Angeles City Bar news and more February 2010
Down turn, recession or depression, it does not matter what you call it but, as those of us who been around for a few years know, they come and they go. Some are worse than others and we are told the financial world still wobbles on the brink of a precipice. When you look at the collection of incompetents called politicians who as such have been voted into power to grab as much as possible, whilst screwing up our world, then one should be surprised that the whole darn cart and all its horses are not already at the bottom of the cliff. But I digress.
Things in LOS seem to be appalling, manageable, or in a few cases, even good depending upon competence of the management and the location of the business. In Angeles City much the same applies although I get the feeling here that part of the trouble is a rash of new operations diluting the business of the existing. But having said that, getting a room in most of the Fields Avenue area hotels at the week end is difficult with most of those hotels operating at a 90% plus occupancy rate Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There are several hotels though that are just out from the central area and they are suffering badly but half their problem is nobody knows they are there: marketing is not their strong suit.
On the subject of success and failure the new complex, behind MacDonald’s, at MacArthur Highway end of Fields, has proved to be less than a success. The only place doing OK is the outside bar Paradise. Of the four others the Car Wash (associated with the Body Shop) has already closed. Shooterz and Love and Music were open but with only the odd customer when I popped in on Friday night. Love and Music is a strange operation: a cross between a disco and a gogo. They also seemed to have a new version of throw the balls, or the coins; it was drop a balloon (from the mezzanine walkway) with a note in it. All girls go up for but unlike a line out the balloon does not fall but gets pushed up, so for a few seconds the balloon is bouncing about and inevitably it then breaks and a full scale ruck starts on the ground till somebody comes out with the money. All very good natured when I was there but I wondered if it would not sooner or later turn into something more than rugby practice. The other operation H Rock, which opened with so much promise, seems to have failed to make the impact that was hoped. Furthermore it must be impacted by the new Courtyard operation of which there is more later.
Whilst checking out this troubled complex I trundled into Cambodia. This is used to be a really successful bar but now it is clearly struggling. I was one of the few customers and the girls were all complaining about no customers. I may have found a few of the reasons why. I bought a couple of lady drinks and as soon as the first drink was nearly empty, after less than ten minutes, a waitress swooped and demanded I buy another. I said wait but the glass was whipped away. Most bars are considerably more user friendly than that; it just annoyed me and encouraged me to leave. So I picked up the bills and found Lady Drinks were charged at 160 Peso, as opposed to 150 elsewhere on Fields and 100 – 120 peso on Perimeter Road. As it so happened the manager took that moment to walk pass me. So I queried the price of ladies drinks and his reply was he did not know the prices, so I asked how long he had worked there and the answer was five weeks. I do not think I need to say any more about Cambodia; I am told the Blue Nile group as a whole is not doing well. I am not surprised!
The new Courtyard operation is on Macarthur Highway between Johnny’s and Henyfel Streets with entrances and car parks on those streets. Johnny’s is the street immediately after the Wild Orchid on Santos so it is walkable but probably most will use transport. The Courtyard itself is a collection of eateries around a central mall. There is a good selection of operations. I saw a Hooters but not the type I was thinking it might be! A full list and pics are here. In the evenings there is a band in the central area which is why I feel it will affect H Rock.
The reason I dropped in was because Sherwin, of Asti’s in Hensonville, has opened a new operation there called Eatalia. It has the same menu as Asti so the food is good. I enjoyed a pleasant meal there watching the happenings outside with interest. I am sure it will do well and does provide another eating option close(ish) to Fields.
A word of warning to those coming from LOS. In Thai aroy means delicious and is good thing to say to the chef if you want to get in his good books. In Tagalog (Filipino) the word aloy sounds about the same, and is quite likely to be used if you smack a girls bottom (I know none of you would!). You may think she is encouraging you to do it again. She is not. She is saying it hurts!
Now for a success story – well on Thursday nights anyway. It has been said there is not much to do in Angeles other to eat, drink, sleep and do it like they do on the Discovery channel. That was until Rockin’ Dave arrived in town. See his bio on this link.
He has bought Midnight Rock (Perimeter Road between Foxy and C Italia). He can play the piano with some gusto as his bio suggests and on Thursday when he performs, Midnight Rock is packed and for once the dancing maidens are not the attraction. It is an act that is well worth catching. He has clearly been at it for a long time and it shows!
Lollipop is a jolly agogo in the middle of the centre of Fields. It closes at midnight which I feel is a little early but they open early at 3 pm so it is a single shift operation. The standards of the girls vary and I suppose to be fair it has its share of moose’s (I hasten to add nothing to do with an aspiring US presidential candidate). But I find it a fun bar and I usually have an amusing time if I drop in. However they now have a Tuesday night promotion that brings Perimeter Road prices to Fields Avenue levels with basic drinks at 50 Peso, lady Drinks at 105 and Diamond Lady Drinks (EWR or the folk dancing bit) at 1050 Peso. That makes it good value for money and I would not be surprised to see others with similar promotions in the near future.
I have never been a fan of the Dollhouse Group although I have occasionally used Tropix and Crystal Palace; this group seems to grow and grow spending more and more money and the source of revenue to sustain the growth let alone make a profit is difficult to see. There is a theory that they want to establish a monopoly situation so they can control prices in the lucrative Fields Avenue area as more money rolls in from nearby Asian countries that are attracted to gambling as well as the ladies. But we have seen these master plans before and they tend to end up as exactly that: a plan and after a few frustrating years it all falls apart. (Remember the guy who bought several bars in Pattayaland 2).
Anyway the group has suffered a set back after an incident the flagship Dollhouse agogo. It started because of Dollhouse’s totally unacceptable policy of charging lady drink prices to any lady who enters the bar. One customer who visited with his girlfriend was less than impressed upon finding he had been so charged and protested vigorously. What exactly happened after that point is unclear although what is clear is the man nearly died after being beaten up and kicked by two doormen apparently encouraged by a mamasan. I understand that assault charges have been laid and more serious ones are pending. There was quite a stink among the locals and suggestions that Dollhouse Group in entirety should be boycotted.
I am pleased to say that doormen in AC are not nearly as vicious as their Thai counterparts (or may be better disciplined) and this incident is unusual but it demonstrates again that getting angry in a bar is not wise. However wronged you are don’t lose your temper, do not threaten anybody and do not refuse to pay the bill. It just gives frustrated young men an excuse! And that applies almost anywhere in the world where there are doorman but doubly so in Asia.
Bada Bing (Perimeter Raod) has unsurprisingly changed hands; the original owner seemed incapable of keeping a manager (and they all tried). So now it has been bought by some shareholders of Lollipop. I trundled in the other night and found some good changes and a much better atmosphere. The prices are competitive with basic drinks at 50 Peso; the nearby bars are 60 Peso. They served my beer and apologised for not having any condoms. My repost “So its bar policy not to use condoms, is it!” caused a certain amount of mirth from the listening dancers.
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