A Trip To Don's Foods.

[sceadugenga]

I realise that there is a pinned thread on Don's Foods but would appreciate it if the Moderators could leave this as a separate topic for a few days.

Wednesday night I emailed Don directly and he sent back an "available in Chiang Rai" list.

I immediately emailed him a small order, 1kg bacon, 1kg English Banger sausages, 1/2kg Aussie Cheese and six loaves of assorted bread. I said I would pick them up at 11am today, Friday.

The easiest way for me to get there is to come into town on the old Chiang Mai Road, route 1211, and turn left at the first traffic lights. It's about 10kms further but seems more if you don't know the area. Never give up, just when it's looks like you'll never get there, you'll see the signs. It's a very pleasant drive anyway.

I was a bit early but the "shop" was open and I stopped to admire the small lake that the restaurant adjoins. It's very nice and there's quite a few geese out there. I'm not sure whether they ever reach the menu or the freezer though.

I spoke to to a lady who appeared to be the cook and she made a quick call and I was soon attended to by an attractive young woman. Actually attractive would be a gross understatement, she would stop traffic. (Sorry if she's your Mrs, Don but my reviews cover ALL aspects of a business).

My order was waiting, the sausages and bacon both being frozen in 1kg lots. The bacon looks great, Country Cured at 235B a Kilo. It has the eye in, unlike what you buy at Big C at 124B for 300gms. This alone makes the trip worth while.

The sausages, 10 large for 210B look very nice and although I had a fridgy bag to put them in, the pack had thawed just enough by the time I got home to break up easily into ones and twos before putting them back in the freezer. I'll try them on the weekend.

The bread is great, the Whole Wheat Sliced must be the bread bargain of the town at 35B, I had to cut them in half to get them into the freezer. They weren't sliced, I suspect that they haven't got a slicer yet, but it sliced very easily at home.

The Black Russian loaf, 45B, was sampled when I got home and got the thumbs up. I cut the large French Sticks, 25B, in half and froze them.

I checked the freezers and came up with a pack of four large lamb chops at 220B, I haven't had lamb for 18 months but will be having it tonight.

Summary

It's worth the drive, the prices are good and the products look to be excellent quality.

Don't just turn up there, get a list and email Don direct with your order. Then you have a copy of what you required.

I'd say that the bread is baked to order, I couldn't see any spare loaves around at 10.30am.

I'll certainly continue to patronise this business, possibly on a two weekly or monthly basis with larger orders.

I believe everything on the main list posted in the pinned thread on a PDF file can be ordered 4 or 5 days ahead.

(The lamb chops have thawed out, I'm salivating like Pavlov's dog. Can I wait until 5 o'clock?)

Edited September 26, 2008 by sceadugenga

[goski]

Yes, a very thorough tale except for the only thing that you haven't actually tried the products yet, right?

So, when you have, it would be great to know.

[DonaldBattles]

Thanks for the positive comments. We are trying hard but we have to and can do better to meet our customers needs.

[sceadugenga]

Yes, a very thorough tale except for the only thing that you haven't actually tried the products yet, right?

So, when you have, it would be great to know.

The lamb chops were great, as good as I've ever eaten.

I'll have a couple of the sausages with some of the bacon, onions and mash tonight. dam_n, I wish I'd got some frozen peas yesterday.

The cheese I bought is just your basic Cheddar off the block, it looks like Anchor and is cheaper than what I pay at Northern Farm.

When I go again I'll try the Parma style ham and another variety of sausages.

Edited September 27, 2008 by sceadugenga

[wileycoyote]

Good on you Sceadugenga ,Good Posting !

[sceadugenga]

Sausage and Bacon report.

I dined on sausages and bacon with mash and onion gravy this evening.

The English Banger sausages were the best I've eaten in Asia.

The seasoning and texture were perfect. Even in Australia you get butchers that go easy on the seasoning and grind the mix too fine. These were as good as you'll get anywhere other than the "specialist gourmet" shops.

If I could offer a comment, and it's hardly a criticism, a little more fat could be included in the meat used. Then you get that great hissing and spitting noise when you prick them while cooking.

The bacon was very nice, I come from Australia which makes the best bacon in the world, a fact agreed to by famed American travel writer Bill Bryson in his book "Down Under", so I know my bacon.

It certainly runs rings around TGM and what ever other brand you get in Big C for about 2/3 the price.

[IraqRon]

Sausage and Bacon report.

I dined on sausages and bacon with mash and onion gravy this evening.

The English Banger sausages were the best I've eaten in Asia.

The seasoning and texture were perfect. Even in Australia you get butchers that go easy on the seasoning and grind the mix too fine. These were as good as you'll get anywhere other than the "specialist gourmet" shops.

If I could offer a comment, and it's hardly a criticism, a little more fat could be included in the meat used. Then you get that great hissing and spitting noise when you prick them while cooking.

The bacon was very nice, I come from Australia which makes the best bacon in the world, a fact agreed to by famed American travel writer Bill Bryson in his book "Down Under", so I know my bacon.

It certainly runs rings around TGM and what ever other brand you get in Big C for about 2/3 the price.

You could have eaten while you were there at the restaurant. I usually have the Mex food, the large combo plate for me, and it is very tasty. The avocado salad is aroi too. I understand the other items on the menu are good too. Just writing this makes me miss it there, the food at the DFAC here in Iraq leaves a lot to be desired. Although, the ice cream is from America and great, they can't f that up.

[sceadugenga]

I would imagine Ron.

I fully intend to have a meal there, I've got visitors coming soon and will make a night of it.

I'm partial to Mexican food although no expert. I'll certainly look forward to it.

Good luck on the job and keep your head down.

[sceadugenga]

Another run to Doi Hang was made today.

The staff treated me like a regular customer, which I like, and my order was made up ready to pick up.

They never had any the English breakfast sausages that I wanted to try but I got half a kilo of Parma Ham (260B) after a board member spoke highly of it on the Don's Food pinned thread.

I had a sandwich of it when I got home and it was great, my Mrs, who's lived in Europe, pinched a slice and gave it the thumbs up. The hopeful dog next to my chair scored a little bit and said it was the best he had ever tasted and why didn't we finish it off?

But the surprise package was the Red Jalapeno sauce, (50B), which I used on a sausage (English Banger Style from the previous visit) and onion sandwich that I had for the evening meal tonight. Great Jalapeno flavour, it will be a regular addition to my condiments cupboard. I'll certainly be trying the other Mexican sauces at Don's along with the Salsa.

[klikster]

Another run to Doi Hang was made today.

The staff treated me like a regular customer, which I like, and my order was made up ready to pick up.

In lieu of ..?

[goski]

An irregular one. I started a long rant about this yesterday but decided not to finish the post in order to keep my account on thaivisa.

[sceadugenga]

Another run to Doi Hang was made today.

The staff treated me like a regular customer, which I like, and my order was made up ready to pick up.

In lieu of ..?

In lieu of being just another in the line up at the checkout at Big C. If you ever worked in retail you would know how important staff attitude is to keep people coming back.

I think a lot of people have forgotten what it's like to enjoy the personal service that small businesses used to offer.

[klikster]

Another run to Doi Hang was made today.

The staff treated me like a regular customer, which I like, and my order was made up ready to pick up.

In lieu of ..?

In lieu of being just another in the line up at the checkout at Big C. If you ever worked in retail you would know how important staff attitude is to keep people coming back.

I think a lot of people have forgotten what it's like to enjoy the personal service that small businesses used to offer.

Would anyone not shopping at Big C be treated as if they were ".. just another in the line up at the checkout at Big C" .. especially if there were no long lines?

Although I have never worked in retail, I believe I am still qualified to know " .. how important staff attitude is to keep people coming back."

When I read your original post, I took the intended meaning of "regular" incorrectly, and thought perhaps you were enjoying being treated like a "regular customer" as opposed to a .. celebrity?

I could also infer from your original post, that not all Don's customers are treated as " .. regular customer .."

[sceadugenga]

Another run to Doi Hang was made today.

The staff treated me like a regular customer, which I like, and my order was made up ready to pick up.

In lieu of ..?

In lieu of being just another in the line up at the checkout at Big C. If you ever worked in retail you would know how important staff attitude is to keep people coming back.

I think a lot of people have forgotten what it's like to enjoy the personal service that small businesses used to offer.

Would anyone not shopping at Big C be treated as if they were ".. just another in the line up at the checkout at Big C" .. especially if there were no long lines?

Although I have never worked in retail, I believe I am still qualified to know " .. how important staff attitude is to keep people coming back."

When I read your original post, I took the intended meaning of "regular" incorrectly, and thought perhaps you were enjoying being treated like a "regular customer" as opposed to a .. celebrity?

I could also infer from your original post, that not all Don's customers are treated as " .. regular customer .."

Sorry about that, a little linguistic misunderstanding there.

Do you know that a third meaning of "regular" is the condition of going to the toilet frequently?

I never meant that one either.