footfall

the northern indian style of making mutton in my opinion is no where near that of the south indian. no where in CMI do they have a south indian restaurant. maybe some entreprenuer would come up soon from malaysia to serve us dishes that of banana leaf rice with mutton, fried spanish mackerel, dosai, masala dosai, idlis, phrathas, masala chicken, mutton, cutlets. phew! the list goes on..

punchline is that i normally stay away from eating mutton in any restaurants in cmi. at the moment.

Yes, a Malaysian place would be nice.

Good point about the mutton. Perhaps not the best choice.

Also, don't forget that the small quantities of meat are normal in India. Indians would be amazed to see the quantites used in restaurants in our home countries - as would the Chinese, Thais and others.

The flyer for the Ganga restaurant says, "Indian and Bengali Arabia Pakistan food" (no commas )

so perhaps they are from Bengal ? The food may be a little different to what we might be accustomed to getting in Indian restaurants in "the West", or what we are expecting. I think the trick may be to figure out what they do best and stick with those dishes - perhaps the Bengali ones. If anyone goes there, try to strike up a conversation and share the info here.

Also, give a little polite feedback if there are problems. They may be new to the restaurant business. It could be very helpful. If you'd like more meat in your curry and are willing to pay more for it, let them know. They could have an "extra meat" option . (I actually prefer little meat.) Mention that it might be nice to use a few other veggies in the samosas. ("That pea was delicious ! I wish there had been more !" ) Tell them the things you think they are doing right, too.

I think there are a few of us hoping to see this restaurant offering consistently good stuff ! A bit of communication with the owners and staff might help that happen.

P.S. I did a little googling to find out something about Bengali cooking. If you're interested, take a look at http://milonee.net/bengali_recipes/intro.html#how . Seems they should be good with fish.

Well, that is disappointing, Mahseer and quite different to my fairly recent experience and others' accounts ...

Wonder what is going on there. It sounds like cost-cutting to me. Perhaps they are not getting the traffic they need to sustain the quality at the same prices ? I am not a business person but I would imagine it's not easy to get a specialty restaurant going here. And I suppose they don't get a chance to get things happening if the patronage drops off ... .

Hope they can succeed here. I can only repeat that my experience was good. Not gourmet, of course, but it was fresh, genuine, home-style Indian; very enjoyable.

Re GANGA JAMUNA Indian restaurant : I thought their food was good - freshly prepared, very tasty, reasonably-priced genuine Indian family restaurant-type cooking. Yum ! I've eaten plenty of Indian food in India, too, though I would not claim to be an expert.

How are the prices at ROYAL INDIA, b.t.w. ?

P.S. This store also had a section of clothes in that quite heavy dark blue denim-like material - shirts in a few different styles and,I think, a similar kind of pants. Perhaps these are more like the fisherman's pants. I liked the clothes but did not investigate as the material would be too heavy for this weather but they might make good gifts. Again, I was thinking these looked like worker's clothes and must be available more cheaply elsewhere.

I think it was Carrefour, btw, but could be wrong as I have visted a few of the major supermarkets in the last week and they tend to blur together in the mind.

Yeah, the Tesco Lotus & Airport Plaza parking lots sits empty every day.

I think locals do quite a bit of shopping at those places.

Quite true ! though I avoid buying clothes in such places if I can.

Thanks for the help, adjan jb and chanchao. I will check out the market. I agree that cotton is far more comfortable than silk in the heat, esp. if you are a sweaty foreigner. These pants came from the pyjama section. Matching tops were available. I think they are standard pyjamas with Thai characteristics, probably intended more for lounging around the house than sleeping in. Do Thais sleep in PJ's ?

Thanks for that, altman.

Thought there was something fishy .There's no string, no hole for a string and nowhere a string could pass through at the waist seam. So I guess an outer string will have to do.

Do fishermen wear silk pants with matching tops ? Groovy .

The short leg length is practical, really, if you have to wade around the place.

That's excellent - thanks very much, adjan jb .

Now, here's another clothing-related question which should permit you all a good laugh at the newbie's ignorance . I bought a pair of men's pyjama pants in one of the big stores. They have very wide legs and a very, very big waist, but without visible means of support . I have seen people wearing such pants and they look cool and comfortable. I just can't figure out how to secure the waist. Am I supposed to alter them, add something, tie them in a knot or .... ?

Thanks for your help !

As a new memeber, I say this very, very respectfully, but I wonder if it is a good idea to publish other people's personal info here ? Maybe better to send PM's ?

Given the need to change clothes - especially shirts - so frequently here, I need to expand my wardrobe.

I have seen plenty of clothes for sale in the supermarkets, malls and more touristed areas, of course, but doubt that is where the locals shop for clothing.

Would love to find a market or shopping area where I could find a good range of reasonably-priced, decent quality every day wear (comfortable, casual but stylish cotton tops and T-shirts, loose casual pants etc. ). A place where I could do one big shop and then move on to more interesting things ...

Not keen on clothing with slogans or "designer" labels. Love the Thai styles and fabrics.

Any suggestions ?

I usually take Melatonin to help me fall asleep at night. Perhaps I was just unlucky, but the pharmacies I tried did not have it. One offered Valerian instead.

Is Melatonin hard to find here ?

Does anyone recommend Valerian ?

Thanks.

Thank you; that was very helpful.

Thanks, el jefe .

No comments at all from those who have lived here for a while ?

Rental in Chang Phuak Area

Have been looking at some rental properties in the area off Huay Kaew Road, behind Central Department Store/Kad Suan Kaew, near the YMCA and Swedish Consul. I believe the area is called Chang Phuak.

Is there anything in particular I might need to be aware of before signing a lease ?

Of course there is some traffic and noise associated with the nearby main roads and businesses.

Is the area prone to flooding ? How about security ?

Also, where would the nearest fresh market be ? Any parks/green area in the general vicinity ?

Your comments are appreciated.

Rental in Chang Phuak Area

Have been looking at some rental properties in the area off Huay Kaew Road, behind Central Department Store/Kad Suan Kaew, near the YMCA and Swedish Consul. I believe the area is called Chang Phuak.

Is there anything in particular I might need to be aware of before signing a lease ?

Of course there is some traffic and noise associated with the nearby main roads and businesses.

Is the area prone to flooding ? How about security ?

Also, where would the nearest fresh market be ? Any parks/green area in the general vicinity ?

Your comments are appreciated.

I googled " Kum mon place" in Chiang Mai but couldn't find anything.

Anyone know more about it ?

Ormgard/others, any comments on noise levels in the Huay Kaew apartments & the area in general ?

Thanks

Thanks, Ormgard. I found their website here : http://www.huaykaewresidence.com/

Please keep the suggestions coming ...

Let's bring this topic back to life ...

Any recent recommendations for serviced apartments/ short to medium stay places ?