Thai Beverage is entering the sports or electrolyte drink market through the launch of Power Plus jproducts to help balance out its alcoholic beverage business.
"The company will focus on penetrating the non-alcoholic beverae market, as the revenue from this segment is only 1 per cent of the total. The portion is too small given the company's mission to be an integrated beverage company," Marut Buranasetkul, deputy managing director of Thai Beverage Marketing, said yesterday.
ThaiBev has already taken over energy-drink maker Wrangyer, as its first step in diversifying away from the alcohol business.
ThaiBev's sales in the first half of this year were up only 0.9 per cent on year to Bt54 billion, while net profit rose 9.7 per cent to Bt5.8 billion on improved margins.
ThaiBev wil keep launching three to four products a year, both through its own innovation and through part nership with other companies.
To boost its nonkk-alcoholic bever age business, the company next year would embark on an image-building campaing. Its non-alcolic portfolio now covers sodas,bottled water, coffee and energy drinks.
Power Plus is targeted to be the No by 2012, which requires sales growth of over 15 per cent per year, Marut said. Sponsor controls 60 per cent of the market, follwed by M Sport with 25-30 per cent and Gatorade with 5-10 per cent.
The company has set aside a Bt70 million marketing budget for the new products, targeting health-conscious people as well as sportsmen, to achieve the first-year sales target of Bt300 million or 10 per cent of the market.
At the end of next month, Power Plus will be available in modern trade channels, with sales outlets to be expanded later.
"We haven't invested hugely in the product,as it is made by the Wrangyer factory and wil be supported by Thai Beverage's strong distribution network," he said.
To penetrate the export market,ThaiBev yesterday signed on as an official sponsor for the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane, with Power Plus as its main sponsorship product.
Power Plus is targeted to be No2 player in the sports drink segment by 2012-an annual growth of 15 per cent.
Power Plus joins fray: Thai Beverage is entering the sports or electrolyte drink market through the launch of Power Plus products to help balance out its alcoholic beverage business.
Friday, October 2, 2009
TREND RISKS REDUCED BY HIGH VALUE-ADDED
SCG Paper, a business unit of the Siam Cement Group, plans to boost its proportion of revenue from high value-added paper to 25 per cent by next year.
The move will be aimed at diver-sifying risks arising from general paper consumption, which usually follows economic trends.
President Chaovalit Ekabut yesterday said sales revenue form high value-added paper had showed a slight year-on-year increase so far, while revenue from other products had fallen, due to the economic slowdown.
The proportion of company revenue generated by high value-added paper is about 20 per cent this year, and that is set to increase.
SCG Paper generated revenue fo Bt47.11 bilion last year.
"Paper consumption, both domestically and in export markets, is in line with the world economic situation. If we focus more on innovative products, we have a greater chance of expanding our client base and our markets. At present, SCG Paper manufactures high valueadded products made from paper for several clients," he said.
Chaovlit said total paper consumption in the first half of the year fell 20 per cent year on year in volume, while paper prices fell 15-20 percent. SCG Paper's first-half sales volume declined at a double-kigit rate from a year earlier, but its figures are still better than those of the overall market.
paper-consumption trends and paper prices have been improving in the second half, thanks to the econow 10-15 per ecnt lower than at this time last year.
If Thailand's exports recover in the fourth quarter and early next year, then demand for paper should also improve, he said.
SCG Paper recently began manufacturing coffee sleeves made from recycled paper. The sleeves come with ThermoXense, a heat-indicator sticker that is produced exclusively for True Coffee. If the beverage in the sleeve is hot, the heat indicatkor turns from a red colour to white. SCG Paper has produced 100,000 ThermoZense sleeves for True Coffee and may produce more in the future.
Papon Ratanachaikanont, assistant to True Corp's president, said True Coffee had cancelled the importation of coffee sleeves from China and switched to ordering them from SCG Paper, a Thai manufacturer.
He said True Coffee would raise its full-year revenue target after achieving its earlier target of Bt140 million in only the first half.
The move will be aimed at diver-sifying risks arising from general paper consumption, which usually follows economic trends.
President Chaovalit Ekabut yesterday said sales revenue form high value-added paper had showed a slight year-on-year increase so far, while revenue from other products had fallen, due to the economic slowdown.
The proportion of company revenue generated by high value-added paper is about 20 per cent this year, and that is set to increase.
SCG Paper generated revenue fo Bt47.11 bilion last year.
"Paper consumption, both domestically and in export markets, is in line with the world economic situation. If we focus more on innovative products, we have a greater chance of expanding our client base and our markets. At present, SCG Paper manufactures high valueadded products made from paper for several clients," he said.
Chaovlit said total paper consumption in the first half of the year fell 20 per cent year on year in volume, while paper prices fell 15-20 percent. SCG Paper's first-half sales volume declined at a double-kigit rate from a year earlier, but its figures are still better than those of the overall market.
paper-consumption trends and paper prices have been improving in the second half, thanks to the econow 10-15 per ecnt lower than at this time last year.
If Thailand's exports recover in the fourth quarter and early next year, then demand for paper should also improve, he said.
SCG Paper recently began manufacturing coffee sleeves made from recycled paper. The sleeves come with ThermoXense, a heat-indicator sticker that is produced exclusively for True Coffee. If the beverage in the sleeve is hot, the heat indicatkor turns from a red colour to white. SCG Paper has produced 100,000 ThermoZense sleeves for True Coffee and may produce more in the future.
Papon Ratanachaikanont, assistant to True Corp's president, said True Coffee had cancelled the importation of coffee sleeves from China and switched to ordering them from SCG Paper, a Thai manufacturer.
He said True Coffee would raise its full-year revenue target after achieving its earlier target of Bt140 million in only the first half.
Friday, September 25, 2009
PEPSICO NAMED ON CHINESE BLACKLIST
Many foreign companies, including PepsiCo and Mead Johnson, from 25 countries have been blacklisted by a monthly report from the State Council watchdog in charge of product quality.
Among the firms blacklisted, the most prominent was PepsiCo, which has its international branch based in New York. Nearly 38 tonnes of frozen concentrated orange juice that the firm allegedly imported from Louis Dreyfus Citrus Trading in Brazil in July were found with excessive years, according to the website of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Excessive yeast causes foods to spoil faster.
The watchdog issues its report monthly and names unqualified imported goods. Though the listing has no economic impact on the firms listed, the banned products are either return-ed or destroyed.
Mead Johnson, the plarmaceutical manufacturer based in Illinois, allegedly imported 300 kilograms of baby formula in July with substandard protein.
Some 150 other batches of food, beverages and dosmetics from more than 20 countries were also deemed unqualified in July. A quarter of the substandard products came from the US.
Among the firms blacklisted, the most prominent was PepsiCo, which has its international branch based in New York. Nearly 38 tonnes of frozen concentrated orange juice that the firm allegedly imported from Louis Dreyfus Citrus Trading in Brazil in July were found with excessive years, according to the website of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Excessive yeast causes foods to spoil faster.
The watchdog issues its report monthly and names unqualified imported goods. Though the listing has no economic impact on the firms listed, the banned products are either return-ed or destroyed.
Mead Johnson, the plarmaceutical manufacturer based in Illinois, allegedly imported 300 kilograms of baby formula in July with substandard protein.
Some 150 other batches of food, beverages and dosmetics from more than 20 countries were also deemed unqualified in July. A quarter of the substandard products came from the US.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
OISHI MD TAN MAKES A SPLASH IN REAL ESTATE
Tan Passakornnatee, Oishi Group managing director, plans several major investments in property and hospitality projects in the coming year.
A condominium projects on Sukhumvit Road worth Bt2.5 billion will be his first investment next year, following an investment of Bt450 million to develop a luxury hotel, Villa Maroc, in Pranburi district of Prachuab Khiri Khan province three years ago. Villa Maroc will have its grand opening on Jan 1.
Tan said he began investing his own money in property three years ago, spending between Bt2 billion and Bt3 billion to collect undeveloped land in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Lopburi land Pranburi district.
He said that after collecting more land, he plans to developed residences and hospitality projects from next year until 2012.
The first project will be a condominium block worth Bt2.5 billion. Tan is in negotiations with strategic partners to develop this project.
He has also joined with Siam Future Development to develop unused land in Chang Mai as a community mall. Investment will begin next year. Among other plans are the development of land in Lopburi province as a weekend market.
Meanwhile, land owned by Tan on Ploenchit Road, which currently houses a Caltex petrol station, will be developed into a hotel when the petrol station's lease expires in three or four years.
Tan also has 12 rai of land on Soi Thong Lor. Currently it is being used as a soccer field but Tan thinks it has potential for development.
"When we decided to invest in the property business, we saw a business opportunity that was different from the kind that lures others investors, who are often drawn to in stocks or gold, or deposit their money in the bank," he said. While the returns on bank deposits are currently lower than inflation, he said, investment in land makems sense in the long term.
"We aren't concerned solely about high return on investment. Our priorities are that our investments," he said.
When he started to develop Villa Maroc in Pranburi, Tan spent Bt450 million on just 15 rooms. That is not a recipe for a high return on investment. But he believed in taking the long-term view that the more important goal was creating an attractive tourist destination in Pranburi district. "When tourists visit Pranburi, they have to visit Villa Maroc," was the goal.
For his condominium project on Sukhumvit, Than is nekgotiating with a strategic partner.
His future projects will also find require strategic partners, due to Tan's philosophyj that when it comes to business, he does not know everything.
Tan built the Oishi Group, which manages Japanese restaurants and produces and distributes green tea under the Oishi brand, then sold a stake to beverage tycoon Charoen Siriwattanabhakdi. He still holds a stake in Oishi and remains its managing director.
A condominium projects on Sukhumvit Road worth Bt2.5 billion will be his first investment next year, following an investment of Bt450 million to develop a luxury hotel, Villa Maroc, in Pranburi district of Prachuab Khiri Khan province three years ago. Villa Maroc will have its grand opening on Jan 1.
Tan said he began investing his own money in property three years ago, spending between Bt2 billion and Bt3 billion to collect undeveloped land in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Lopburi land Pranburi district.
He said that after collecting more land, he plans to developed residences and hospitality projects from next year until 2012.
The first project will be a condominium block worth Bt2.5 billion. Tan is in negotiations with strategic partners to develop this project.
He has also joined with Siam Future Development to develop unused land in Chang Mai as a community mall. Investment will begin next year. Among other plans are the development of land in Lopburi province as a weekend market.
Meanwhile, land owned by Tan on Ploenchit Road, which currently houses a Caltex petrol station, will be developed into a hotel when the petrol station's lease expires in three or four years.
Tan also has 12 rai of land on Soi Thong Lor. Currently it is being used as a soccer field but Tan thinks it has potential for development.
"When we decided to invest in the property business, we saw a business opportunity that was different from the kind that lures others investors, who are often drawn to in stocks or gold, or deposit their money in the bank," he said. While the returns on bank deposits are currently lower than inflation, he said, investment in land makems sense in the long term.
"We aren't concerned solely about high return on investment. Our priorities are that our investments," he said.
When he started to develop Villa Maroc in Pranburi, Tan spent Bt450 million on just 15 rooms. That is not a recipe for a high return on investment. But he believed in taking the long-term view that the more important goal was creating an attractive tourist destination in Pranburi district. "When tourists visit Pranburi, they have to visit Villa Maroc," was the goal.
For his condominium project on Sukhumvit, Than is nekgotiating with a strategic partner.
His future projects will also find require strategic partners, due to Tan's philosophyj that when it comes to business, he does not know everything.
Tan built the Oishi Group, which manages Japanese restaurants and produces and distributes green tea under the Oishi brand, then sold a stake to beverage tycoon Charoen Siriwattanabhakdi. He still holds a stake in Oishi and remains its managing director.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Coca-Cola still world's most valuable brand
Consumers lost trust in brands this year as the recession deepened, according to an industry report released on Thursday, although longtime staples CocaCola and IBM retained their spots as the world's two most valuable brands.
This is the first time the combined value of the world's top 100 brands as ranked by Interbrand, a branding agency,has fallen in the 10 years Interbrand has assessed them. The list's total value,including brands like Google Inc, Nintendo and Sony, fell 4.6% to $1.15 trillion,Interbrand estimates.
"That says something about the environment that we're in, especially when you consider that brands are by nature less volatile than business valuations,"said Interbrand CEO Jez Frampton, who called a company's brand its most valuable asset.
The environment a recession the likes of which the world hasn't seen for decades has eaten away at people's trust in specific brands, starting with financial companies, he said. Consumers even started to question retail brands as stores slashed prices to get sales, leading consumers to wonder about pricing, and why they had to pay so much before.
"All of these things lead you to reevaluate the nature of the relationships that we have with brands and indeed how confident we feel in brands to live up to the promises they make," he said."Brands are promises which we value and are prepared to pay for and if we feel those promises have been broken we're less likely to trust."
Brands are more than just names,colours or logos think Coca-Cola's red or McDonald's golden arches. A brand includes all the elements of a product or service from its design, ingredients and manufacture to its marketing, advertising and logo.
"A well-honed brand evokes in consumers an emotion and a promise of what it will deliver, without the consumer having to do much if any research,"said Allen Adamson, managing director at branding firm Landor Associates.
"Brands are important for all businesses, and critical in categories that have direct consumer contact, like autos,"he said."In a cluttered world where people are time-compressed, brands are short cuts to help them make decisions."
Each year, Interbrand ranks companies by the amount of their revenue that is attributable to their brands, using a formula that takes into account the brand's future strength and its role in creating demand, whether among consumers or business customers or both.
The firm assigns a monetary value to each brand and measures annual growth,in this case from July 1,2008, to June 30,2009.
Given the recession, it was not surprising to see financial companies posting the steepest decline in their brands'values this year, with drops by American Express (now number 22, down from 15) HSBC (now 32, down from 27), Citi (now 36, down from 19), and UBS (now 72, down from 41). Merrill Lynch and AIG both dropped off the list.
Automakers also dropped in the rankings as their sector's sales slumped in the recession. In addition, major US automakers General Motors Corp and Chrysler Group LLC received government aid to stay afloat, which generated negative feelings among consumers. Neither of those brands made the top 100 Interbrand list.
Even Toyota's brand top-ranked among auto companies at number eight,down from 6 in 2008 suffered, while BMW went from 13 to 15, and Ford was unchanged at 49. Honda edged up two slots to 18.
Despite the economic uncertainty,the top 10 brands this year stayed relatively stable, with Coca-Cola Co in the first slot, a place it has held since the rankings started in 2000.
"The soft-drink maker retains its recognition around the world," Frampton said, and it has been releasing new products as it hopes to woo consumers shifting to healthier juices and teas.
Coca-Cola's brand value rose 3% in 2009 to $68.73 billion, while IBM's gained 2% to $60.21 billion.
The technology giant, often known as "Big Blue," also rolled out new products that increased the value of its brand in 2009, according to the report.
The company which sells computer servers, software and technical services to businesses received more than 4,000 US patents during the period, marking the 16th straight year it has received the most.
"Rolling out new products keeps customers interested and spending, even in a recession," Frampton said."Companies can't be idle when times are tough.
"Innovation is the bedrock of any successful company in the future," he said."Nobody can stand still nowadays."
The remaining brands in the top five all lost value but retained their ranks from last year. Microsoft's brand value fell 4% to $56.64 billion to take third,while General Electric's value fell 10%to $47.77 billion for fourth. Nokia lost 3% to place fifth at $34.86 billion.
The value of online giant Google's brand grew the fastest in the world again,rising 25% to $31.98 billion to place seventh, up from 10th place last year and 20th the year before.
Frampton said the company's brand growth "is miraculous," though the report notes that as it gets bigger,"it has to deal with the inevitable mistrust and ugliness ascribed to being a very large,diversified and very profitable company."
But Deborah Mitchell, executive fellow at the Centre for Brand and Product Management at Wisconsin School of Business, thinks Google already has found balance by earning consumers' trust even as it becomes nearly omnipresent in their lives."That's partly due to Google's value statement 'Do no evil' which resonates with consumers, especially in a downturn," she said.
Mitchell said consumers "are increasingly focusing on a company's values and don't want to associate with businesses whose values they question.
"There's been a shift in the focus on values and not just economics to consumers," she said."They're looking more closely at who is selling them what."
This is the first time the combined value of the world's top 100 brands as ranked by Interbrand, a branding agency,has fallen in the 10 years Interbrand has assessed them. The list's total value,including brands like Google Inc, Nintendo and Sony, fell 4.6% to $1.15 trillion,Interbrand estimates.
"That says something about the environment that we're in, especially when you consider that brands are by nature less volatile than business valuations,"said Interbrand CEO Jez Frampton, who called a company's brand its most valuable asset.
The environment a recession the likes of which the world hasn't seen for decades has eaten away at people's trust in specific brands, starting with financial companies, he said. Consumers even started to question retail brands as stores slashed prices to get sales, leading consumers to wonder about pricing, and why they had to pay so much before.
"All of these things lead you to reevaluate the nature of the relationships that we have with brands and indeed how confident we feel in brands to live up to the promises they make," he said."Brands are promises which we value and are prepared to pay for and if we feel those promises have been broken we're less likely to trust."
Brands are more than just names,colours or logos think Coca-Cola's red or McDonald's golden arches. A brand includes all the elements of a product or service from its design, ingredients and manufacture to its marketing, advertising and logo.
"A well-honed brand evokes in consumers an emotion and a promise of what it will deliver, without the consumer having to do much if any research,"said Allen Adamson, managing director at branding firm Landor Associates.
"Brands are important for all businesses, and critical in categories that have direct consumer contact, like autos,"he said."In a cluttered world where people are time-compressed, brands are short cuts to help them make decisions."
Each year, Interbrand ranks companies by the amount of their revenue that is attributable to their brands, using a formula that takes into account the brand's future strength and its role in creating demand, whether among consumers or business customers or both.
The firm assigns a monetary value to each brand and measures annual growth,in this case from July 1,2008, to June 30,2009.
Given the recession, it was not surprising to see financial companies posting the steepest decline in their brands'values this year, with drops by American Express (now number 22, down from 15) HSBC (now 32, down from 27), Citi (now 36, down from 19), and UBS (now 72, down from 41). Merrill Lynch and AIG both dropped off the list.
Automakers also dropped in the rankings as their sector's sales slumped in the recession. In addition, major US automakers General Motors Corp and Chrysler Group LLC received government aid to stay afloat, which generated negative feelings among consumers. Neither of those brands made the top 100 Interbrand list.
Even Toyota's brand top-ranked among auto companies at number eight,down from 6 in 2008 suffered, while BMW went from 13 to 15, and Ford was unchanged at 49. Honda edged up two slots to 18.
Despite the economic uncertainty,the top 10 brands this year stayed relatively stable, with Coca-Cola Co in the first slot, a place it has held since the rankings started in 2000.
"The soft-drink maker retains its recognition around the world," Frampton said, and it has been releasing new products as it hopes to woo consumers shifting to healthier juices and teas.
Coca-Cola's brand value rose 3% in 2009 to $68.73 billion, while IBM's gained 2% to $60.21 billion.
The technology giant, often known as "Big Blue," also rolled out new products that increased the value of its brand in 2009, according to the report.
The company which sells computer servers, software and technical services to businesses received more than 4,000 US patents during the period, marking the 16th straight year it has received the most.
"Rolling out new products keeps customers interested and spending, even in a recession," Frampton said."Companies can't be idle when times are tough.
"Innovation is the bedrock of any successful company in the future," he said."Nobody can stand still nowadays."
The remaining brands in the top five all lost value but retained their ranks from last year. Microsoft's brand value fell 4% to $56.64 billion to take third,while General Electric's value fell 10%to $47.77 billion for fourth. Nokia lost 3% to place fifth at $34.86 billion.
The value of online giant Google's brand grew the fastest in the world again,rising 25% to $31.98 billion to place seventh, up from 10th place last year and 20th the year before.
Frampton said the company's brand growth "is miraculous," though the report notes that as it gets bigger,"it has to deal with the inevitable mistrust and ugliness ascribed to being a very large,diversified and very profitable company."
But Deborah Mitchell, executive fellow at the Centre for Brand and Product Management at Wisconsin School of Business, thinks Google already has found balance by earning consumers' trust even as it becomes nearly omnipresent in their lives."That's partly due to Google's value statement 'Do no evil' which resonates with consumers, especially in a downturn," she said.
Mitchell said consumers "are increasingly focusing on a company's values and don't want to associate with businesses whose values they question.
"There's been a shift in the focus on values and not just economics to consumers," she said."They're looking more closely at who is selling them what."
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Pepsi campaign
Serm Suk, the local producer and distributor of Pepsi, has earmarked Bt50 million for its latest musical campaign, the Pepsi Asian Music Battle.
To reach new-generation consumers through every channel, the campaign includes a new television commercial starring seven of the hottest K-pop idols and four Chinese superstars, a special trip to South Korea, Pepsi-music gold pendats and other premiums.
Marketing and sales director Parinya Permpanich said Serm suk had been active in all channels since eraly this year.
The company has a 63.2-per-cent market share, up 3 per-centage points from this time lasy year.
To reach new-generation consumers through every channel, the campaign includes a new television commercial starring seven of the hottest K-pop idols and four Chinese superstars, a special trip to South Korea, Pepsi-music gold pendats and other premiums.
Marketing and sales director Parinya Permpanich said Serm suk had been active in all channels since eraly this year.
The company has a 63.2-per-cent market share, up 3 per-centage points from this time lasy year.
A world of difference
In the age of culinary specialisation,the idea sounds preposterous: A restaurant featuring a menu that covers the cuisines of the world OK, not the whole world, but at least French, American, Vietnamese, Mexican,Lebanese, Senegalese, Moroccan, Norwegian, Australian and Caribbean (that's not a country though) as well as Thai.Each country is represented by two or three dishes, except Thailand, which gets about 10. Why these particular nations are covered and others aren't - why Norway and not, say, Denmark?- is hinted at in the owner's background,though the real answer may simply be the vagaries of whim.
Eat's My World is a restaurant on the 7th floor of CentralWorld, tucked away in a rather obscure corner of the complex's food floor near Zen. The owner is Mr Bilal, a Franco-Vietnamese Muslim from Paris. Thus Eat's My World is a halal restaurant supervised by a coterie of Muslim ladies in veils, with the clientele ranging from Thai, Japanese and Chinese to African and Western - in short, a vibrant cosmopolitan clutch of Ratchadamri shoppers.
Our verdict: despite the odd-sounding concept, Eat's My World has enough culinary know-how to endow its diverse dishes with individual integrity. More than anything perhaps, what it tries to do stands out from the tasty yet formulaic franchises of chic restaurants that inhabit most of CentralWorld.
Once seated, a waitress brought us a small cup of dates, an Islamic tradition especially during this fasting month.Scanning the menu, we encountered a number of unfamiliar dishes from farflung countries: Senegalese eggplant cake (99 baht) and chicken yassa (189 baht);kefta from Lebanon (189 baht); chicken creole from the Caribbean (189 baht),Vietnamese beef loc lac (179 baht), Moroccan tagine (189 baht).There are also cheeseburger, representing the US (189 baht), a gratin dish and grilled duck from France (189 and 289 baht), as well as salmon steak, representing Norway (269 baht), though I doubt if any of the ingredients actually come from Scandinavia.
Never mind. We were pleased with what we sampled. Leading the charge would be the tagine . This very Moroccan dish is basically a chicken stew, with Arabic and North African influences,and at Eat's My World, it came in a traditional cone-shaped earthenware pot - like what you'd have in Casablanca - and a serving of sliced baguette.
The broth was aromatic, with a mix of potatoes and eggplant, and was very tasty eaten with the crispy French bread.The chicken meat is tender, but not melting from being soaked too long in the soup. In short, a recommendable tagine , considering there are not that many places in all of Bangkok that serve this Maghrebian dish.
Still in Africa, we proceeded to chicken yassa , reportedly from Senegal. Forgive our ignorance, but we have no way of knowing how authentic this Senegalese dish served at Eat's My World is, but it tasted good anyway.Yassa is a marinated piece of chicken leg topped with a yellowish puddle that reminded us of a mild version of sauerkraut, and served with white rice. The whole thing tasted foreign, if not slightly exotic, with the sour and sweet notes of the sauce kicking in from the first bite.
We moved on to a French item- the owner is from France - and we picked crepe bolo (129 baht). The white, soft crepe wrapped a stuffing of minced meat coated with slightly sweet sauce. It was a light dish that can be shared among a few people, or as a sort of heavy snack in the afternoon. And again, though it's not spectacular it's rather impressive.
Lastly, we tried Lebanese kefta . The dish came with three balls of meat served with French fries and two dippings. At first glance the meat looked just like rotund burgers (without the bread), but the first bite revealed the mysterious aroma of Oriental spices, resembling those used in Indian kebab . I'm sure the Lebanese places around Nana or Suk-humvit can offer a more traditional version of kefta , but the flavourful one we had showed that Eat's My World knows what it's doing.
The final impression as we came out was that this was a restaurant that tries to offer a difference without resorting to hollow gimmicks. It's a mall restaurant that put effort in the cooking.
Eat's My World, I believe, will have to work hard to attract shoppers away from the familiarity of the Japanese joints and fast food chains, and after a satisfying meal last week we wish them all the success.
Eat's My World CentralWorld,7th floor Ratchaprasong intersection Tel 02-251-4299 Open: Daily 10am-10pm
Eat's My World is a restaurant on the 7th floor of CentralWorld, tucked away in a rather obscure corner of the complex's food floor near Zen. The owner is Mr Bilal, a Franco-Vietnamese Muslim from Paris. Thus Eat's My World is a halal restaurant supervised by a coterie of Muslim ladies in veils, with the clientele ranging from Thai, Japanese and Chinese to African and Western - in short, a vibrant cosmopolitan clutch of Ratchadamri shoppers.
Our verdict: despite the odd-sounding concept, Eat's My World has enough culinary know-how to endow its diverse dishes with individual integrity. More than anything perhaps, what it tries to do stands out from the tasty yet formulaic franchises of chic restaurants that inhabit most of CentralWorld.
Once seated, a waitress brought us a small cup of dates, an Islamic tradition especially during this fasting month.Scanning the menu, we encountered a number of unfamiliar dishes from farflung countries: Senegalese eggplant cake (99 baht) and chicken yassa (189 baht);kefta from Lebanon (189 baht); chicken creole from the Caribbean (189 baht),Vietnamese beef loc lac (179 baht), Moroccan tagine (189 baht).There are also cheeseburger, representing the US (189 baht), a gratin dish and grilled duck from France (189 and 289 baht), as well as salmon steak, representing Norway (269 baht), though I doubt if any of the ingredients actually come from Scandinavia.
Never mind. We were pleased with what we sampled. Leading the charge would be the tagine . This very Moroccan dish is basically a chicken stew, with Arabic and North African influences,and at Eat's My World, it came in a traditional cone-shaped earthenware pot - like what you'd have in Casablanca - and a serving of sliced baguette.
The broth was aromatic, with a mix of potatoes and eggplant, and was very tasty eaten with the crispy French bread.The chicken meat is tender, but not melting from being soaked too long in the soup. In short, a recommendable tagine , considering there are not that many places in all of Bangkok that serve this Maghrebian dish.
Still in Africa, we proceeded to chicken yassa , reportedly from Senegal. Forgive our ignorance, but we have no way of knowing how authentic this Senegalese dish served at Eat's My World is, but it tasted good anyway.Yassa is a marinated piece of chicken leg topped with a yellowish puddle that reminded us of a mild version of sauerkraut, and served with white rice. The whole thing tasted foreign, if not slightly exotic, with the sour and sweet notes of the sauce kicking in from the first bite.
We moved on to a French item- the owner is from France - and we picked crepe bolo (129 baht). The white, soft crepe wrapped a stuffing of minced meat coated with slightly sweet sauce. It was a light dish that can be shared among a few people, or as a sort of heavy snack in the afternoon. And again, though it's not spectacular it's rather impressive.
Lastly, we tried Lebanese kefta . The dish came with three balls of meat served with French fries and two dippings. At first glance the meat looked just like rotund burgers (without the bread), but the first bite revealed the mysterious aroma of Oriental spices, resembling those used in Indian kebab . I'm sure the Lebanese places around Nana or Suk-humvit can offer a more traditional version of kefta , but the flavourful one we had showed that Eat's My World knows what it's doing.
The final impression as we came out was that this was a restaurant that tries to offer a difference without resorting to hollow gimmicks. It's a mall restaurant that put effort in the cooking.
Eat's My World, I believe, will have to work hard to attract shoppers away from the familiarity of the Japanese joints and fast food chains, and after a satisfying meal last week we wish them all the success.
Eat's My World CentralWorld,7th floor Ratchaprasong intersection Tel 02-251-4299 Open: Daily 10am-10pm
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