just_Elaine

Here are 3 places I like.

(1)About 100 meters down Wireless Rd on the left side is Thai restaurant (Sanguin Sri?)..... before the Athanee property. No english sign out front .The place has been there a looong time.. packed with locals at lunchtime.

(2)My favorite is on ThongLor at Sub-Soi 13. (Also look across the Street for the cheap Singapor Noodle Place.)

(3)How about the Carlton on Silom, under the Sala Dang Station. Been there since 1950.

Thank you very much. I hope we'll get a chance to try some of these places when we are there.

We're looking for a really good Thai food restaurant in Bangkok where Thai people go to eat. It would be nice if we can sit down and have a meal with some beers, but carrying out the food is okay too. Can anyone help? Spicy is good...

Thanks.

We've found that airfares are cheaper if we buy them in advance. The airport fees/taxes/etc. seem really expensive the last few years.

To me, Singapore is the best airport because it is not only clean and spacious, but they have free activities.. I think they show a movie, but we've never gone into the theatre. Once, they sponsored a game show. It was pretty funny to watch. It's been awhile since we've been there, but I think they also have free Internet access.

The worse one is somewhere in China -- I think I blanked it out of my mind..

Here's a link: http://www.chiangmai-chiangrai.com/2_hotel...new_hotels.html

I haven't tried any of these, but fuengfa place looked like it might be good.

I have tried to get the deluxe rooms from Viangbua Mansion (http://www.viangbua.chiangmai-online.com/room_rates.html ), but they are always booked. Their superior rooms are 12000/month so this is a little over your budget.

By the way, I don't think it will take you a month to find a place.

BambinA - thank you for the recipe.

chukchok - thanks for asking the missus.

After my last post, I asked someone at a restaurant and he said the Issan style usually has roasted rice powder and lime.

Went to Kasem on Niemenhamen.. Couldn't find "pip" spaghetti sauce there...

Yes, braised onions and sauteed mushrooms with beef bourguignon. Here's a link I found:

http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/06/042299.shtml

I've made it from Julia's cookbook before and it is delicious.

Also, have used them in Coq au Vin recipe which might be a bit easier (ingredients wise) here in Thailand:

http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/coo...coq_au_vin.html

ye gotta think about whether ye wanna use the herb as an ingredient or a garnish...I find parsley and fresh coriander unsuitable for cooking until the pot has been taken off de heat...the herb aroma is lost otherwise...

I made a beef stew yesterday toots, your posts had me motivated, and almost as an afterthought I chopped up three or four spring (green?) onions and put them in at the same time as the spuds; leaves and all. Improved the flavour and satisfied my craving for little green specks in it.

did you not first stew de meat wid regular yellow onions?. I find that green onions are a nice addition to potato salad, after the potatoes have been cooked...my irish ex-wife's grandad had a recipie dat we useta use; tatties, green onions, olive oil an' lemon juice...grand...

I haven't found Italian leaf parsley here, but I've been able to get the curly parsley. I think I've gotton it at Carrefour and Tesco Lotus.

I find that de curly leaf parsley in Thailand tastes different than in de US/europe...maybe just my imagination...

Yes, I agree that it is different. I think it has a stronger taste, but I haven't noticed a problem with anything that I've made. I use it for stocks, and rice cooked in stock. Also, have used it chopped to sprinkle on dishes, but I don't use too much..

Thanks everyone. I guess there isn't much difference in the different styles of laab.

I haven't found Italian leaf parsley here, but I've been able to get the curly parsley. I think I've gotton it at Carrefour and Tesco Lotus.

We make our (chicken/duck) stock almost like nomadspike's version, but sometimes we'll add leeks. Put bones in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and lower to simmer. Skim off the foamy stuff. Add the rest of the stuff and simmer for a couple of hours. Strain and let liquid cool, put in containers and freeze.

Now saying that, there should be stock available in those long-life type containers around (not canned).

We looked for your spaghetti sauce at Rimping Market a couple of weeks ago. We'll have to get over to Kasem or Daicheeso to pick some up! We were thinking that your sauce would be good on a pizza....

Elaine

We had pizzas at the Mr. Chan and Miss Pauline's on Canal Road last night: one with funghi and one with funghi and mushrooms. The crust was the bread type. It was good.

We had pizza and pasta at Pom Pui about a week ago. There were 4 of us. The pizza crust was the cracker type. We were not impressed with the food. Actually, I think that was the worse pasta I've ever had - gummy... On top of that I thought our waitress had an "attitude".

Sorry, I forgot about the raw stuff which, thankfully, I've never gotton. It always has ground pork, but most times liver is included or something white which my husband thinks is part of the pork skin and I think it is something like intestines. Most times, it'll have ground rice powder, ground chilis, sliced shallots and mint. Some versions have green onion. Some versions have thinly sliced lemon grass. Some versions might have coriander leaves (cilantro). As for the sauce, I think most times it is a combination of lime juice and fish sauce although some versions seem to have red curry in it.

So I'm wondering what distinguishes Northern style laab from Issan style laab....

You or your family needs to find an Asian-focused travel agent in Los Angeles who has access to consoldiator fares. These travel agents are usually found in Asian communities.

Someone in a travel forum recommended http://www.thaifly.com/

What is the legnth of stay in Thailand?

Where do you want to purchase the tickets? What currency do you prefer to pay with?

Are travel dates flexible?

How many indivudals are traveling? Can they split up?

Are the travelers originating in the LA area or will they connect through LA?

My guess is that the cheaper fare buckets ($800 - $1,100) available to the general public via retial outlets, like the Internet or the airlines website, have already been sold but Consolidators typically still have some of those fares in their inventory.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

To answer some of these questions:

The dates are from June 12 to June 23. The dates are pretty firm since they are coming for my wedding but can be moved by a day either way.

I can purchase them in the US or Thailand. I only have money in dollars to purchase the tickets.

The travelers will be connecting at LA. Sister's family from Houston and Brother's family and Father from Indianapolis. Total of 5 adults and 1 kid.

I would really prefer them to not be split so I can pick them all up at the airport at once.

I heard there is a big Thai community in Houston. Do any of you think that my sister could find one of these Asian consolidators there for flights out of LAX?

Thanks again all!

I used to have to book travel for my kids from high school and college when we lived outside the U.S. The travel dates that you've selected is right in that kind of timeframe. This time and Christmas is "high" priced wise from the states.

From SFO, I found that there is at least a 150USD reduction in price just moving the dates up 1 week and 300USD reduction in price moving the dates up 2 weeks. Don't know what criteria the wedding dates were chosen, but if dates can be changed, it might save you some money.

Also, if you are paying in USD here in Thailand, you also need to factor in the cost of USD--TB conversion. We normally transfer money from an account in US to our Thailand bank account and then pay cash (Thai baht) when we buy tickets here. We think we might be getting a slightly better exchange rate that way than if we charged it.

Congratulations and hope the plans turn out well...

Well, I don't think they are that controlled. THe hills overlooking HTT are continually being fought by helicopters with buckets.

This was taken about 4 days ago by me.

Phil

PS - If someone could explain how on earth to embed youtube video on here, that would be great. Looked at Georges example, but I sure can't get it to work!

Nice vid.

Elaine

We can't seem to pin down which laab moo (Northern, Issan, any other?) we like. Does anyone know what the differences are? Recipes?

Thanks,

Elaine

Hi, does anyone know of a cheap and good moving company that can come and box up a bedsit worth of stuff and drive it a few km to my new house? Any good experiences out there? What are the going rates?

Also, what alternatives are there, like getting boxes and just hiring a taxi or van or whatever?

Thanks!

Boxes - we've haunted Tesco Lotus and asked if we could have some boxes (free) from items they were unloading. This was over a year ago. We will be shipping some things back this year and ran across a box & packing material supplier in Ban Tawai (south of the city). If you're interested, let me know and I'll try to pay attention to how to get there next time we go down there so I can give you directions. The boxes we bought were 45TB and 55TB.

Packing – we are using our housekeeper.

Movers – cross-town move – I think we paid around 2000TB as well. We have a very heavy teak desk so we needed someone who could bring in a team. Also, we’ve just asked people with trucks if they would help and how much.. I think we paid 250TB per trip a couple of years ago to move plants and miscellaneous things.

Many spots where burning occurred was along the highway. Other areas were on very steep hills with large trees. Many of these areas did not look like places for crops.

I believe that the purpose is to clear off the flammable undergrowth and dried leaves early in the season, in a more or less controlled way, to prevent larger, uncontrolled fires later in the season, when things really dry out and heat up.

I was wondering if it was a "fire prevention" technique. Thanks.

I tried the pizza at Latina when it was still called Latina and it was very slow coming to the table. And very disappointing, appearance- and taste-wise. I haven't tried the new location, hope it has improved.

Myself, I've noticed no difference at all with the pizzas at Amido's whether he's there or not. In fact without him yelling at the staff they often come out a tad better, in my experience. The lasagne there is the best I've had anywhere in Thailand, again whether Amido is there or not. I was there less than a week ago, and our table had two different pizzas and the lasagne; Amido was nowhere to be seen and everything was fabuloso (except the house wine; bring your own!)

To each his own ...

We've been to Amidos twice although it's been awhile. The first time we went there, Amido wasn't there. The second time, he was. I don't think it matters if he is there or not and I have to agree that it may have been a tad better when he wasn't there (which I think is a compliment to Amido for training his staff so well). Anyway, thanks for posting about Amidos because I was wondering if Amido's was still there. We'll have to try to make it up to Pai next time we are here. I think it is really good pizza.

Whoever posted about San Fran -- do you have recommendations -- that's where we'll be going next. Thanks...

Many spots where burning occurred was along the highway. Other areas were on very steep hills with large trees. Many of these areas did not look like places for crops.

Perhaps I'm a bit on the paranoid side, but we have a few boxes stacked up in the house. One day, the gardener kept trying to check out what was in them. I'd come by and the gardener would look the other way then I'd leave and when I came back again, I'd find the gardener right there at the window looking at the boxes. It happened a few times. My other half thought I shouldn't get so bent out of shape, but the gardener seemed way too interested or way too nosy. Finally, I just closed the shades. The other thing weird about the gardener (hired by the owner and comes to water every other day) is that I said 'sawadee, kha' to her one day and she didn't say anything... Just looked at me..maybe, just didn't understand me. I don't know. However, with all these robberies, I thought gardeners are great to 'case' peoples' houses. Just thought I'd mention it... Oh, not to say the gardener does the robberies, but maybe someone is paying them to give them information.

We were driving between Fang and Chiang Dao in the early evening yesterday and there were many, many fires. It was obviously intentional. For instance, on one of the hills at more of a distance, the fire was a big oval like someone poured gasoline and then lit a match. The whole area was smoky.

Does anyone know why these fires are lit?

Hi. Yes, we're only back for a short time, but we'll be back again towards the end of the year for a couple of months.

Thanks for the tip. We'll try to check it out in the next few days.

Elaine