25 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

Stick mostly to ground beef.

Otherwise, you need to fork out $$ for good cuts of beef.

OR ... stew cheap cuts for hours if you have the patience.

Steak is overrated (should be other thread!)............Steak Haché is my preferred way to eat beef

Ground beef mixed with a little seasoning & minced pork and it's fat makes great tasting patties

Stewed and curried meats are just superb, only yesterday had khao mok neua in muslim curry shop, just divine...

36 minutes ago, Off Piste said:

Steak is overrated (should be other thread!).

Good steak is pure bliss, but good cuts are $$$.

And they're better on a grill and have to be cooked perfect. If you overcook it, you can ruin a good steak.

Ground beef is inexpensive, easy to cook, and more adaptable to many recipes.

So much more practical for every day cooking.

Do you stay awake all night dreaming up stupid childish topics to post on AN. I cant avoid these posts as for some reason they always seem to feature in the newsletter. Do they pay you to do this. I suggest you get a life pal.

Edited June 26Jun 26 by jimn

On 6/25/2026 at 5:37 AM, GammaGlobulin said:

Thai Forks Flimsy & Thai Meat Tough:  Can you explain this oddity?

Dear Folks,

While savoring your cup of coffee, this morning, I would ask you to consider this question.

Why are Thai forks so flimsy and Thai meat so tough?

Do you know why?

Thank's for any forthcoming elucidation....

Best regards,

Gamma

Note:  It is a sorry thing to prang one’s fork, encountering a tough piece of meat.

Once bent, rarely can it be restored to proper shape.

Thai meat is butchered & eaten fresh. European & other Countries hang thier carcasses for many days in temperature controlled stores.

Whilst life us gone Chemistry continues softening the meat.

I dont believe Ive seen Thais using forks but they do suck

9 minutes ago, lagavulin1 said:

Thai meat is butchered & eaten fresh. European & other Countries hang thier carcasses for many days in temperature controlled stores.

Whilst life us gone Chemistry continues softening the meat.

I dont believe Ive seen Thais using forks but they do suck

Then you must not have ever been here. The standard place setting is a fork and spoon, but reversed. The spoon is the main implement for eating and on the right side. The fork used for pushing is on the left.

There are strong/tough forks available for sale in Thailand. You could get them at the B20/B25 shops.

You guys are killing me. Need to be a home cook to eat Beef steaks, and spend at least 1030 kg, which is what whole AU HARVEY brand beef tenderloin cost at Makro. Anything else, from anywhere else, and it's going to be expensive.

You get a few or more, nice steaks out of it, with plenty for stir fry or ground if wanting. Ground with be lean though, so don't overcook your 'thick' burger. No smash burger unless you like dry burger or use a lot of sauce & cheese on it.

Beef steak at restaurant is just too hit & miss, usually miss, or expensive, or both.

42 minutes ago, wxyz1 said:

There are strong/tough forks available for sale in Thailand. You could get them at the B20/B25 shops.

I prefer stainless steel cutlery.

And, I prefer the proper grade of Stainless.

I forget, is it SS 304?

The grade used here in Thailand is GG 1000 (garbage grade) apparently.

Generally Thai Cutlery used by many cheap Restaurants and Food Courts is Junk; same applies to cracked, chipped Plates, Dishes etc and Stained Plastic Plates. You can buy decent Cutlery if you live here but when i was coming here often for several years before i came to live here i would bring my own with me, which surprised many Local's.

With regard to tough Meat; i have found that quality varies a lot with Pork and i have been told by retailers it's very much hit and miss with what they can get, as there are good Farmers and bad Farmers. My Mrs boils all meat for a lot longer than most Thai's do as she knows we like it softer. Same applies to Vegetables.

You should regularly beat your meat.

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

You guys are killing me. Need to be a home cook to eat Beef steaks, and spend at least 1030 kg

No wonder a flimsy fork does not work on your steaks if they are 1030kg!

9 minutes ago, Why bother said:

No wonder a flimsy fork does not work on your steaks if they are 1030kg!

That's the price of imported AU tenderloin. Tender & tasty, and almost impossible to screw up, unless you like your steak well done 😳

You can spend a lot more, but it won't be worth it, as no need to, if you know how to cook a steak.

Edited June 26Jun 26 by KhunLA

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

That the price of imported AU tenderloin. Tender & tasty, and almost impossible to screw up, unless you like your steak well done 😳

You can spend a lot more, but it won't be worth it, as no need to, if you know how to cook a steak.

I think you missed your miss quote of "kg" instead of "Baht".

3 minutes ago, Why bother said:

I think you missed your miss quote of "kg" instead of "Baht".

Just don't cut that thick, although you need a really long grill, table and plate to serve it up.

I guess 1030 / kg would have helped 🙄

Edited June 26Jun 26 by KhunLA

I doubt this happens everywhere but the beef sold in lower end restaurants is often buffalo, hence tougher than beef.

3 hours ago, Keeps said:

You should regularly beat your meat.

Not for roasting, I think.
I do not fry food.

Thai's mainly use the fork as a pusher. The spoon is the main eating utensil. Or chop sticks for noodles.

1 hour ago, rwill said:

Thai's mainly use the fork as a pusher. The spoon is the main eating utensil. Or chop sticks for noodles.

I prefer chopsticks for everything in China.

Rarely use anything else.

In Thailand, I never use a fork unless I need to spear meat.

Then in Thailand the forks always bend, as pictured in the image posted at the beginning of the Topic.

A well cooked Chinese TiPang, a stewed pork hock or shoulder or whatever, requires only chopsticks to consume.

But, in Thailand, with the meat available in the market, it is always best to have a Jackhammer with one of those Fork Attachments for digging through concrete.

Very often, in Thailand, your jackhammer gets stuck in the meat, even....

It's tough around here.

Edited June 26Jun 26 by GammaGlobulin

22 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

The meat available here might necessitate my becoming vegetarian, or mostly, other than fish and eggs.

What do they feed the hogs and cattle with, anyway?

Plenty of fantastic meat is available.

On 6/25/2026 at 7:42 AM, KhunLA said:

You get what you pay for, BUT, you don't have to pay silly prices either.

Sadly, Big C took over Gourmet Market @ Hua Hin, and as they always do, completely ruin it. Did the same when they took over CarreFour @ Udon Thani & Pattaya.

Not to mention .. as usual like most Thai stores ..completly overstaffed with phone gazers ....

but, I will say their rotisserie section ( " Rotisery " as their sign spells it ) at the entrance pops out some nice birds

16 hours ago, KhunLA said:

You guys are killing me. Need to be a home cook to eat Beef steaks, and spend at least 1030 kg, which is what whole AU HARVEY brand beef tenderloin cost at Makro. Anything else, from anywhere else, and it's going to be expensive.

You get a few or more, nice steaks out of it, with plenty for stir fry or ground if wanting. Ground with be lean though, so don't overcook your 'thick' burger. No smash burger unless you like dry burger or use a lot of sauce & cheese on it.

Beef steak at restaurant is just too hit & miss, usually miss, or expensive, or both.

Makro has at the moment .. Austrailian Angus Striploin @ 990 kg Woodward Platinum I usually get 11-12 really nice 1-14" cuts out of a primal and lots of trim for my dog

they also got back in stock yesterday 85/15 ground (mince) Austrilian Angus had both 500gr and 1000gr packs, I grabbed 10 of the 500's

that's 10 easy meals ( usally 1 pack 4-5 strips of bacon and 5-6 eggs ) don't forget the butter !

On 6/25/2026 at 5:37 AM, GammaGlobulin said:

Thai Forks Flimsy & Thai Meat Tough:  Can you explain this oddity?

Dear Folks,

While savoring your cup of coffee, this morning, I would ask you to consider this question.

Why are Thai forks so flimsy and Thai meat so tough?

Do you know why?

Best regards,

Gamma

Note:  It is a sorry thing to prang one’s fork, encountering a tough piece of meat.

Once bent, rarely can it be restored to proper shape.

take a quick look around,, I'll venture 95% of Thai use spoons as utensil #1

go to any local food stall.. if they had real quality utensils . they would not have them for long !

and tough meat .. start with inferior animal, you get the same result ,, see what is hanging on a hook at any local wet market ...

go to a "Steak restaurant" it's not that much of an improvement .. "Imported Aussie beef, is usually Brahma or Sahiwal or some other hybrid ... unless they specifficaly state Angus" .. it's not

As has been stated, Thais use a fork to push food onto the spoon, so flimsy forks don't matter. If you eat with the spoon less rice will spill from your utensil making it practical for a rice-based diet, not so much for meat and potatoes.

4 hours ago, Real Name Hidden said:

As has been stated, Thais use a fork to push food onto the spoon, so flimsy forks don't matter. If you eat with the spoon less rice will spill from your utensil making it practical for a rice-based diet, not so much for meat and potatoes.

Chopsticks are best for a rice-based diet.

Everybody knows this, as Noam would say: Just read the literature.

Why are the spoons so FLIMSY, anyway?

One reason is that they must be very thin, because Thai eaters use the spoon as a knife, as well.

Also, if you are not careful, and if you are thin-skinned, then the handles of the spoon will cut the hands.

Maybe the reason Thais refer spoons is because they eat a lot of soups.

Strange that they don't eat peas, though, since spoons are best for peas.

2 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Chopsticks are best for a rice-based diet.

Everybody knows this,

Spoon and fork wins hands down all day long for rice based diet imo................

Saw a Chinese guy attempting cow mok gai the other day, what a mess and he was born with chopsticks....

6 hours ago, Luuk Chaai said:

Makro has at the moment .. Austrailian Angus Striploin @ 990 kg Woodward Platinum I usually get 11-12 really nice 1-14" cuts out of a primal and lots of trim for my dog

they also got back in stock yesterday 85/15 ground (mince) Austrilian Angus had both 500gr and 1000gr packs, I grabbed 10 of the 500's

that's 10 easy meals ( usally 1 pack 4-5 strips of bacon and 5-6 eggs ) don't forget the butter !

In Taiwan, the butcher at the Carrefour will run pork loin through the grinder, for free of course.

And, I can select fine-ground if I want.

FINELY ground pork or beef tastes better.

And, they will grind any meat on disply.

Will MAKRO do this?

Also, the meat at Carrefour is much better, at least in Taiwan.

Taiwan has far better supermarkets for meats.

You can choose between Carrefour and Costco.

We need to get Carrefour back, the REAL Carrefour, and also we need Costco here in major cities.

Why?

Well, of course, YOU KNOW WHY.......

=================

So, is this Frozen Australian Beef coarse-ground or fine-ground?

This makes a major difference.

The No.3 grind is good, but what is this?

IT IS IMPORTANT TO DO A DOUBLE-GRIND if you really want the best results.

First coarse, then fine....

Like this:

EVEN BETTER: Here is Black Angus, doing the bump and grind......with his meat....

Edited June 27Jun 27 by GammaGlobulin

On 6/25/2026 at 9:59 AM, Briggsy said:

Eat with your hands and use dental floss.

I might be moving to Montana, soon, ...

Either Montana or Vegetarianism...

Far better to eat with chopsticks, though.

On 6/24/2026 at 9:12 PM, GammaGlobulin said:

I am thinking, at this point in time in my life....

I should splurge, and just buy the tenderest meat I can find....

One Only Lives Twice, or so it is said....

Here is a bit of tender meat.....

TOPS does not sell much meat, so very unfortunately.

(There must be a reason for this. And I think I know the reason.)

COSTCO sells NO meat here.

......Only Pattaya.....maybe.....sells tender meat.....

Maybe I will become a complete VEGETARIAN, and then just not worry about meat, no longer.

I am sure I can survive on Adzuki beans, instead of Thai meat...

Almost indefinitely.

Anyway, I am still chewing the meat from last night's pork.

Tastes so good......

Really?

What a great taste in music.

John Barry was a legend....same caliber as Ennio Morricone.

Jerry Goldsmith, Henry Mancini, James Horner worth mentioning.

It will be a real shame once John Williams is gone.

7 minutes ago, Celsius said:

What a great taste in music.

John Barry was a legend....same caliber as Ennio Morricone.

Jerry Goldsmith, Henry Mancini, James Horner worth mentioning.

It will be a real shame once John Williams is gone.

Yes.

You are right.

Right on all counts.

7 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

I might be moving to Montana, soon, ...

Is that in Prachinburi?