josephbloggs

So someone looked after your bag for you, took it home, then made the effort to track you down and return it and you are moaning because it took them too long?? You don't deserve to get it back. You can do all of that on an Android phone too.

Come on, "Vote for us and we'll give you all money" is a stimulus package and not another way of vote buying? Do you really believe that?

I live in Bangkok and most of the places I go to on a daily basis don't require me to sit around for hours in traffic. Driving to and from work, no problem. Driving the kids to school and picking them up, no problem. Driving to a restaurant for dinner, no problem. Driving to the supermarket, no problem. Driving to play football, no problem. Of course if you want to drive up Sukhumvit in rush hour you're going to be stuck in traffic, but why would I do that? Bangkok has bad traffic, many cities do. But it was you who asked why anyone would want a city car to "sit around in traffic for hours". I explained why that was a silly thing to say. I never sit around in traffic for hours, never. I could if I was stupid, but I'm not.

Believe it or not if you live in the city then it is quite handy to have a city car. Why would you be stuck in traffic for hours on end?

Yes, and Seahorse is Seahorse, nothing to do with Raja. Brilliant, well done for pointing out a typo, very well done.

So by your logic guns are fine even though there are (seemingly) daily mass shooting because, erm, most people don't shoot people? That's the best you have? Therefore no action is necessary. Apparently I am not allowed to post a link to show what happens when you do do something about guns as it is "off-topic", so I won't post it again. (hint: the shootings stop, overnight.). I can't believe that a country can have so many tragic gun deaths and so many involve children, yet no-one wants to do anything about it. I will never understand that logic at all.

Yes. A friend at my company uses them all the time and says they are excellent - I often see him tucking in to Paleo Robbie meals. Reliable and good (so I am told - haven't tried them personally). I assume the fresh market stuff they sell is also good quality as he says the meals are very good. If you want very high quality meat the Accidental Butcher is awesome. Not cheap, but superb, and they know their stuff so you can go in there, tell them what you want to cook and they will recommend the meat. Sometimes you will see the AB himself and can have a chat, but if not their Thai staff are extremely knowledgable. Last time I was there I just said I want to cook a beef wellington for four and they produced the right cut in the right size and it was amazing. It's just off Ekkamai. Mostly fresh meat from Australia but he also makes sausages and other items like pickles. https://www.theaccidentalbutcher.com/ Also Bangkok Bobs on Pridi is good (formerly Food Glorious Food). He used to supply a lot of the hotels and restaurants - I assume he still does. https://www.bangkokbobs.com/ Passion Delivery also gets good reviews although I haven't tried them myself. https://passiondelivery.com/

Haven't seen a single Songkranner today. Normally in Bangkok it's full on on 13th & 14th, half hearted on 15th (except in places like Khao San), and done by 16th.

Oh my God, more worried about emojis than rabies (yes, I know you have since got the first shot). How sensitive are you? Not the first time I have seen you upset about emojis but if I had just been bitten by a rat the last thing I would do is think to post on AN and THEN get upset about an emoji. There are more important things in life.

Yes, of course I haven't tried them all, and am not saying there is no good NZ beef out there - I am sure there is very good NZ beef out there just as there is excellent NZ lamb (although I prefer Aussie lamb personally) and I am sure you pay accordingly for it which is just fine. If I want a steak I am willing to pay for a good one. If I want lamb I will pay for high quality imported lamb. My comment was specifically addressed to the poster who made the ridiculous claim that his 102 baht NZ ribeye (that came from a secret place he won't tell anyone about even though it is expatfoodthailand.com) is the best most amazing meat..........which it isn't, it is nasty cheap rubbish (as the price correctly reflects). There is nothing to be gained from buying the cheapest meat unless you plan on slow cooking it for hours in a stew.

I would be careful with that as if you check in with one passport but switch it at departing immigration it can be an issue. Happened to me in Dubai after a holiday there. Checked in with Thai passports to avoid questions about Thai visas, presented UK ones at immigration (as we entered on UK passports) and they took me aside as these were not the same passports we checked in with. I had to go back to check in and they got a supervisor to rectify the situation. Was all a bit of a pain and took a while to resolve.

I'm in the same boat. Applied 2.5 weeks ago for my son's renewal and was advised 11 weeks. Not sure if the 11 weeks already accounts for the five weeks of industrial action or not but looking now they still say 11 weeks so hopefully it is accounted for as we want to go to the UK in the summer. They do say your passport is cancelled upon acceptance of your renewal submission (moot for me as his had expired anyway) and you can't use it to travel. I do, however, know people who have travelled on their UK passport in SE Asia even after applying for a new one but it's a bit risky if you ask me. But as you are going to the UK that's a different story. Hoping the 11 weeks is accurate but also annoyed at myself for not doing it earlier.

Good advice as you clearly didn't read it all the way through did you? HIs summary after the blind tastings: And so I will always season lamb shanks the day before they go into the braise. I will try to season chickens the day before, but if I don't have the chance, I won't sweat it; and I will season steaks and pork roasts right before searing. Not only can I handle the truth, I can handle several truths. So I will go with that, which also agrees with Gordon Ramsey and Heston Blumenthal who also say season just before cooking (they didn't mention whether or not 102 baht secret website steaks were ok or not so you're safe there): https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/gordons-mix-match-steak https://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/heston-blumenthals-perfect-steak Again, this is subjective, you can cook however you like as it doesn't bother me, you can buy the cheapest meat you can find as that doesn't bother me. Just don't come on here calling people stupid for advocating a quality cut or grade of beef, and don't pretend to be smarter than other people for "discovering" expatfoodsthailand.com and then trying to cover it up so other people can't see it, it is really pathetic. With cooking there is no right or wrong - if you like it that is all that matters. Someone came on here to ask for advice on how people like to prepare a steak, people have replied with their favourite methods - not to show off but to help someone who asked - you are the only one attacking other people for it and saying yours is the best / smartest when it clearly isn't.

Hilarious. You tell everyone you are so smart because you pay less for your meat then you scrub out the web address of www.expatfoodsthailand.com like it's a secret place that only you are clever enough to know and you will only tell it in a PM to people who are nice to you. So childish it is funny. Like I said, I have tried the cheap NZ Ribeye and it is poor quality. As you said yourself you have to salt it overnight - which chef ever does that to a quality piece of beef? None. Minimal prep, salt no more than two minutes before cooking and your high quality cut will be juicy, tender and delicious. Weird that a thread simply asking about the best way to cook a steak became a ridiculous p!ssing contest about who has the best secret place to buy meat. And hilarious that you think expatfoodsthailand is where the super smart people in the know buy their meat. I like EPFT (although I hate their website) and I use it for some groceries and goodies from home, but I pay more for my steaks from quality butchers as I think steak is one the things worth paying for. You disagree, that's fine. But don't tell everyone they are stupid for doing it, and enjoy your stringy 102 baht steaks as often as you like.

Good for you. I have tried the cheap NZ ribeye and it is terrible. I know you think you know better than everyone but believe me, you don't. Some things are worth paying for - good steak is one of them.

Not sure if this is a parody account?

For me marinading a steak is sacrilege. And BBQ sauce? Oh my God. And whoever wants a cheap steak, absolute no no. With a steak you get what you pay for and it is worth it. A cheap steak will be tough and horrible. A good middle ground is a decent Thai-French ribeye, or an Aussie ribeye, maybe 400 baht in Villa for a decent sized one. As someone else mentioned take it out of the fridge an hour before you want to cook it. Just before cooking add salt and pepper to both sides (I understand the argument of salt only and add pepper when you serve, that is also ok), heat up a heavy pan to as hot as you dare (or as hot as you can bothered waiting), slap it in for a couple of minutes (no oil), turn it for a couple of minutes, throw butter, thyme and a smashed garlic glove into the pan, cook for a minute or so. Turn once more so both sides get the buttery thymey goodness, remove, rest a few minutes. Consume. Beautiful medium rare tender steak. No sauce, no marinade, ever.

Nooooooooo!

No they are not. I applied for my son's renewal two weeks ago and there is currently an 11-12 week wait. Also all the passport offices in England are on a five week strike right now. I am not sure if that is factored in to the advised 11-12 week turnaround time or not. So there is a huge backlog, you are very much wrong.

I came 28 years ago and Foodland Soi 5 existed. But Villa only had 33/1, nowhere else. They started expanding in the late 90s I think. I also remember reading an interview with the owner from around that time that they never ever borrowed money for a new location, it was always financed by their existing cashflow.

I guess that is why you're Tall Guy John. Yeah, Villa 33 is very tight and I don't really like shopping there, but they'll never give that location up as they make a lot of money from it and they own that whole plot of land all the way back to where Blockbuster used to be plus one side of 33/1, so it guess it will be "The Original" for a long time to come - until one day they sell the lot and a condo goes up. I used to quite like the Fuji behind there but haven't been in for years - wonder what it is like now? (God this is a depressingly middle aged conversation)

I've lived in this area for 28 years, just one of those brain moments. My mistake, I read it as Petchaburi for some reason. The rest of the comments hold true though - awful place.

D'oh! Brain wasn't working. Bad mistake. Yes, I meant Petchaburi. For some reason I read the Ploenchit post as Petchaburi. God, hope I'm not going senile already.

There still is a freestanding FL with a carpark on Ploenchit but close to Ekkamai. I went in there recently as I had forgotten something in my Villa Thonglor shop and thought I would try there as I went past rather than going all the way back to Thonglor. My God it is was dreadful. Tiny narrow aisles, stuff stacked everywhere, and a pathetic selection of goods. Pretty sure FL will be dead as business in the not too distant future, they look like they have given up.

Do you have this dinosaur / reptiles / country going backwards rant stored somewhere and you just copy and paste it in every thread? Surely you don't write it out in full each time? It amazes me how you introduce the same comments into nearly every thread I see you in, no matter how irrelevant. But congratulations for getting it in to one about Foodland on Soi 5 being a bit <deleted> these days - even for you that's impressive. Foodland has been on the decline for years and years. Bad management, no investment, and Villa, Tops and Macro have streaked ahead with nicer shops, better selections, and good online / delivery options. But yeah, dinosaurs.