Cha Am: Where to Find Beer and Bread

[Ratsima]

I have a condo in Cha Am that I visit monthly for five or six days. Although I have been visiting the area for years, there are still a few things I don't know where to get. For example:

• Imported beer - I'm not real fond of the ordinary Thai lagers. Is there any place in Cha Am where one can buy and/or consume imported beer? The closest place I've found is Villa which has a decent collection of imported beer and "Thai" beer brewed in neighboring countries. I'm still looking for a bar with draft beer.

• Bread - Sorry, but I really don't like the bread at either Baguette or Love Bread. Again, Villa has some pretty good stuff, but is there anything closer to Cha Am? (Before I get scolded too heavily, I fully understand that many people are happy with the bread at Baguette/Love Bread. That's fine. We all have different tastes and likes.)

[Dannie Boy]

Makro sometimes has some descent beers so worth having a look in there - a few months ago they had some soon to be out of date Fullers ales which were half normal price But unfortunately no more.

As for bread, I share your views and long ago decided that the only way to get decent bread out here is to make it myself. I would always encourage people to give it a go, it’s not that difficult and you might find it therapeutic (in a funny sort of way) and the end result should be much better than you can buy in the shops. Having said that, the bakers outside Tesco in Market Village do sell nice crusty baguettes at 45 Baht a loaf.

[Ratsima]

Yeah. I've been baking my own for years. We're driving down to Cha Am tomorrow so today I'm baking a loaf of sourdough, no-knead bread to bring with us.

Here's the one I brought last month:

bread.jpg (189.93 KiB) Viewed 1408 times

.
I'll have a look at Makro.

[Meerkat]

Makro is pretty good for beer. On Saturday they were stocking the shelf with Tsingtao beer. Admittedly Chinese, but IIRC the brewery was built by the Germans on 'the old days'.

For bread - try the German bakery just off Soi Chomsin.

[handdrummer]

Blu Port has a large selection of imported beers. Not Cha Am but it's a source.

Don't bother with Yamzaki in Market Village. Apparently when they remodeled they changed owners and the quality and variety is not the same.

In my not so humble opinion, Bread Talk, also MV, is fr too expensive for the quality they produce. ]]

A bread machine would be a good investment. Buy imported flour at Villa. Thai flour will taste like Thai bread.

[Dannie Boy]

Blu Port has a large selection of imported beers. Not Cha Am but it's a source.

Don't bother with Yamzaki in Market Village. Apparently when they remodeled they changed owners and the quality and variety is not the same.

In my not so humble opinion, Bread Talk, also MV, is fr too expensive for the quality they produce. ]]

A bread machine would be a good investment. Buy imported flour at Villa. Thai flour will taste like Thai bread.

Sorry, but I have to disagree - whilst it may not be as good as imported flour (at 3-4 times the cost) Swan Bread Flour produces a perfectly acceptable loaf - all you need is flour, water, salt and yeast - it’s the other additives (including sugar) that might spoil a “Thai” made loaf.

[Ratsima]

I put this inquiry in this subforum in the hope of avoiding having to drive in to Hua Hin. We both really dislike that journey. We're usually there for less than a week, so killing half a day to shop in Hua Hin kind of puts a damper on the holiday.

The Swan bread flour makes beautiful bread. I usually add something to bump up the flavor. Today's loaf has half a cup of rye flour (the Australian import in the brown paper bag) and about a quarter cup of pumpkin seeds. The bread sits all day allowing it autolyse and develop more flavor as the starches are broken down in to sugars.It tastes very nice and has a good texture.

The bread in the photo I posted was made with Swan bread flour.

[caller]

Gourmet market in The Mall in Korat has a pretty good selection of beer from what I remember and I'm sure TOPS in Central does as well, why not bring a selection with you?

Can't help you with bread, let us know what you find. I'm not a fan of the Baguette / Love Bread either.

[Ratsima]

I do bring beer. This trip I’m bringing half a case of Outlaw Mosaic IPA and some Sivilai from Mahanakhon. I bought both online.

It just seems odd to have to bring beer and bread from Korat to Cha Am.

[Ratsima]

Today's bread. Tomorrow’s dinner in Cha Am.
.
.

82C5ACCE-56D0-4CE6-81B4-6734349ED775.jpeg (239.92 KiB) Viewed 1218 times

[caller]

Perhaps you should open a bakery!

There's a TOPS in the new Robinsons just past Petchaburi, I have never been there, but they might have a reasonable selection? The small TOPS in Hua Hin is next to a school, so only sells alcohol free beer.

Apart from a bar in seen space (spelling), I think there is a better choice of beer in Korat bars than in Hua Hin!

[Ratsima]

We always stop at Tops at Robinson's Petchaburi on the way down where we do most of our grocery shopping for out visit. When it first opened, the bakery section was decent and had nice baguettes. No more. They sometimes have interesting beer, but we're usually there around 3:00 PM which means we can't buy any due to Thailand's idiotic alcohol sales laws.

[Ratsima]

We stopped at Tops this afternoon. The only interesting beer was three styles of Full Moon brewed in Australia by the guy who has the Full Moon brew pub in Phuket.

The bakery had some very fine looking sourdough baguettes. I would have bought some had I not made my own.

[uncle tom]

What's the law on brewing like in Thailand?

Is a bar that brews it's own a possibility - or a legal nightmare?

[Ratsima]

The laws on brewing beer are tremendously repressive. Only a few establishments have licenses to brew and then they are allowed to sell on-site only. You can sell off-site only if you brew, I think, over 10,000 barrels per year. No small craft brewer can do that. This is why almost all of the Thai brewers have set up relationships with brewers in neighboring countries; mainly Cambodia and Vietnam. Mahanakhon brews in Vietnam. Outlaw brews in Cambodia.

The guy who has the Full Moon brewery in Phuket only has an on-site license, so he brews beer for off-site sale in Australia.

All these brewers have to import their beer into Thailand meaning they have to pay import duties. It makes the beer a lot more expensive than it would be if brewed domestically.

Amazing Thailand