xylophone

And when somebody mentions that Thailand is a "Third World country" some posters jump in and say that this is incorrect, it is a "developing country"!!! I would suggest that after this fiasco, Thailand is a country that has no idea where it sits in the grand scheme of things, and it is run by a bunch of corrupt idiots, so doesn't even qualify as a "Third World country" – – shameful, or pitiful, however you want to view it.

I noticed on BBC iPlayer that there was a movie from the 80s, called "Manhunter", the title of which I vaguely remembered, but could remember nothing about the film itself, so I decided to watch it, and am so pleased that I did because it was a very entertaining/good movie IMO.

Will look into this as I like Bill Nighy.......thanks for the tip.

You are right because I used to post regularly on the "Wine Thread" because collecting wine has been my hobby for 50 years (drinking it also I may add!). It had a few followers at one time, but if the law says we can't post/talk about it, then so be it. A pity really because it's such an interesting subject.

Sounds like you are a lucky man to have such a good wife, and who is such a good cook. Mind you in New Zealand I had a Chinese girlfriend (a very charming, witty and lovely lady) and she could cook Western dishes as good as anyone, and her steak was the best I've ever tasted! Yes you are right, beef bourguignon does take about 3 to 3 1/2 hours anyway, but if I put it in the slow cooker I don't have to bother with it for 3 1/2 hours, apart from the cursory glance after two hours, so no stirring or fear of it getting burnt and I can get on with doing something else. I've also found that the cheaper the cut of meat, the more tasty it is after the long, slow cooking Your mention of Beef Wellington has got me drooling, so I'm probably going to have to go out to a local restaurant where I know it's being served, and have myself a good helping of it. No photos sorry.

I thought any mention of wine on the forum was banned?? At least that's what I was informed by someone from the moderator's team, and I know this because I had to change my avatar which was a bottle of "The Hedonist" wine! However I did notice somewhere else that there was a post/advertisement for a huge wine showed/exhibition in Hua Hin – – so I'd like to know what's going on if possible. Thanks in advance to the moderator team.

I use one on a regular basis and find that I can produce a good end result with about 3/3.5 hours of cooking a boeuf bourguignon, a little less time for beef goulash, and the same with a chilli con carne.......but I'd better get off this subject otherwise I will be chastised by the "guardian of the thread" because it doesn't contain a pic of a curry!

Well I never thought the day would come when someone would start a thread on "curry sauces", especially since many of them can be bought in packets and jars, or frozen from supermarkets. The laugh about it is that a poster whom I have now put on ignore wanted me to post a picture of a curry I had made, which I haven't made for quite some time, as if the picture would prove how good it was!! So not being disrespectful to any other poster, a picture of a curry being made/cooking is no testament to how good it tastes. Go figure.

Thank you for the positive feedback............ PS. I forgot to add that I often took advice from some of New Zealand's best chefs, (some of whom I knew because of my position as Director of Sales and Establishment Marketing for American Express) and one of them suggested that I was adding a little too much to the lamb shanks dish, because I started to put truffle essence in the mashed potatoes. However he said that I was probably overdoing it because there were so many different taste sensations in the dish already, that the truffle oil infused mashed potato was overkill. So I stopped using it after that advice.

I have tried many of the jars of "cook-in" curries from different producers, and have found nothing which matches either those from a reputable Indian restaurant, or those that I can make myself. In short....I don't like them. My go to book for recipes is pictured below, and it has stood me in good stead for many years.

Available from Lazada and Home Pro......I actually bought mine from HomePro and now with a little discount. Link:- https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1185518?lang=th&gclid=CjwKCAjwjOunBhB4EiwA94JWsDQlcgGhsNbo1Q6BInyrZm_poGROr11PFYk6k2WFuOW_lT-ag-orixoCvG8QAvD_BwE

Everyone to their own I suppose spidermike, and I would never have thought that I would be living in an apartment, albeit 50 square metres with a large balcony, after having a large and lovely three bedroomed house on a large piece of land in the UK, and similar in NZ. When I moved to Phuket I bought a nice house and kitted it out to my specs, especially the kitchen and bathroom areas and was quite happy living in it along with the GF and her daughter, and whilst I was there I bought another house that needed doing up, because I wanted something to do. Jump forward five years and after the GF and I split, I found that the house was just too big for one person, and I felt like I was rattling around in it, although I'd had a very large house in the UK, now it just seemed too big and of course it had to be cleaned. So I sold it, and as I had already sold the other house, I needed to look for somewhere to live, so I searched around and found this apartment. I thought I would stay in it for a few months to give me time to look around, and here I am some 12 years later, still in it, and I don't have a problem with the space because it's all I need, and although I occasionally look around at other apartments, I feel at home here and the people who own it know me and are very nice, and is very convenient to all I need so why move? I could easily afford to buy another house if I wanted to, but as I'm happy and satisfied here, there's no need to do so.

Pleased that I found this topic as it is a subject near and dear to my heart, having just bought a countertop water purifier, after being sick of lugging bottles of water up the steps to my apartment. It is made by Toray (model no: SW9-8000E) and has some impressive specs, and as I only want it for drinking and cooking water, it seems ideal for those and is not intrusive on the countertop. The filter needs to be changed every 8 to 12 months, and I will probably do so after eight months, as the water here from both the government and the well, doesn't seem to be that clean. Not worried about water for washing and showering, so if anyone has any feedback on this type of water purifier, I'd be pleased to hear it. Suffice it to say that if information comes back that they are absolutely useless, then I will have no problem in ditching it!

Great kitchen n00dle and as clean, neat and tidy as mine, although my kitchen is smaller!! As I love cooking, a clean kitchen is important to me, as is a clean apt.

Already posted.......

Trying not to get off topic too much, but thought I would mention that at my Grammar school I came near top of the class in English and French, and surprisingly did well in Latin, even though I hated the language and could ever see the reason for it. Quite how much of an education was inwardly digested by trump, who knows, but his current level would suggest that at least he got to the grade of a 12-year-old.

Would also mean returning the up-front commission already paid.........

If he is is suspected of not paying the appropriate taxes, then put him on trial and live with the outcome. I am absolutely "anti-trump" and have often railed on here because of his dishonesty, theft and many other misdemeanours, so it's only right that Hunter Biden should be put on trial – – fair is fair.

Impossible to rid of something which is ingrained in Thai society.......at least amongst the upper echelons.

Trump has a lot of common sense! That has to be the laugh of the Century!! LOL..............

I had a nice surprise today with some positive feedback about my posts on this thread, from a guy whom I only know in passing in the likes of Big C. I wasn't aware that he knew the name under which I posted, but somehow he did, and he said that he always read my posts and they were most informative, and there were times when he would pass on that information to friends – – his advice to me was, "keep on doing what you're doing" or words to that effect. So here's a little update: – the former Italian restaurant (Loft) in Nanai road which has now become another Italian restaurant called, "Nice to Meat You" is now advertising rooms at 399 baht per night. It always had some rooms, although I haven't seen any activity in them for quite a while, but I did notice a while back that they were ripping out some old wardrobes and similar, and also putting new TVs in, so obviously hoping for an upturn in custom, which from what I've seen is much needed in both the restaurant and guesthouse! Adjacent to it is the former "recreation area" of the hotel which was called, "Chang Residence, which has now been cleared out of the rubbish which was in it, along with what was left of its collapsed roof, and the place has been cleaned up somewhat, along with what looks to be some new light fittings being attached to the ceiling. Having said that, work has slowed over the last few days, and I've no idea what it will actually end up being, although someone did suggest that some beer bars were going to be built in it – – who knows? Further along Nanai, and opposite the entrance to Soi Banzaan before Covid there was a "make your own sandwich" type place, which closed for obvious reasons, and not too long ago a new bar opened up in its place called, "SW 4". Now this was a bar (if you could call it that) which had just about enough room to "swing a cat" and I only ever saw a couple of folks in it in the year or so it has been open..... ANYWAY it appears that it has changed hands again, and is now called "Blue Sky Bar". Quite why anybody would want to rent that place and use it as a bar, is beyond me, mainly because it's right next to the road, there are a few steep steps leading up to it, with just about nowhere to park one's bike, if indeed one did venture out on one, and it's got about as much character as a store room in the back of a shop! One only has to travel down Nanai to see that there are many bars which have to be struggling big time to attract customers, so I doubt that they will be in business for long. And just yesterday I noticed that a bar/restaurant/massage shop, all joined together, at almost the very southern end of Nanai, which was once owned by a French or Belgian guy and then closed down, and then rented and opened up again, with the addition of the massage shop, is now being demolished and I've no idea what else will be going in its place? I have also heard that there are quite a few bars for sale (surreptitiously so) in OTOP, which doesn't surprise me in the least and having said all of the above, I am still at a loss to understand what the drawcard is for farangs and Thais to open up an establishment of one sort or another in a place which has little to no foot traffic, no to very little place to park, and is about the size of a couple of wardrobes – – luckily I'm not inclined to undertake such a venture.

The same in Villa Market at Chalong.

As others have said on this and other threads, you are basically wasting your time trying to present facts to trumpies, because they don't have the mental capacity to process facts, just lies, scams and any other nonsense which they can garner from drinking the Kool Aid, going down the rabbit hole and listening to the plump orange compulsive liar.

They have done the same at Phuket and I saw that being enforced when a sruffy falang came into the building, because he was told to leave after the dress code poster was pointed out to him!

Also have Sweet Mango Chutney in Makro Patong, and perhaps other Makro stores?