I know lots of friends who went to Carl’s Jr. on its opening weekend.  It’s just the way it is.  As soon as a Western food chain opens, expect the Pinoys to be there.  Incidentally, have you heard the rumor on Starbucks?  I actually read it first in the June issue of The Word HCMC.

According to Ben Chua of Vietnam720.com the CEO of Starbucks in an upcoming interview in CNBC said that they will open shop in Vietnam in the next 18 months.  I’ll believe it when I see it or have had the taste of my first Java Chip here.  But 18 months is a long time.  We might not be here in Saigon by that time.  It took Carl’s Jr. in PMH some 6 months before it opened shop so I’m not going to get myself worked up for Starbucks yet.

I digress.  Back to Carl’s — it’s right across Annam Gourmet and near the Fuji Film photo processing shop so while waiting for my prints, I decided to hang out in Carl’s Jr.

It’s just their 3rd day so I imagine the crew is still trying to get the hang of things.  Good service though.  I hope this continues.

In the Philippines, when we order something to bring home, we say “For Take-out”.  However, for the Vietnamese, it’s “Take-Away”.  I remembered ordering in McDonald’s in Manila and told the cashier, “for take-away”.  She looked at me funny.  I forgot I wasn’t in Vietnam.  Carl’s Jr. decided to use:

The second floor area can be used for parties according to the Mesa Group F&B Deputy Manager (operator of Carl’s Jr. in Vietnam), Mr. James Huynh.  He was there today assisting and was kind enough to answer some of my questions.  The ideal party time is from 2 PM to 6 PM.

It’s not too spacious but can probably seat around 50 persons.  The mirrors helps in the illusion of space though.  With the huge TV, this can be a good place to watch the Vietnamese favorite sport, football!

Unfortunately, they don’t do delivery yet.  But it’s good that they opened shop in Phu My Hung instead of us going to Vincom all the time where there is more temptation to spend more on shopping. 😀