Mango Tree Expands In Japan With Two New Casual Restaurants For Diners On The Move

Tuesday 04 December 2018 11:51
Leading Asian restaurant operator, Mango Tree Worldwide, has continued to expand its footprint in Japan with the launch of new casual and dynamic dining outlets in two key cities: Nagoya and Hiroshima.

Building upon the success of the company's existing portfolio in Japan, with 24 outlets nationwide, Mango Tree has recently launched Mango Tree Kitchen Gapao at Hiroshima Station and Mango Tree Cafe Nagoya LACHIC in one of the city's most popular retail malls. These two outlets follow the company's successful strategy of providing quick, healthy and authentic Thai cuisine to diners in busy areas.

Mango Tree Kitchen Gapao is a lively "grab and go" outlet at Hiroshima Station, specialising in the popular Thai dish, phad gapao, which combines spicy and aromatic meat with Thai basil, served with jasmine rice and topped with a fried egg. Opened in October 2018, this innovative new concept will cater to thousands of Japanese travellers who pass through this key transport hub each day, offering a tapas bar-style menu and "To Go" options in a Japanese bento-box style.

This style of casual, on-the-go restaurant aligns perfectly with the company's strategy of targeting areas with high footfall, including major transport hubs and shopping malls. Hiroshima Station certainly fits the bill - it is the terminal station for several railway lines, including Shinkansen bullet train services.

This successful strategy is also being played out in Nagoya, Japan's fourth largest city, with the launch of a new Mango Tree Cafe at popular retail area. Opened in November 2018, Mango Tree Cafe Nagoya LACHIC is located on the eighth floor of LACHIC, an upscale lifestyle mall in the vibrant Sakae area of the city.

With 48 seats, this casual cafe will cater to the large number of shoppers who visit LACHIC every day, including families. The menu at Mango Tree Cafe Nagoya LACHIC will focus on popular Thai dishes that Japanese diners know and love, such as som tum (spicy papaya salad), tom yum goong (spicy and sour prawn soup), khao mun gai(chicken with rice), phad Thai (stir-fried noodles) and of course, phad gapao. These will be served as individual dishes or as part of a "combo plate" featuring a selection of delicious Thai dishes. Nagoya is famous for its chicken and this will be highlighted on the menu in future.

"In Asia and across the world, dining trends are changing. Increasingly, we're seeing that people have less time to dine, but still demand high quality, healthy cuisine on the move. Our strategy of developing casual 'grab and go' restaurants and cafes in high footfall areas like railway stations and retail malls will cater to this new wave of diners," said Trevor MacKenzie, Mango Tree's Global Managing Director.

"Japanese customers love Thai cuisine. The success of our existing restaurants in Japan shows that local diners have a deep understanding and appreciation of this rich culinary culture, and want authentic dishes just like they tasted them in Thailand. The launch of Mango Tree Kitchen Gapao in Hiroshima and Mango Tree Cafe Nagoya LACHIC will continue to build upon our company's successful strategy in Japan, allowing even more local diners to experience fantastic Thai cuisine," he added.

Mango Tree Worldwide has enjoyed a hugely successful year in 2018, opening 11 new outlets worldwide. It now operates 66 restaurant outlets in 12 countries under a series of distinctive brands, including Mango Tree Cafe and Mango Tree Kitchen, which specialise in authentic Thai and Southeast Asian cuisine.

The company is now on track to achieve its target of reaching 100 restaurant outlets worldwide by 2020, and Japan is a key part of this expansion strategy. Mango Tree now has a total of 24 outlets in Japan, with several more in the pipeline.