The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

nedwalk

^ no, we do make bloody good pies here mate! in fact having won a 1 or 2 gold awards, i consider meself a bit of a conisour, and it is my trade [ pastry chef]

EmperorTud

The Pie is a purely culturally British item anyway. All the Aussies did was stick a blob of ketchup on the top and claim it as their own.

Marmite the Dog

Aussie pies can't hold a candle to English ones.

sabang

Does it occur to you that people get used to things done a certain way, and perhaps they just prefer it that way? How you can read jingoism into ones taste in meat pies speaks volumes about you, and you only. Perhaps you should win more at sport, it might be therapeutic.

Traditionally, Aussie meat pies are a bit more 'sloppy' than the ones I find in Thailand. The gravy, apart from making them less dry, also adds flavour. You also need a certain amount of fat content (just like in a hamburger or sausage). Nothing worse than an overly lean and dry meat pie IMO. So, when I find the typically dry meat pie style here, I substitute by having a generous pot of gravy on the side. But the gravy is usually insipid.

An example of the style of pie I am referring to, but from the UK, is the Pukka pie. Now these are just fine to me. I don't know if they deliberately took a leaf from the Australian style of meat pies, but I could not find a meat or steak n' kidney pie from a UK fish and chippy that I rated as even average when I lived there back in 1982- 84. The mince and onion pies were fine though. And home made, or proper (upmarket) restaurant stuff could be delicious. The steak n' kidney pie at the old Savoy grill may be the best I've had.

Hormel foods (makers and inventors of Spam, and Dinty Moore beef stew) did a decent attempt at an Aussie style meat pie. I know because, when news spread there was an Aussie in their Headquarters town of Austin, Minnesota in 1996, I was invited to their research and product testing facility to try them out and give my verdict. My Verdict-
"Turkey pot pie" - (like our Chicken pie)- tasted fine to me, but chook pies not really my thing. Few too many veggies.
"Aussie Steak pie" - Good, and tasty. An Aussie purist might look askance at their habit of putting visible chumks of carrot in the pie, but it's the taste that counts.

Anyway, this does show that, if a major food company was producing an Aussie style meat pie for the massive American domestic market, then you do not have to be a flag waving Aussie to enjoy them. BTW- the US consumer market shudders at the thought of a steak n' kidney pie, Philistines.

Lets hear it for the humble Balfours pie. I miss them.

__________________
To err is human. To blame someone else is politics.

Bobcock

55555

Caught quite a big one there.

EmperorTud

Went to the Witches Pie Factory. Had Chicken and Mushroom Pie with mushy peas, gravy and mash.

Was good, pie was decent enough though lacked filling. Needed more gravy, a dollop of caramelised onions wasn't sufficient. Gravy needs to come in a boat and soak into the pastry.

You can't really grumble given the price. 90THB for the pie and 50THB for the extras is good value. The place is ambient and they have free Wi-Fi so that's also a bonus. The lovely old woman that runs the place is a character right enough! I was told she married into Thai Royalty?

I shall be back to try the awesome looking Scotch eggs and the tempting sausage rolls.

At these prices it's sure to be a winner. Thanks for the recommendation Bob.

__________________
Mortals you defy the Gods, I sentence you to travel among unknown stars, until you find the Kingdom of Hades, your bodies will stay as lifeless as stone.

sabang

I just tried a 'Bunters foods' steak n' kidney pie. Zapped it in the microwave/ convection oven. Same story- too dry . Decent size chunks of meat, could feel the texture of the kidney but certainly couldn't taste it. At the end of the day, pretty dry, stringy and tasteless.

It occurs to me, they could save costs by having less meat but a nice tasty gravy stock to soften up the meat and make the whole thing tastier. Still, only 65 Bht. The search continues.

EmperorTud

I'm off to Foodland later today with a list of ingredients for pie making.

I'm going to try to get some mutton for Scotch pies and some steak for steak and Guinness.

Marmite the Dog

I presume it's an English style pie, so it's up to you to add the gravy.

EmperorTud

An easy but tasty gravy is made thus:

Chop an onion and fry slowly in oil to caramelise. Add one tablespoon of brown sugar.
When onions are caramelised add a splash of red wine and allow to reduce.
Prepare a cup of vegetable stock with hot water.
Add stock to onions and mix well.
Mix a teaspoon of cornflour with a couple of tablespoons of cold water and then add in to thicken the gravy.

Voila! Simple and tasty. You can also leave out the red wine but it certainly adds flavour.