Swordsman

Yes; just go in and see the girls behind the desk to your right and ask them for a membership card. They will give you a form to fill in your local address and ( i think ) an estimate of how much you are likely to spend each month. Might ask you for I.D. Use any figure you like because you are never challenged at any time. They will give you a card and off you go.

Any problems for those of us that visit on a tourist visa? Do they require a residency permit/ID to register? (Always good with threads like this that will be quite googleable/searchable with as much info as possible - and so far the majority of the posts have been great in that regard!)

Thanks for all the great responses people - really appreciate this.

So, Makro... Do I need to be a member or something to shop there? First stop once I get to Chiang Mai though

Hello,

Please pardon my somewhat novice question here - I am going to Chiang Mai soon and it will be my first trip up to Chiang Mai. I searched the forum but found no recent posts. The most recent post on the subject matter that I could find was from 2009, and it said that 'BeerLao imports will soon open up for Chiang Mai'.

So my question is simply, is BeerLao, in particular the dark kind, available in Chiang Mai and if so - where should one go?

Best Regards

John

PM inbound

"Do you know where your kid are?"

"Yeah - he's duct taped to the ceiling because he tried sneaking off with a case of my beerlaos!"

Not really a Bangkokian here - but last time I went to the Robin Hood down on Sukhumvit, they had both Dark and Regular Beerlao. Pricey though.

I have been living like on the lam now since 2001 - and wouldnt want it any other way. Hotel rooms, or furnished apartments - can get up and leave when the need arises. One backpack and one duffel bag - and with the introduction of the Amazon Kindle, I nearly do not have to concern myself about what to do with any libraries I build up while I am stuck in a place for longer than a weekend.

If I do buy something extra, I tend to leave it in hotel storage - that way when I go to Dubai, Bangkok, Cairo, or the likes, I have fresh sets of clothes readily available when I check in. That, or leave things up for the hotel staff to do with what they please - the red cross is always also an option.

It is a liberating feeling. Or at least I think it would be if one still properly reflected over it. But every time I end up with more than what my backpack, duffel and or possibly samsonite carry on can carry I tend to get all antsy over it and feel tied down.

gaffer tape, thats the same as duct tape - right? Could do with a roll of that.

Hello,

Thank you for both of your replies,

It's funny, you almost sound like a Thai who travel abroad with his chili the "spice it up" a bit.

As far as I'm concerned, I always try to appreciate the food the way it is cooked locally, there's usually a good reason for them to do that way, but I can understand that not everyone feels the same way.

On many Thai tables you'll find 4 little cups of condiments and spices and sometimes an extra one with a very good local Sri Racha sauce. I encourage you to try these. If the only thing you've one your table are Ketchup and Spicy sauce made by Heinz, then you might not be in the best restaurant in the area, but rather in a pretty touristy one.

Yes - there is no problem finding heat in Thailand. I am quite fond of the Sri Racha sauce, but it provides a slightly different type of heat than say the Sweet or Golden Death from Blair's - not saying that one is necessarily better than the other but I do have a preference towards the Blair sauces. The Sweet Death is mild but have pretty heavy overtures of mango, and Passion fruit for an example - which is quite nice on say a cheeseburger with jalapenos on. While the Golden Death is more of a Mustard-Rum hot sauce concoction, still mild - at a mere 34.000 scoville units (I believe the red capped rooster is a bit stronger than that, but do have a completely different texture and flavor than the previously mentioned sauces - still a solid recommendation though!). And yes - I agree, if all you see before you when you sit down for a meal is Heinz Ketchup, Heinz Mustard, and Heinz 'Chilli' sauce then you must have taken a wrong turn somewhere down the road

It is not that I do not, can not, appreciate the local cuisine as it was intended - it is just that it is sometimes nice to be able to control the heat in a direction that one feels comfortable with when one feels the need With South East Asia and South Asian food, and China to some extent (Hunan/Xiang comes to mind) that is rarely a problem - but it can be quite useful when one is running around in Africa, the former East Bloc or the Middle East - where hotness is often something that the locals shy away from. Exceptions are known of course, particularly when one speaks about Africa. Obviously one should first sample the local food as intended and served, and then if necessary and/or the mood requires it - spice it up. Better to get something too mild than too hot and go from there after all

If you visit Foodland and Villa Market, you will find the usual American hot sauces -- McIlhenny Tabasco, Crystal Louisiana, Frank's -- and a few others, a local variety called Wolf's and Chipolte (I think rebottled) by Don's Foods. You can also find Lingham's Chilli Sauce and, as noted, Sri Ratcha Chilli Sauces (if you get the Sri Ratcha sauce, get the one with the red cap). The latter two are more of dipping sauces and not ingredients to be added to food/sauces like American hot sauce, but are pretty good. I doubt that you will find Blairs in Bangkok or Thailand more generally. I have never seen it. Of the available hot sauces, I prefer Frank's -- it is very acceptable.

Foodland and VIlla Market - will check it out Thanks! I will make a point to check out Franks sauces.

Thanks guys - appreciate it

Regards

Stopped by to see what "Blair's Hot Sauce" is. I looked up an image on Google of the bottles and not sure I have seen them in the Bangkok Grocery Stores or not. I do recall there is not an abundance of overseas BBQ sauce brands.

As for hot sauce in general ... given how spicy Thai good is, not sure how popular hot sauces are among the expats unless they are cooking themselves.

Hello Nisa,

Thank you for your response

Yes that was a concern of mine, but I figured that one is better off asking and hoping than one is to shrugging. I travel a lot - and its always good to have a few bottles of hot sauce in ones pack to juice things up. Now that is not really a concern in say Thailand, but can be elsewhere. And the three mentioned Blair's are pretty low on the Blair totem pole of hotness, but are just right for me And I didnt even have to eat three bowls of porridge to find that out!

Last time I was in BBK the only BBQ sauce I could find was the usual generic suspects (Heinz's, Jack Daniels, and so on) - one is better off making ones own there then - although its worth pointing out that the blair sauces in question are not bbq sauces at all.

I hope for her safe return still. Let hope be the last to abandon mankind. If there was foul play involved, let those involved receive the harshest possible sentence available under the court of law in Australia.

How much Media attention is this case getting in Australia?

Hello,

Going to drop by Bangkok for 72 hours (meetings, meetings, meetings) in a few days - and I am fresh out of my favorite hot sauces that always ride in my luggage, The Blair Hot sauces (The Sweet Death, Golden Death, and Original Death, to be precise). And thus I was wondering if Bangkok might have a shop for me to pick some up? And what with me not knowing Bangkok all that well I figured that I should throw it out there on TV and see if there were any hot (sauce) tips.

Regards,

Tried it, I had the Signature BBQ Pork Loin Sandwich, Pork Spare Ribs 6pc, BBQ Sauce and Cole Slaw on the side.

The Cole Slaw was so so - not my forte.

The BBQ sauce could have been stronger and have more of a body to it.

The Pork Spare Ribs were excellent - but again, I wanted some more heat.

The Signature BBQ Pork Loin sandwich however? Superb! Nice and moist, I poured some of the BBQ sauce on it and added some Blair's After Death on top of it and it was primo. Will absolutely have to do that again, soon.

Me likey long time.

Think I am going to have to try them for lunch today - delivered through ChefXP.com. Breakfast really came too early today - 0500.

There are some resellers for the Herman Miller line of office chairs in Bangkok, the Aeron Chair among others. Saw that the Apple store in Siam Paragon sells them.

Email sent.

Hello,

Been to Thailand a couple of times now on short term contracts; and I am yet to find a truly good tailor. Most of the ones that I have been too have been the same old Indian/Pakistani deal where they dont have a button to spare in the shop, and much less know anything about the product. Have had a couple of shirts made up that way - and have no true reason to complain, but I figured that this time I would step it up a notch and see what a real tailor, one with an instore sewing/work room can accomplish.

Did some searching on the forum before making this post - but most answers on previous posts on this topic seems to go back to the same old Indian/Pakistani/Outsourcing deals that I this time want to step away from.

Merely looking to having a couple of shirts, and some pants (Chino Pants and some regular classic Black Ones) made up with some work specific alterations/modifications that stray from the usual pattern.

I had a couple of nice linen shirts made up at Jim Thompson's - but they are a bit too casual for use while working.

Thank You,

Regards

Joseph