mrjohn

"Agar agar is a seaweed based gelatin."

Sorry to be pedantic but.......Agar agar is a coagulant made from seaweed, whereas gelatin is a coagulant made from animal bones.

In culinary terms they both serve the same function. The only real advantage in using agar agar is if you happen to be vegetarian.

Gelatin is widely available, just look in the cake making section in any minimart or supermarket.

Tops sells a perfectly edible brand of miso which is made in Thailand for the Japanese expat community. It is considerably cheaper than the imported stuff.

Hope this helps

Phew!!!...... well, the animosity that can be generated on this board by a seemingly innocent request for information never ceases to amaze me.

There was a similar thread recently where someone tried to make an enquiry about the availability of sea salt. That too descended into a mindless slanging match.

To return to the topic…. should anyone be interested. And, johninthai I hope that, despite your justified protestations you are still reading……..

I think we may have been a little cross purposes given the myriad variations in the English language.

The flour which I use is imported from Australia. It is labelled "WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR (stone grind). To my thinking this is wholemeal.

I usually add a little white flour (from the same company labelled "hard wheat flour") which produces a lighter, less dense, loaf. The word, "hard" in baking terms indicates a high gluten content, or wheat protein which produces a bread with a better texture. Soft flours produce more "cakey" results.

Thailand often adopts the American way (this alone, is a subject worthy of some discussion) and labels flour "all purpose flour" which is both a misnomer and unnecessarily confusing.

Making bread is so easy here, given the friendly temperatures. You do not need a "breadmaker" which, in any case, would be imported and therefore expensive, but you do need an oven which is the only stumbling block. Thais don't use them in the home so they are shoddily made and overpriced. I am currently on my third electric one which has died only four months after purchase!

I am coming to the conclusion that gas ovens are better but few of them seem capable of the requisite temperature. Any recommendations here would be gratefully received.

For further information, there is also a very good baking supply shop in Bangkok Road, Phuket town on the right hand side just before the fountain.

There is a German or Swiss baking supply shop in Rawai which, I think is called Schmidt. They sell all manner of German bread mixes.

Now then, some of you, try and find something contentious in that!!

I remember one Buddha day some years ago when the local 7/11 was also refusing to sell soda by virtue of the same logic.

Only last month when in a one buffalo town somewhere in the south the 7/11 refused to sell beer at two minutes to 5pm.

Even my wife was amazed at this.

We walked down the road 5 yards and got a cold beer from the local minimart and a good conversation with the owner!

The moral is..... avoid "national chains" whenever there is an alternative

The topic under discussion here, was and is, "REAL WHOLEGRAIN BREAD" ........not baguettes, and certainly not "brown" bread. Good white bread has it's place, and there are good white breads available all over the island. Personally I rate the Bastogne white bread very highly. I have yet to try the bread from the bakery near Promphan.

But the issue was, where to buy good wholemeal (AKA "staff of life" bread).

I still maintain that the answer is to make your own.

I made three loaves of 100% wholemeal bread today at approximately 25 Bht per loaf!

Why not do what I do and make your own? Its not difficult and will cost much less than 60 Bht

I use Australian wholemeal stoneground flour from Tops or Villa Market.

Incidentally, I have not seen any where in Phuket that sells anything remotely like real wholemeal bread....and certainly not Tesco Lotus or Big C!

What, exactly does this topic have to do with Thailand???

Well you could try eating rice....this is Thailand, and there is a lot of it about....or am I missing something?

Anybody know where I can buy rocket seeds. I think Americans call it Arugula.

I am in Phuket and can't find it.

I have tried imported seeds from Europe but they always die off.

Recently I bought a packet of spinach seeds here in Phuket which must have contained some rocket seeds by mistake and they grew well. So I know you can grow the stuff just need to get the right variety.

Thanks to anyone who can help

My house..... but not necessarily on a Sunday.

Thanks for your reply Johnxxx. I used to have Maxnet before I moved to Phuket and as I remember they could only provide the service if a telephone line was already installed. As I understand it, all lines are owned by TOT and so the first step is to get the TOT line in. New telephone installation here is, by all accounts, slow and expensive. Anybody shed any light on this?

I have no telephone at my house so I have been using Cat CDMA and more recently EVDO, with which I have been reasonably happy.

My neighbours are moving soon and have offered me their TOT telephone line which I understand is easy to transfer. If I take on the TOT line, what are my options for faster internet connections?

I live in Phuket

Anybody know where you can buy good quality, fresh goat meat in Phuket?

Does any one know of a place to take an ipod for repair in Phuket?

Can any body recommend any places to stay in Sri Racha pref under 1000 Bht?

I am currently freezing due to family commitments in the UK. Should be back home in LOS next week.

I am thinking of buying a netbook soon. Either the Acer 1series (£175 to £250) or better still the Samsung NC10. The Samsung is retailing at around £320 (about 16300Bht)

All my google searches have either drawn a blank or led me to believe that the prices are very similar in either country. Has anybody got any advice?

Just to add to this....I did my second extension of stay based on retirement here in Phuket today.

I needed a copy of my passport main page plus copies of past visa extensions i.e. going back to my original Non Imm O Visa from about 3yrs ago.

A copy of my Thai ATM card All easy to do at the photocopy shop in the compound.

They keep the original pension letter from embassy on file. The Brit Embassy had stated my income in Pounds Sterling and in Thai Baht which was just as well because the pound has since fallen by about 5Bht!!

Last year they had just stated my income in sterling alone which meant the Immigration checking the latest rate on the internet. Which would have made life difficult today!!

The best thing about the income letter if you qualify, is that it minimises the effort for all concerned (especially the immigration officials themselves) The whole thing was completed in less than half an hour and this in a very busy office in the midst of high season.

Thanks for the info this was not the way it was quoted in the PAI newspaper , but thats Pai for you.

Yes you need the Embassy letter for income from abroad and a bank letter for money in the bank.

Hold on there lite beer can you just clarify this?As I understand it, provided your income meets the 65000Bht minimum you only need to show the Embassy letter, but you would need proof of money in the bank if you are applying for the extension to stay on a part and part basis. Is that correct???

Definitely not the black headed ibis.

It was this

Sorry that didn't upload properly.

It was definitely not the Black Headed Ibis. For one thing it did not have a black head. It was one or other of the albatross pics.

Is it really not possible to see an albatross in Thailand??

Definitely not the black headed ibis.

It was this

White-bellied Sea Eagle. See the pic.

I am seriously impressed by your speed of response and thanks for your help but I don't think that was it.

From memory it did not have those "fingers" on the end of the wings. Which would have had me thinking"eagle" immediately.

Actually the wife doesn't think that was it either.......course we could both be wrong!

Any other possibilities?

Not sure where to post this.

Two days ago I saw a huge seabird in the sky off Rawai beach in Phuket. It had a white body and head with grey to black wings. The beak was large, yellow and hooked. It’s flight was stunning. it would flap its wings a few times and then soar with wings outstretched, its head crooked, looking for food in the shallows below. I would say it was bigger than the common Kites seen all over the island.

My immediate thought was of an albatross. I tried to check it on various websites but all the info seems to suggest that Thailand is way outside the usual areas for an albatross.

Any ideas? Do any bird experts have any idea what it might have been.

So I go into the CAT office in Patong to pay my wireless internet bill and I see a desk with several hand printed adverts selling second hand Sierra Wireless cards and the newer C-motech USB modems. They are going for about half the price of a new one and the service can be transferred to a new customer for 212Baht. You must do the transfer at the office to make sure the current owner is up to date on payments or the new owner is responsible. I forgot to ask about the requirements for the new owner(work permit/long term visa) if any. Just so info for anyone interested. Also, does anyone know the location of the CAT office in Phuket town?

P

Useful info....but where is the CAT office in Patong?

Since levity is the sole of wit:

Has anyone noticed the striking similarity between Khun Somchai and the late Charles Hawtrey?

Are they, in any way related?

I think we should be told.

For years now on other websites (particularly the backpacker oriented ones, if not this one) people have reported thefts on private buses.

Why on earth anyone seems to think it is necessary to book a "package" on Khao Saan Road of all places is beyond me.

Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but I have never heard of this sort of thing happening on the scheduled Govt run transport system.

So to all those who are new to this country; Thailand is still very safe and relatively crime free but you increase the risk by dealing with some of the "agents" who prey on vulnerable tourists.

Travel on scheduled Thai transport like Thais and I am sure you will have no problems.

Have you looked into what happens if you don't get enough iodine?

If you relied on refined salt (or any salt) as your sole source of iodine intake you would have real problems

"Refined salt is a lifeless product that has had all of its minerals removed and has been exposed to toxic chemicals to make it white. Our bodies need unrefined traditionally harvest salt, such as Celtic sea salt or unrefined Himalayan crystal salt.

In addition vitamin C and unrefined (Celtic) sea salt is needed to repair the iodine transport mechanism, together with the support of a complete nutritional programme."

From this site:

http://www.anticancerinfo.co.uk/Iodine.htm

Sea food, sea fish and sea vegetables are all good sources of iodine.

http://www.naturalbodyhealing.com/iodine_a...vegetables.html

But the real reason to use sea salt is that your food tastes better and it seems that you need to use less of it.