A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[chonburifc]

Just some real life example taken recently. Me angry but also cannot blame the shop cause price of daily common items really increase alot.
60 baht. Now this baa mee giow is machiam luxury for me liaoz.

Openair Roadside stall with food court price.

Suki Tale (seafood suki soup and tang hoon) 70 baht!! Used to be 50 baht.



rice top with curry chicken and friend egg, 55 baht.

Pork Tom yam noodle soup 45 baht thammda 50 baht piset.

Favorite boat noodle,still 15 baht ,never increase but serving size shrink water.

 

[chonburifc]

This dish need no introduction, Rice topped with fried basil and pork. Most siam kias just call it pad ka pao muu or ka pao muu dao (dao is shorten from khai dao which means fried egg). Can use this dish as a price index as almost all siam kias eat this dish. The cover heads have their own version.

Guess how much ? Now is 55 baht , from 45 baht. 50 without egg.

Usually if 2 or more person, will order an extra side dish like Tom Jeud Tao Hu Moo Sab ( minced pork doufu soup). This one really knn, 60 baht for this small bowl.

Last time really is pork cover rice.” Until cannot see rice. Now hor, wait long long.

now can see rice more than pork.

Me dare to say most sinkies will not eat in this shop but almost all siam kias will eat here regularly because thats what most can afford.Shop is dark and hot and humid. The roof is zinc alloy.

Khun Paa(auntie) is good. Actually my style and taste of pad kapao moo all copied from her after years of eating here.

Most shops takeaway use stairofoam box but Khun Paa (aunty) say too expensive. So used plastic bag for takeaways.

Tiagong landlord want to increase key money (pae jia) and rent after the current lease expire.

 

[chonburifc]

When oil price increase like that. The next to follow is transport and food. Used to tulan those metered taxis who dont open meters. But after knowing their situation, can understand but me still cannot afford to use their service. Knn, in pattaya, they charge 200 and above. Song taew will charge 150 and above. Bobian, still have to rely on my zoomer x.

For Food is really bobian. Can dont take taxi or bus or motorcycle but still have to eat, dio boh? Few post ago, me mentioned quite unimaginable for diesel price to be more expensive than gasohol 95. Very soon, roadside tam sang shops will charge more expensive than food courts.

 

[chonburifc]

In siam lor common street foods, have 3 serving size, thammada(normal or standard), piset(extra) and jumbo (extra extra). Thammada and Piset more common. Not every stall offer jumbo.

Some interesting things, by default, most shops will serve siam kias ‘thammada’ (normal) size. For foreigners, the default serving size is piset(extra). So if foreigners want Thammada(normal) size, have to tell them first, otherwise they will serve Piset (extra).

Siam kias are exactly opposite. if they want piset (extra) or jumbo, they have to indicate else shop will just serve thamada (normal) size to siam kias.


Me now really siam kia face. KNN, serve me this thammada baa mee giow, 3 thin slice of char siew and 2 wanton. Walk out of shop less than 100 metres hungry again liaoz.

 

[rusty]

Like that also not enough to shit tio bo?

 

[chonburifc]

Like that also not enough to shit tio bo?

555, that’s a very good description. Eat already also not enough to shit out.

 

[chonburifc]

“Pae Jia” aka “key money” is a teochew word 白吃. Literally means eat for nothing. It is basically an additional payment on top of the usual rent. Usually for exceptionally good and high traffic locations.

Many landlords, at least those in sin city, have the practice of asking for “Pae Jia”. Sometimes, the rent can be cheap, 5000 or 7000/mth baht for a small shop house, but the Pae Jia is 0.5 million or even 2 million also heard before. Unlike rental which is due every month end, Pae Jia have to be paid in full before moving in.

Pae Jia is usually paid annually or according to the duration of lease.

 

[chonburifc]

Everytime when have new sarawat (deputy suprintendent) , mata sure siao onz. Meet the new sarawat of Pattaya Traffic mata division.



Now everyone know why last 2 months mata here all kee siao. One road 6 -7 km long can have 3 road blocks!
CR:channel 5 news

 

[rotikosong]

This dish need no introduction, Rice topped with fried basil and pork. Most siam kias just call it pad ka pao muu or ka pao muu dao (dao is shorten from khai dao which means fried egg). Can use this dish as a price index as almost all siam kias eat this dish. The cover heads have their own version.

Guess how much ? Now is 55 baht , from 45 baht. 50 without egg.

Agreed that pad ka pao can be like the McD index for inflation. In Bangkok, roadside is around 45B (with khai dao), around 55-60 at a tam sang, 55-60B if a apartment cafe delivered to your room.

In countryside hard to find 30B. Now is maybe 35-40B standard.

Expensive compared to several years ago. I also think that to live, maybe 15k/month is minimum. Hard for salary earners in normal jobs - people I know make 18k-30k in their early 30s having graduated from normal university

 

[Froggy]

I never realised all it took to live the high life was to sell screws. I spent my whole life trying to make and sell hi tech stuff and never made enough to eat out.

My idea of a good meal is a trip to burger king.

Boss you have no idea peddling low class hardware as a traveling salesman is how difficult and lonely. I'd rather be doing some high tech staff like you where people respect you because its high tech and high class. You see I could not make it in Singapore that's why I have to leave and labelled as a quiter. Sad sial.

 

[Froggy]

You left out something important - hydrotherapy.o_O

I would have burned out and gone crazy if not for regular therapy

 

[Froggy]

another bowl of homemade curry chap chai with quinoa to prepare for run.
View attachment 42830

Love the tofu and beancurd skin. Shiok.

 

[yinyang]

Chon, good write up on staples of thai makan

 

[yinyang]

 

[Froggy]

Expensive compared to several years ago. I also think that to live, maybe 15k/month is minimum. Hard for salary earners in normal jobs - people I know make 18k-30k in their early 30s having graduated from normal university

Yo bro, good to hear you still coming over here. Let me know the next time you hit town.

Graduate starting salary is about 15k baht now.

 

[Froggy]

Breakfast at Patumthani noodle shop

Every table has a bowl of lard for your picking

Tomyam noodle

Normal soup noodle

Each bowl is 50 baht (both special, normal is 40 baht)

 

[chonburifc]

Fresh! Still sio sio from oven.


Remember just few posts ago, mentioned food price will increase once oil price increases. Nabez, really officially increase liaoz, very fast, increase 20-30 baht for 5 kg bag of Hom Ma Li jasmine rice.

Ccb! If increase in price, money go to farmers, still can understand bcos cost of growing rice increase. But this increase in price go to who? Knn, the middlemen rice traders lah? Wtf is going on now? I suspect someday, siam kias cannot afford to eat siam lor rice but have to eat rice from laos, cambodia and vietnam. Bcos siam lor rice too expensive.

 

[chonburifc]

Breakfast at Patumthani noodle shop

Every table has a bowl of lard for your picking

Tomyam noodle

Normal soup noodle

Each bowl is 50 baht (both special, normal is 40 baht)

Have to order piset. Order thamada, eat finish already, by the time you walk to to your car, hungry again.

Sen Giam Ei (mee tai bak) not very common in Pattaya. Only 2 fish ball noodle shops I know offer Sen Giam Ei. Happens to be my favorite Kuay tiow type. (in siam lor, kuay tiow is generic term for different types of rice based noodle, bee hoon, kuay tiow, sen Yai and sen lek including giam ei are consider a type of kuay tiow).

What I do is I order take away “Gao Lao” which means only have “liao”and soup without the noodles. Usually slightly more expensive than with normal noodles. At home, I have “Giam Ei” bought either from Big C or foodland. Then I cooked the Bee Tai Bak at home and used the liao and soup from the takeaway gao lao.

Not cheap also 350gm 32 baht

good for 2-3 servings.

 

[chonburifc]

Had a packet of Mee Tai Bak in the fridge and some giow pla (fish dumpling) so just heat up.
Add chai sim and tao gay.


Just cooked the mee tai bak in boiling water. 15-20 seconds enough.else will become too soft.

soup use by own frozen precooked chicken soup base (chicken bone plus dried squid plus soya beans and ikan bilia and flat fish).

 

[Froggy]

Last night dinner with an Indonesian guest at a chill out place