Interested in finding out which are the top three shops for the weekly shop (groceries mainly) in Pattaya and why. Also, when is the most popular day and time for going and how often do you go in a week?

I think? you may be trying to generalise to much here, speaking on my girlfriends behalf, Foodland and Friendship are used for items that they have, general "bulk" shopping generally done at big C.

Possibly true for most expats?

do yourself a favor.

check them all out.

each has its own flavor, deals etc.

only you can decide what you want.

tg

One wonders why on earth you would want to know that English but now that you asked I chose Carrefour. Reason, wide isles, big/plenty of stock, reasonable prices, plenty of ATM's of all Banks, plenty of cheap pre cooked foods, several restaurants in the complex, the food hall is very cheap ie: Somtum 15 baht, great big Home improvment centre, plenty of other specialty shops, clean toilets with paper.

I go to all the other shops in Pattaya too, you also missed out Modern City Supermarket which is like a no frills store on the beach front where most things are cheaper. I also go to the South Pattaya markets for seafood and vegtables. Have a great day.

You havn't even got Friendship down there, which I come all the was from Surin to shop at. Best value wine selection, really good imported beer prices. I suppose for overall choice though, and getting little things that matter, I would think Carrerfours. Biggest problem with them; getting in and out at rush hour,which just happens to be what time I arrive in Pattaya or leave.

I think? you may be trying to generalise to much here, speaking on my girlfriends behalf, Foodland and Friendship are used for items that they have, general "bulk" shopping generally done at big C.

Possibly true for most expats?

I would agree with CGW.

Lotus would have to be the worst for Meat, Fish, Bakery. ... 7 Eleven aside

Naka.

Interested in finding out which are the top three shops for the weekly shop (groceries mainly) in Pattaya and why. Also, when is the most popular day and time for going and how often do you go in a week?

I live in Pong, near Mabprachan, so the nearest places to get to are Naklua & North Pattaya.

However, my wife ususually does her main shopping in Carrefour. I'm not sure why, but I think she prefers the fresh veg, meat, seafood etc there, although, as mentioned aon an earlier thread, someimes you have to rummage to find the fresh stuff.

If she's in a hurry or there's not too much to buy, she sometimes shops in Lotus in N Pattaya.

We also walk down the road to buy fresh fruit and veg in the local market in Pong (every evening - the oranges are the juiciest in Pattaya), and we buy fresh seafood from Naklua market early morning (6 am), and fresh veg and meat from Naklua market later in the day.

Bests, by the Doplhin roundabout, stock the cheapest booze - especially wine - there is a good selection;

And last but not least, fresh veg, fruit and meat from Foodland, where they also have some farang stuff that you can't buy anywhere else (like delicious frozen English breakfast sausages )

We (She) shops at any tine the mood takes her - and particularly when the cupbpard is empty and her starving hubby, son, maids and assorted visitors are starving.!

I have been told that the best and cheapest sea food market of all is at Bang Sare, but haven't tried it yet. Bit of a treck at the crack of dawn. Can anyone confirm this?

Your survey was a bit limiting , so I ticked Carrefour - where we probably spend the most money.

I ticked Carrefour - where we probably spend the most money.

Same here... our shopping usually gets done on a Sunday afternoon, 'cos I work 5 1/2 days a week and golf on Saturday afternoons.

The undercover car parking at Carrefour is a major drawcard.

Having said that, I usually buy my cheeses, hams, wines and spirits at Friendship, where there's a much better farang fare variety.

If you do shop for your bulks in Tesco or Big C, you'll find that the prices are much cheaper there than either Carrefour, Friendship, or Foodland, but the availability and variety of farang specialties is a bit limited.

Carrefour for me as well.............only gripe are the checkout operators they are tooooooooooo slow combined with lousy barcodes that the lasers cannot read.

For foreign goodies then Friendship or Foodland give Carrefour a good run for the money.

Big C North and Lotus have always been good to me.

You havn't even got Friendship down there, which I come all the was from Surin to shop at. Best value wine selection, really good imported beer prices. I suppose for overall choice though, and getting little things that matter, I would think Carrerfours. Biggest problem with them; getting in and out at rush hour,which just happens to be what time I arrive in Pattaya or leave.

I like the Friendship Supermarket too! They have a little of everything in one place.

I only visit Pattaya as a tourist so I don't need a lot of groceries. Just enough to make a wholesome breakfast.

I use Tops Supermarket most of time, mainly because it is in easy walking distance from my hotel.

It is also a great place to stop for a in-house cooked snack.

I shop at Modern City for my water supply, toothbrushes, lotions and potions....and another good place for an in-house cooked snack.

Edited April 23, 200620 yr by Mighty Mouse

There is a huge cultural difference between shopping for food here and in the West.

Some years back it became the done thing to shop weekly, buy as much "junk" as would be needed for a week, wether it be frozen or tinned goods.

This mindset has led to a truly atrocious diet in the west, with large unheathly people being the norm, rather than the exception.

Here, thankfully people still take some pride in what they put into their bodies, and dont consider it a chore putting effort into eating properly, therefore shopping tends to be done where the food is "good" rather than for convenience.

There is a huge cultural difference between shopping for food here and in the West.

Some years back it became the done thing to shop weekly, buy as much "junk" as would be needed for a week, wether it be frozen or tinned goods.

This mindset has led to a truly atrocious diet in the west, with large unheathly people being the norm, rather than the exception.

Here, thankfully people still take some pride in what they put into their bodies, and dont consider it a chore putting effort into eating properly, therefore shopping tends to be done where the food is "good" rather than for convenience.

Yeah, I echo your sentiments. My wife never buys frozen stuff, always fresh, as and when we need it.

I've got 4 fridges at last count, and all the freezer departments are empty, except for my English breakfast sausages from Foodland.

Carrefore, and Foodland for this family. Once in a while big C or Lotus, but the majority at Carrefore.

Barry

Normally Big C south for me...we ( me and/or the other half ) go when ever we need something.

However, recently I have been going to Friendship a lot because its right next door... more convenient,but usually more expensive.

There is a huge cultural difference between shopping for food here and in the West.

Some years back it became the done thing to shop weekly, buy as much "junk" as would be needed for a week, wether it be frozen or tinned goods.

This mindset has led to a truly atrocious diet in the west, with large unheathly people being the norm, rather than the exception.

Here, thankfully people still take some pride in what they put into their bodies, and dont consider it a chore putting effort into eating properly, therefore shopping tends to be done where the food is "good" rather than for convenience.

You need to read some of the articles on illegal food additives in Thailand.

The E.U. is forever banning Thai food imports contaminated by illegal chemicals.

Remember all the chicken they sent back last year ?

Naka.

Foodland.

Where about is "Modern City" ?

Where about is "Modern City" ?

Next to the bigger Mikes Department Store, Beach road.

the survey is much too general.

We shop at most places depending on what we want.

Carrefour....for general provisions and cheese

Foodland......for cold meat and fresh meat, fresh herbs and some imported items

Friendship.......great frozen food section good range of imported foods, fresh meat is crap.

Continental bakery.......bread.lol

Naklua market .....for seafoods

Benjamit coffee shop .....for fresh ground coffee

I have been living in Pattaya for 2 years after 3 years in Bangkok, almost everything is available here now, I have it on good authority that a branch of Villa will be opening this year on 2nd road, which will certainly lift the range available.

Pattaya for food shopping has come a long way in a relatively short time, how long has Lotus been open now - 5 years - previous to that you had the choice of shopping at Foodland and that was about it.

Of course this has it's pro & cons,

Each shop has advantages and inconvenience:

Tesco-Lotus: for general groceries and vegetables (cheapest prices)

Carrefour: cheaper fruits and vegetables; large choice of cheese, cold cut; Free cooking of meat and seafood.

Foodland: for quality fresh meat, cheese and cold cuts.

Friendship and Best: large choices of wines and imported stuffs at regular prices.

Local markets: for fresh and cheaper seafood, vegetables and fruits not available in Lotus.

Foodmart/Jomtien: Easy reachable for Jomtien residents, large choice but expensive.

Be Lucky/North Pattaya: ham, sausages, bacon at wholesale prices.

Big C: nearly no care for Farangs’needs.

Carrefour for me as well.............only gripe are the checkout operators they are tooooooooooo slow combined with lousy barcodes that the lasers cannot read.

For foreign goodies then Friendship or Foodland give Carrefour a good run for the money.

Maybe Carrefour aren't the only slow ones. A few weeks ago I'd bought about a dozen items in BigC and was in a rush, reached the vast swathe of checkouts to find only about 3 open and long queues. Noticed plenty of staff wandering around 'being helpful' in the shopping aisles. Farang impatience won through, just one of those days when laid back mai pen rai was having a break, so I went to the customer service desk to see about opening more tills, it was a classic scene (more suited to England) with the girl giving her undivided attention to filing her nails, never noticed the inconvenience of having a customer standing there. I told her that they needed to pay more attention to what was going on at the checkouts and she could have my shopping back, thanks. A passing 'supervisor' heard me and rushed up, called someone over and opened up a till for me ... it would have seemed surly to walk away then ... so maybe sometimes it does pay to say enough is enough in Thailand.

Agree that each store is best for different things ... loathe to shop at Tesco Lotus as they pursue world domination - but still do, obviously a man of principle

Edited April 27, 200620 yr by patrickq