Reasonably authentic English Muffins here???

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Lately, after a trip back home, I've been having a desire for reasonably authentic English muffins, particularly the sourdough variety, but just aren't finding any here in BKK.

 

I've tried a couple of store bakery varieties and some frozen packaged varieties, but they all seem to come off more with the consistency of heavy bread or biscuits in the shape of an English muffin.

 

The kind I'm looking for toast up crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and with lots of aeration in the dough -- none of which are qualities I'm finding in the local ones here.

 

This is the kind of thing I'm looking for:

    

 

This style is the only kind I'm finding:

 

Anyone found what I consider to be the authentic kind, as per the first two photos above???

 

I did a search and mostly found some old, closed threads on the subject, nothing really helpful or useful.

 

[theguyfromanotherforum]

If you order a mcbreakfast I think you get an English muffin :-p

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

If you order a mcbreakfast I think you get an English muffin :-p

 

That's where one of the past threads devolved to... and I'm not looking to go there.

 

I'm looking for authentic English muffins that can be bought and brought home to eat.

[zeichen]

authentic American style English muffins? Your top 2 pictures look like what you get in US grocery stores. 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

If you look at the Wikipedia page for English muffins, the main photo is the one I'll post here below, which looks pretty much like the two I posted above with the open dough structure (and not the thick, biscuity style like those I'm finding here in BKK).

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_muffin

 

This one below has the top portion facing down, and the bottom portion facing up, showing the airy interior of the muffin.  It's this kind of style I'm looking for, regardless of what name or origin anyone wants to give it.

 

[jaiyenyen]

The first two photos look like crumpets to me. Crumpets are made with baking soda that produces the bigger holes

[jaiyenyen]

 

[roo860]

The first two photos look like crumpets to me. Crumpets are made with baking soda that produces the bigger holes

They've got that 'bread ' look, crumpets are bit more solid.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

All this debate about what to call the photos I posted is kind of irrelevant. It's clear from the two first photos in my OP what I'm looking for, and clear from the 3rd photo what I'm NOT looking for.

 

So one more time: Has anyone seen anything that looks like this, with the airy texture, anywhere in Thailand, and if so, where to find it for sale (other than potentially in a McDonald's breakfast)?

 

[coops]

The ones from the bakery in Villa Supermarket (at J avenue) are quite decent... not full on sourdough goodness but  the best i've found. ( not very 'holey' but way, way better taste than that horrid looking third picture of yours which is basically a regular cheap bread mix in a round shape...).

 

 

Yamazaki at Fuji Supermarket do a nice loaf too - the big round (sliced) one, not the sliced 'Mother's Pride' whiter than white looking ones... and of course the curry doughnut.

 

 And a selection of Sake in the supermarket proper....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

33 minutes ago, coops said:

The ones from the bakery in Villa Supermarket (at J avenue) are quite decent... not full on sourdough goodness but  the best i've found. ( not very 'holey' but way, way better taste than that horrid looking third picture of yours which is basically a regular cheap bread mix in a round shape...).

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I've tried the packaged English muffins at one of Villa's Sukhumvit branches, and while OK, I really wasn't impressed.

 

Lately, I've been buying out of the freezer section at the Central Chidlom market a 6-pack of their bakery-baked English muffins for 120 baht. Not as much sourdough flavor as I'd like either and not "holey" either, but a bit less bready tasting and mouth feel compared to the Villa variety.

 

I'm not sure what the difference is exactly, but the English muffins I'm used to toast up a bit crunchy on the cut inside portion and yet stay soft on the inside, and absorb melted butter like a sponge. And have the "holey" consistency, which probably explains why. The local muffins here seem to toast up pretty much like round shaped toast. Just not the same.

[coops]

This bakery on Sukhumvit 31 may be worth a look - sounds like decent sourdough at least...

 

http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/bangkok-restaurant-reviews/holey-artisan-bakery

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, coops said:

This bakery on Sukhumvit 31 may be worth a look - sounds like decent sourdough at least...

 

http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/bangkok-restaurant-reviews/holey-artisan-bakery

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I don't see any photo or mention of English muffins in the write-up. But the place certainly looks interesting and worthwhile for a visit.

 

[longball53098]

Website : http://www.holeybread.com/

Only very limited info such as a menu page.

They point you to Facebook and Instagram for info

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, longball53098 said:

Website : http://www.holeybread.com/

Only very limited info such as a menu page.

They point you to Facebook and Instagram for info

 Very nice looking menu offerings listed on their website. But again, no mention of English muffins on their menu.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 1/6/2017 at 11:22 AM, theguyfromanotherforum said:

If you order a mcbreakfast I think you get an English muffin :-p

 

Like to say thanks to "theguyfrom..." for his suggestion of trying McDonalds. Indeed, as I found out today (only today because I've never eaten at McDonalds in Thailand before), McDonalds does in fact have on their breakfast menu and serve what I'd call an "authentic" English muffin, as per the photos I posted at the top of the thread.

 

Not the bread-y kind. But the kind with lots of open air holes and a texture that allows for a crunchy/crisp interior when toasted.

 

Their muffins are served as part of their various McMuffin breakfast sandwiches and a sidedish included as part of their breakfast plate menu item, but also as a standalone side order for 32b just for a sliced muffin only. The ones they served up at the restaurant came sliced, toasted and pre-buttered (or something-ed) and were a bit on the moist/soft/soggy side.

 

But after talking some with my local McD's manager and staff, they were fine to sell me a bag of their frozen/uncooked muffins to take home and cook/prepare/toast at my own leisure at the regular menu price (no bulk discount ).  So, that's great! And I'm sure they'll cook/toast up just fine at home.

 

Never did find anything comparable at any of the bakeries I could find/try in Bangkok. But McDonalds ends up being at least a partial solution to the question I posed above. So thanks "TheGuy"!!!

 

 

Now THAT, IMHO, is what an English muffin is supposed to look like...

[notmyself]

Thank you for the update.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just to illustrate the difference more clearly:

 

Here's the McDonald's (Thailand) English Muffin, which is the traditional kind I was familiar with, but unable to find anywhere else in LOS:

 

And here's the entirely different (somewhat over-toasted) Tops Sourdough so-called English Muffin, which has pretty much the same texture as regular bread. It was this same (unappealing to me) style that I found pretty much everywhere else I looked here:

[Pdaz]

Foodland has frozen English muffins. Original sourdough and a fruit version.

can't remember the brand name. They are imported and just like the ones foundvin the States.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, Pdaz said:

Foodland has frozen English muffins. Original sourdough and a fruit version.

can't remember the brand name. They are imported and just like the ones foundvin the States.

 

I found a frozen version at Central, tried them, at they were the same as the bready-style I mentioned above.

 

I've never seen frozen English muffins at my local Foodland. But now with your mention, I'll go back and have a more focused look.

 

[rice555]

This is what I ate in the SFO bay area and Seattle area.

There is no substitute for Thomas.

rice555

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I've been seriously considering ordering some Thomas' muffins via Amazon or other. (AFAIK, they're not available directly in Thailand).

 

But, I will say, after having them for breakfast at home the past couple days (toasting at home the refrig version), the McDonald's muffins here are a pretty decent substitute.

 

Apparently, I picked up a Jones for Thomas-style muffins on my recent trip back to the U.S.

 

 

[longball53098]

TallGuy, I am sure I have seen them somewhere as in Foodland and/or Villa. I have bought some at Foodland Pattaya a few years ago. I have sent an email to the purchaser at Foodland with a request. See what he says.

Als Delli in Ban Chang had some that were passable for a supplier in Bangkok but at the moment I cannot ask them.

If Mc D is will to sell them to you Ok then but at what cost?

My local bakery guy will not make them as too much effort for his small operation. Requires a hotplate and other stuff and he can only make small batches so no profit.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 hours ago, longball53098 said:

TallGuy, I am sure I have seen them somewhere as in Foodland and/or Villa. I have bought some at Foodland Pattaya a few years ago. I have sent an email to the purchaser at Foodland with a request. See what he says.

Als Delli in Ban Chang had some that were passable for a supplier in Bangkok but at the moment I cannot ask them.

If Mc D is will to sell them to you Ok then but at what cost?

My local bakery guy will not make them as too much effort for his small operation. Requires a hotplate and other stuff and he can only make small batches so no profit.

 

Thanks Longball... Please post here whatever you hear back from your Foodland contact.

 

FWIW, I shop at Villa and Foodland all the time in BKK, and never have seen Thomas' muffins in stock. One reason might be, AFAIK, that actual product is always delivered fresh, not frozen. So I'm not sure how they'd fare on the long trip over. I don't think Thomas' makes a frozen, retail package variety of their English muffins.

 

Re McDonald's Thai, they'll sell me whatever quantity I want of their muffins, not yet cooked/toasted, at the regular shop price of 32 baht per piece. They're on the regular menu as a side order at the McD's that have a breakfast menu. Not cheap, but a lot cheaper than potentially paying to ship some order from the U.S., with the attendant costs and delays for baked goods.

 

I've got a shopping trip to my local Foodland tomorrow to check about the above mention of some type of frozen English muffins that they may stock.

[Pdaz]

On 05/03/2017 at 9:46 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I found a frozen version at Central, tried them, at they were the same as the bready-style I mentioned above.

 

I've never seen frozen English muffins at my local Foodland. But now with your mention, I'll go back and have a more focused look.

 

Here they are. The brand is "Londoner" I have been buying them for a few years. But I had a dud pack some months ago. The texture was totally wrong and the dough flavourless. Hopefully it was just a quality control issue and not a recipe change. Villa Market also have frozen "English" muffins. They are in a red, white and blue bag.

[longball53098]

Great post as this is the brand I have bought before. Any idea who makes them and where?

[whatawonderfulday]

Truthfully I can remember Muffin the Mule.  It is not true that they made it illegal though.

[longball53098]

I made some progress here. My friend that buys them ( Londoner) at Foodland Pattaya on a regular basis says they are available weekly and packs of six I believe. He sent me a photo of the Thai sticker showing the distributor. I had a look to the website but the product is not listed there so I sent them an email. As I am typing this an email reply came in with a great answer. Here is the text:

Dear Khun Peter,

Thank you very much for you email. We don't have shop in Rayong but we can ship it to you by chilled-car or frozen car.

how many do you want to have? there are 3 flavours (original, herb and resin)

Our product is available at Top supermarket too.

​
Best Regards,

Yongyuth Singnon
Marketing & Sale Director

[email protected]
M: (+66) 94 482 9528

Food Valley Logo T: (+66) 2564 7748
F: (+66) 2564 7749

Room 313 INC 1 Blvd, 111 Thailand Science Park Phahonyothin Rd. Khlong Nueng, Khlong Luang Pathumthani 12120, THAILAND

So I guess there is some companies that want our business.

Good luck

[longball53098]

This is the required label in Thailand I guess but it defines the distributor. If you can read Thai it may reveal who really makes them

 

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, Pdaz said:

Here they are. The brand is "Londoner" I have been buying them for a few years. But I had a dud pack some months ago. The texture was totally wrong and the dough flavourless. Hopefully it was just a quality control issue and not a recipe change. Villa Market also have frozen "English" muffins. They are in a red, white and blue bag.

 Yes, thanks for posting the photo. Londoner is indeed the brand that I bought frozen at Central Market at CentralWorld in BKK a month or two back, and was totally unimpressed with.

 

To be fair, nothing wrong with the muffins themselves. Just they were pretty much the same bready style I've found everywhere else here, as opposed to the airy, open style similar to the Thomas' brand.

 

And between the Londoner brand and Central's own  "sourdough muffins" that Central sells frozen in packs of 6, I actually preferred the Central sourdough muffins just on the basis of taste.

 

It's interesting your photo above shows the Londoner muffins frozen at Foodland. I did indeed go to my local Foodland branch this morning (Suk Soi 5 in BKK) and spoke with the store manager there on the subject. She said they don't stock any frozen English muffins at that store (which matched my own fruitless search of their freezer section) and she didn't think they did at the other BKK stores either.

 

At one point, I mentioned my "friend" had seen a frozen brand at Foodland in the past, and when she asked what location, I just punted and offered up Pattaya. And at that point, the BKK manager kind of sniffed and made it sound like whatever they're doing in Pattaya isn't related or connected to what the BKK stores are doing, and even if they had something in Pattaya, that didn't mean they'd have it here. So, I left it alone at that point.

 

FWIW, the Soi 5 Foodland branch, as I said above, didn't stock any frozen English muffins from anywhere. They did stock a Foodland bakery package of 4 of their own "English muffins for 44 baht. But from the exterior (I haven't opened the package or those muffins as yet), it looks to me like they're going to be the same "bready" variety as found elsewhere here.