schnytzal

under no circumstances will i ever accept a flour tortilla taco regardless of what's in it. I'd expect they still do soft corn though. meanwhile recently settled on La Monita as my friend required a burrito, and La Monita is better than Sunrise. i don't think the one at Emquartier has burritos though (their tacos are nice but if i'm at Emquartier i'm downstairs eating at Smoked LOL)

haven't been since they reopened but they were pretty good... are those flour tortillas? oh dear God no. soft corn tortillas. this is the way.

i'm a regular. they have 3 pretty decent mezcals in addition to margs now. the chef is Mexican, great guy, will tell you all about mezcal if you get him going. he also makes a 'special' hot sauce if you like to suffer. simple, painful, and still flavorful (to me, too much heat and you don't taste anything).

where Bangkok has an advatage over the West, Japan and Korea is in the price of tech labor. hardware is about the same as elsewhere and the retailers seem to collude on prices, the same hardware is usually same price in every shop totally agree that Pantip has faded. it's a ghost town taken over by big retailers who pretend they're separate shops but really aren't. the repair guys way upstairs in Fortune are good. there are some shops that specialize in old/obscure laptop batteries, i think they're still around. also some good camera shops and even some high end audio if you poke around. TO THE OP: in the area upstairs toward the direction of Lotus's (yeah that's what they call themselves now) there's a shop specializing in RAM. prices are reasonable and they don't charge to install it. so even though my day job is literally doing stuff like that, i have them install RAM upgrades and SSDs on my laptops. it's in the round section and on the left (facing Lotus's-ward) but i cna't remember exactly what floor.

if it's just a couple of days it's not an issue and the fine is small. i got delayed on border runs about twice since in my entire time here, resulting in a small fine each time. i think the max fine is 20,000 baht but that may have changed, dunno. 90 day reporting, on the other hand... 2k max fine, and normally they do NOT check it when you exit the country, even by land.

it's a function of possible contamination, time, and temperature. with pretty much *any* food borne pathogen. if the supermarket keeps the sushi cold enough, like most non-terrible sushi restaurants do, then i'd do it. i get salmon from the Tops near me (usually early in the day). street food, i look for stuff that's cooked on the spot, not stuff that's cooked and sits there waiting for flies to accumulate. curries etc are ok if they keep the heat on 'em. but sitting around at ambient temperature? yikes. funny thing about street food is westerners are so afraid of pla ra, it smells funky but it's a lactoferment. if it ferments properly other bacteria can't live there! if you get sick from somtam and it ain't chilli belly it's probably from the nasty little field crabs. but the thing is, isaan style somtam just isn't as good without the nasty little field crabs even though you don't eat the damn things lol. could also be poor hygiene on the part of the cook, but that can happen anywhere on Earth in any restaurant.

when you leave, you pay the fine and might end up on a blacklist or watch list. everyone i know who has overstayed but stayed under the automatic ban limit has been able to get in but the fines can be eye watering.

100 PERCENT TRUE and every mom and pop coffee shop sells cakes and other calorie grenades. Thais are getting fatter on average.

there's one on Soi 11, down a little side alley on the left side of the street, but given that Chez LN is on Soi 11, i'm unlikely to try it myself.

points taken. i have seen all this but have convinced myself those queueing up at the golden arches are an alien species. you're correct it's been a while since i spent significant time in the states, but it's happening HERE too. i moved here in 2005 and young kids are getting fatter. doctors appear to have just given up on lifestyle advice. blood sugar is high? STOP DRINKING SODA IT'LL HELP... but no ppl ain't doing that so, medication. shit half the docs admit they don't take their own advice (everywhere, not unique to Murica). i don't entirely hate Starfucks as it's a good standard place to have a meeting. the coffee isn't good but it isn't terrible and they're literally everywhere on Earth so if you've got work stuff to do you know what to expect. THIS. there are a grteat many really interesting, really good Murican breakfasts (southern biscuits, tex mex omelette that's really scrambled eggs with lots of stuff in it and folded, corned beef hash and eggs, etc). (not all optimal for health but cn be delicious) i've seen tons of eggs benedict on menus in America... but i choose restaurants carefully because bad food pisses me off. for American food in Thailand i'd love to find corned beef hash and eggs but i only knew one place in NYC when i lived there that did it well so i might as well carry on doing it at home...

are you American? i am, and i don't know too many people who would touch that corporate swill with a barge pole. I suspect you think cliches are hilarious. unfortunately, they're just cliches.

i'm back and forth on lower Suk about two evenings a month at a minimum... and i think your idea of 'shoulder to shoulder' is perhaps quite a bit less congested than mine lol if they ain't actually touching you, just pay attention to what's going on around you and you'll be fine and don't chit chat with street ladyboys even if you're chasing ladyboys.

haven't been there but a lot of very keen food obsessed ppl recommend Fran's, somewhere in Sathon area. my fav downtown/Suk brekky is Chez LN on Soi 11 (quite far in, on right side well past Ambassador hotel). as you'd guess from the name it's French. but it's real French. only place i've been in all of Thailand so far that does a Paris style French omelette (paris style are a little runny on the inside and not brown at all on the outside, and nothing like Murican omelettes, they don't have a lot of junk on the inside, just pure well crafted egg. they put a thin slice of good cheese on top at Chez LN. why can't you get this kind of omelette everywhere? BECAUSE IT'S REALLY FUCKING HARD to get it right every time. when i do at home i get about 1 in 5 right lol Chez LN has replaced Artis Coffee. Artis has the best coffee in lower Suk IMO, and their croissant sammiches are quite good, but the Chez LN omelette blew my mind so much this morning i had 2.

sukumvit's not crowded enough to be much of a worry, unlike, say, walking street in Patts. i have never had even the slightest problem, but i'm large, don't reply to street hassle, and walk very fast. generally where one gets in trouble is being drunk off one's ass and deciding to banter a bit with the 'hello where you going' ladyboys. that's how i got my phone removed in Patts many years ago. i'm not into ladyboys at all, but if i were i'd look at bars, online, etc. *not* streetwalkers. probably most of them are not dodgy, but how can you tell which ones are only P4P and not out to lift your valuables?

for 'Mex-Mex' Missing Burro in Thonglor area is excellent. haven't been in a while but they've tended to have some interesting mezcal too. if you haven't tried mezcal it's sorta like what if tequila had personality Charlie Brown's is also good, somewhere between 'Mex-Mex' and Tex Mex.