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

[xen]

The foods that i find terribly expensive but will still buy occasionally just to break a Thai diet are a good t-bone steak or Rump steak, Field mushrooms (about 4 times the price of any other mushrooms in Makro) , gourmet yoghurt (King Island being the best) and Tassie scallops in batter and deep fried. All of these are still expensive even in Oz but these are" last meal" foods for me.

[Jingthing]

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?

Of course, most of us mortals need to make adjustments.

That was addressed in my OP.

Another related topic would be to list the foods that you HAVE given up because they are too expensive here.

In my case, I rarely eat beef in Thailand. Of course I ate a lot more of it in the U.S., much better quality and of course cheap price there. Yes good imported beef is for sale here but at a very high price.

Normal Thai beef is just atrocious, sorry.

Edited July 14, 2013 by Jingthing

[Mudcrab]

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.

Rubbish there are subsidies all over the place...just not called subsidies.

Edited July 14, 2013 by Mudcrab

[pritch84]

saveloy dips

[NoshowJones]

Haggis. If I could get haggis here it would probably be over-priced, but I can't so I live without.

And pheasant, that's fowl too

Anyway, if it was over-priced, you wouldn't buy it; if the price was right on the borderline, that would be the correct pricing for the vendor...If you're not happy with the price of groceries, then go back to Brooklyn

SC

Is a haggis one of those little animals that have a long leg and a short leg for running round hills?

[ToddWeston]

Breakfast

Proper black orange pekoe tea English, Australian or Canadian

Marmite or vegemite

Brown bread

Cereals

Yoghurt

Butter

Lunch

Decent cold cuts

Pickles

Cheese

Butter

Supper

Vegetables - sprouts especially root vegetables

Salmon

Beef

Double cream

Butter

I miss butter so much I've resorted to making my own, love the butter milk on my cereal and finally the one I find insane is paying 389 baht for 200 grams of maldon salt flakes.

[BahBahBoBo]

" I kind of feel sorry for non-rich people" ..

You mean like the millions of Thai's who earn less a day than you will spend on a bottle of wine?

Like that?

[Jingthing]

" I kind of feel sorry for non-rich people" ..

You mean like the millions of Thai's who earn less a day than you will spend on a bottle of wine?

Like that?

Sure why not? I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better!

[retell]

mmm what i cant find here ,, drop menthos , dr pepper , peppermint , a decent shovel (bats)

can live without but sure would not mind having it again and yes BUTTERMILK

Edited July 14, 2013 by retell

[mikemac]

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

Imagine that ! Pies made from whitebait !

I went shopping in Macro in Chiang Mai and thought the imported legs of lamb were expensive, then when I got back to Australia I found they were the same price over there.

Cheese is on average about $1 a packet dearer in Rimping than it is in Australia. I do miss going to the big liquor outlets and buying English beer or any imported beer for that matter.

I thought the Scots only ate porridge. My Pommy mate calls them porridge <deleted> !

[NoshowJones]

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.

I know you live in Pattaya JT, but it seems it's the only place in Thailand you can buy corned beef. I sure miss it, when I first came to Thailand, you could buy it in any Tesco or Big C.

[stoli]

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?

I don't know where they get it, but I was at Kinneree's in Jomtien a few weeks ago and they had the best smoked ham that sent me to heaven. Just like being back in the states on Easter Sunday. Ask them where they got it.

[mikemac]

I always bring back a big jar of Vegemite when I fly back from Australia. And heaps of licorice, have never been able to find that in Thailand.

[Jingthing]

Of course many foods we are FORCED to live without because you simply can't get them here.

Matzoh would be on my list of must haves but not for sale here.

When I come from the U.S. the security people there always open up my luggage and when they see all the boxes of matzoh they must think I'm a rabbi!

Edited July 14, 2013 by Jingthing

[retell]

I always bring back a big jar of Vegemite when I fly back from Australia. And heaps of licorice, have never been able to find that in Thailand.

luckily my sister sends some goodies over once in a while from holland

still got licorice

[JayBangkok]

I miss jugged hare and lucozade

[scorecard]

Avocados on your list?? I LOVE them and relish buying all that I need here at a mere fraction of their cost in Australia - even varieties identical to Australian grown ones eg. Hass or Williams.

If you're talking about good Haas like Thai grown varieties at low cost, yes I see them in the markets in Pattaya for a very limited time every year and of course buy lots of them! But its a short season at in the markets here. There is another larger smooth type of Thai cado that is commonly sold here that in the U.S. we call Florida variety and those in my experience are not nice at all. Those are of course quite cheap and rightly so. So for year round use I'm most stuck buying imports at about 60 baht per piece.

Basically I feel a deep need to have cados in the house all year as I use them in specific recipes that I frequently want, so I pay for that vice.

Avocados, yes great, but in quantity think about your cholesterol levels.

My small request - good cheeses at 20 / 25% less cost.

[deecee10]

Just got back from Europe and truffles were down to $3000 a kilo in Paris.

Damn, wish I'd grabbed a few kilos.

They cost the earth in Thailand.

[ToddWeston]

I miss jugged hare and lucozade

I miss lucozade as well so I use the lime juice available everywhere and this recipe - I prefer it over the orange now.

http://yourstudentbody.com/how-to-make-your-own-isotonic-sports-drink/

[Jingthing]

Avocados on your list?? I LOVE them and relish buying all that I need here at a mere fraction of their cost in Australia - even varieties identical to Australian grown ones eg. Hass or Williams.

If you're talking about good Haas like Thai grown varieties at low cost, yes I see them in the markets in Pattaya for a very limited time every year and of course buy lots of them! But its a short season at in the markets here. There is another larger smooth type of Thai cado that is commonly sold here that in the U.S. we call Florida variety and those in my experience are not nice at all. Those are of course quite cheap and rightly so. So for year round use I'm most stuck buying imports at about 60 baht per piece.

Basically I feel a deep need to have cados in the house all year as I use them in specific recipes that I frequently want, so I pay for that vice.

Avocados, yes great, but in quantity think about your cholesterol levels.

My small request - good cheeses at 20 / 25% less cost.

I don't eat cados in quantity but a simple google search will tell you that cados are HEALTHY fats. An EXTREMELY health promoting food indeed.

[deecee10]

I miss jugged hare and lucozade

Yes, I always reckon you can't be a lucozade marinade.

Love that glucose aroma.

[ozyjon]

One of the reasons i like living in South East Asia is because of the food i eat here,,, i really don't like or miss any of the Western processed foods,, i am now in Europe for the rainy season and i miss the food there and don't care about the food here in Europe that is destroying my health if i let it,, can't wait to leave,,,

[Gsxrnz]

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

I'm a Kiwi too, so your prices scared me a bit. I just checked the Countdown (supermarket) website and these are the current prices:

Broccoli - $2.99/head (72b)

Cabbage - $2.59ea (63b)

Cauliflower - $2.49ea (60b)

Bread - $2.50-$4.00 (60-100b) for a family plain white

.....and for JT

Hass Avacado - $2.99ea (72b)

Yes the cereals are as you say are north of $5-00. And all those prices include 15%GST. Not expensive compared to most western countries I would suspect. Vegetable prices in NZ can vary dramatically from season to season based on supply/demand dynamics - maybe you were quoting prices from a early winter?

[islandguy]

Mexican food - thanks to El Charro I'm good for real chips and tortillas, can fake the rest. Have various sources for seasonal Thai avocados.

Parmesan cheese

Cheddar cheese

Bread - lots of good choices now, mostly foreigner owned

Import butter

Since I really love good Thai food, not much else.......

[Emdog]

Ditto to Dr Pepper. And get hankering for some Fritos once in a while. And licorice. Had friend from USA come this week and forgot to ask about Aussie style Licorice. She did get me a two pound block of sharp Tillamook cheese and some good mustard. Which she left in the fridge in the states... I remember my marketing professor saying "All tastes are acquired". He never did mention "unacquiring" a taste, although I do eat little beef here now, and even a good steak in USA tastes a bit odd. I can understand why some Thais don't like the flavor....

[mikemac]

@ retell - Is the Dutch licorice the salty type ? I bought some candy from Rimping that I thought was fruit flavor only to find out it was salt flavored.

[BlackJack]

cheap cask wine and only 12% is Bodegas 800 baht for 3 liters

vitamins are expensive here and so get them imported from the USA

smegma is cheap enough though

[jbrain]

Here is part of my list:

Parmesan cheese

Cocoa

!!!!!Avocados!!!!! (Australian and N.Z.) absolute must Seems they are the same price here as in Australia

Breakfast cereals: muesli / shredded wheat / (have dropped Grape Nuts, just not worth the prices here) Hahne meusli are cheaper here as the equivalent in my home country

Natural peanut butter

Wine (limited but it feels to me more affordable here than it was 5 years ago) agree

Tequila 100 percent agave (limited)

Olive oil Same price at home

Olives Same brand at the same price at home

[retell]

@ retell - Is the Dutch licorice the salty type ? I bought some candy from Rimping that I thought was fruit flavor only to find out it was salt flavored.

salt sweet hard soft with honey bayleaves salmiak too many different choices http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop they even made a wikipage for it ! in dutch but the translate usually is understandable

[BookMan]

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.

That is the Supermarket price in OZ. Fruit & vege shops you can get a net of 6+ for $3-$5, so about 80 cents each.