Things to do in Thailand (2) - Shopping (and eating) at The King Power Shopping Complex

We found an excellent restaurant whilst out and about in Central Lad Phrao in Bangkok. If you ever find yourself on the on Prahon Yothin road, you can't miss the huge King Power Complex about mid way down. It's one of Bangkok's newest one-stop duty free shopping destinations for tourists, and is very eye-catching indeed. You can get just about anything here, from high quality Thai products, electronics, home wares, fashion, just about anything.

If you're not much of a shopper, the restaurant, located on the top floor, is superb. The decor is pretty stunning, with a Thai lady playing a traditional Ranad Ek instrument whilst you eat. A whole host of authentic Thai & South East Asian dishes can be found, as well as some amazing deserts and farang dishes, throughout the day and evening. When we visited it was buffet style, and not very expensive for an 'all you can eat' experience. Both Sutiya and I were starved and so managed to demolish large parts of both the Thai and Italian food sections; it's advisable to visit when hungry to get real value (be warned, you may need a wheelchair).

If you are looking to stay in Bangkok, there is a great hotel comparison site called HotelsCombined where you can also find hotels and places to stay throughout Thailand.

Comments

[Martyn]

Ben it all looks rather plush from my viewpoint, I'm sat opposite the Indo-China market in Nongkhai and there is no money back guarantees on the stuff I'm about to buy. How the other half live.

[Ben Shingleton]

Ha! it certainly looks the part I'll give you that, but they will let any Tom Dick and Harry through the doors.....as proven in this case...... The grub is very good value indeed (i only do the eating bit, shopping is not my forte). Go when hungry.....!

[Stephen Cleary]

Yes, certainly looks very nice and plush. How much is the buffet?
Too expensive for my budget, then i'll go a for a noodle soup outside on the street instead!

[Catherine]

Wow. Amazing photos Ben. You have the angles totally perfect. I haven't been to the beautiful restaurant, but it is on my list now!

And I've been dying to foof and drag out some dressy stuff anyway...

And... Oh! Oh! I have a King Power rant...

I live close to the King Power by Victory in BKK.

It is big. It is beautiful. It is mostly empty. And it is not cheap (not for cheapos like me).

On my one and only visit, I found the Whiskies the man likes - Lagavulin and Laphroaig - so I called him and we went through the whole back and forth about which ones, yadda yadda.

I was getting all sort of kudos going my way as he was chuffed that I'd found King Power.

You see, his Whisky supplier hadn't been regular for months.

Also, alcohol sales in Thailand (except at Villa Market) are 11 - 2 and 6 to whenever. So going all the way down to Suk for a tiny window of opportunity is a pain.

And here is where I felt stupid: the name of the place clearly says DUTY FREE.

So when I went to enquire about purchasing, I was out of luck.

From what I understood from the conversation...

Unless you are leaving the country, you can look, but you can't buy.

And when you DO buy, you don't get to take your purchases right then; your goods are delivered to the airport.

And with mistakes being made (often), what do you do if you end up with something you didn't buy? Or if it doesn't arrive as you are leaving?

And another problem... what if you have TOO MUCH STUFF to carry on, because you were not able to see how much stuff you bought at King Power along with the stuff that didn't fit in your suitcase?

Questions... questions...

[Ben Shingleton]

Steve - the buffet was 400B per person as I recall, and that was with a promotion, so, NOT CHEAP, but that includes everything (dessert / drinks) and always a good idea now and again to go out to a meal with misses that costs more than a fiver I find (and the food is really good). And as you rightly say, there are some great little restaurants outside on Prahon Yothin road as well, and lots of 'pubby' type restaurants too, if you fancy a cheeky beverage to wash down the food ;)

[Ben Shingleton]

Thanks for the info Catherine, that does sound a bit ridiculous... I have to admit we looked around but we didn't purchase anything. I am in that part of Bangkok from time to time, and will enquire about that, although I'm sure you are more than likely right, and right to rant as well! (but give the restaurant a whirl sometime, see what you think).

[Catherine]

I will certainly eat at the restaurant as it looks fantastic in your photos (again, thanks for sharing those).

And yes please, if you can get more information about King Power, I'd love to know if I heard what I thought I did.

[Ben Shingleton]

Will do, that's just daft isn't it? When I buy something I want to take it with me? No way would I buy something and leave it behind... I don't think they've reeeeeally thought that one through LOL .....

[TheOld Man]

Sorry folks if it's Duty Free ONLY there's no way they are going to let you take the goods there and then. You can usually pay the duty and claim it back when you leave the country but with alcohol do you really think they are to believe all you miscreant and ex pat ne'er do well's are going to promise to leave the country and not drink the stuff at home in Thailand! This is a convenience for wealthy travellers to make them spend the money in a real Thai shop - not an airport duty free lounge. Saves one carrying the stuff around during a stay but, as you rightly say Catherine, can we trust the order will a) be correct b) turn up on departure. Best thing is to ask one of the staff if there is anywhere you can buy "Duty Paid". It will cost more but then you can walk away with it. You never know, he might know where there is an odd bottle........

[The Thai Pirate]

TheOld Man... Are you suggesting we would purchase alcohol, and drink it, before we'd ensured the taxes had been fully paid?

.... In the words of Miss Tate, how very dare you. (hic)

[Catherine]

Their 'Duty Free' items are way over what you can buy elsewhere (except for at the airport).

So, I can only surmise that the shop is like you said, for the super wealthy who want to purchase Thai goods in a super clean environment

Boring.

[Pete - FrogBlogger]

A mine of info, as always... that hotel booking site is excellent, thanks!

[Ben Shingleton]

Cool Thanks Pete.

[Kevin Thailand Travel]

I've lived here over 7 years and while I've heard of the King's Duty Free I've never actually gone. Your pics are tempting and I'll make my way over this weekend for some exploration. Great post, man!

[The Thai Pirate]

Thanks Kevin! Defo make a trip over to the restaurant, I think I remember right it's on the top floor, we enjoyed it.