|
|
 A SENSE OF PLACE THE BEST BARS IN ASIA |
This page presents the final results of our previous Best Places in Asia survey. Click on the links below to see results and vote in the 2003 survey. PlacesCity Hotels 5 Star/Business City Hotels 3 to 5 Star Resorts Guest Houses/Other accomodation Restaurants Business/up-market Cheap Eats Hawkers, cafés, cheap eats Pubs/Bars/Meeting Places Airports Airlines From the Business Travel section of the Asian Business Strategy Ezine. Results validated and managed by Orient Pacific Century. |
| Rank | Last move | Comments & Voting | |
| 1 |  |
Hard Rock Café, Jakarta, Indonesia
Responses: 29 |
A lot of fun but very crowded and noisy | Not like a few years ago anymore | Crowded, over-priced, full of posers but safe for tourists. | Heaven on earth for rock lovers and single males. | A lot of fun for late night punters... | Still reckon this comes a close second to BATS, but a hot place for singles. | Cool place with great music, atmosphere, friendly services. | Has the most stupid entry and queuing system I have ever experienced | great food. good sevice, good music, plenty of nice girls | One of the best bands around in an excellent atmosphere. | Love the Jimi Hendrix/Elvis window menu | Fantastic for people watching from the right hand side bar | Indonesian queing system has to be experienced to be believed. Watch out for the Dwarf.
| The queue is true: don't come late; the girls are gorgeous and seeking contact - not necessarilly for business
|
| 2 |  |
Hard Rock Café, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Jln Sultan Ismail, opposite Shangri-La, next door to the Concorde Hotel
Responses: 42 |
Seems to have lost some of it's pulling power with opening of new bars close by, before every night was great - now it depends on the night and the crowd | This place is turning from a great expat after work meeting place in recent years to a place full of prostitutes from 10pm from neighbouring countries (and overpriced at that) | Price needs to be brought down | Double check your bills, always overcharge | Expensive, dirty, lousy food and services, don't waste your money | A multi-cultural, multi-income, multi-class mix of locals, expats and tourists | Happy hours the best time | Lost a lot of crowd during the crisis. Now you can get served pretty quick | Fine food & service, good schedules. Known as one of the world's best | Late night gets sordid with too many puveyors of the oldest profession | Hey - too many purveyors? Helps drive the price down! Still a hot spot. | The HRC KL has improved lately with the old crowd coming back after being bored with all the new stuff around the corner | Always a fun time, the best mix of people having fun Ive come across - Asian and Western tourists, expats, locals of all races, business people | DJ is playing great acid jazz now 9 to 11pm before the band starts. | 5 stars! | Beer is always icy cold, unlike The Beach where it is invariably likewarm. What do they we are? all pommies? | too small - too many people | Food was good but not the atmosphere, go somewhere else up the road | The place to be if you just want to let your hair down and dance. |
|
| 1 | |
Saxaphone, Victoria Monument, Bangkok, Thailand
Responses: 21 |
Was really great in years past but recently (within three months) has not been anywhere near as good. | The Best R&B in Asia... Especially Chai and the Blues Maniacs on Friday and Saturday nites,from 9:00 pm to 11:30 pm. Chai plays Jimmy Hendrix, Robin Ford, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Allman Bros., and has the spirit of Carlos Santana... This band is "very tight" and I never get bored of their eclectic mix of R&B with accent on the jazz and soulful blues guitar riffs. | Great music, great food moderate prices | A great low roofed room, wonderful smoky atmosphere | Just some of the best R&B in Asia | Wow I loved this place when i heard your recommendations. It was great to see some real music in town rather than the crap at the hotel lounge bars. | Chai and the Blues Maniacs are top class though chai is a bit up himself | Chai is an awesome talent but a rude prick. Try the prawn spring rolls! |
|
| 4 |  |
Bats, Shangri-La, Jakarta, Indonesia
Responses: 18 |
Great food, expensive prices | One of the best in Jakarta | Expensive, crowded and too large beer glasses, but good atmosphere | Very over priced but a safe venue for tourists. Has the worst staff of any bar I have visited in Jakarta.| Not bad but the place kinda small | Superb food and presentation | Great atmosphere down in the bowels of the Shangri-La | A meeting place par-excellence, if you can talk over the noise. | Unequalled - The tops! Life does not get better than this! And my face is on the wall! | Full of Yanks with US dollars which is good if your have lotsa US dollars | Great Food | Love the big glasses | Completely different at mealtimes and late night - both times cant be beaten
|
| 5 | |
Writer's Bar, Oriental Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand
Responses: 19 |
A hideaway of class from the outside world | Not really Thailand, too cosmetic and up its own ar*e! | I liked it but the similar bar at the Dusit Thani is equal to it and maybe better | Too many tourists | So expensive and clean I coudnt relax! | Prices keep the riff raff out. A 6 star place. | Very sophisticated and stylish after a hard day pounding the pavements. A real oasis in Bangkok
|
| 6 | |
Viva, Bangkok, Thailand Chatuchak weekend market, Section 26
Responses: 9 |
An oasis in the middle of noise, smells and crowds | You're in Bangkok, you go shopping in the huge Chatuchak weekend market, and you find this place where they serve cool beers & cocktails, expresso & fruitshakes, with some very cool music. | Yes ! The banana milkshakes ! and dancing on the chairs on some Sundays | It's a cool place amid the heat but do try to stay on saturday nights. When everything closes, it gets hot!
words)
|
| 7 | |
Harry's Bar, Boat Quay, Singapore Central Boat Quay
Responses: 16 |
Not as good now | Great music, heady atmosphere on weekend nights | Meet Singapore's rogue trader's! | Great for expats | A bit out of favour at the moment - Check out Arabesque! | great location, excellant music, serves victoria bitter | Lost it's old appeal, now its really mainly tourists | Like the atmosphere | Expensive! | Over-rated |
|
| 8 | |
Tapas Music Club Bar, Silom Soi 4, Bangkok, Thailand
Responses: 7 |
Finally a sanctury for the more funky side of dance music, dj's playing vinyl which is also hard to find. I didn't hear one pop or trance song all night, if i hear another cheesy 2 minute trance drum roll or boyband, i'll go mad, which is what almost all the disco's play. Percussionist in the mix with the House DJ Emanuel, incredible!!! Pure class big thumbs up!!! Two floors of the best uplifting Deep House music spun by some of the most talented DJ's Neng, Emmanuel and guests from around the world! | It was hard to believe i found a place with quality dance music with flavour. The dj's show real passion for the vinyl the play. Deep, sexy and uplifting house music. Plus the women were so beautiful just enjoying the music not waiting for some fat bald man to buy them for the night. | Great to get away from the surrounding sleaze. | No cheesy pop or hippy trance, pure funky soulful House music. Not too big but more intimate and friendly, felt like home! |
|
| 9 | |
Bugils Bar, Jakarta, Taman Ria Senayan, Indonesia
Responses: 4 |
yah is good yah! | Great place to unwind after a day's hard work in bustling Jakarta. Friendly staff! | Cozy and great female staff. Expats love the place. Away from the crowds | Dutch style Cafe. Relaxing atmosphere. Reasonable prices for drinks and excellent food. | Finally a place with no loud music and no, unique in Jakarta, no hookers around! | Fun, but there are other places similar
|
| 10 | |
Desperados, Shangri-la Hotel, Surabaya, Indonesia
Responses: 4 |
Great fun | Not much else to do in Surabaya | Good - if you want action and fun | The most happening place in town. Famous with the expat-guests and the live perfomance from New Zealand's band daily. | The bar's name is Desperados by the way. | Best for Surabaya |
|
| 11 | |
Imageries by the Glass, Sukhumvit Soi 24, Bangkok, Thailand
Responses: 4 |
Best atmosphere after work, good live bands, excellent sound, friendly and efficient service. | OK, nothing special
|
| 12 | |
King's Garden Bar, Patpong, Bangkok, Thailand
Responses: 11 |
Last vestige of the old Patpong - thankfully | Chill out with beautiful bar staff, good beer and music. Stays open to 4am so you can while away the hours. | One of Bangkok's best. | This place is just an excuse to bring girls down from the North and East and parade them in from of horny middle aged tourists - is there any rating less than 1? | There are far better beer bars with hostesses from the country around. Still each to his own. With bangkok's thousands of beer bars, the people can make it great or boring from night to night | Disgusting place | Dirty, hot, girls cheat at pool | Closes ar 2am like all the rest now! | Watch out! Some of those girls look like men.
|
| apmf travel | hotel reviews | pub reviews | best places survey |
|
|