Thai market By TukCom

[Uncle-V]

So I finally bought some seafood to prepare form the market at Took com. I have been meaning to do this for a while now but have just been too lazy.

Man do I wish I had done so earlier the Shrimp were absolutely delicious. I just prepared them in a simple boil with 2 Tom Yam bullion cubes and some lime, garlic, and kafir lime leaves. Served with a simple Risotto Milanese. Fresh Mango for desert. 

I splurged and got the most expensive shrimp they had a 390 a kg. Cheapest (the small kind they will serve you at most restaurateurs) go for around 270. Plenty of option in between. I think around 250 grams is easily enough for a meal and more than most restaurants will give you for a set plate. 

It's not quite Naklua market but selection is good and its a few minutes walk from my condo. I will be trying out more of the options there soon. If you love Shrimp, have access to a kitchen, and dabble in the kitchen this is a a delicious and cheap alternative to dining out all the time. 

[ChiFlyer]

Thanks Uncle-V. Very informative post. I also fancy myself to be a cook (definitely not a chef) of sorts and enjoy cooking some of the time. I am doing a few longer trips to Thailand over the next 9 months with an eye toward understanding if I want to move to Jomtien. It is very nice for a few weeks now and then, but I thought I would try 4 months to see if this is really what I want to do.

One thing I want to do is understand the food markets and what they do and do not offer. This is not a deciding factor with regard to relocation, but the little things do add up. I also want to gauge what cooking gear it might make sense to ship from the USA. My understanding so far is:

• Remember Thailand is 220V, not 110V like the US. Smaller items (spice grinder for example) can run with a converter. Larger ones (food processor ?) will not.
• Bring good knives if you have them
• Consider bringing better cookware, such as skillets, Dutch Ovens, and cast iron. These can be hard to find in Pattaya/Jomtien. Regular pots and pans as well as simple kitchen gadgets are no big deal.
• Good beef products are hard to find. The home menu is better organized around chicken, seafood, pork, and lamb.
• Ranges are electric, but the newer induction ones have good heat control.
• Ovens are not usually available, but one can buy a stand alone unit.  

If others have comments, including good markets in Jomtien, that would be appreciated. I am out for a few weeks very soon now and will try and do a few trial market runs. hmmm - sounds like an insulated back pack with an ice pack might not be a bad idea for getting things back home, especially seafood and chicken.

[Uncle-V]

Hi ChiFLyer,

I am glad you liked the post. I used to stay often at VT 5 in Jomtien, but I didn't do a whole lot of cooking. The market in Jomtien, where the Kiss foods is locates does sell some fish and chicken. But if I recall the section is not very good.

Theprassit night market has a good selection but is kind of far away. So the idea of a cooler backpack is a good one. Though it'd be tedious to have to do this regularly to get fresh seafood.

I'd forget shipping over any appliances - unless you really need a heavy duty mixer to do doughs for cakes and breads. Simple Chinese knock off food processor will do the trick for most things. Bringing your own knives and favorite skillet is a good idea though. Other random essential (garlic press, strainer, whisk, tongs) can all be found here for cheap. There is a store in the basement of Took.com that has a lot of these gadgets at reasonable prices. I bought a blender to do my post-workout whey protein with fruit or 500 baht. Big C also has tons of this kind of stuff too.

Happy cooking and let me know if you want to meet up to cook a meal. I am always happy to meet up with a fellow cook. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Edge]

On 9/2/2017 at 18:40, Uncle-V said:

So I finally bought some seafood to prepare form the market at Took com..........................

Great post and for the benefit of other readers and searches not too late to edit (full edit) your title to TukCom.     

[Uncle-V]

1 minute ago, Edge said:

Great post and for the benefit of other readers and searches not too late to edit (full edit) your title to TukCom.     

thanks and sorry for the oversight...

[davidge]

19 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

Thanks Uncle-V. Very informative post. I also fancy myself to be a cook (definitely not a chef) of sorts and enjoy cooking some of the time. I am doing a few longer trips to Thailand over the next 9 months with an eye toward understanding if I want to move to Jomtien. It is very nice for a few weeks now and then, but I thought I would try 4 months to see if this is really what I want to do.

One thing I want to do is understand the food markets and what they do and do not offer. This is not a deciding factor with regard to relocation, but the little things do add up. I also want to gauge what cooking gear it might make sense to ship from the USA. My understanding so far is:

• Remember Thailand is 220V, not 110V like the US. Smaller items (spice grinder for example) can run with a converter. Larger ones (food processor ?) will not.
• Bring good knives if you have them
• Consider bringing better cookware, such as skillets, Dutch Ovens, and cast iron. These can be hard to find in Pattaya/Jomtien. Regular pots and pans as well as simple kitchen gadgets are no big deal.
• Good beef products are hard to find. The home menu is better organized around chicken, seafood, pork, and lamb.
• Ranges are electric, but the newer induction ones have good heat control.
• Ovens are not usually available, but one can buy a stand alone unit.  

If others have comments, including good markets in Jomtien, that would be appreciated. I am out for a few weeks very soon now and will try and do a few trial market runs. hmmm - sounds like an insulated back pack with an ice pack might not be a bad idea for getting things back home, especially seafood and chicken.

I wouldn't bother carrying kitchen stuff for a 'trial' visit. You'll manage fine with what's available there. As well as the store in the basement of TukCom mentioned by the OP, the daytime Rhompo Market has some utensils, gadgets etc quite cheap. Big C Extra also has some things you may not find in the other places. You will need somewhere to store things between visits though.

I've only seen one rental condo with a proper oven. You're right, not very common in Pattaya/Jomtien. The stand alone ovens are available in Big C Extra etc. Not sure how good they are. I guess another option would be to get a combined Microwave/Convection oven to save on space. Not the same as having a proper oven but better than nothing. Most rental condos have fairly limited space in the kitchen.

I would get a couple of extension/multi-sockets with surge protection to use in the condo. I find sockets can be limited and it will protect your gadgets. 

I can't help in terms of food markets as I've never looked for them. I know I could get most of the fresh stuff I'd want to cook etc at Big C Extra on Pattaya Klang, though probably more expensive than markets. Some sort of cool bag is a good idea, though I'd use Grab or Uber to get a taxi straight back to Jomtien if I was buying fresh food anyway.

[Edge]

19 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

Thanks Uncle-V. Very informative post. I also fancy myself to be a cook (definitely not a chef) of sorts and enjoy cooking some of the time. I am doing a few longer trips to Thailand over the next 9 months with an eye toward understanding if I want to move to Jomtien. It is very nice for a few weeks now and then, but I thought I would try 4 months to see if this is really what I want to do.

One thing I want to do is understand the food markets and what they do and do not offer. This is not a deciding factor with regard to relocation, but the little things do add up. I also want to gauge what cooking gear it might make sense to ship from the USA......................

Have you not picked up on dragonrider's thread re' what to bring?
http://www.pattaya-addicts.com/forum/topic/315281-my-first-day-as-an-expat/

Re' ovens my choice is a Microwave (only MW not Combi) and an imarflex Halogen (not Convection) Oven  
I also have an imarflex veggie steamer and an Induction hot plate.

[Uncle-V]

Before shipping a bunch of stuff out perhaps make sure you can't just buy it here.

I'd look items up on Big C's website:

https://www.bigc.co.th/?___store=en&___from_store=en

That halogen oven looks cool. But I have done wonders with one of those simple $100 convection ovens. Roasts, pastrami,fish,  etc...

If you are going crazy how about shipping out a Weber smoker. 555. So we could finally get some proper ribs in this town. 

[ChiFlyer]

4 hours ago, davidge said:

I wouldn't bother carrying kitchen stuff for a 'trial' visit. ......

Thanks Davidge and others as well.

I wasn't thinking about bringing gear for my September visit. I am coming for 4 months in January and was thinking that if I am feeling positive about things, I might start bringing gear at that time. As long as I am not going too nuts, there is someone I can ask to hang onto things for me.

Thanks all for the great info.

A Weber Smoker hmmm -- I was thinking about an outdoor grill of some kind (buying after I am there), but figured the neighbors might not be too thrilled about the sparks being blown down from my balcony.

[davidge]

1 hour ago, Uncle-V said:

But I have done wonders with one of those simple $100 convection ovens. Roasts, pastrami,fish,  etc...

 

I was wondering what those ovens were like. When I eventually spend longer in Pattaya (if I don't drop dead first ;-) I'd ideally like to be able to cook a proper roast dinner once in a while - or even a Christmas dinner. Guess I'd have to cook it in stages though!

[biggles]

We have one of those Imarflex type "turbo roasters" for about 18 months and the GF, who is a very keen cook, does most things in it including baking cakes, biscuits etc. She loves it so much she carted one home to the Philippines for her sister. 

[Edge]

1 hour ago, davidge said:

I was wondering what those ovens were like. When I eventually spend longer in Pattaya (if I don't drop dead first ;-) I'd ideally like to be able to cook a proper roast dinner once in a while - or even a Christmas dinner. Guess I'd have to cook it in stages though!

Might depend how many you're cooking for.

There are 2 types of the imarflex, one has a ring like a conventional cooker ring in it, so it's much slower than the Halogen one...price difference about 300 Baht.There are 2 trivets so you can cook on either or both levels.
Anything from whole chucks to Welsh Rarebit.  ......haven't tried Yorkshire Pud though.

Cleaning is soooo much easier than a regular convection oven.

[davidge]

42 minutes ago, Edge said:

Might depend how many you're cooking for.

There are 2 types of the imarflex, one has a ring like a conventional cooker ring in it, so it's much slower than the Halogen one...price difference about 300 Baht.There are 2 trivets so you can cook on either or both levels.
Anything from whole chucks to Welsh Rarebit.  ......haven't tried Yorkshire Pud though.

Cleaning is soooo much easier than a regular convection oven.

Clean the oven? I just buy a new one when it gets too smoky 

Probably a while before I set myself up in Pattaya anyway  I'll have a proper look then.

[ChiFlyer]

On 9/4/2017 at 03:19, Uncle-V said:

Hi ChiFLyer,

......

Happy cooking and let me know if you want to meet up to cook a meal. I am always happy to meet up with a fellow cook.

I will drop you a line Uncle-V when I settle in a few weeks from now. Would be good to compare cooking techniques. I have a Thai GF, so maybe we can work out a time for a cooking event.