brewsterbudgen Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 If you look you can find bargains in Villa. You'll also find a lot of things you cannot find at any of the other supermarkets. They had fresh West Australian strawberries in there for 99 baht per 250 gram punnet yesterday - that's the best deal in town. Bulla (Australian) low fat cottage cheese - by far the best deal in town. More choices of smoked salmon and bacon than anywhere else... 3 Threes Australian mint sauce - 120 baht. Best price in Foodland for another Australian brand nearly 300!!! The topside roast was the same price as Foodland but better meat... and I'm only scratching the surface. I would suggest people stop being close minded on this one and have a browse around Villa. You maybe surprised what you can find. To use "Villa" and "bargain" (singular or plural) in the same sentence is a total mischaracterization, unless the word "no" appears before "bargain". If you have idiosyncratic taste in food, no doubt you can feed that taste by shopping at Villa, perhaps better than Foodland or Friendship -- I doubt it but it is possible, and certainly at a higher total cost. Mint sauce??? -- I have never in my life bought mint sauce (I think that my grandmother served that stuff) and I expect that I will maintain my perfect record, so I really don't care where it is available or at what price (B120 for a jar?!!!). I realize that it is used as an example, but what an obtuse one! If I never stepped foot in Villa Market again, I do not think I would be missing a thing. Bottom line, Villa is not the place to do your overall food shopping, unless you want to pay a lot more for groceries. If there are a select few items that Villa has that you like at "decent" prices or not available elsewhere (and you value your time at or near zero), fine; pop in to Villa when you are in the area and pick up those items and no more. I make an annual wee rec to Villa, usually just before Christams, to look for a few items for the Christams Eve celebration and to confirm that it is the same, over-priced food store that it has always been since it opend. I do not recall ever spending more than B300 at Villa at a single time. As I said previously, I will be pleased to see a change on a future visit (assuming that it survives until then, which given the number of customers it attracts with its "bargain prices" may be doubtful). But nothing in this thread (with my eyes and mind wide open) has convinced me to prepone my visit. Next....... What do you eat with your roast lamb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besth Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 They seem to be better stocked lately. There was a point a few months ago when the shelves had so many empty spaces that I did ask one of the staff if they were going to close. True, some items are extremely expensive and you can find them cheaper elsewhere. Guess what, nobody forces us to buy them. There are some other items that are reasonably priced (I don't know if bargains but probably so as well) and then some others that you can't find anywhere else, so then you pay the price or don't get them and the prices are not always abusive. I go there from time to time for those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSixpack Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I compare prices in UK £ because that's what I get my salary paid in whilst working in Thailand. I don't see the relevance in this international forum. It's not all about YOU. Many of us don't get paid in GBP and are paid more than you are in, say, USD or AUD. And after you get paid, you convert to Thai baht and pay in Thai baht as we all do here. Ever tried to pay at a supermarket in a currency other than baht? You'll find the cashier most unamused. All prices are marked in Thai baht, so why convert baht to GBP then back to baht, then back to GBP to post here? So Mysupermarket.co.uk has Seriously Strong White Cheddar 200g on offer for 13s 7d. On a per gram basis that's not much cheaper than Mainland Tasty from Australia, which can be had at Villa for ISK745.03. Foodland is slightly cheaper at ISK696.44. But what I really need to know is how many grams of cheese can I get per gram of gold. What a nice idea, gold, real gold (no tungsten core, of course), over fiat money! Love that. Now to convert those pesky central banks . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 What do you eat with your roast lamb? Assortment of roast vegetables (pumpkin, potatoes, Australian carrots) and NZ peas... sometimes with a side salad with Australian salad dressing and NZ cheese. ... like an international buffet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 But what I really need to know is how many grams of cheese can I get per gram of gold. I've seen frozen Japanese beef in Foodland for 9999 baht per kilogram. At the time gold was about 18,000 baht per ounce... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauljones Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 The Villa food counter serves up the best LadNa (noodles/gravy) in town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JusticeFT96 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Went in Villa yesterday and found they had packets of Brannagans Roast Beef and English mustard crisps but they were 75 baht each for a small packet!! So I only bought 6 worth every penny! Also Cadburys caramel from the UK Cant get most of their farang items at any other shop. Crunchy nut cornflakes, 350 baht!!! but I havent seen them elsewhere. Yes this is why I am going back to england, if I live here for much longer I will be in the poor house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrain Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Went in Villa yesterday and found they had packets of Brannagans Roast Beef and English mustard crisps but they were 75 baht each for a small packet!! So I only bought 6 worth every penny! Also Cadburys caramel from the UK Cant get most of their farang items at any other shop. Crunchy nut cornflakes, 350 baht!!! but I havent seen them elsewhere. Yes this is why I am going back to england, if I live here for much longer I will be in the poor house. Consider yourself very unfortunate that you were born in the UK.Try to imagine that you were born in Holland or Gemany, you probably never had heard of Cadbury caramel or Brannagans roast beef, and you would be able to survive life in Thailand without the need of returning to the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslim Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 The Villa food counter serves up the best LadNa (noodles/gravy) in town. villa food counter is so overpriced, kiss food quality with fine dining prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJIC Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Shock horror - imported food is expensive! As an expat of 7 years, let me tell you supermarkets like Villa are life savers. Just think in baht, rather tha £'s or $'s. You can think in Bahts,but if your money comes from your own Country it's still paid for in £s or $s! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJIC Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) I compare prices in UK £ because that's what I get my salary paid in whilst working in Thailand. I don't see the relevance in this international forum. It's not all about YOU. Many of us don't get paid in GBP and are paid more than you are in, say, USD or AUD. And after you get paid, you convert to Thai baht and pay in Thai baht as we all do here. Ever tried to pay at a supermarket in a currency other than baht? You'll find the cashier most unamused. All prices are marked in Thai baht, so why convert baht to GBP then back to baht, then back to GBP to post here? So Mysupermarket.co.uk has Seriously Strong White Cheddar 200g on offer for 13s 7d. On a per gram basis that's not much cheaper than Mainland Tasty from Australia, which can be had at Villa for ISK745.03. Foodland is slightly cheaper at ISK696.44. JSixpack: I take it you are joking with the 13s 7d quote?? unless you haven't been to the UK for 40+years,or at all? in which case you are forgiven. Edited October 3, 2012 by MAJIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) Shock horror - imported food is expensive! As an expat of 7 years, let me tell you supermarkets like Villa are life savers. Just think in baht, rather tha £'s or $'s. You can think in Bahts,but if your money comes from your own Country it's still paid for in £s or $s! Sure, but even if you're paid in another currency surely you have a baht budget? I'm from Australia but I never convert the products back to AUD? What's the point in that? The price is the price - take it or leave it. Either your Thai budget will allow some purchases of expensive imported food or it doesn't. We don't need to hear about how many GBP or USD stuff costs here. Obviously it will cost more but there's no need to complain about it. Villa offers a fantastic assortment of imported food from all over the world. It's a lifeline for many who tire of the Thai cuisine. If you don't eat Thai food all the time you'll enjoy it more when you do. For me Thai food is a treat when I'm not eating European. You would think that people who mainly eat Thai or locally grown food would save enough money to be able to splash out on imported items every now and then. For guys who cannot afford some imported food - I'd hate to be you. Edited October 3, 2012 by tropo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 JSixpack: I take it you are joking with the 13s 7d quote?? unless you haven't been to the UK for 40+years,or at all? in which case you are forgiven. I've never been there and never had the desire to go. ... we have enough whiners here without having to go visit their homeland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruangfaifar Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 This thread suggests that a lot of Posters have got waay too much free time. Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) This thread suggests that a lot of Posters have got waay too much free time. That's the general idea behind retirement. You don't have any free time to shop? What keeps you so busy? (when you're not busy posting lame replies ) Edited October 3, 2012 by tropo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJIC Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 JSixpack: I take it you are joking with the 13s 7d quote?? unless you haven't been to the UK for 40+years,or at all? in which case you are forgiven. I've never been there and never had the desire to go. ... we have enough whiners here without having to go visit their homeland. Feel better now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJIC Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 JSixpack: I take it you are joking with the 13s 7d quote?? unless you haven't been to the UK for 40+years,or at all? in which case you are forgiven. I've never been there and never had the desire to go. ... we have enough whiners here without having to go visit their homeland. There's whiners everwhere,including your Country which have their fair share! amongst the nicer ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) JSixpack: I take it you are joking with the 13s 7d quote?? unless you haven't been to the UK for 40+years,or at all? in which case you are forgiven. I've never been there and never had the desire to go. ... we have enough whiners here without having to go visit their homeland. There's whiners everwhere,including your Country which have their fair share! Yes, the Brit immigrants. My mother was fairly accomplished at it too. Edited October 3, 2012 by tropo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJIC Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 JSixpack: I take it you are joking with the 13s 7d quote?? unless you haven't been to the UK for 40+years,or at all? in which case you are forgiven. I've never been there and never had the desire to go. ... we have enough whiners here without having to go visit their homeland. There's whiners everwhere,including your Country which have their fair share! Yes, the Brit immigrants. My mother was fairly accomplished at it too. Apart from the Indiginess population,were they not all Brit Immigrants at one time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silsburyhill Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 (edited) And back to the OP and the original point of this post being that Villa's prices have risen exorbitantly, I was in the Villa on Phuket a week ago and noticed how everything had leaped in price. It was astonishing. My friend put it down to the influx of Russians chucking their money about and pointed to the fact that there were some item specifically labeled in Russian. Not sure about this theory , but I only used to buy Rocket salad as only one sells it locally, together with their expensive bread and good choice of booze, and ... THAI tea (Lemongrass/Pandanus etc) which, at 105 baht a small tin is still way above the Big Bag you'll get in the market in CM. But Villa's the only place I can get it. Not even any of the Thai markets have it here So left with a couple of tins and nothing else. Won't bother going back and it seems many others'd made the same decision. Hardly anyone there for a Sunday. As to the post complaining about translating the prices from THB to GBP, it's a good idea, just to get some perspective. That's how so many go broke so quickly 'Oh look, only 500 baht' Yes, that's 10 pounds. 'Whaaa?' Edited October 4, 2012 by silsburyhill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JusticeFT96 Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Went in Villa yesterday and found they had packets of Brannagans Roast Beef and English mustard crisps but they were 75 baht each for a small packet!! So I only bought 6 worth every penny! Also Cadburys caramel from the UK Cant get most of their farang items at any other shop. Crunchy nut cornflakes, 350 baht!!! but I havent seen them elsewhere. Yes this is why I am going back to england, if I live here for much longer I will be in the poor house. Consider yourself very unfortunate that you were born in the UK.Try to imagine that you were born in Holland or Gemany, you probably never had heard of Cadbury caramel or Brannagans roast beef, and you would be able to survive life in Thailand without the need of returning to the UK. Nothing to do with the food, I really dont like it here. If I was single it would probably be the best place in the world, but I fell into the trap! I have a kid and a wife, its hard to go out now because of this. I hate the mosquitos, I am now covered in scars from them. I hate motorists, bus drivers, taxi drivers, motorbike drivers, especially farang ones. I find it hard to go out without someone nearly crashing into me on the roads. I hate overpaying for wine, I hate not being able to communicate properly with people (although thats my fault for not learning the language). I hate getting food poisioning 3 times a year, having to drink bottled water, eletric, internet and water going off constantly. etc etc Yes I am negative, there are many positives about thailand but I am fed up here and cant wait to get home. Maybe Thailand is for the older generations.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanapong Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 The Villa food counter serves up the best LadNa (noodles/gravy) in town. villa food counter is so overpriced, kiss food quality with fine dining prices Kiss food. lol. full of cheapy charlies or those here on a very tight budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslim Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 The Villa food counter serves up the best LadNa (noodles/gravy) in town. villa food counter is so overpriced, kiss food quality with fine dining prices Kiss food. lol. full of cheapy charlies or those here on a very tight budget. cheap charlies, lol . I never go there as I think it's way too expensive and now that they added VAT to the prices it feels like a total rip-off to me I must be a real cheap charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 As to the post complaining about translating the prices from THB to GBP, it's a good idea, just to get some perspective. That's how so many go broke so quickly 'Oh look, only 500 baht' Yes, that's 10 pounds. 'Whaaa?' You missed the gist of the complaint. We're not all from the UK. ... and you're referring to the attitude of vacationers, not expats. Most expats got over the idea of "oh look, only 500 baht' not long after they arrived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 The Villa food counter serves up the best LadNa (noodles/gravy) in town. villa food counter is so overpriced, kiss food quality with fine dining prices Kiss food. lol. full of cheapy charlies or those here on a very tight budget. The food at the Villa counter is far better than Kiss, even though it is priced a bit higher... Kiss is a dirty place that I would never go back to after trying it twice years ago... and food was no good. If you're going to make a comparison, compare it to the food counter at Foodland... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslim Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 The Villa food counter serves up the best LadNa (noodles/gravy) in town. villa food counter is so overpriced, kiss food quality with fine dining prices Kiss food. lol. full of cheapy charlies or those here on a very tight budget. The food at the Villa counter is far better than Kiss, even though it is priced a bit higher... Kiss is a dirty place that I would never go back to after trying it twice years ago... and food was no good. If you're going to make a comparison, compare it to the food counter at Foodland... doesn't compare at all with Took Lae Dee at Foodland, live cooked food vs microwaved crap at the Avenue. When I want to treat myself with a good restaurant I go to Foodland. I either take the Minute Steak (109 baht iirc) or fried rice with chicken or pork, very large portion for less than 50 baht iirc. And you get free water at Foodland so no waste on buying drinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 (edited) The food at the Villa counter is far better than Kiss, even though it is priced a bit higher... Kiss is a dirty place that I would never go back to after trying it twice years ago... and food was no good. If you're going to make a comparison, compare it to the food counter at Foodland... doesn't compare at all with Took Lae Dee at Foodland, live cooked food vs microwaved crap at the Avenue. When I want to treat myself with a good restaurant I go to Foodland. I either take the Minute Steak (109 baht iirc) or fried rice with chicken or pork, very large portion for less than 50 baht iirc. And you get free water at Foodland so no waste on buying drinks I eat at both. Generally the food tastes better at Villa. Foodland you have to be lucky - sometimes good, sometimes not. How could you possibly call Foodland a "good restaurant" though? It's an overcrowded counter - another advantage at Villa is that you have more space and it is far more relaxing. They have free water at Villa - just ask. Oh yeah - and the food serves are very small at Foodland on many dishes. Have you tried the spaghetti bolognaise or the curries. They're nothing more than a small snack for most men and expensive too. Edited October 4, 2012 by tropo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londoedan Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 The Villa food counter serves up the best LadNa (noodles/gravy) in town. villa food counter is so overpriced, kiss food quality with fine dining prices Kiss food. lol. full of cheapy charlies or those here on a very tight budget. Some of the food there ain't bad - I like the prawns with asparagus for example. Service can be crappy though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauljones Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 The Villa food counter serves up the best LadNa (noodles/gravy) in town. villa food counter is so overpriced, kiss food quality with fine dining prices The Villa food counter has fine dining prices? Last time I had breakfast there it was 68 Bt., service was good, nice air conditioning and the place is kept spotless. Wow. There are some real budget minded people around here. Enjoy your Mama noodles sitting on the curb. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrain Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 When I want to treat myself with a good restaurant I go to Foodland. You sure it isn't a bit too much Hi-So? Some mothers do 'ave 'em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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