Rasseru

Why do people come to Thailand and then look for second-hand English-language magazines?

Don't know, but I would guess that not having much money, not being able to read any language other than English and not using the internet very much all have a lot to do with it.

You two should get married.

I am married, thanks.

Why do people come to Thailand and then look for second-hand English-language magazines?

Don't know, but I would guess that not having much money, not being able to read any language other than English and not using the internet very much all have a lot to do with it.

I went, I saw, I got lost. . . .

Another story-of-my-life post?

I also don't use the aircon. Smartest move I made in Thailand. Not only saves 4 or 5K baht a month but now I am totally acclimated which is obviously much healthier. The only downside is I am starting to feel cold like the Thais at absurdly warm temperatures.

Do you also, as apparently do the Thais, find yourself perfectly comfortable in malls and restaurants, no matter how cold the air con is set?

Since the USA supplies Thailand with the majority of its fire power (not that I agree or disagree I'm neutral) . . .

I find it intriguing that you take the trouble to explain that you are neutral about such a thing.

One of the best pharmacies I found in CM as to selection, price and helpfulness is the PharmaChoice on the basement level of Kad Suan Kaew (central). Gopp, the pharamcist who works there on Mondays to Saturdays, speaks excellent English, and goes out of her way to help.

Thanks for this tip, Larry. I acted on it today and am very glad I did. K. Gopp was very helpful.

A note of caution about Beccofino.

An Italian chef who seems to be one of their leading lights in Bangkok (his picture appears on their website there) is here for the opening period. He visited us at our table and is a charming man. Presumably he is responsible, probably in large part, for the high quality of the cuisine. He is based in Bangkok, however, and will be returning there at some point. So, a key question going forward will be how well the level of quality is maintained following his departure.

Well if they come round my gaff I will do a Burrows and tell them to f off!

and yet another new verb form is created... well done...

eg. jackr did a Burrows

Can "Thaksin" now be used as a verb for running to the UK away from bail and criminal litigation?

eg. Giles did a Thaksin.

That seems odd. Is 'favour' being used as a verb in the expression 'to do someone a favour'? What about 'one's best' in 'to do one's best'?

I cannot help but feel you are a very bold fellow, Mr IanForbes, to stake your reputation for gastronomic taste on an Italian restaurant that goes by the name Mr Magu!

But of course, just as one should never judge a book by its cover, one should not assume a restaurant's name speaks to its quality, and so I will look forward to giving it a try . . . assuming I am able to work out all the directions when I reach the neighbourhood.

Stop me if I have told this one on here before, but

Mae Hong Son is so far off the beaten track that the linguistic lines get tangled between Shan, Northern, Central Thai, Karen, etc. Not to mention Romance languages. So there we were, me and a local Thai guy, in an Eye-talian restaurant in MaeHongSon. He says, "the Thai words are misspelled." I reply, "the Italian words are all in Spanish."

Stop!

Jesting, just jesting. Good tale, that.

Stumble on! "Yikes! indeed! I thought you had to pay for commercial messages on TV!

You probably do. You may have earned your cynicism and suspicion the hard and honest way, Mapguy, but in this particular case they have you barking up the wrong tree.

Neither. It's Spanish.

Actually she's Mexican.

Interesting, thanks. One husky voice she's got.

It ain't Italian Razzaroooooo, but never mind, still a sweet tune. Lila Downs, she's funking gorgeous in my honest opinion. Imagine sitting down to a good Eye Tye meal and listening this tune whilst sipping on a glass of chunky red.

Gorgeous is right. Thanks for that. I'm charmed by the fact that her voice practically screams - or would if she could any longer pass enough air through her throat to manage a near scream - Chiangmai air in March and April! Portuguese or Brazilian? I'm thinking the former.

Back on track, what's your favourite Italian restaurant in Chiangmai?

Aren't we supposed to eat nothing but Thai food - 365 days per year?

You are indeed, Ulysses G. If reading about people enjoying other cuisines makes it harder for you to stick to your Thai food only programme, I would urge you not to read threads like this one.

That aside, what's your favourite Italian restaurant - in Chiangmai, that is, and above all, not in San Francisco?

A good review thanks. Even if it is a paid one

Don't forget to mention that 'Rasseru' sent you. The look of incomprehension on their faces should be worth it.

Not if he can pronounce "Rasseru" with a roll

That reminds me, they had excellent bread too, and a clever little container at the table (that is, one does not have to ask for it) that dispenses both, but separately, olive oil and balsamico.

For hobbies can you list "whoring around"?

Yes, and you should.

A good review thanks. Even if it is a paid one

Cheers, bridge. Don't forget to mention that 'Rasseru' sent you. The look of incomprehension on their faces should be worth it.

Oh, the website is about their restaurant and trattoria in BKK, btw.

I just discovered that myself. They just opened in Chiangmai twelve days ago, so I suppose the website is awaiting an update.

Do they have cheese platters as well?

Good question. Don't know. We should have looked at the a la carte menu (which is where such would be), but did not.

And seats outside where I can sit with a dog?

There are perhaps four tables on a veranda at the front of the restaurant, facing the soi on which the restaurant is located. Unfortunately, for this purpose, the restaurant faces south, so the sun comes in a bit on the veranda at mid-day. The veranda, by the way, is the same level as the interior of the restaurant, but higher than the street level. I don't know whether they would welcome a dog there or mind it. I'll PM you the telephone number, in case you want to ask.

So what are your favourite Italian restaurants?

For some time now, my wife and I have been big fans of Casa Antonio. We also visit Arcobaleno, regularly, and Buonissimo, less regularly only because it is not so conveniently located for us.

Today, though, we stumbled on a newly-opened and quite wonderful place in the Nimmanhaemin area called Beccofino, which bills itself as an Italian trattoria. When trying new places for the first time, we try to go for lunch, and that is what we did today. They have a choice of several set menus for lunch (evening is a la carte). All of the set menus include an antipasto buffet. Far better than anything like it we have had before in Chiangmai, and quite good for anywhere at all. One of the set menus goes on to include a soup course. The one we chose included a main course as well as the soup course. Soup, eh? Nothing that special, right? Wrong. Our simple vegetable soups were very nicely done, and delicious. The main courses were excellent. Unadvertised though they were, a small dessert and coffee (espresso, if that is what you like) were offered (and taken) at the end. Gosh darn it, but even the house white wine was superior to most in town, and possibly all. The atmosphere and service were both excellent too.

No downside, I imagine you wanting to ask? Well, the courses were not large, so if you are big eater, you might be disappointed. For us, the sizes were just right. And of course, the buffet is all you can eat (at least, they did not stop us when we went back a second time), so if you are worried about all that won't be coming, you can compensate there. Beyond that, they don't charge for a glass of water on the table, which will no doubt upset some. And, oh yes, they add a service charge to the tab. Prices? The set menu we chose went for 310 baht a person.

Yikes, almost forgot. Beccofino's street address is 20/2 Soi 7 Nimmanhaemin Road. They have a website too, which I think I am not allowed to post here, so I'll just mention, for the curious and enterprising, that if you put a '.co.th' after the name of the restaurant, and - though it may not be necessary - a 'www.' before, you'll have it.

And don't forget to mention my name, so I can get the 20% discount they promised me for posting this.

(For those who have trouble recognizing silly attempts at humour even when staring them straight in the face, the immediately preceding request was one such, and nothing more.)

Man, you're weird

I find it interesting somehow that you are able to recognize that.

My solution is to take a Vacation South.

Allow me to recommend Chiangmai.

Nothing yet, but I am about to buy an air purification system for my home, and am looking into effective masks to wear out of doors.

Where do you buy those? (air purifyers) and I assume they are legit?

I'll be more than happy to tell you where I bought them -- I'm now planning to get two -- once I have! I don't want to start a run on the place and then find I can't get any for myself. They are quite legitimate. More precisely, if they are what they are purported to be, they would seem, from the googling I have done, quite legitimate, and the place that sells them has all the hallmarks of a legitimate outlet that would not sell products that are not what they are purported to be. More to come.

Further research has led me to question the 'legitimacy' of the air purification device I was looking at, and I am no longer planning to buy it.

So at what point do you personally say the compromises aren’t worth it (assuming you have a choice by then)?

I have not had even to think about making any compromises, at least none that meant anything to me. I find I can live better here for less than anywhere else I have lived.

Nothing yet, but I am about to buy an air purification system for my home, and am looking into effective masks to wear out of doors.

Where do you buy those? (air purifyers) and I assume they are legit?

I'll be more than happy to tell you where I bought them -- I'm now planning to get two -- once I have! I don't want to start a run on the place and then find I can't get any for myself. They are quite legitimate. More precisely, if they are what they are purported to be, they would seem, from the googling I have done, quite legitimate, and the place that sells them has all the hallmarks of a legitimate outlet that would not sell products that are not what they are purported to be. More to come.