Tops supermarket .

Tops currently located in the Robinson store . Whilst in its present location it is small compared to the other "names" It does concentrate mainly on food items . This week I was pleasantly surprised to see many more imported products on the shelves, that cater for the , mainly farang tastes. The delicatessen displayed at least 50 different cheeses from around the world, mainly Australian . It also had a superb selection of German and Italian cured meat products.Salami and similar. In the tinned foods were many Heinz products plus pomodori pelati, Italian plum tomatoes at 59bht a can .
The butchery also had a variety of beef cuts , described as Thai/French produce. I bought some sirloin steaks at 320bht per kilo, which I ate last night. They were quite palatable. Went down well with a nice French wine and some Dijon mustard, also from there . So things are certainly looking up for us in Udon . I can see if ever they get the planned , enlarged store built they will be some serious opposition for the other big names, as far as fresh food goes anyway .

Where is the planned new Tops store going?
A bigger store in Lobinsons, or a new store, new location?

Prenders88 wrote:Where is the planned new Tops store going?
A bigger store in Lobinsons, or a new store, new location?

The original plan showed a whole new development over the road for Central, which included a new , enlarged Tops and a food court ,in the lower ground floor . Its all gone rather quite at present, so not sure if its cancelled or postponed .I suspect the latter as the investment so far has been huge. It would be costly to cancel it .

If you enjoy your British food like I do you will be pleased to know they now stock products such as oxo cubes, bisto gravy, tartar sauce, Branston Pickle, digestive biscuits, rich tea, jaffa cakes and more!

They've also added a small Mexican food section. Several salsa varieties, taco kits, fajita kits, flour tortillas, refried beans, cheese sauces, etc. Unfortunately, no enchalada sauces, but much more than in the past.

I believe if A person takes their time shopping at udon,they can find at least 75% of what they want.

TOPS are also stocking a variety of raw beans and wheat products, Garbanzo, Lima, Burgul, Cous Cous etc Didn't see Corn meal tho.
Their Bakery is going strong, the quality and range of products is much improved, particularly those products targeting the western consumer.

I have to concur with the other posters. Just returned from Tops and by golly, while shopping I found Jell-0, real vanilla extract, Lawry's seasoning salt and a host of products that I'd not seen there before. Unfortunately they had sold out of the re-fried beans but I did see that they are carrying cornmeal muffin mix. No corn meal, just the muffin mix.

They new layout of the store takes a bit of getting used to and the prices for imported items are high (as should be expected) but it is certainlly more like a Villa Market now than it was in the past. The cheese section has definitely improved as has baking supply section. They have Biquick on the shelves, which I've never seen in Udon before.

It's nice to know that some stuff that used to need importing from BKK is now available locally.

Always buy my ribeye steaks from Tops, problem now a days they have carved all the joint up instead of letting you decide you want extra thick steaks for the BBQ.

fussychunk wrote:Always buy my ribeye steaks from Tops, problem now a days they have carved all the joint up instead of letting you decide you want extra thick steaks for the BBQ.

If you ask the butcher he will bring a side out from the cooler room and cut it just as you wish. I like to have my ribs whole not sliced or chop and he always finds one for me .He is very obliging .

Shado wrote:I have to concur with the other posters. Just returned from Tops and by golly, while shopping I found Jell-0, real vanilla extract, Lawry's seasoning salt and a host of products that I'd not seen there before. Unfortunately they had sold out of the re-fried beans but I did see that they are carrying cornmeal muffin mix. No corn meal, just the muffin mix.

They new layout of the store takes a bit of getting used to and the prices for imported items are high (as should be expected) but it is certainlly more like a Villa Market now than it was in the past. The cheese section has definitely improved as has baking supply section. They have Biquick on the shelves, which I've never seen in Udon before.

It's nice to know that some stuff that used to need importing from BKK is now available locally.

Ngee Soon has carried cornmeal muffin mix for sometime now (the old store), if Tops run short you you can find it at Ngee Soon, that's if Jing Jai hasn't bought their supply

Yes papa, I've seen it at Ngee Soon. As long as I have a supply of cornmeal I always make my own cornbread. Grandma's recipe is soooo good and since I'm old boy from the south Missouri Ozarks I'm a bit fussy about my cornbread. I'll admit however, that I've used the corn muffin mix (prefer Martha White brand) when I've been out of cornmeal or just in a hurry to get something in the oven. Mixed with a little chopped onion, the corn muffin mix makes a pretty passable mess of fried hush-puppies as well.

Hi,
Went into tops yesterday, was very disappointed with the meat dept. They have moved it to where the "cafe" is. About a quarter of the size. No room, was jostled by people in cafe. Joints of meat were not on show, like they used to be, only a few cuts of meat in one display cab. One of the pieces, did not look like sirloin, had a price tag of 560B a kilo, help. Even wife was shocked at price. I'll stick to my own butcher thanks, He's on the Th.Si Suk road, just before the bridge and first roundabout, Thai/French beef as well, and all excellent and on display. And a excellect rib eye steak which IMHO is tastier than fillet and sirlion.
Been getting the type of plum toms. stated for a number of years now in most big stores. I like german beer garden cheese, none available there. The only place in Udon I was able to get it was carrefour, now few and far between, was about 160B a tub (soft cheese) If anyone knows where it can be obtained would be grateful.

Just had a trip into Tops . They really are making an effort with imported foods now . The price tags all have a nationality of origin flag, its quite colourful with Australia, US and Germany being prominent. I even got some Birds custard powder there yesterday .

I think the range of Farang foods at Tops is excellent. I had to take out a mortgage to purchase them but it's so nice to see them expanding their range. No complaints really even though I paid 4 times more for a small packet of Digestive biscuits. Delicious