ColinChapman

Hi John,

Great idea, my wife would like to go to all the courses - she's always asking me how to cook soups and stews, but I'm no help. Let us know when you have a definite date for any of the courses to run and she will come if she is free. Maybe I should come too!

While looking at the Eurogourmet web-site to check out the cookery courses, I noticed your photograph on the main page you hansum man - maybe you should run training courses in Photoshop!

I hope to come and sample the cheesecake later today, once I've finished my chores.

Hi John,

It's all gone very quiet here! I see that on the Western Food Forum main page it says that the Bistro Eurogourmet thread is available via ChefsXP News, but I can't find anywhere on there that lets users post comments. Am I doing something wrong? I've been missing the lively discussions since the last thread closed.

I just wanted to say that we enjoyed our goulash (my wife) and burrito (me) on Saturday. I know it's probably not authentic Mexican, but I always think that the unpolished red rice has a much nicer, nuttier flavour and would go quite well in the burrito?

Yes, the ham was huge, we had sandwiches for lunch yesterday with what couldn't eat on Saturday and brought home. Very nice too but I have to confess I didn't try to make hollondaise sauce, just mixed up some English mustard. I did make the bread for the sandwiches though!

To be honest, we thought you could cut the portion size down a bit especially if you carve it a bit thinner like the corned beef in the Reuben, but neither of us are big eaters.

Looking forward to the Mexican on Saturday.

Ordered the Cumberland Sausage with mashed potatos and onion gravy (me) and the German curry sausage with curry sauce and fries (tgf) from ChefsXP last night. The food was delicious, especially the mash! Can you deliver bottles of Weihenstephaner wheat beer as well?

Also, very impressed with ChefsXP - excluding the banks, this is the best web-site I've used in Thailand by far (and as good as the banks) - everything worked first time, even has space to type in route instructions. Compare it with trying to book a ticket on the Major Cineplex web-site which is impossible as far as I can tell.

I received an email confirming receipt of my order immediately and then an email notifying me that the restaurant had received my order and the driver was on his way. Food arrived hot and within the time specified. Deliveryman polite and very smartly dressed.

I might even try food from some of their other restaurants once I've eaten everything on the Bistro menu!

Will the Reuben sarnie be available next week at the Bistro as I am away this weekend (train strikes permitting)? I haven't a clue what they're like, but everyone seems so enthusiastic I would like to try one.

HI all,

this Saturdays special (pre bookings please) 23/08/2008

French Potato & Garlic Soup - creamy and highly delicious

Cordon Bleu with Gorgonzola Cheese filling served with delicate Potato Cakes and Vegetables

John

Hi John,

Please book me in for two people about 1 o'clock.

Hi Everyone,

I have now been to the Bistro Eurogourmet three times over a period of a few weeks at different times of the day and on weekdays and Saturday. Each time the food and service has been excellent. I have tried the light English breakfast, the Mexican breakfast with delicious salsa and chorizo and a barbecue bacon and cheese burger. I originally went there to buy some of the dry cured, smoked streaky bacon (they call it American breakfast bacon, but I'm English and I like it) which is absolutely delicious but is not available in my local supermarket. In response to my email query, John kindly agreed to drop off 1kg at the bistro for me to collect at the same price per kg as buying 10kg from his web-site.

I have paid considerably more for food which isn't nearly as nice, and the burger is the best I have found in Bangkok since Muku's closed. The Weihenstephaner weissen beer is also very tasty if you are a wheat beer fan, served in proper glasses and reasonably priced at THB160 for a half litre. I have bumped into John a couple of times and found him friendly and very knowledgable and informative about food production in general and his products in particular - absolutely no bullshit, this is a hands-on chef who knows exactly what he is doing and his enthusiasm shines through.

I would be very surprised if you can't find something on the menu which you like - he even has a veggie burger made with shitake mushrooms which was being enjoyed by two American gentlemen on my first visit and is on my list of things to try.

I would say that you should not go here if you are on a diet.

Also Siam Eye Clinic, 420/5-6 Siam Square Soi 1, 02 251 9576 or 02 252 9474, who also sell RGP contact lenses. I have had several pairs from them, very comfortable, no problems.

Congratulations.

Feel you are somewhat optimistic in expecting the European Parliament to do something useful to make life simpler!

My wife went for her application appointment last Monday and said that the lady she spoke to was very pleasant and polite, unlike the one who answers the phone. She asked her a few questions and told her to return today. She has just been and collected her visa.

The web-site still says that "You can book the appointment within one month from the day of your call".

Although it is not mentioned in the visa fees section of the web-site, thanks to reading Thai visa I told her to ask if she had to pay and she didn't. Wish I'd known about that last year when we went to France!

What is a "certified translation" of a marriage certificate? My wife only took the original and an ordinary photocopy. They checked the original and returned it to her immediately and retained the copy to submit with the application.

I hope it all works out for you in the end and you recover fully.

Yes, but the only way you can complain is if you never intend to apply for another visa, otherwise I can imagine how successful you will be with subsequent applications!

My main complaint with the Italian embassy is that the web-site still says: "You can book the appointment within one month from the day of your call", implying that you will never have to wait more than one month. If you have to apply two or three months in advance, the web-site should advise you of this. We could quite easily have applied in January, but there is no indication that this is necessary. It's not so much the hoops they make you jump through as the failure to notify you about the hoops that I object to.

Kudos to the British emnbassy and VFS, they might be more expensive, but their efficiency and the volume and clarity of information on the web-site is excellent.

Lordsux,

We have not found a way round the problem.

My girlfriend has phoned the embassy every day, she has asked to speak to a supervisor and been refused. She has pointed out that the web-site still says: "You can book the appointment within one month from the day of your call", implying that you will never have to wait more than one month and that we have purchased about five hundred pounds' worth of air tickets.

The embassy official was quite rude and unhelpful, saying that this is the high season and it's always very busy (so why not change the web-site then?) in a tone which suggested my girlfriend was an idiot for not knowing this and also saying that "we didn't tell you to buy any air tickets". I can imagine your chances of getting a visa if you turned up without a return flight ticket. Last year at the French embassy they were not even satisfied with seeing our return tickets from the UK to France, they also insisted on seeing our return ticket from Bangkok to London (and my girlfriend already had her UK visa in her passport).

We have also phoned about ten agencies, none of whom could help. One man did say he could get the visa sooner and he would only charge us THB20,000, but he had no money in his phone so could we call him back. We decided to give that offer a miss.

We have now bowed to the inevitable and moved our entire trip back by a week, so that my girlfriend has time to attend her appointment and we have eight days afterwards for them to return her passport. They told us it would take five to six days, so we hope this is long enough.

Sorry not to have any better news. Have you made any progress?

I have the exact same problem, having had Schengen visas from the German and French embassies before, my girlfriend was a bit surprised to encounter the Italian system. We are going to lose several hundred pounds worth of air tickets if she can't get her visa in less than 6 weeks so she spent some time pleading with the service line (at 9 baht plus tax per minute) but the only suggestion they have is to phone daily (at 9 baht plus tax per minute) to check for cancellations.

I asked my Italian friend who we are going to visit and he suggested that we try applying via an agency as they often have privileged access to the visa section. We have never used an agency before for UK or Schengen visas, so have no idea about which ones are good or bad.

Can anyone comment on this idea?

Can anyone recommend a good agency?

Hi Scouser,

Thanks very much for the advice, we'll go with your "belt and braces" approach as the safest way forward.

Hi Everyone,

I hope someone can help me. My girlfriend and I are intending to get married in England in a Church of England ceremony. We live in Thailand and are not intending to settle in England, so I'm pretty sure she does not need a Fiancee or Settlement visa. However, I'm not sure if she might need a Visit for Marriage visa. Reading the guidelines, this seems to apply only to civil weddings conducted by a Registrar in a Registry Office. The Vicar has told me that she only needs a tourist visa and that he needs to see only her birth certificate and does not need to see her passport and visa at all. Can anyone confirm or refute this? Especially from personal experience?