Continuing on with the mass inundation of American fast food outlets, Bangkok is now the proud owner of a couple of Cinnabon cafes. You remember Cinnabon, that sticky sweet, soft and gooey cinnamon roll absolutely loaded with dripping cream cheese icing? Well, now you can get them in Bangkok.
I hit Cinnabon a few weeks ago with an American friend who had been dreaming about the things. I was always a bit of a fan of Cinnabon in the US, so figured I’d tried one in Bangkok and dream of real American food for a bit. Well……..to say I was sadly disappointed is an understatement.
My Cinnabon bun was dry, hard, not warm enough and didn’t have enough cinnamon. On top of that, the icing didn’t taste “quite right” and for the price tag (59 baht ($2) for a teeny tiny one, or 325 baht ($11) for a box of six, I doubt I’ll bother trying another one.
Bangkok is one of the world’s best places for eating, and desserts and sweet things rank high with the Thais. After I’ve eaten at places like Coffee Beans by Dao or After You (which has to be the best dessert cafe in the world), Cinnabon doesn’t even come close to being a great sweet treat.
Plus, the staff at Cinnabon seems to speak absolutely no English (my friend had a simple question that was met with nothing more than a blank stare) and they also seem to run out of Cinnabon’s every few minutes, which is annoying when you’ve just arrived and are told you’ll have to wait “15 minutes”. It may be an American brand name, but they sure as heck haven’t managed to get American customer service to go with it.
I think I’ll leave my Cinnabon until my next trip back to the US.