jfchandler

I have Flash 9 installed on my Windows Vista PC... But when I try the speed test in Firefox 3, I get an error message saying the test requires at least Flash 7 installed.... What gives???

John, I have no bad intentions toward you or your business...

But really, in all sincerety, you and your business would do better to LISTEN to your customers instead of constantly arguing with us...

Tonight, you spent a bunch of posts telling us we were wrong, and that the ChefsXP listing was correct... Then finally, you acknowledge it was wrong (no mention of rice) for whatever reason.

And then, instead of saying thank you for pointing out the error, you proceed to want to attack those who are trying to help you do a better job.

For the record, almost everything I've ever cited here on TV as a issue/problem is something you subsequently (without acknowledging it) have talked about fixing to make your product better -- changing your delivery packaging, adding mustard and sauerkraut to your reuben, more mayo for your potato salad, and on and on...

You'd do better to stop fighting and arguing...and focus on improving your food product.

John, there is NO mention of rice on the ChefsXP web site... I'm sorry you are getting irate about this. But OneThailand and I are both looking, and we're both telling you.. It's not there...

I really dont care... But.. the text you posted to TV is not the same as what's on the ChefsXP web site. Instead of arguing with us or me about it, please look at the real ChefsXP web site, and fix it..if you want.

John, look at the ChefsXP web site... not what you posted here on TV... PLEASE....

OneThailand, thanks for posting the photos and comments re your dinner tonight. It was interesting to see and read.

The potato salad looks pretty good, even without the well-sliced eggs, and it's certainly a good portion. There are styles of PS that use very little mayo, almost salad nicoise style... But I'm not sure John's dish was aspiring in that direction, so it does look like it could use more/enough mayo to at least give a bit of coating and "glue" (sorry to use that term) to better hold everything together....

About the overall soggy burrito and chicken tendon bits, I think it points to something I have mentioned here before... The ideas for the dishes and the ingredients, and John's intentions, all seem to be very good and first-class. But it seems to be the actual execution of the dishes -- I mean the details of their preparation and delivery -- that sometimes seem to fall down a bit... As someone once said, the devil is in the details. I know John is trying to address these things, I hope, with better success.

John, I'm not sure if you're looking at the same thing on the web as the rest of us.

I'm looking at the ChefsXP web site, and your burrito listing there, and there is NO mention of rice either in the title description or in the mouse over text.

I don't mind rice in my burrito, even like it within reason. But I believe OneThailand was correct in telling you above that there is NO mention of rice in the web descriptions under ChefsXP -- at least as of my sending this note at 9:20 p.m.

Maybe you are looking at some version that is different from the text that is actually live on the ChefsXP web site.

Hi,

ok here we go: if you look at the description above you'll see that the rice is mentioned and also on the "mouse-over" on chefsxp but the amount is not that large compared to the chicken since we use some 300G of chicken and Chorizo etc... rice is also a traditonal part of a Burrito filling

The Jalepeno on the side .. hmm we do not offer that at the moment since the Burritos are pre-build in our main kitchen - however I will prepare some Jalepenos tomorrow and as of Saturday those will be available as an extra - otherwise there are plenty of Jalepeno in the Burrito already I;m sure you"ll agree.

I have already instructed my staff to change the packaging to foil wrap and not use the xp's packaging which seems to have an adverse effect on a number of items by being air-tight one can actually see the condensation on the sides of the container in your picture -sorry about this, but this was our first take-out order for the Burrito's - delighted that you did enjoy it - having had one myself for my dinner yeasterday I was not too worried about the flavor side the same for the re-fried Beans

As to the tendon, it is virtually impossible to avoid this 100% unless instead of thighs we use breast which is dry and has a lot less flavor - I spend an hour going through the chicken with gloves on checking - however there will be no bones but the even thoug I took out probably 99.9%, the odd little one tendon which is quite soft just after the BBQ may have escaped.

The "Russenei" Patato salad - I have already instructed my staff to add some majonaiseon the side - problem is here that one person would find more too much and another finds it to be too little .... having looked at your picture I'm more upset that the Muppets have not used the egg-slicer which I have given them to use just for this purpose to make a nicer presentation - will have words tomorrow

Thanks for your order and contructive comments and hope to be of service again soon

John

I live in Thailand, where it wasn't televised and my internet connection is rarely strong enough to where I want to spring for Game Pass and then not be able to use.

Just fyi, the NFL also has a very low-priced all radio broadcasts package available under the Field Pass section. It's $39.95 for the entire season, and listen to any and all radio broadcasts of all NFL games...either live or after-the-fact. You can even choose between the home or away team's broadcast team.

Even if your Internet is not robust enough for streaming video, any decent connection here in LOS ought to be able to handle a simple streaming radio broadcast. It's a pretty reasonably priced alternative that would enable you to not miss any game you want to catch...

http://www.nfl.com/fieldpass

Ahh.... it was called "Kosher Burrito..." both the burrito and the shop....

I never knew so much had been written about the lowly burrito..... but.... very fun to read.... Thanks for posting that UG....

I worked for about a decade at City Hall in downtown Los Angeles, and on the street outside, was a very famous, little non-Mexican food shack that served a very famous "burrito" in which the main ingredient was sliced pastrami....

Don't get me wrong...I love and prefer authentic Mexican food as well as the California variations. But that little shack used to sell a ton of those pastrami burritos every day for lunch....and they were known throughout downtown Los Angeles.

I wish I could remember all the the ingredients: regular large white flour tortilla, lots of sliced pastrami, some kind of melted cheese or cheese sauce, grilled onions I think, and I can't remember what all else... I had a few thru the years when out with co-workers, but it wasn't exactly my cup of tequila...

It does go to show, however, that "burritos" have been turned into all kinds of different things.

I never knew so much had been written about the lowly burrito..... but.... very fun to read.... Thanks for posting that UG....

I worked for about a decade at City Hall in downtown Los Angeles, and on the street outside, was a very famous, little non-Mexican food shack that served a very famous "burrito" in which the main ingredient was sliced pastrami....

Don't get me wrong...I love and prefer authentic Mexican food as well as the California variations. But that little shack used to sell a ton of those pastrami burritos every day for lunch....and they were known throughout downtown Los Angeles.

I wish I could remember all the the ingredients: regular large white flour tortilla, lots of sliced pastrami, some kind of melted cheese or cheese sauce, grilled onions I think, and I can't remember what all else... I had a few thru the years when out with co-workers, but it wasn't exactly my cup of tequila...

It does go to show, however, that "burritos" have been turned into all kinds of different things.

Yep, paella at Tapas is quite tasty...and much more reasonably priced that Rioja....

Last time I was there, Tapas also was offering a 2-for-1 happy hour deal on their sangria....

Very fruity...and strong enough to give you quite a nice buzz.....

I guess one of the 'luxuries' of my %3 flat-out Citi rate is I no longer have the option scheming to get an optimal transaction fee (and being a cheap bastard, I know I'd be scheming), and I know (at least at this point) that it will not be more. I have to admit they've improved their exchange rate since this new fee system was put into place, so it may turn out that I'm not getting clipped of much more than I was before.

note: this is not a recommendation

I'd argue, if Citi is hitting you for 3% every time you withdraw ATM funds in Thailand, you ARE getting clipped.

I'd be very doubtful they are giving you any kind of better real exchange rate to offset the 3% fee. Banks just don't do that. They're probably giving you a normal exchange rate and then taking their 3% off the time...leaving you with less.

Check you account and statements... take the total amount of your withdrawal and any related fees in U.S. dollars, then divide that into the amount of baht you received, and you'll get your real net exchange rate. Then you can see how it compares to what's out there in the marketplace for that day.

Btw jf, does Salem accept a foreign mailing address?

Just checked their site, very competitive rate, certainly better than my brokerage accounts.

Oops, the 3.5% is for 100K to 1000K. Why on earth would anyone put such large amounts unless they were taking advantage of FDIC insurance.

Another oops. They only reimburse upto $15/month while my cards are unlimited.

Vagabond, I don't know if I can answer all of your questions, but I will try....

Re Salem5, I'm pretty sure you need some kind of U.S. address to at least open an account.

Re their interest rates, they always have had 4-5 tiers depending on the amount you have on deposit. But they have OK rates even for the lowest tiers, especially compared to other banks. Their rates, along with most everyone else's, have gone down as the Fed has lowered rates. Right now, I'd say their overall rates are about average, but much better than most large U.S. commercial banks.

I don't use my account with them as a place for large-scale investing to earn interest. I use my account with them as a place to deposit and then access my day-to-day cash needs via their ATM/debit card.

Re ATMs, foreign exchange and reimbursement, I believe their $15 per month reimbursement relates to third-party ATM-usage fees whether charged in the U.S. or abroad. I've never done an SCB withdrawal since them since SCB began their 20 baht charges, so I can't say how that gets handled or tallied. SalemFive doesn't add on any of their own extra foreign currency fees, but at the same time, I don't believe they reimburse the 1% fees Visa and MC take via lower exchange rates.

But in general, when I use my SalemFive MC debit card here in LOS to make a withdrawal from a Thai bank, I get just one withdrawal entry listed in my SalemFive account. And the exchange rate applied seems to track pretty closely to the rates listed in the local exchange booths here.

As an example, on Sept. 15 U.S. time, my real exchange rate for an ATM withdrawal out of my SalemFive account was 34.42. The official rate that day was 34.7 something. So I believe MC is getting their 1% cut somewhere (amounting to one-third of a baht) but it's not being reported separately -- the same as Visa I believe. MC is simply applying a lower exchange rate that reflects their 1% cut.

That's a very different situation, for example, from Bank of America -- where, if you use a BofA debit card here, you get three different debits to your account: 1) the basic amount you withdraw, 2) a separately charged 3% foreign currency fee, and 3) a couple bucks additional BofA charges for using a non-BofA ATM machine. In the end, of course, people who use BofA and similar outfits are getting reamed.

I don't know of any way to make ATM withdrawals here where you're not somehow getting hit with the 1% fee from Visa or MC via the slightly lower exchange rate.... If there's a way to avoid that, please do tell...

The game is here....but you will need to install the free TVAnts software to see it...

http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=...amp;part=sports

I'm watching it on the channel called Danish Delight

The question wasn't about the scores/outcome of the games. The question was whether TrueVisions was going to be re-broadcasting any of the Monday night games on a tape-delayed basis. As far as I know, they are not.

We went one month ago, and drove in via baht bus from our hotel. No entry charge then....

Here's some third-party background information, and comments by people with their accounts....

http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2007/05/sale...e-checking.html

Yes, I've had an account with them for more than a year... no problem at all... good experience every time I've dealt with their customer service... Easy to reach via telephone or e-mail. Online banking and bill pay and a decent interest rate for a free checking account.

Only downside is they don't have their own ACH transfer system. However, you can use other accounts with ACH to pull money out of the SalemFive account or to push money into it.

Re the exchange rate, the rate you get in Thailand will be the rate from the Thai bank you use to make the ATM withdrawal. Since SalemFive doesn't charge any fees, you'd be getting the full exchange rate.

Their account comes with a MasterCard/Cirrus ATM/debit card.

I'd say your toes are speaking for themselves....

errr.......

what about just only puttin on my toe?

As to the origins of the avocados used at Sunrise, I knew I remembered reading it here in the past....

From Greg:

Guacamole: We sell use more avocados than all other restaurants according to our supplier. Its good stuff with no shortcuts. Even though avocados are expensive as we import from Australia, we increased the portion around three months ago and everyone is happy. Try it next time or come to the Suk 12 location, its cheaper there. :-)

foot fetish time????

My Via Vai menu says their delivery hours are noon until 10:30 pm....so I assume that means they're open for lunch.... though I've only been there for dinner myself.

I had an interesting experience with Sukhumvit area (mostly Indian) tailors lately that gives you some idea of what kind of operation most are running.

I had some regular day-to-day pants I needed tailored, taken-in at the waist, because of being a trimmer dude now after a year in BKK. So I went around checking with tailor shops wanting them to alter the pants so they'd fit again properly. I probably went thru four different shops with each saying no, they won't do alternations (but they would be very happy to sell me a new suit, made where, I have no idea.)

One of the few shops I found that does do misc. alterations is the Needle King shop near Suk Soi 12. Their alternations prices were reasonable, and I had my pants back in two days. They, of course, also asked if I was interested in them making a new suit for me.

If a tailor shop won't/can't do in-house alternations, I'm not interested in talking to them about making any other clothes for me.

I'd second the recommendations of The Emporium (quite a few different small outlets on their upper floor food court) and the Bangkok Baking Company adjoining the J.W. Marriott between Suk Soi 2 and 4.

Both easy to get to... Emporium at BTS Phrom Phong. And the Marriott just a short walk up from Nana BTS....

The Bangkok Baking Co is actually a very nice/comfortable medium sized cafe/restaurant with a menu of lunch-type dishes and drinks. But at the front counter, they have a large cooler section of all kinds of fresh, home-made pastries, cheesecakes, fruit tarts, mousses, chocolate confections, etc etc...

Go there for a nice lunch and then indulge in their deserts... All first-rate. Or just go for a drink and desert... They also do their own breads, muffins, sandwiches and other baked good....and have a 50% off sale on those (but not their deserts) every day from 6 to 7 pm.

I likewise have many good things to say about this Italian food eatery on Soi 8....

I'd also add, they have free local (and I believe that means Nana to Asok areas) delivery... 02-253-1200. And they were offering, on their menu, a free large bottle of soft drink with any delivery order over 500 baht, though you have to ask.

I'd only disagree about their prices... I'm sitting at home looking at their takeout menu now...and all their pastas range from 210 to 350 baht tops. Their pizzas range from 210 to 410 tops, with most not exceeding 320. They do have meat and fish dishes that are in the 400 to 600 baht range.

As my post linked above remarks, they served a basil pasta dish there that was among the best I can remember every eating anywhere. Overall, in addition to good food, the interior of the restaurant, setting and service make it a great "date" destination.

I agree Dantiley and Sabaijai.... pretty much dead on in your comments.

I believe Greg goes to quite some lengths to obtained his imported avocados and make the guacamole fresh.... My only gripe is every time I order it...the portion is TOO SMALL.... But for the price...I can understand that....

There was a time some month back when the Soi 12 location seemed to lose its way. But I believe its recovered quite nicely of late, and has served consistently good food and had decent service on all my recent and now regular visits...

About Sunrise's own fresh-made salsas, I've taken to ordering a 500 ml container of the salsa of my choice, to take home, every time I stop by for a meal. It beats anything available in the stores hands down, and at a price of 129 baht, it's a great deal. That and, you can pick your desired level of spiciness from among the different varieties.

To anyone who was put off of Sunrise during that lamented dark period, I'd encourage them to stop by and give them another try.... I think you'll be in for a pleasant surprise.