wine-o

Thx for the help all...I'll take a little trip down to Worowot market this week and see what goodies the shop has. As for the curry leaves and fenugreek, maybe I'll have to grow my own...

I'm currently on an Indian cuisine cooking tangent but am missing the following, anyone knows where these could be found?

fresh curry leaves

fresh fenugreek (leaves and seeds)

asafoetida

mustard seeds

I know Rimping has the pre-made pastes etc, but find it more fun to experiment from scratch .

Thx in advance,

wine-o

As for any time I eat veg food, I'll tell you, that PanPan in Wat Suan Dok is actually darn good with that clean mellow hippy vibe veg's seem to seek.

I've heard about this place and we plan on checking it out soon. My wife says in the morning it's popular for those giving alms to the monks at Wat Suan Dok.

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For tasty food among the people without fanciness I go up the left side of 3 Kings monument, pass my two of favorite Khao Man Gai places (the one on the corner also great Khao Soi) cross the street, pass the big yellow NTT Language center and halfway up the next block on the left are two places selling prepared food for dine-in or take away in big square stainless pans.

I've eaten take away from here several times and agree that their curries are very yummy. As are the other places you mentioned on 'restaurant row' ...Inthaworowat Road...the kuaytiaw naam phed and 'yen ta fouw' shops are great too!

For food in general: On Food And Cooking by Harold McGee

Not a cookbook actually but a full on encyclopedia-like treatise on food. Amazing...

For Thai food: Thai Food by David Thompson

Lots of research went into this. Many amazing recipes from the 19th century Thai Royal kitchens and simple stuff too, like how to make moo daet diaw

I am bored with looking at chimps mate and listening to Christy Lou Stout on CNN talking through her nose.

Christie Lou Stout might talk through her nose, but she is as cute as a bug in a rug..

I most heartily agree, I prefer BBC World...but her journalistic professionalism draws me back to CNN again and again

I'll definately check this place out once I'm home in a couple weeks DANO, sounds cool. Just a couple of questions, is the driving range off grass or mats, is there a practice bunker where you can hit onto a green and which side of the road is the facility on, going N to Mae Jo or S to CM?

Thanks!

Hi

I wanna trade-in used golf club set.

Anyone know good pro-shop?

I went to couple of shops near Lanna but value they offered me was too low.

Good day!!

What are the clubs and how much do you want? Please PM me.

hi, it's not Cointreau, not Grand Marnier... it's is used for Champagne Cocktails and I thought it was called Pomerol..or so..

anybody?

Is it available in LoS?

Could it be Grand Curacao, (pronounced cure-a-sao), from the island in Caribbean of the same name? There is a champagne based cocktail called Grand Royale that calls for bubbly and Grand Marnier, but many bartenders would substitute the former because it's cheaper.

555 LBoy, that's a real chef's base for soups and gravies from John -- homemade superior equivalent to gravy in a box. John, what do you reckon about cooking it and then pouring into ice-cube trays; once frozen you can crack them into baggies and take out as needed? We can turn Tutsi and Jayenram onto this.

This is a great way to go for the home chef. Heat the frozen stock to a simmer, and meat drippings from your cut, deglaze with your favorite wine or spirit, add herbs and/or seasoning and...presto, you have a sauce. To make the sauce glossy whisk in a few pieces of very cold butter until emulsified.

The other day I was again at Spicchio (Central Airport Plaza). There are certainly better pizzas somewhere in the world. But concerning what you pay and what you get, you can't beat them in Chiang Mai. It's 50 B. for a slice. Two slices fill me up. What I really like, one combine the slices. E.g. one slice with salami and one slice with spinach and bacon.

I like Spicchio as well for Italian style pizza, not world class but pretty yummy for a quick fix. Today I had a pizza margerita with buffalo mozzarella, basil and fresh arugula(rucola) in Naples, Italy...pizza at the source! A very cool experience...see you in 3 weeks Chiang Mai.

It's nice to see so many gastronomic historians on this site. You hit the nail on the head meandwi with your post on the use of black pepper and ginger to season Thai food before the Portuguese arrived in SE Asia. I just finished reading the following book:

"Spice - The History of a Temptation" by Jack Turner

ISBN 0-375-70705-0

The title covers everything about the European spice trade but doesn't venture into chile's at all. A recommended read for those inclined. Bought it at Kinokuniya Siam Paragon.

The two main chiles you'll find in CM are:

prik kii nuu: (literally translated "mouse shit chiles"), which are the ones you see in som tam, yam wun sen etc. They are extremely hot and are the chile workhorse of Thai cuisine. These ones are tiny, about 1-2cm in length. Colours are green and red.

prik chee faa: these look like Anaheim or Poblano chiles(North American names), and tend to less hot but can pack a punch as well. They're larger, about 10cm usually and are quite often used in curries and for garnishing. Colour is red.

I've seen Hungarian style chiles in markets in CM too. They are odd, curly shaped and can be hot or not, depending on the chile. They can be green, yellow or red in colour.

I'm sure there are others available too. You can find the best ones at the fresh markets, the Mae Rim market on the main road has Royal Project produce where all the veg are fantastic.

For seeds, check out the plant markets behind Tesco/Lotus on the Superhighway. Also, Queen Sirikit Gardens has plenty of seeds.

Also, for mail order tell your friend to source www. richters.com

Did you know that chiles are not native to Thailand? They arrived with the Portuguese and Dutch merchants 500 years ago along with tomatos and pineapples. Their home is S. America.

Hope this helps.

wine-o

My friend has asked me to send him some Thai peppers (he asked for the seeds).

He requested medium hot. But would like to send him a couple of varieties. I am thinking three kinds.

As im clueless on this, I am seeking advice.

First of all what are the name of the peppers I should ask for please (as well as their relative 'hotness')?

Can I just buy the seeds as requested? (Also fab if anyone knows how to ask this in Thai!)

And, lastly, would anyone know where best to buy them in Chaing Mai?

Thank you!

My wife and I have rented an apartment in Hillside 3 for about a year and a half now and we like it very much. Our landlady is excellent(any problem fixed immediately) and although there is noise now from daytime construction right across in the next property, all in all it's fairly quiet. Building management is very good, the place is spotlessly clean and everyone friendly.

There is wireless in the lobby, but I don't use it because we have a high speed connection in our apartment. Power outages are very infrequent too. Parking can be an issue however, depending on when you come home.

I guess it depends on your landlord, or whether you wish to buy. Our condo is on the inside, with minimal sun exposure so it's always fairly cool. A further plus is three simple, but excellent Thai restaurants on the soi out to Nimmanhaemin.

Hope this helps.

wine-o

Untrue for new applications. The only method now is family income of 40k per month. This now allows the wife or a combination which was not the case before.

You can convert another visa inside Thailand if you meet the 40k requirement (3 months proof) and extend for one year. There is also a provision to allow 60 days according to Sunbelt but not all officers would be aware of it but that would not require income proof.

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I work abroad for approximately 5/6 months(cruise ship industry) and then come home for a 2 or 3 month vacation. My wife's and my income meet the 40k requirement, however, my income is from outside the country. We've never been too concerned about the visa requirements before because I'm very seldom here for more than three months in a row, but now that the 400k bank requirement doesn't exist anymore, does it matter that my income is from outside the country? If so, any other options you suggest?

Thanks in advance.

Asia Books will never come to Chiang Mai.

They already have a franchise there called Bookmark or Bookworm or something like that next to the 7-11 close to Starbucks in the night bazzar. It is very small, isn't up to much and has no room to grow.

However the used bookstores near Thapae Gate are much better quality and quantity-wise than Asia Books -or almost anything else in Bangkok - with both new and used books, and are much cheaper as well.

In fact, they beat everything in Thailand besides besides Kinokuniya on Sukumvit Soi 24 -and they beat that on prices - so what are you waiting for?

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The only thing I'm waiting for is my supply of reading material that I've brought from Canada to be exhausted, which, IMO will happen in about ten days time! .

I think the Thapae Gate stores are good, my favorite is Backstreet but Gecko and the other ones are fine as well. I am a read-aholic however, but not a huge lover of novels and am very much into current economic/geographical type stuff, unfortunately not what I tend to find in those shops. If Asia Books will never make it here, Kinokuniya is a pipe dream, THAT'S the kind of bookstore I was thinking about. I guess I'll just get the ISBN numbers off Amazon and try and order through Backstreet or purchase through 'Big Brother' online.

Can you tell me where a good branch is for a falong to open an account? Maybe they have one that "specializes" in opening accounts, speaking English, etc? I am located near the Thaipae Gate/Night Bazaar area.

Thanks.

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I guess most people deal with Bangkok Bank or SCB... I have two accounts with Kasikorn(Thai Farmers) Bank, one at the Thapae Road main Branch (USD) and one at Moon Muang Soi 8(THB) and have had no problems with any banking. I work on a ship so my salary is transfered in from abroad and there never has been a discrepancy.

The BOOKAZINE that was in the night bazaar has relocated to the airport plaza until the renovation of the old building is finished and there is still BOOK ZONE on Thapae Road.

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Thanks, I discovered the ones in Airport Plaza last week. Was hoping Asia Books might have found their way here by now...

Back in Chiang Mai for a few months for the first time since last December and I'm wondering if any new bookstores have opened during my time away? I know DK, Suriwong, Bookazine, CMU, the used ones by ThaPae gate...anybody know of any others?

Thanks in advance,

wine-o