy if they manage to stay in business, manage to prepare and present a quality product over time, and keep at bay Pancake Cafe, a local competitor that has a branch just steps away in the same section of Paragon's ground level.

[CLW]

 
Recall that Thais went crazy and queued up around the block at Siam Paragon for days/weeks after the original opening of the Krispy Kreme branch. I'm not sure how or why it became one of those stereotypically frenzied Thai food things (like roti a few years back or the Japanese fish-shaped croissants more recently), but it did. I know KK because I'm an American and grew up with them, but I always wondered how the interest got piqued among Thais here.
 
In regards to IHOP, the U.S. version is one of my favorite breakfast haunts when I'm in the States, so I'm hoping for good things from the inaugural venture here. I kind of doubt IHOP Paragon is going to attract the same kind of craziness as KK did, but who knows, the folks behind it certainly have the resources and connections to make things happen. I'll just be happy if they manage to stay in business, manage to prepare and present a quality product over time, and keep at bay Pancake Cafe, a local competitor that has a branch just steps away in the same section of Paragon's ground level.

I have to admit that I like KK Donuts the most here in Thailand.
They are also the only ones that doesn't give me a heartburn after eating.
If there wasn't always this smell from frying and the fact you have to make a dozen or so at once, I would make them more often by myself at home.
Switched to making Bagels occasionally because you can freeze and warm up.
Don't need frying as well

[Rc2702]

I make these at home now. Got this piece of kit from kaidee imported from US. Makes keyboard sized waffles in the exact shape and number of keys on a qwerty keyboard. Not cheap 4000 baht but it is iron and very well made. Already been offered 4000 for it by a coffee shop.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Rc2702 said:

I make these at home now. Got this piece of kit from kaidee imported from US. Makes keyboard sized waffles in the exact shape and number of keys on a qwerty keyboard. Not cheap 4000 baht but it is iron and very well made. Already been offered 4000 for it by a coffee shop.

 

 

I too bought a waffle maker here, originally a cheaper one from Robinson's, and then later a better, slightly more expensive one for about 1300b on sale from Verasu in BKK. I've used it a lot, and still do, to make waffles at home. And of course can and do cook pancakes with similar batter in the skillet from time to time also.

 

But it's nice to go out sometime and leave the cooking to someone else, like IHOP for example, when they're already set up to prepare the fancier kind of things...  See the following post below....

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just got back from an afternoon "breakfast" at the new IHOP location on the ground floor of Siam Paragon, nearby the Mandarin Oriental cafe there. Bottom line: they're just in their soft opening period now and obviously have a new staff that's still trying to figure things out. But the menu is nice, the prices are reasonable, and the food I had was pretty good for IHOP -- enough to make me plan on returning for periodic visits.

 

Here's the basics for now:

 

--IHOP opening hours are the same as the mall, so it's 10 am to 9:30 pm, the IHOP staff told me.

 

--at least for the next week or so, they're a cash only operation. I tried to pay with a bank card, and the staff told me they don't have their bank card machine set up yet, and getting one would be at least a week away.

 

--the current menu covers a wide variety of pancakes, waffles, french toast, omelettes, crepes, cheesey melt sandwiches, and a few salads. However, in the ground floor location, because of mall restrictions there, no hash browns, no sausages or bacon, etc.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Here's what their menu looks like:

 

 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

Here's what their menu looks like:
 





 
 

No breakfasts ☹

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Some random observations:

 

I was there for about an hour from about 2:30 to 3:30 pm today, and in that entire time, I was the only non-Asian customer in the restaurant. Mostly Thais, but a few other Asians as well.

 

I had a strawberry-banana pancakes for 195b and a spinach and mushroom omelette for 175b. Both items came solo with nothing on the side, and here's what they looked like:

 

The pancakes were really pleasant, light texture, soft, easy flavor, not over cooked.

The Thai operation seems to have the U.S. IHOP style of pancakes working right.

 

 

The omelette came out looking kind of funky, smaller in size than what I recall of their U.S. version, and with some kind of cheesey topping or sauce that I'm not sure what it was. But despite that, the flavor was OK, and as the second picture shows, they put a decent amount of spinach and mushrooms into the filling.

 

 

 

A few other odds and ends:

 

On the menu under the drinks section, as you might look for to go with a breakfast, I looked for orange juice and found none. So I asked the staff, and the waitress wasn't sure, so she went off to check and returned to say yes they had OJ, even though it wasn't on the menu. So then I asked if it was fresh or reasonably fresh vs. the standard Thai Tipco/Malee type stuff, and again, she had to go off to check, and returned with the answer, "carton," so I passed.

 

Instead, I ordered a hot tea, and somewhat to my surprise, was later delivered a single cup of VERY dark hot Lipton's tea with no tea bag in the cup or alongside. In fact, no saucer, and no small teapot of hot water even, just the solo cup. So at one point, one of the American guys who was helping there from the franchise company came by the table and thought they had delivered me a coffee by mistake... but no, it was tea. So when I asked him about a tea pot for more water, he answered that they didn't have any tea pots for tea... but did later bring along a big coffee pitcher with hot water in it.

 

When I arrived at about 2:30 pm, they actually had a short queue of people waiting, and initially told me it would be about a 15 minute wait. As it turned out, it was only about a 5 minute wait. But by the time I left about 3:30 pm, the place was less busy and there was no queue at that point.  All in all, there are probably about 15 tables there, depending on whether they're solo tables for 2 or combined together to accommodate larger parties.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

10 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

No breakfasts ☹

What's your definition of "breakfast"?

 

For me, an omelette and an order of pancakes qualifies as a "breakfast."

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Ahh... I forgot... One other IHOP touch from home arrives with the new venue at Paragon...

 

 

PS -  for anyone who doesn't know what these are, they're small pitchers of flavored pancake syrup on each table that are a standard feature at IHOPs in the U.S., and now at the Paragon BKK location as well.

 

It was kind of funny: at one point, I looked over at a table next to mine and saw an older Asian couple sitting there eating, and one had an iced coffee on the table in front of them, and then proceeded to pour a bit of one of the flavored pancake syrups into their iced coffee.  Well, I wouldn't have thought of that... But I guess it works....

 

[Mrjlh]

Almost the same prices as in the States.  No surprise.

[brewsterbudgen]

What's your definition of "breakfast"?
 
For me, an omelette and an order of pancakes qualifies as a "breakfast."
 

IHOPs usually have a breakfast selection with eggs (any way), bacon, sausage links, hash browns etc. And coffee.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

24 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

IHOPs usually have a breakfast selection with eggs (any way), bacon, sausage links, hash browns etc. And coffee.

That's correct. And of course, the current ground floor location certainly has their coffee, and if I recall, that includes their unlimited pot.

 

But as for the bacon, sausages, eggs other than omelettes, and hash browns (all my favorites), as I had previously explained above, those are going to have to wait for the promised 4th floor full restaurant version of IHOP in the coming months. The mall won't let them cook those in the open air setting on the ground floor.

 

[fishbrando]

On 6/15/2017 at 9:32 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

And according to another article, already has Cinnabon and the newly acquired Jamba Juice rights for Thailand.

Jamba Juice is going to do very well here.  The weather is perfect for year-round fruit smoothies.  

 

I went to the one in Siam Paragon and sadly, the menu is quite limited compared to the ones in the US.  Still, it was nice to see.

[fishbrando]

Here's an archive link for that Inside Retail article which is behind a login wall: https://archive.fo/WUXyg

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just a bit of an update re the IHOP in the basement of Siam Paragon, which is still humming along. Was there for a breakfast visit today.

 

1. HASH BROWNS -- Right now, and apparently until the end of Jan., they're having a pair of off-the-menu specials that are only advertised on a standing placard in front of their dining area -- curiously, a couple of hash brown dishes (hash browns topped with sauces or cheese or various things).

 

That came as quite a surprise, since previously, the staff there had maintained that Siam Paragon wouldn't let them do that kind of cooking because of the potential frying smells that would occur in an open-air area of the mall. But now, apparently, it's OK, at least on a temporary basis. And when I asked, the manager said they'd also be willing to prepare a straight hash browns-only dish (without all the stuff added), even though that's not an option listed on their placards. Didn't get a chance to try them today, as I didn't see their placard until after our meal. But it's on my agenda to go back and try their HBs pretty soon.

 

Again, nothing about the hash browns is listed on their regular restaurant menu, as these are being billed only as temporary specials. But it really piqued my interest, because reasonably authentic American coffee shop style hash browns are pretty much a rarity in Bangkok, AFAIK. A few places do "home fries" and too many use the frozen hash brown patties that can be found in the supermarkets. But fresh cooked regular hash browns are an entirely different thing.

 

2. 4TH FLOOR RESTAURANT -- While chatting with the manager, I asked about the status of their planned full-service/full IHOP menu upstairs 4th floor restaurant. And the manager replied that it's on schedule to open later in January. When pressed he actually said mid-January. But originally, they were very off/late in their projections of when the basement venue was going to open vs. when it actually did. So I'd start out taking his mid-Jan. prediction with a considerable grain of salt. But at least, it was good to hear that the local franchisee is still pursuing plans to open a full menu IHOP upstairs.

[up-country_sinclair]

It's late January, does anyone have an update on the fourth floor location to report?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, up-country_sinclair said:

It's late January, does anyone have an update on the fourth floor location to report?

 

I was there for lunch a couple days back, at the basement location, and there was no sign or mention that the 4th floor location had opened as yet. But I haven't gone wandering up to the 4th floor to see just how far things have progressed.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

BTW, I was meaning to post, for anyone who loves reasonably authentic American coffee shop style hash browns, IHOP's Paragon basement location has them available, at least thru the end of this month.

 

I've tried the couple of hash brown entrees they're offering via a sign board special in front of their restaurant (the two items aren't listed on the actual regular menus) and I didn't think they were very good. But, I've asked the staff there a couple times to just give me orders of PLAIN hash browns without all their sauces and add-ons, and the plain hash browns are quite good, basically virtually the same as what you'd get at an IHOP location in the States.

 

And the kicker is, at least when I've ordered them repeatedly from the basement location, they're willing to add just a plain order of griddle fried hash browns for just 50 baht to go along with whatever else I've ordered, an omelet or waffle or pancakes or whatever.  I don't know anywhere else in BKK that serves reasonably authentic American coffee shop style hash browns.

 

Here's their plain hash browns that they're offering, not listed anywhere on the menu, for 50 baht.

And here's their sign board listed 240b hash browns entree, a spinach and mushroom dish that I'd take a pass on.

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Stopped by the IHOP in the basement of Siam Paragon today, and took the opportunity to also scout out the coming full menu location on the 4th floor.  The 4th floor location is getting close. The staff in the basement predicted maybe another week, but apparently they're waiting on final approval from their IHOP corporate overseers.

 

The 4th floor IHOP location is in the Paragon area called "Food Passage."  If you come in to Paragon via the main BTS Skytrain entrance, walk straight forward past the elevators and past the first circular escalators and go forward to the second set of escalators, which will go straight forward/upward floor by floor to the 4th, without having to walk the half circles floor by floor or have a long elevators wait.

 

This is what the 4th floor IHOP area looks like, really not much different than the basement, except that the cooking space is presumably behind the side corridor walls away from the public mall areas, and thus can have grilling and frying smells, unlike the basement location, where the cooking area is in an open-air area right alongside the seating area, and thus can only cook limited things.

 

 

 

 

The best thing today, though, was having a chance to look at the coming full menu for the 4th floor location, and see that they'll have quite a range of both pancake breakfast combos  (flavored pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 sausage or bacon, and hash browns) for 295b+ and many egg-based breakfast combination (various item choices) for 220 to 295b+. I'd consider those prices to be good value for what you're getting. Ohh.. and a side orders menu that includes orders of quite good hash browns for 50b per. Along with menu sections for hamburgers, omelettes, sandwiches, salads, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tutsiwarrior]

but no chorizo and scrambled with rice, beans and corn tortillas and fresh salsa???

 

sheddd....and before 11am no beer to go with it???

 

 

[canuckamuck]

I might have actually stumbled across a reason to enter Bangkok for the first time in 8 years