cnxmike

@priceless

you are right, of course. You see, even me with a master degree, is not able to calculate the correct price. And that's the way these restaurants trick out their customers. A serious and honest business man would always show the final costs of it's products.

Let's see it as it is. This service charges and whatever is charged extra, is nothing but to hide the real costs.

You read a menu, you see a lassagna is costing you 300 B. On the first page of the menu might be mentioned service and tax are extra. But how many people are able to add 10% to 300 B, which makes it 330 B and plus 7%, which makes it 351 B. So finally a lot of customers expect to pay 300 B., which turns out be 351 B.

That's very unfair against restaurants, which show the real price on their menu. I would call it a rip off.

Yesterday I finally made it to visit a Gecko Books store. I really was impressed. I never had imagined that there is such a large selection of foreign books in Chiang Mai. Great job UG!

@donnyboy

as far as I know, you only get a VAT refund for a purchase you take outside the country, as long as you are a tourist. I never heard about food you ate already. But if you know otherwise, it would be great, if you would share your wisdom with us.

At the new Rimping Plaza near the airport, there is a place called "Mont Blanc" with very tasty cakes. The name would suggest it's a French place, but it's Japanese. To my surprise the Japanese seem to make the best cakes outside central Europe.

Someone said: "As a rule I never tip extra in establishments that apply a service charge". So do I.

By the way Dukes not only charges 10% service charge but 7% VAT as well!!!

That's the only place outside the big hotels I know doing so.

Bangkok Airways is starting to operate two flights a week from Chiang Mai to Siem Reap. Here an example:

From Chiang Mai To Siem Reap, 29 NOVEMBER 2007

Economy Flight Departure Arrival Aircraft Stop(s)

PG927 16:10 18:30 ATR 72 0 Y Fare THB 11,515 M Fare THB 9,790

We never should forget: Tastes are different, and there is no objective way to determine the taste of a certain dish. E.g. I like "Mi Casa" but my wife doesn't. In some cases we have the same taste, sometimes not. It's nice to discuss food and restaurants, but it never should end in arguments. At best it can be a hint.

According to my experience it's depending, where you are living. In some parts of the town TT&T seems to the provider with the fastest ADSL in other parts it seems to be TOT. But none of them are really satisfactory.

It might be a little off topic, but I'm looking for a company, which can create and print high-quality colored flyers. Any advices?

As far as I know they close one day a week. At Kad Farang it's tuesday.

I don't like topps, too. A couple of weeks ago some wines were on offer, and I brought it to the cashier and was informed, that this offer is only valid for customers with the Topps member card.

Their cold cuts and sausages are horrible, and nothing is really cheap. E.g. a can of Tiger Beer is 26 B at Topps, 22 B at 7/11 and 20 B at Macro.

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.

Someone mentioned Osteria Wald at Kad Farang. I've been there once, but after reading the menu, I decided to leave the place. It was very expensive - I didn't check the pizza prices- and I didn't want to take the risk to spend much money at a place I never heard about.

imho Giorgio has very good pasta dishes. There are two branches: one in the city center, and and a new one at Kad Farang. My favorite pasta there is lingiune (spelling?) with italian sausage and cream sauce.

After reading statements like this:

"all Americans love burgers, and why shouldn't they...food of the gods when done well"

So I decided to give burgers another chance. I had a burger at "Mad Dog" and again it probably wasn't done well. To be honest I never found a place, where they are done well. Maybe can someone enlighten me, where I can find such a place ?

They call it taximeter, but actually they have fixed rates for every destination.

I'm now living more than a year in Chiang Mai, and I'm a regular visitor to Fuji or Zen, at least once a week. So far I haven't noticed any price increase. Concerning sushi and sashimi Zen seems to be better.

A good value for money is the japanese buffet every friday night at the Duang Tawan Hotel. I think it's 230 B.

I cannot share the Americans enthusiasm about burgers, too. It's probably a cultural thing. Maybe when someone grows up with this kind of food, sooner or later he will like it. Maybe like the French and their fondness for frogs.

Last week we bought a professional coffee maker from DeLonghi (Italy) at the Central at Huay Keaw. They seem to have a lot of different models there.

I heard about this place quite often. But so far nobody could tell me, how to get there

We also are looking for a maid. We are living in Ban Wang Tan, that's a Moo Ban somewhere between Chiang Mai and Hang Dong. It should be about three times a week, eachtime 2 - 3 h. We can talk about about everything.

and at 89 baht lunch and 129 baht dinner (steaks incl ??

Let's be honest, what can you expect for this price? Certainly not high-quality meat. How do you they say in the US ? There is no free lunch.

What is the best place to watch the plane? Does Chiang Mai airport have any terrace for visitors?

Dear Tigerbeer,

I don't know you ever been there, but it's a regular restaurant. I'm just curious wether the food there is worth the money.