Needed to buy some Bisto...

Amazing, eh?

And the really amazing thing is that the 240 baht packet was at Villa!

Gravy powder!

Anything that has the whiff of farang is pricey at Makro.

The Bisto gravy granules ,in tubs are a lot cheaper,and is

what i use.

regards worgeordie

But can go the other way, of course. I was buying 1 kilo bags of red snapper at Makro years ago for 279 baht. I saw the exact same product at Villa for 429. I've never gone into a Villa again. I have nothing against them -- that just made me assume their prices were much higher for everything.

Significantly cheaper at Villa.

Yes that's amazing.

But I agree that Villa in general is top for the prices.

In Udon I sometimes shop there for just one or two dedicated product exclusively available.

It proofs that there is no simple rule where to buy cheap.

Here in Khon Kaen the fancy TOPs at Central has some cheaper prices than the worn out BigC.

And still in many cases the local markets can beat the chains stores for fresh produce etc.

i always check the villa 50% off section. many time i see great smelly french cheeses like St. Aubrei (sp?) for about 100 baht. problem is, i've become addicted to cheese on crackers as an afternoon snack.

The Bisto gravy granules ,in tubs are a lot cheaper,and is

what i use.

regards worgeordie

wor lad have you tried this,for the past 6yrs.i have used BISTO but i run out a month ago[no visitors] so the wife bought LOBO BEEF GRAVY MIX.

well i shant be bothered about bisto,this mix is great.

meat juices,galic and onion.

couple dashes lea perins.

some black pepper.

tsp.oregano.

300ml.water.enough for 4servings.

cost 27bht.

Gravy powder!

Philistine!

Best one

Central Food Hall : bag of baby carrots, 179b(bigger bag 250b)

Tesco: same brand 49b

The Bisto gravy granules ,in tubs are a lot cheaper,and is

what i use.

regards worgeordie

Tried it once... oops, just checked, I didn't actually try it - I have an unopened tub in my kitchen cupboard.

I was going to try them later but just found the "Best Before End" date. Ahem, Oct 2011.

I haven't done any grocery shopping since I arrived on the Island.

Reading this thread has made me realize what I'm missing!

But can go the other way, of course. I was buying 1 kilo bags of red snapper at Makro years ago for 279 baht. I saw the exact same product at Villa for 429. I've never gone into a Villa again. I have nothing against them -- that just made me assume their prices were much higher for everything.

IMO I found that used to be the case however over the past year or so their prices (Villa) or at least some of them, have become much more competitive and for instance avocados can be about 30% cheaper at Villa than Big C!

The Bisto gravy granules ,in tubs are a lot cheaper,and is

what i use.

regards worgeordie

wor lad have you tried this,for the past 6yrs.i have used BISTO but i run out a month ago[no visitors] so the wife bought LOBO BEEF GRAVY MIX.

well i shant be bothered about bisto,this mix is great.

meat juices,galic and onion.

couple dashes lea perins.

some black pepper.

tsp.oregano.

300ml.water.enough for 4servings.

cost 27bht.

Where did she buy it and do you have a picture please?

The Bisto gravy granules ,in tubs are a lot cheaper,and is

what i use.

regards worgeordie

wor lad have you tried this,for the past 6yrs.i have used BISTO but i run out a month ago[no visitors] so the wife bought LOBO BEEF GRAVY MIX.

well i shant be bothered about bisto,this mix is great.

meat juices,galic and onion.

couple dashes lea perins.

some black pepper.

tsp.oregano.

300ml.water.enough for 4servings.

cost 27bht.

Where did she buy it and do you have a picture please?

Well, since you're interested, I have an unopened tub that's going quite cheap...

I agree that pricing at Makro can be pretty schizophrenic.

For a lot of the farang canned and jarred food items they stock, their prices are as high or higher than those at the regular supermarkets. Example: Remla dijon mustard jar 95b at Makro, normally 85b or so at Tesco, Tops, Villa, etc.

However, for locally produced items and those they import from China (which is a lot), Makro's prices can be pretty good. Overall, I don't shop there for price when it comes to foodstuffs, but rather, for specific items or sizes that I can't buy in the regular supermarkets.

Mont Clare red wine----also cheaper at villa ----not a lot 50 baht-Box, just surprised as you see all the mum & pop stores lining up at Makro to restock their shelves in whatever Moo Barn.

But can go the other way, of course. I was buying 1 kilo bags of red snapper at Makro years ago for 279 baht. I saw the exact same product at Villa for 429. I've never gone into a Villa again. I have nothing against them -- that just made me assume their prices were much higher for everything.

IMO I found that used to be the case however over the past year or so their prices (Villa) or at least some of them, have become much more competitive and for instance avocados can be about 30% cheaper at Villa than Big C!

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to take a look around next time I'm near one. I don't actually know where they are in Pattaya anymore but confident I can find out when I want to.

Shopping? What the hell is that....I just eat out every meal and leave the clean up to the locals...??

Mont Clare red wine----also cheaper at villa ----not a lot 50 baht-Box, just surprised as you see all the mum & pop stores lining up at Makro to restock their shelves in whatever Moo Barn.

Makro actually has two sizes of boxes -- the usual 5-liter one at 999, which works out to 200 a liter, but also an 8-liter one for 1199 and apparently exclusive to Makro, which takes it down to 150 a liter. But I haven't had Mont Claire in ages, although I don't remember it being too bad.

The price of the bottle of booze that I get at Villa just had a price increase. Woe is me! It went from 860 Bt to 861. Really.

Surprised Villa was cheaper...Bristo to much salt!!

The Bisto gravy granules ,in tubs are a lot cheaper,and is

what i use.

regards worgeordie

wor lad have you tried this,for the past 6yrs.i have used BISTO but i run out a month ago[no visitors] so the wife bought LOBO BEEF GRAVY MIX.

well i shant be bothered about bisto,this mix is great.

meat juices,galic and onion.

couple dashes lea perins.

some black pepper.

tsp.oregano.

300ml.water.enough for 4servings.

cost 27bht.

Where did she buy it and do you have a picture please?

sorry billd i have tried and tried to take photo's,i am just tooooooooooo dumb.the wife got it at home fresh,beef and chicken,i havnt tried the chkn.yet.

i think most of the supermarkets sell LOBO.i did go into their website before looking for western mixes and found out they do quite a lot.

have a look at GLOBO FOODS LTD.

be carefull if you get some keep stirring on a low heat as it thickens quickly.it comes in 25grm.packets.

The Bisto gravy granules ,in tubs are a lot cheaper,and is

what i use.

regards worgeordie

wor lad have you tried this,for the past 6yrs.i have used BISTO but i run out a month ago[no visitors] so the wife bought LOBO BEEF GRAVY MIX.

well i shant be bothered about bisto,this mix is great.

meat juices,galic and onion.

couple dashes lea perins.

some black pepper.

tsp.oregano.

300ml.water.enough for 4servings.

cost 27bht.

Where did she buy it and do you have a picture please?

sorry billd i have tried and tried to take photo's,i am just tooooooooooo dumb.the wife got it at home fresh,beef and chicken,i havnt tried the chkn.yet.

i think most of the supermarkets sell LOBO.i did go into their website before looking for western mixes and found out they do quite a lot.

have a look at GLOBO FOODS LTD.

be carefull if you get some keep stirring on a low heat as it thickens quickly.it comes in 25grm.packets.

Tesco finest has bags of "fresh" gravy for sale, it looks pretty good.

The Bisto gravy granules ,in tubs are a lot cheaper,and is

what i use.

regards worgeordie

wor lad have you tried this,for the past 6yrs.i have used BISTO but i run out a month ago[no visitors] so the wife bought LOBO BEEF GRAVY MIX.

well i shant be bothered about bisto,this mix is great.

meat juices,galic and onion.

couple dashes lea perins.

some black pepper.

tsp.oregano.

300ml.water.enough for 4servings.

cost 27bht.

Where did she buy it and do you have a picture please?

sorry billd i have tried and tried to take photo's,i am just tooooooooooo dumb.the wife got it at home fresh,beef and chicken,i havnt tried the chkn.yet.

i think most of the supermarkets sell LOBO.i did go into their website before looking for western mixes and found out they do quite a lot.

have a look at GLOBO FOODS LTD.

be carefull if you get some keep stirring on a low heat as it thickens quickly.it comes in 25grm.packets.

i have looked at global foods but nothing,so i looked at LOBO GRAVY MIX,they have a big selection but couldnt find lobo beef,but i did find gravox,Mc and also an onion gravy mix.i will get the wife to phone them later.

Villa (at least the one near Sukhumvit Phrom Phong) has a UK item that I have never found anywhere else in the world, even in Australia which has a lot of English products, and expat stores in Dubai, and so on. Fray Bentos meat puddings. An acquired taste, but one that I acquired decades ago. A quick meal ready in three minutes. In the UK they cost about 2.20, and Villa charges 200 (so 4.25 these days).

The only thing I can't get now is Oxo cubes, but I brought back 48 in an old-fashioned tin and keep them in the fridge so they keep crumbly instead of becoming like paste. They stay fresh for months that way.

Otherwise it would be Bisto, but as for Lobo gravy my wife says that everywhere sells it. Thanks for the tip.

The Bisto gravy granules ,in tubs are a lot cheaper,and is

what i use.

regards worgeordie

the globules of fat slogging their way in your blood stream is a cardiac dr.'s happy wet dream . $$$ floating by ....

Makro does have some very good prices, but you have to know what items sell for in other places as well. some things like you pointed out are actually more expensive at Makro, some are the same and some much cheaper. I used to buy Hormel Chili at Makro for 86 baht when it was 110 at the Family Market, but now neither place carries it any more.

I've personally compared many items to Big C, Lotus, and Makkro to Tops,

which now offers home delivery free of charge on orders over 1,000 bht I believe,

and Tops has beaten them all 95% of the time.

Without considering the cost of traveling to the store,

or the time to shop, I can justify the other 5% when the other stores have beaten Tops prices as

executable to pay.

With Makkro being setup as a basic warehouse grocery store,

there's really no reason why their prices even need to be in the same neighborhood as the more modern stores,

but the presentation is we are a warehouse, so our prices are cheaper than others,

when in fact they rarely are, if ever in my studies/ comparisons.

The Tops requirement for free home delivery at present is at least 888 baht net order, after any discounts/coupons.

The larger, related Central Food Halls (CentralWorld, Central Chidlom, Thong Lor, etc.) sometimes have the same promotions and sometimes have different, separate ones. But they have a higher requirement for free home delivery, being 1,500 baht per order.

Tesco has a flat 60 baht charge for home delivery, regardless of how small or large the order is.