Bistro Eurogourmet

[MiG16]

you lot sure are difficult to please

Im glad i dont own a restaurant/cafe. in fact, for that matter Im glad I dont cook for any of you to taste

and must add that JohnBkk is kinda brave to open himself /restaurant to criticisms on a public forum its like watching one of those kitchen nightmares shows

[lannarebirth]

Probably the best idea is to send no condiments at all. That way the customer will be sure to have just what they require stocked at home. Of course provide a wide array of condiments for those who take the trouble to visit the bistro in the flesh.

Personally, I think John's prices are a bit low to provide a high quality meal that would satisfy anyones demands.

[JohnBKKK]

Hi James and MIG,

thanks for your comments and support - I simply know the quality of the ingredients I use and am not afraid - since last Saturday I doubled the amount of Sauerkraut and Mustard on the Reuben which hopefully will now please everybody - the meat remains at 300G which I think is ample. Now I'm waiting for a comment - "too much sauerkraut and mustard"

So far we really had only one person criticising us here everybody else had only positiv things to say about our food - I'm also a sure that everybody understands that one can not please all people 100% since as stated before, for one the Goulash is too hot (spicy) for another its too tame... every one in the Bistro enjoyed the Reuben and finished every last crumb of it and we have a few responses from on-line customers as well who enjoyed it very much .... a fife star Hotel chef send me an e-mail today, he had tried out chefsxp last saturday and how much he enjoyed the Reuben ... his comment is that our corned beef is fantastic..... (they buy it wholesale too) and he worked in New York for a long time and knows his Reubens

Am I 100% happy with the delivery service .. YES .. I think however that the packaging can and should be improved - will send the Reuben in future wrapped in foil which will also keep the bread softer - I also think that disposable plates covered with foil would make a better presentation and will discuss those points with the owner next Saturday -

John

John

[bkkjames]

Hi James and MIG,

thanks for your comments and support - I simply know the quality of the ingredients I use and am not afraid - since last Saturday I doubled the amount of Sauerkraut and Mustard on the Reuben which hopefully will now please everybody - the meat remains at 300G which I think is ample. Now I'm waiting for a comment - "too much sauerkraut and mustard"

So far we really had only one person criticising us here everybody else had only positiv things to say about our food - I'm also a sure that everybody understands that one can not please all people 100% since as stated before, for one the Goulash is too hot (spicy) for another its too tame... every one in the Bistro enjoyed the Reuben and finished every last crumb of it and we have a few responses from on-line customers as well who enjoyed it very much .... a fife star Hotel chef send me an e-mail today, he had tried out chefsxp last saturday and how much he enjoyed the Reuben ... his comment is that our corned beef is fantastic..... (they buy it wholesale too) and he worked in New York for a long time and knows his Reubens

Am I 100% happy with the delivery service .. YES .. I think however that the packaging can and should be improved - will send the Reuben in future wrapped in foil which will also keep the bread softer - I also think that disposable plates covered with foil would make a better presentation and will discuss those points with the owner next Saturday -

John

John

Thanks for the update. I cant remember who is was complaining about the photos vs the real thing, but one only has to look no further than their local Mc D's or Pizza Hut for even worse comparisons.

And for those that are expecting 5 star presentation and then in the next sentence complain that the prices are too high for one sausage,,,well.....consider the source.

The end of the day no matter what kind of restaurant you run, you will never ever be able to satisfy everyone - ie some swear by Scirroco and others prefer Banyan Tree.

Keep up the good work and appreciate the fact that you will take our suggestions, albeit if they are a tad harsh at times.

Best

James

[onethailand]

I don't think anyone has complained about price - which I personally feel is quite reasonable. I do believe, however, if a review is mixed, that John should take these things into account without coming back to try and expose the alleged "intent" of the poster.

Having had a chat with jf, I can say he seems to be a very friendly and easygoing guy and eager to eat good food, as do the rest of us. I am certain he did not write his review with any ill intent.

Now... off to register an office account with ChefsXP so I can order some coleslaw...

edit -> oops, found it

Edited September 8, 2008 by onethailand

[bkkjames]

I don't think anyone has complained about price - which I personally feel is quite reasonable. I do believe, however, if a review is mixed, that John should take these things into account without coming back to try and expose the alleged "intent" of the poster.

Having had a chat with jf, I can say he seems to be a very friendly and easygoing guy and eager to eat good food, as do the rest of us. I am certain he did not write his review with any ill intent.

Now... off to register an office account with ChefsXP so I can order some coleslaw...

edit -> oops, found it

Quoting you from an earlier post ...

Sausages - believe it or not, the reason I haven't ordered the sausages is because I'm afraid of getting one piece as well. I happen to love sausages - especially your Kasekrainer - but one piece is not enough for me. In fact, when I go to German restaurants and order sausages, it's the same complaint - I want more! Not that there's anything wrong with serving one sausage, mind you - if anything it should be taken as a compliment that they want MORE than one!

If you are afraid of ordering one, then order two or wait until such a time that john offers two on the chefxp website. IMO, very poor excuse to rant.

[onethailand]

Quoting you from an earlier post ...

Sausages - believe it or not, the reason I haven't ordered the sausages is because I'm afraid of getting one piece as well. I happen to love sausages - especially your Kasekrainer - but one piece is not enough for me. In fact, when I go to German restaurants and order sausages, it's the same complaint - I want more! Not that there's anything wrong with serving one sausage, mind you - if anything it should be taken as a compliment that they want MORE than one!

If you are afraid of ordering one, then order two or wait until such a time that john offers two on the chefxp website. IMO, very poor excuse to rant.

LOL. I wasn't ranting at John... but at the same time I don't need two orders of french fries as well I was just commenting that I personally wouldn't order sausages anywhere unless I saw a picture or a specific number.

On a brighter note - my food has arrived and it looks dam_n delicious! Going to eat now, will report back afterwards

[bkkjames]

Quoting you from an earlier post ...

Sausages - believe it or not, the reason I haven't ordered the sausages is because I'm afraid of getting one piece as well. I happen to love sausages - especially your Kasekrainer - but one piece is not enough for me. In fact, when I go to German restaurants and order sausages, it's the same complaint - I want more! Not that there's anything wrong with serving one sausage, mind you - if anything it should be taken as a compliment that they want MORE than one!

If you are afraid of ordering one, then order two or wait until such a time that john offers two on the chefxp website. IMO, very poor excuse to rant.

LOL. I wasn't ranting at John... but at the same time I don't need two orders of french fries as well I was just commenting that I personally wouldn't order sausages anywhere unless I saw a picture or a specific number.

On a brighter note - my food has arrived and it looks dam_n delicious! Going to eat now, will report back afterwards

Ok enjoy!

[onethailand]

YUM!

Attaching 3 pictures... the last one is with a couple of bites taken out of the Reuben so you can see what the inside looks like - I got a bit too close so the flash went off LOL. I didn't do an open-face picture as the cheese covered one side of the sandwich and the mustard the other, and I wasn't about to ruin my meal just to take that kind of picture

Exactly how it arrived...

Creamy cole slaw...

After a couple of hungry bites...

Now a bit more description. After my post, I decided to try something different, and rather than opening a new account with ChefsXP, I ordered the food through my existing account, with notes on the Reuben to use French's instead of dijon mustard, and then at the checkout page, put new delivery instructions for this order only.

Less than 5 minutes later, got a call from ChefsXP, confirming the delivery address was changed for this order - so far I'm dam_n impressed

Couple of minutes later, the email confirmation comes, with description of the new delivery address, but for some reason not listing the comments on the food item requesting French's mustard. I shot an email back to let them know that this would be a good idea to include in their email confirmation.

As I was typing my last response to the sausages, the delivery arrived - 8 minutes early - again I'm suitably impressed - but immediately check the Reuben to see if they got the mustard right - they did

Now - having eaten a bite more than half of the Reuben, and most of the cole slaw, I can say that my appetite has been sated (though to be fair I had eaten 4 pieces of chicken from the nearby street stall).

The coleslaw is excellent, just as I expected. I did note, however, and you will see in the photo, that the container of coleslaw is not full - John, is that measured by weight, or were they supposed to fill the container? I'm assuming by weight so next time, if at home, I will order an additional one for my wife LOL because I want one for myself!

The Reuben is excellent - though a couple of the slices of corned beef were a bit on the thick side. The taste is excellent - sauerkraut nice and not too sour, cheese is nice (should've stuck it in the microwave for a few seconds though, my own fault) - bread has a nice taste and is clearly fresh - could've done with a wee bit more toasting but that's nothing to complain about.

Oh - and the corned beef was excellent!

I am very satisfied and very happy. I hope these pictures will put any doubts to rest - they are also from a mobile phone (albeit a 5mp one) and have not been modified in any way, no special lighting other than my office lighting. As you can see the color doesn't look great - don't ask me why, the pictures look great on my phone - so it occurs to me that there may be something wrong with the thumbnail creation process which is modifying the natural color on photos which are large... whereas if I recall correctly, John's picture is either the correct size already, or else the white background is making a difference.

Edited September 8, 2008 by onethailand

[JohnBKKK]

Hi,

you must understand that I take pride in what I do which may be the reason I tend to get a tad exited when someone takes pictures of it in the wrong light or with bad equipment and presents them to the public

Now in your case, especially the second photo with part bitten off one can see the actual color of the bread is not army bread dirty grey but a nice medium brown and I'm ellated that you enjoyed it in your pix one can also see that we don't save with the corned beef -

As you can see, we changed the packaging to aluminium wrap which will keep the bread fresher during transport - but do remember that, if you want to put it into the microwave - remove the foil !

The coleslaw is measured by weight - the only way to get thai staff to serve consistent portions (there is hope) and I'm happy you equally enjoyed it.

Now I feel that things have been put right and can concentrate on next Saturday's special - the cooked Ham with mashed potato's and white Asparagous (hope I spelled it right) complimented by a Hollandaise sauce - a dish I'm looking forward too myself I have to admit

John

[jfchandler]

OneThailand...that looks like a very good reuben sandwich.... The portion size for the sauerkraut is clearly much different (greater) than the version I had delivered last week. And the bread looks fresher/more moist as well... Glad to see things are looking up!!!

[JohnBKKK]

HI jf,

we have doubled the amount of Sauerkraut since last week and the foil packaging works much better than the plastic from xp in keeping things fresh, especially the bread.

This Saturdays special (will also be available via chefsxp):

Cooked Ham with mashed Potatoes and fresh, white Asparagus complimented by a sauce Hollandaise - delish

the Ham is stll cooking as I'm writing this so pictures have to wait until tomorrow evening - if you order via Chefsxp, the Hollandaise will come in a bottle and there might be a slight separation by the time it gets to you because I did not add any starch or aditives- simply shake the bottle well and pour - now before I get shot at, the bottle is not full so it can be shaken well, but there is ample Hollandaise sauce there and the Ham is of course a huge portion as usual,

John

[bkkjames]

HI jf,

we have doubled the amount of Sauerkraut since last week and the foil packaging works much better than the plastic from xp in keeping things fresh, especially the bread.

This Saturdays special (will also be available via chefsxp):

Cooked Ham with mashed Potatoes and fresh, white Asparagus complimented by a sauce Hollandaise - delish

the Ham is stll cooking as I'm writing this so pictures have to wait until tomorrow evening - The Hollandaise will come in a bottle and there might be a slight separation by the time it gets to you because I did not add any starch or aditives- simply shake the bottle well and pour - now before I get shot at, the bottle is not full so it can be shaken well, but there is ample Hollandaise sauce there and the Ham is of course a huge portion as usual,

John

Hi John, word of advice on the photos of the ham, make them sh*tty and un-appealing so others on here won't get their underwear in a knot when the food arrives not looking exactly as you have posted on here.

[JohnBKKK]

Hi John, word of advice on the photos of the ham, make them sh*tty and un-appealing so others on here won't get their underwear in a knot when the food arrives not looking exactly as you have posted on here.

Hi James,

lol .... naaa I just use a simply digital camera with 3.5MP and daylight or flash ... Ham is cured and cooked and will have a nice redish colour like ham is supposed to have and since I left it on the bone, the flavor is going to be spot on

I must say that I myself am looking forward to this, have not had fresh asp. and ham in a long time,

John

[bkkjames]

from reading your post, just a request, save some for the rest of us!

[JohnBKKK]

from reading your post, just a request, save some for the rest of us!

It's a 12KG Ham ... am sure there will be enough to go around

[Onyxia]

Well all this talk about the reuben sandwich made me really start to crave one. So i ordered one, on the order i put comment asking the mustard be placed on the side. Ive found to much takes away from the taste. When my order arrived the sandwich had mustard and they forgot the coleslaw and french fries. The whole ordeal left bad taste in my mouth so ended up just going out and getting some food out in front from stall. Guess will go out and get some coleslaw tomorrow and try with the sandwich.

[onethailand]

The Reuben doesn't come with any sides - it didn't with my order either.

I do recommend ordering their coleslaw though, it is very good!

[JohnBKKK]

Well all this talk about the reuben sandwich made me really start to crave one. So i ordered one, on the order i put comment asking the mustard be placed on the side. Ive found to much takes away from the taste. When my order arrived the sandwich had mustard and they forgot the coleslaw and french fries. The whole ordeal left bad taste in my mouth so ended up just going out and getting some food out in front from stall. Guess will go out and get some coleslaw tomorrow and try with the sandwich.

Hi,

the Reuben does not have FF or Coleslaw with it - coleslaw is not normally served with a Reuben since you have the Sauerkraut as part of the sandwich already - I would not recommend adding coleslaw to the Reuben since it will complete change the unique flavor of the rye/cheese/corned beef/sauerkraut/mustard combination

Asking for the mustard on the side and not on the sandwich may have overstretched the ordering process slightly, sorry about this,

John

[Onyxia]

The Reuben doesn't come with any sides - it didn't with my order either.

I do recommend ordering their coleslaw though, it is very good!

Well according to chefxp and there site it does. When you mouse over the sandwich it clearly states The Gourmet sandwich served with coleslaw and frenchfries. If it doesnt that is fine, but they will need to change there order description.

[jfchandler]

My Reuben sandwich order, made last week thru ChefsXP, DID arrive with both french fries and the tiny container of cole slaw, and the ChefsXP menu does in fact list both as accompanying sides with the sandwich.

[Onyxia]

The french fries and coleslaw were for my wife, to eat with some sausage that she bought from the bistro last time we were in. If i would have known the order didnt include those i would have ordered extra, i was just basing my order from what is listed on the web site. Not sure how i am at fault. Regardless thanks for the comments. Maids husband seemed to enjoy the sandwich.

[JohnBKKK]

The french fries and coleslaw were for my wife, to eat with some sausage that she bought from the bistro last time we were in. If i would have known the order didnt include those i would have ordered extra, i was just basing my order from what is listed on the web site. Not sure how i am at fault. Regardless thanks for the comments. Maids husband seemed to enjoy the sandwich.

PLEASE DO MENTION THAT YOU HAD YOUR MONEY REFUNDED AND GOT A FREE SANDWICH - the error was that the mouseover thing was not corrected.

John

[JohnBKKK]

In general this chefsxp thing is brand new for us and the mouseover thing caused the problem ... however I would not call this a major disaster - and may be you can give us a break and we will do our utmost to make sure such an error does not happen anymore - the mouseover has already been corrected

[Onyxia]

.............

Edited September 11, 2008 by Onyxia

[JohnBKKK]

......

[jfchandler]

I have no idea what you are talking about John...

If you're saying your post above about having money refunded and a free sandwich was in response to me, that's not correct. I didn't have anything refunded or free for my order.

And, I today had no complaints for your or you restaurant, other than stating two simple facts: the ChefsXP web site as late as tonight did list/include fries and cole slaw with the Reuben sandwich, and those side dishes did in fact come as part of my order last week, consistent with the web site.

If you construe those statements as complaining, maybe you need some additional lessons in English.

[Onyxia]

Sorry for not replying quick enough in regards to the refund issued by chefxp, didnt realize it was necessary. There you go, the email from them. Hope that makes you happy. Best of luck with your business, seems to have great potential. To bad you are so quick to jump on someone before even knowing who they are. Anyway this is my last post on this subject, needless to say i wont be ordering from your shop or visiting it again.

I wasnt trying to get a free meal out of it, if that was the case i would have taken you up on your offer to come in to your shop for a free hamburger and pork sandwich. Why not ask your wife how much extra stuff me and my wife ordered the 2 times we have came to your shop, why not go back and read my pm's to you saying how good things are. Anyway im tired of this back and forth crap, all you had to say was sorry was are mistake and i would have dropped it at that. Instead you feel it necessary to jump down my throat. Anyway like you ASKED ME TO DO HERE IS THE EMAIL FROM CHEFEX STATING MY REFUND. If you like i will more than gladly contact chefexp and refuse the refund, since you seem to be fixated on that. Hope in the future you use a little bit more restraint before getting so worked up over a comment about your shop, especially when the customer was correct.

Sorot Chamlongsupalak

to me

show details 8:59 PM (1 hour ago)

Reply

This email is to confirm credit of 322.15 Baht for the missing side dishes for the Rueben Sandwich.

The amount shall automatically be deducted by our staff on your next order

[JohnBKKK]

I had a long day and I got my boxes mixed up here - however you seem to linger for any problems that happen and jump at it with your comments - as I said, we have only been with chefxp a short time and it is different to having people in your restuarant where any small errors can be corrected easily - I simply did not know the mouseover thing was there - we printed out the menu for staff and the mouseover does of course not show there

mea culpa

To onyxia - this was not implied at all but I feel it should be mentioned since it shows that we do care for our customers and once again, I did mention that it was a problem with the website and the un-corrected mouseover thing showing FF and coleslaw which should not have been there -

John

[onethailand]

??

Was I supposed to get fries and coleslaw with my order?

If so, next time I will let you know when I order, John - a tub of coleslaw will do instead if you don't mind