Trujillo

Happened in there a couple days after immigration had left. Was on the way home from something in that neck of the woods. Basically, the only people there were the folks working the shops. There were a couple of bewildered farangs with papers and passports but the place was deserted. Duke's was deserted at 11am. 

I felt bad for the workers there. Working retail is bad enough without having no customers at all. 

I know the OP said this was not the issue, but I agree. Why would you want to live in one of those concrete tarmac houses? The Thais are insane when it comes to that. Just move. Get a real house with real windows and a garden. Your quality of life is the main thing here. 

On a side note, I see and have been part of the tree-cutting mentality here. What I want to know from these idiots is, "Why now?" The tree has been there for 40 years and just now you decide it's "unsafe" or "too big"? 

<deleted> is that supposed to mean? 

You can buy Astroturf. Make an instant lawn. 

Carry this on the end of your walking stick....

So you are looking for a sort of wheelchair affair? Or an actual trike? 

Someone before provided a link. It's something about Hinduism I think. 

Anyone remember?

I can't find the earlier thread on this so I must ask again. 

What is the meaning of this? 

I've never done a TM-30 in the 13 years + I have been here...what's my secret? 

It's true they do have "Sale" signs on certain product shelves that say TOPS. 

I was in there the other day and some of the produce was way off...ears of corn, or instance, that were dedicated and mould starting to grow on one end. Apparently, no one checks this stuff. Not good. 

I tried the all-you-can-eat section that used to be the food court. Some interesting dishes, but most that are supposed to be eaten hot are stone cold. 

The khao soi station was very tasty and one of the few that was heated. Not sure about chopping up a chicken into bits, though -- necks and bone fragments abound. 

Still, for 159 baht, it's not bad. 

It wasn't a bike.

I agree, but let's make sure. 

I'm not a five-year-old. It was posted here; I want to see what happened. There's nothing insane about that. 

Here, let me show you this video of a guy high-diving into a wading pool or water...oh, sorry, we froze the video just before he hits...I don't think so. 

So where is the link? I assume it's in Thai somewhere. 

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video-motorist-killed-as-he-flies-through-the-air-and-is-then-crushed-by-pick-up

I don't see anyone getting crushed by a pick-up. 

I see a man who gets suspended in air just before he hits the ground. Perhaps that also suspended his heart and organs too? 

Does anyone have any source for a video that actually shows what the headline describes? 

cost-of-living/compare_countries

Indices Difference
Consumer Prices in United Kingdom are 3.82% lower than in United States
Consumer Prices Including Rent in United Kingdom are 9.41% lower than in United States
Rent Prices in United Kingdom are 20.47% lower than in United States
Restaurant Prices in United Kingdom are 8.00% higher than in United States
Groceries Prices in United Kingdom are 21.43% lower than in United States
Local Purchasing Power in United Kingdom is 12.36% lower than in United States

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But do confess to the occasional 70bht red chicken curry & rice at Khualek Cafe on the river next to the Iron Bridge.

Okay, I get it. 

You're one of those foreigners who lives a meagre existence here and a 70 baht meal is a splurge. And that's fine. I know some people like that. 

But there are people who have money here and don't need to scrimp all round. 

I would suggest you brew your own beer, though. Much cheaper. And if you get it right, quite drinkable. 

I am a bit surprised you shop at Rimping. Other than speciality items, which are overpriced and therefore, by your reasoning, should not be purchased, you can get good quality foodstuffs at the fresh markets or in Makro or Tesco. 

BritManToo wrote, "I can make a nice pizza at home for under 50bht, once a restaurant exceeds my 100% extra rule, I consider it 'overpriced'."

...and:

"Last pizza (325bht) I had at Duke's had around 5bht of chicken on top (if that).

Couldn't have cost more than 30bht for ingredients, which was why it was my last pizza there."

First, there is no pizza at The Duke's that costs 325 baht: The Duke's Menu

Second, do you really think you can get a pizza anywhere at a restaurant for 100 baht? 

Where did you get this arbitrary 100% "rule"?

Or are you saying that you never eat at restaurants, and only at food stalls or supermarket food courts?

What is this fixation with the price of a meal in a restaurant being solely based on the cost of the individual ingredients?

"Profitable restaurants usually keep food costs within 28 to 35 percent of gross income. This applies to the cost of food and waste, employee meals and theft. When you cost food, you analyze how much it costs to make each item on your menu. When you determine overall food cost percentages, you have to include waste.

You can add all your expenses and subtract your inventory to determine total food costs, but pricing foods is a bit trickier. Once you’ve analyzed all the ingredient costs that go into a dish, you can divide the total by 0.35 to get the minimum cost that you need to charge. For example, a filet mignon might cost $6.00. The ingredients for the salad, baked potato and vegetable might total an additional $3.00 for a total cost of $9.00.

When you divide $9.00 by 0.35, you get a minimum cost of $25.71. You might charge $25.99 for a filet mignon entrée or more if similar restaurants get higher prices for a comparable meal."

https://www.gourmetmarketing.net/costing-pricing-food-regular-menus-catering-services-special-events/

But I like the line from the WSJ the best: "To be fair, focusing on the cost of a restaurant meal's raw ingredients is like calculating the value of a Picasso based on the cost of the paint."

I'm not sure what the point is here after all this is about the food at Ragu. 

And BritManToo, you never mention that, as I first pointed out and was joined by others, the basic cost of the ingredients in the meals is not the sole determining factor in pricing a meal. 

I said in my earlier post:  "It's the rent, the utilities and the salaries of the workers (oh, and insurance as well). Then there is the cost of the equipment and all the fittings (decor as well as cutlery and so on)."

So if you are trying to argue that you can make food at home more cheaply than in a restaurant -- according to food ingredients only -- then fine. No one will argue that. 

If you are arguing that Ragu or Duke's should sell their pizzas at 50 baht each ("cost" as you see it without profit), then you need to give me the recipe for the Kool Aid you are drinking -- sounds marvelous. 

So what is your point, exactly? 

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I can assure you the Duke's pizzas (medium) don't contain more than 50bht of ingredients.

The expensive item being 20bht of mozzarella cheese. (unless they are wildly overpaying their suppliers).

 

Well, go buy some sausage and pepperoni and find out how much that costs. My guess it's more than the cheese. 

And of course, the main cost of the food for an owner is not the food. It's the rent, the utilities and the salaries of the workers (oh, and insurance as well). Then there is the cost of the equipment and all the fittings (decor as well as cutlery and so on).  

If Duke's or Ragu were pop-ups on the street illegally, then they could charge less. 

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One of the many problems I have with posters on this forum is their extreme ignorance.

Eh, yep.... ? I see what you mean....

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You don't know the half of it.

Okay, I'll bite. What's the other half? 

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perhaps we can continue the conversation in Promenanda one day and then we will see who does the belittling !!!

Meaning what, exactly? 

Is this a threat? How are you proposing to do "the belittling!!!"?

I'm all ears. Are you a tough guy? Gonna teach me a lesson? Give me what for? 

Or are you upset because you slipped and fell and now can't find your gerbil? 

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But really though, to assess a restaurant and to negatively critique it based on the reviewers interaction with a waitress and her less than perfect understanding of English, in Thailand, reeks of something very odd and not nice.

Oi!

That was only part of the experience; I didn't make it up. 

But the reason I posted at all was because the food was, well, not good. There is nothing "very odd and not nice" going on here. No one expects service in Thailand to be stellar. But we do expect the food to be of reasonable quality. I have nothing against Ragu or whoever owns it; in fact, I'd like the place to be great. A decent Italian meal is worth having now and then. 

My aim is not to sully; rather, I hope that this little debate, what of it is actually on-topic, filters to the manager or owner and something is done to improve the situation. I'd go back if there if the situation was addressed in a meaningful way.