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This all Thai Songkran gathering yesterday turned ugly..puts paid to the usual blather about farangs being the only ones ruining Songkran.

From Here to Eternity Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

You should know that the webcam and chat pages are just running zombie mode. I'm not paying the monthly chat subscription cost, but they continue to leave it up. Since FLB closed, there is no point in keeping the chat going, and it could be shut down at any time by the chat vendor when they figure out we cancelled. As to this guy's problem..he might have mistyped his email or the email is coming to him and getting put in his spam folder. Not much I can do about either case without his userid.

Yeah, it's kind of visually putting me off too...I might try it though, but I'll probably have to close my eyes at first. Tastes like chicken?

Another story about the Songkran rules.. "The effort to reduce road mishaps and encourage all Thais to celebrate the Songkran festival properly, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday reiterated a tough measure to deal with drunk drivers, and to make on the spot arrest topless dancers on streets. He said authorities must impound their vehicles immediately if drivers are drunk, and passengers must also cooperate by rejecting the rides on their vehicles. He said “drivers must not drink while driving. Everyone wants to go home quickly but they could be killed travelling on their vehicles.” He urged passengers to warn these drunk drivers and the police must stop drunk drivers. As to the inappropriate dancing on the streets by teenagers showing their breasts, the prime minister said these topless dancers, be they real women or transvestites, they be arrested and fined. “I order soldiers and the police to arrest all these dancers on the trucks.”" Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Pay attention you Songkran revellers! New boss in chief issues morality orders so you don't get excited and sexually molest someone. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Prayut-lays-down-rules-for-Songkran-30283360.html?fb_action_ids=10154823745722516&fb_action_types=og.comments&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B1011981475544775%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.comments%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Watch this and see if you want to give it a try.

Already used for Tommy....http://www.pattayatalk.com/forums/topic/63575-movie-quiz-10/?p=1128943 Still on McVicar

For the last couple of years, I've bought my beef, salmon, lamb, ribs, minced beef, minced lamb, and even foie gras from Hickory Butcher. They had a retail outlet on Thappraya in front of the Royal Hill Resort on the southern part of Thappraya as it descends to Thapprasit. They have chilled Australian Angus, Wagyu (grade 4-5), and lamb which they will cut to order, even removing excess fat before it is weighed (at your request). They also sell wholesale to a limited number of restaurants that are serious about their beef products and want to provide the best available ribeyes and tenderloins. Naturally, these restaurants must charge a higher price for a quality product...so their market is limited. Hickory Butcher has changed locations from their Thappraya shop to a shop on Thapprasit Soi 4. They have updated their location on their Facebook page. Their new map location is https://goo.gl/zZudE1 On their opening day at the new location, I picked up 2 500g wagyu grade 4/5 ribeyes that they cut to order (about 4cm or 1.5 inches thick). The pictures that follow show the shop and one of the steaks I cooked last night...the steak was first baked at 275F until the internal temperature was 125F, then rested for 10 minutes, then grilled in a highly heated grilling pan for a minute or so on each side. I was shooting for medium rare... I split the 500g steak with the missus...tender, juicy, and full of flavor. I loathe eating a chewy piece of beef, and so I seldom go out to restaurants for a steak. This particular steak's cost to me was about 800 baht for 500g, cut into two 250g pieces. I don't think a restaurant could charge less than 900 baht for a relatively small 250g steak when the meat itself costs 400 baht for the serving...another reason to cook at home. Here are the photos of the new location and the cutting of the steaks (woo hoo ) And, now the preparation at home..unfortunately, the missus started the sides without realizing how long the steak would take to cook..so the broccoli got a bit overdone. I told her to figure 20 minutes to bake, 10 to rest, 5 to grill...35-40 minutes. Of course, I told her after the fact, so maybe next time the broccoli will look better Note how this bake-rest-grill method leaves about 90% of the meat at medium rare with a thin layer on each side of grilling. Other methods of cooking have a thinner layer in the middle of medium rare while the edges and top layers are more well done. I have to thank BeerBelly for putting me on to this method of cooking...it's now my standard.

I didn't mention it, but it does very good business for being so out of the way. I'm sure we'll be back. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Tommy Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

It's definitely worth a visit...and if you like desserts, there are some really good ones there...crepe suzettes, chocolate fondant, and many others I can't recall, though the choices rotate weekly.

Yes, call ahead for reservation to avoid the 40 minute wait we had the last time we went. Alternatively, come around 11pm, when the place starts clearing out...they do close at midnight, but 1 hour of gorging should be enough for most people.

We decided to try a local Thai eatery that has always piqued my curiosity from the looks of the outside. Going inside, it's even more eclectic and funky. Lots of memorabilia all over the interior. We ordered a few dishes since there were only 2 of us. I had fried battered squid and Gung Phat Pong Kari กุ้งผัดผงกะหรี่ Fried Prawns With Curry Powder, the missus ordered Gaeng Pha Neua (Jungle curry with Beef), 2 rice bowls, water and sprite...total 485 baht. Service was prompt and efficient. Amazingly, the missus (who has historically been quite critical of the Thai food wherever we go), rated the food higher than any other Thai restaurant we've been to...9 out of 10. She said it would have been 10/10, but the fried battered squid also had some battered vegetables, and she thought that was worth a point off. Tough judge! The name is only shown in Thai, จ่าต๋อยอาหารป่า, but a rough pronunciation would be "jaa dtaawy aahaaan bpaa" which, best I can figure out means "jungle food for high ranking people". The map location is https://goo.gl/wTQ6ip It's also shown on the Pattaya Restaurants map https://goo.gl/31HKjl

Dental work almost finished, but I have been struggling through with a partial fix...I found I can eat more than milk shakes and soup, and there's not a lot of chewing in eating raw salmon and and other sushi items. Supposedly, the process is complete this afternoon...another appt in 30 minutes. The missus doesn't claim to be consistent in her tastes or aversions. And, yes, I've pointed out she eats hoi nong lome (raw oysters etc) and that spicy raw shrimp dish, both of which she loves and orders almost every time we go out. I think it's the eating of the flesh of a fish that bothers her. Certainly, I can understand her reluctance to eat that raw beef, though I've less fear of that now, and might do it again if I trust the vendor. Saves cooking time

I think merging the threads might cause some confusion...already jacko thought EP was dating my wife and that was without merging!

From the looks of it, it hasn't crested yet.

From what I have seen, the Japanese restaurants are extremely popular with Thais. Tsunami's clientele is at least 90% young Thais, allowing for an occasional other nationality to pop in. For the entire time I was there, including the wait time (130 minutes), I was the only westerner in the place.

Haha re EP taking Pin out. She's a picky eater, so I'd not recommend it. I did eat the whole thing, meat chunks and all in one bite. It worked well once it was out of my sight and in my mouth. The place emptied by 11pm..about an hour after we got there. From speaking to the owner, it was busy from opening until that time. She did say it had been quiet for many days, and that this particular night (Saturday) was unusually busy. Of course, that's when I also got a hankering for sushi.

I finally talked the missus into going to Tsunami by telling her she didn't have to eat any raw fish. We arrived about 9:20pm, and the place was full, packed, bursting at the seams. All Thai customers, not a single westerner. There was also a queue outside of 6 people ahead of us. After 40 minutes, we got a table at 10pm. While we were waiting, the time passed pretty quickly, because we got to observe a traffic checkpoint across the street. One western guy with 2 woman on his motorcycle seemed to have some problem, because he was sat there with police coming over to speak with him periodically the whole time we waited. My guess is he was intoxicated, and they were trying to work out how much he would pay them on the spot not to go to jail. Eventually, he must have coughed up something, because he was sent on his way. Anyway, next time, I will give them plenty of warning and reserve in advance. They will hold your table if you arrive at the appointed time. We both had the all you can eat special. I had to spend some time with Pin explaining which were cooked and which were raw. She chose some teriyaki salmon, some wagyu sushi (cooked) which I ordered the same. I ordered too many items to list, but one of the items was a sashimi wagyu..i.e., raw wagyu. I found that a bit daunting, as it did looked like chopped raw steak (of course). When I ate it, it was delicious, but I can't see eating more than 2...I like medium rare, and absolutely raw is just a bit beyond my boundaries. I did get Pin to try the salmon sashimi, and was waiting for her to gag, but she gamely swallowed it without complaint. She did not go back for seconds though. Service was pretty busy, so there were some lags in getting green tea refills and plate removal, but all in all, it was acceptable. The quality of the fish is very good and I will be back (again and again). I don't know if the missus will be joining me, however.

Oh, the memories... A Clockwork Orange

He had his going away buffet on March 19. It's done. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

The price has gone up to 195, but it's still the same offer...burger and beer.

Peter O'Toole Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk