Foods that are overpriced in Thailand but you simply can't live without!

[blazes]

Black (loose leaf) tea. Thankfully, you can get very good Thai tea in Chiang Mai. Much cheaper than imports, and really good taste.

Tops in CM have a good selection of reasonably-priced cheeses (ditto Rimping). NZ cheese at Tops is v reasonable cost.

Aussie oranges well worth paying for. I miss roast lamb, roast pork, but Rimping does have frozen cuts of pork.

Red wine becomes more drinkable if you put it in the fridge (normally a no-no).

I crave good Pilsner beer. Czech beer I have not yet seen. German stuff is extremely expensive, but Federbrau is not bad and quite cheap.

[smccolley]

Cottage Cheese - hard to find and painfully expensive

Kraft Mac and Cheese - 60+ baht a box if you can find it...

sweet pickle relish? I usually end up making my own.

Mountain Dew? only at Villa market for 60 baht per can.

Ham on the bone - I haven't yet found one. Anyone know where to find in Pattaya?

[Mur]

you should come to new zealand. the only thing cheap here is your average workers' labour. often seen cabages, cauliflowers as high as $5 tiny heads of broccoli can be over $3. 600g box of cereal $5.50 upwards. Decent bread $4 or more. Petrol now $2.27 litre. My modest 3 small bedroom house $350k which is $20k less than the ave price in my city. Oh sorry I forgot, booze is always cheap or on special, so we can all get pissed and not think too much about how much everything else costs. And our milk, meat and cheese is usually cheaper in other countries than our own

Edited July 14, 2013 by Mur

[stoli]

Well, my item is not overpriced. I just cannot find it anywhere. That is plantains - the large cooking bananas found everywhere in Latin America and the Caribbean. Also, I cannot find cassava (yucca) in the supermarkets although I know that Thailand produces and exports it. I want these items to make South American soups (i.e., Colombian sancocho and caldo de gallina). Any advice would be appreciated.

I was under the opinion that the cassava plant here is called "man supalon", at least this is how it sounds to me when spoken by a Thai. It is a starch that is used to make tapioca. It is grown everywhere in Thailand, and I mean everywhere. When you see them start a field by putting 20" sticks into the ground, they are growing this tuber plant.

[chaiyaphumlove]

I don't live there as an expat(one day soon hopefully) but I'd miss the great selection of beers(micro brews, and imports) so on holiday I will be spending quite a bit to stock up the fridge with Beervana(already planning on ordering 2 cases of Rogue) and would probably do the same if I lived there.

You dirty dog! Rogue! I love it! But at 180-200B+ per bottle here, it's something I just can not afford.

Enjoy!!!!

Craig3365,

Thanks for the post, and I love it too! Even though I've had much better beer over the years! Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar will always be a special one for me as it really turned me on to the craft beer, micro brew thing so many years ago and when I found out I could order it through Beervana in Thailand I was so happy! I'll eat off the "street carts" and enjoy them but I refuse to drink sh*t beer! I can't do it, would rather drink iced tea than bad beer!

Can't wait to visit Beerology,and White Beerd in BKK, I went to BeerVault in the 4 points Sheraton last year in BKK and had a great time! So I hope these other places are just as good!

3 1/2 months and counting.

Cheers,

Tony

[retell]

Cottage Cheese - hard to find and painfully expensive

Kraft Mac and Cheese - 60+ baht a box if you can find it...

sweet pickle relish? I usually end up making my own.

Mountain Dew? only at Villa market for 60 baht per can.

Ham on the bone - I haven't yet found one. Anyone know where to find in Pattaya?

not in pattaya but i do make it , smoked or just cured and dried

[retell]

Well, my item is not overpriced. I just cannot find it anywhere. That is plantains - the large cooking bananas found everywhere in Latin America and the Caribbean. Also, I cannot find cassava (yucca) in the supermarkets although I know that Thailand produces and exports it. I want these items to make South American soups (i.e., Colombian sancocho and caldo de gallina). Any advice would be appreciated.

I was under the opinion that the cassava plant here is called "man supalon", at least this is how it sounds to me when spoken by a Thai. It is a starch that is used to make tapioca. It is grown everywhere in Thailand, and I mean everywhere. When you see them start a field by putting 20" sticks into the ground, they are growing this tuber plant.

or sugarcane

[Jingthing]

you should come to new zealand. the only thing cheap here is your average workers' labour. often seen cabages, cauliflowers as high as $5 tiny heads of broccoli can be over $3. 600g box of cereal $5.50 upwards. Decent bread $4 or more. Petrol now $2.27 litre. My modest 3 small bedroom house $350k which is $20k less than the ave price in my city. Oh sorry I forgot, booze is always cheap or on special, so we can all get pissed and not think too much about how much everything else costs. And our milk, meat and cheese is usually cheaper in other countries than our own

This is a good point again. What may seem expensive to some nationalities in Thailand may not to others and vice versa.

[SimonF]

It's butter for me, and the only brand I can find that doesn't have a horrible after taste is lurpak (Danish). Ridiculously overpriced in the usual outlets, bit cheaper (not much) in makro. Being a visa run slave I discovered its a third of the Thai price in Malaysia, you can find it in tesco Penang, but if you're there after me hard luck, I empty the shelves.

[smccolley]

Cottage Cheese - hard to find and painfully expensive

Kraft Mac and Cheese - 60+ baht a box if you can find it...

sweet pickle relish? I usually end up making my own.

Mountain Dew? only at Villa market for 60 baht per can.

Ham on the bone - I haven't yet found one. Anyone know where to find in Pattaya?

not in pattaya but i do make it , smoked or just cured and dried

I have always thought that with the amount of delicious pork here, someone would start making western style ham. Can you make money doing that?

[circusman]

And what about Tizer?

Ye can grizzle all ye waant, but it'll no' rain irn bru

Totally unintelligible !

[Rinrada]

Aye aye Cowboy, don't know where you live but for any haggis starved Scots in Chiang Mai, Kelly's fish and chip restuarant gives a plate of haggis, neeps and tatties for 170 Baht. The owner is Scottish and my mate who lives here (a retired butcher) learned him how to make haggis.

Quite partial tae a bit of "Fair fa yer honest sonsie face great chieftain o the...etc"......

so wheres Kellys?

Last time back wife brought out a load of packets of Noodles (Korean) cos they are cheaper in UK than LOS...figure

I packed 4 Kilo of...must look in fridge..wait a minute (DTAC aircard) Valley Spire Mature Cheddar...Lidl were flogging it for just over 2 quid a half kilo.

Also brought of a load of bacon from Morrisons @ 1.50 Kilo but left it in our freezer in Bangers...next run.

Finally a half dozen big bottles of Piri Piri sauce/marinade for chicken...same as Nandos places....apart from that scram ..nae problem

[retell]

Cottage Cheese - hard to find and painfully expensive

Kraft Mac and Cheese - 60+ baht a box if you can find it...

sweet pickle relish? I usually end up making my own.

Mountain Dew? only at Villa market for 60 baht per can.

Ham on the bone - I haven't yet found one. Anyone know where to find in Pattaya?

not in pattaya but i do make it , smoked or just cured and dried

I have always thought that with the amount of delicious pork here, someone would start making western style ham. Can you make money doing that?

will tell you in a PM cos cannot promote or advertise on the forum like this

[lucifer666]

HP sauce, the brown one

[Gang Warily]

Kipper, Arbroath smokies, Loch Fyne prawns (langoustines) Angus beef, any cold water fish, grapefruit, fresh blackberries, cock-a-leekie!

[bkk_mike]

What I can get, but expensively...

HP sauce - 130 baht here for the small glass bottles, but I bought 3 of the larger squeezable ones last time I was inthe UK for a pound each.

Branston Pickle

And obviously the cheese to go with the Branston...

What I can't get (this side of Hong Kong)

Irn Bru

[Richie23]

Reading this thread has made me hungry for pretty much all the things listed! Can see myself over spending at the supermarket later now.. Haha

[masuk]

in Australia $2 an avocado (60 baht) is about the normal price sadly

OK, that I didn't know. Much cheaper for most of the year in the U.S., especially California. I think most are imported there from Mexico actually, depending on the season.

That's interesting about the Australian price. If they are 60 baht there, I would normally expect them to be much higher here.

Point worth noting that no farmer, fruit grower, wine producer or cattle breeder receives any sort of subsidy from any government agency in Australia.

Fruit is expensive at home and more so abroad, than those which receive subsidies. Hence the Thais complaining about subsidised pork possibly coming into Thailand, to compete with non-subsidised pork.

Wine in Australia is not taxed as far as I know, but sadly, Thai import tax and duty certainly adds to the cost here. A reasonable 4 litre red wine costs around $11.00 (฿350.)

For some reason, Thai imported food into Australia seems about the same price as here.

[taotoo]

HP sauce, the brown one

Indeed, even at 10x the price of ketchup here.

[KED]

I found some of the boxed wines sold in Villa aren't so expensive (1,200 baht for 3-4.5 liter) and are drinkable; they are mostly Australian wines, I think.

I miss Summer fruits from the U.S. the most - peaches, nectarines and cherries - they are 5-10 times more expensive here.

[Jingthing]

I found some of the boxed wines sold in Villa aren't so expensive (1,200 baht for 3-4.5 liter) and are drinkable; they are mostly Australian wines, I think.

I miss Summer fruits from the U.S. the most - peaches, nectarines and cherries - they are 5-10 times more expensive here.

Understood but different people have different perceptions of drinkable. I don't find wines with monotone properties drinkable. I need at least a little complexity or I'd rather have a beer.

I'm sure that most wine snobs would think the 400 baht wines I find drinkable in Thailand would spit them out!

It's super expensive to be a wine snob in Thailand!

Edited July 14, 2013 by Jingthing

[winstonc]

atlast a happy topic,,,but i really miss is hitler fried chicken,,,,,joking,,,

[hansnl]

Cheese?

Yes, cheese.!

Being a former inhabitant of the town of Gouda in the Netherlands I should know something about cheese.

More because I was living very near to a cheese maturing warehouse, the smell.......

Anyway, at Makro they offer a whole Gouda cheese, 4,5 kilo, youngish, for 1900 baht which translates to around 10,50 Euro a kilo.

Price in the Netherlands an average of 7 Euro a kilo.

Or, also at Makro, a whole Edam cheese, 1,9 kilo, 720 baht, around 10,25 Euro a kilo.

Average price in the Netherlands 6,50 Euro.

Both prices are not entirely over the top, seen the distance and mode of transport (cool)

Nowadays, since the sale of Carrefour to Big C, many Dutch cheeses are on offer for around 150 baht for 200-250 grammes.

Which means around 15 Euro a kilo.

Also Thai companies are now importing Dutch cheese and packing it.

They are even cheaper.

Which is dealing the Australian "Gouda" and "Edam" cheese quite a hefty blow, being much more expensive and many times processed cheese.

I understand from Frico in the Netehrlands, the biggest cheese making conglomarate in the world, they are planning a huge influx of cheese in the Thai market.

And that includes cheddar cheese from England, and other European cheeses.

Anyway, in Tops and Big C cheddar is also on offer for prices around 30% more expensive as in England.

I think that is not really a bad deal

[sprq]

Cheese and wine are the most ridiculously priced items, with cheese being the real killer, since in the west it is a basic food which all Westerners like to have quite frequently, but here it is a luxury item with very high import duties. If the reason is not duties, but plain gouging, please let me know, anybody who is in the know.

Gross example: President Camembert -- about 100 baht in France, about 500 baht in Thailand.

[Jingthing]

atlast a happy topic,,,but i really miss is hitler fried chicken,,,,,joking,,,

Not sure how happy it is, especially for the cheese fanatics here.

[Suradit69]

Black (loose leaf) tea. Thankfully, you can get very good Thai tea in Chiang Mai. Much cheaper than imports, and really good taste.

Tops in CM have a good selection of reasonably-priced cheeses (ditto Rimping). NZ cheese at Tops is v reasonable cost.

Aussie oranges well worth paying for. I miss roast lamb, roast pork, but Rimping does have frozen cuts of pork.

Red wine becomes more drinkable if you put it in the fridge (normally a no-no).

I crave good Pilsner beer. Czech beer I have not yet seen. German stuff is extremely expensive, but Federbrau is not bad and quite cheap.

"Red wine becomes more drinkable if you put it in the fridge (normally a no-no). "

Apparently that's the strategy in some restaurants where the house red is easily confused with a slurpee. Unfortunately, it seems to be a failed strategy in those situations.

And another theory that bites the dust at the same time: "after the first glass you can't taste the difference." It would take a lot more than one glass to achieve that miracle.

Edited July 14, 2013 by Suradit69

[Mudcrab]

I can't find a decent meat pie (Kiwi style) in Pattaya. Tried many Farang owned outlets but none of them cut the mustard.

not surprised ...a decent Kiwi meat pie doesn't exist........now an Aussie one...that's a different matter

Edited July 14, 2013 by Mudcrab

[Suradit69]

I found some of the boxed wines sold in Villa aren't so expensive (1,200 baht for 3-4.5 liter) and are drinkable; they are mostly Australian wines, I think.

I miss Summer fruits from the U.S. the most - peaches, nectarines and cherries - they are 5-10 times more expensive here.

Understood but different people have different perceptions of drinkable. I don't find wines with monotone properties drinkable. I need at least a little complexity or I'd rather have a beer.

I'm sure that most wine snobs would think the 400 baht wines I find drinkable in Thailand would spit them out!

It's super expensive to be a wine snob in Thailand!

"I'm sure that most wine snobs would think the 400 baht wines I find drinkable in Thailand would spit them out!"

And I'm quite fond of you too.

[Mudcrab]

in Australia $2 an avocado (60 baht) is about the normal price sadly

yeah right and a Mango is 5 bucks in Sydney...they fall on the ground in North Queensland

Edited July 14, 2013 by Mudcrab

[IanLongbon]

On the other hand some foods are so much cheaper: Chickens, Pork, Mangoes, Bread and so on. Really, if you're going to live abroad, embrace the changes otherwise, why bother?