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PHUKET TRAVEL DIARIES: Nuts for cashews

September 19, 2010

On my list of Must Do’s in Phuket is to buy lots and lots of cashews. Cashews are a famous local product of Phuket. I use them for making banana bread and pukkolla, instead of walnuts. Check out the cashew shopping we did and the  factory store we bought them in after the jump.

Outside the Sri Bhurapha Orchid Phuket Cashew factory store

The giant cashew by the entrance is hard to miss!

(image: Life’s Like That)

Our driver brought us to Sri Bhurapha Orchid, a famous Cashew factory store or showroom. Cashews sold here were not as cheap as I expected, but we didn’t have a lot of time to look for cheaper places and time was money with our car rental and limited time. (It took us an hour to get here from Sala Resort and we weren’t even near Phuket Town yet!)

Still cheaper than Jakarta so we sorta went crazy. It took us a long time too because there were so many to see, taste and choose from!

Cashew apple juice at the Sri Bhurapha Orchid Phuket Cashew factory store

Free taste of the cashew apple juice. Found it weird but it was good to try.

Cashew processing demo at Sri Bhurapha Orchid Phuket Cashew factory store

Cashews are manually opened one by one and it’s no easy task, that’s why they’re more expensive than peanuts and (sometimes) almonds. Aside from the fact that each cashew apple only bears one nut.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWPqN880Wms]

The task of processing cashew nuts is no simple affair. Formed inside a kidney-shaped casing, the cashew nut is suspended in poisonous oil, which burns the skin. These toxins are initially reduced by boiling the intact shells, but the manual labour of cracking open the shells must be done with care. Workers wrap plastic around their fingertips to prevent the black oil from burning their skin. All poison is expelled during the next stage when the nuts are baked over a low temperature for 12 hours. A speckled skin is then peeled off, before a grading procedure separates the nuts into groups of whole nuts, half nuts and pieces.

– thaiwave.com

Free tasting at the Sri Bhurapha Orchid Phuket Cashew factory store

The chocolate coated ones (pictured) were not as good as expected. Good thing there was free sample tasting, which helped us decide.

Kinds of cashews I could remember:

  • Plain
  • Salt
  • Garlic
  • Spicy
  • Chocolate-coated
  • Crispy
  • Crispy-spicy
  • Honey-sesame (like peanut brittle)
  • And many more

Phew! On the way to pay we discovered that they sold more than cashews. So many local delicacies of local fruits, nuts, veggies, fish and meats! It was  crazy the many, many ways they could prepare jackfruit, durian, coconut meat. (There was even beef floss, cured fish, etc.) It was SO hard not to want to try and buy everything! (All we wanted were cashews!!!)

Durian Chips at the Sri Bhurapha Orchid Phuket Cashew factory store

Durian Chips

Different kind of Jackfruit chips at the Sri Bhurapha Orchid Phuket Cashew factory store

Different kind of Jackfruit chips

2 Kilos of cashews and some roasted coconut candy from the Sri Bhurapha Orchid Phuket Cashew factory store

In the end we came out with 2 Kilos of cashews and some roasted coconut candy.  (Took a lot of self-control, but we managed to stay focused!) =P

Just to give you an idea the 1 Kilo plain cashews (lower left) were 390 baht and each pack of the crispy ones (lower right) were 150 baht. The most expensive ones were the honey-sesame ones (I can’t remember the price any more) which we bought for my hubby’s dad. They were so good and totally worth it though!

Learn more interesting info about cashews and Sri Bhurapha Orchid here.

Sri Bhurapa Orchid

I wasn’t able to get the address and so far I’m getting several different addresses off the net. The latest one’s are these two below. Will verify at the soonest and let you know!

  • 62/2-4 Moo 1, Ko Kaeo, Muang Phuket, Phuket, 83000
  • Tel: 66.0-7621-3548
  • 7/1 Khuang Road, Baan Tinkhao, off Chao Fa East Rd, Phuket 83000
  • Tel: 076 213465 & 225936     Fax : 076 244788

Come back tomorrow for photos of our visit to Wat Chalong Temple!

2 Comments · Thailand > Phuket

Trackbacks

  1. Whatchadoin in Wat Chalong? « The Diplomatic Wife says:
    September 20, 2010 at 9:28 AM

    […] of cashew nuts – Don’t judge me! They’re super expensive here in Jakarta! =P CHECK! Click here to see […]

    Reply
  2. Fresh seafood at Phong Phang – Palai Bay « The Diplomatic Wife says:
    September 21, 2010 at 1:07 AM

    […] that we were going to Wat Chalong, buying cashews and Phuket town (supposedly) we asked our car rental company where we could eat seafood by the bay. […]

    Reply

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Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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One of the things people love about the Philippine One of the things people love about the Philippines is the warmth & heartfelt friendships of the Filipino people.

And was reminded about that when @pattylaurel & her wonderful family took the time to meet up with us on their last day in Geneva.

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We had such a beautiful day together… the kids (and us) didn’t want it to end so we went from playground/dinner to a walk about in our neighborhood Château & even to the house! 😂

Thank you for the epic day Patty, Patrick, Theo & Astrid. Till we meet again! More adventures in Switzerland I hope!

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TOOL FREE BIDET INSTALL One of the things we miss TOOL FREE BIDET INSTALL

One of the things we miss about living in the Philippines & Indonesia is having a bidet in our bathrooms.

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When I was in @jumbo.schweiz recently I saw a bidet that can be installed with the sink.

It only works if your sink is near your toilet so sadly it won’t work on our master’s bathroom.

I wasn’t sure our faucet was the correct size but I took a risk for CHF20.

Today I finally had the time to install it. I was # #mariomama again LOL!

The only time you might need a tool (pliers) is if you can’t loosen the AERATOR to remove it from your faucet.

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As a renter, I want to avoid making holes in the walls whenever I can. Even if I weren’t a renter I don’t recommend putting holes on tiles coz they might crack.

So I used the strongest @tesa_de  double sided tape on the bidet holder. You can see how I did it step by step on the video. Be sure to use Teflon scissors so they don’t get damaged by the adhesive. Clear monster tape will also work well for this.

*** Amazon affiliate links on my bio under BIDET HACKS ****

WHY CANT YOU INSTALL IT IN YOUR TOILET

The toilets here are all built in. There are no exposed tubes to connect bidets to like in Asia. 

That’s why this hack is a God send! No plumbing experience or tools needed! YAY!

WHERE TO BUY

https://undiplomaticwife.com/bidet-install-hack/

Feel free to dm me if you have any questions!

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Yes! It should be in
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- caves
- storage lockers
- basements
- attics
- bathrooms
- any other area that doesn’t have through air or air conditioner 

To prevent molds from damaging your property!

Here’s the hack: Don’t throw the container because you can buy refills. 

DM me on where to buy wherever you are!

#diplohome #homehacks
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The concern going to Rovaniemi is that it’s too cold 🥶 I’ve heard of people going in winter & didn’t enjoy it coz they felt like frozen popsicles. You have 2 options:

1. Go in SPRING like us so prices are lower, no long lines/crowds & no need for super thick snow suits, but low chance of seeing Aurora Borealis & some places might be closed/melted. 

3. A friend who lived in Scandinavia told us for Aurora Borealis, the best time is SEPTEMBER coz it’s not too cold yet. Though some resorts might only be opening in OCTOBER like @glass_resort.

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 ❄️ bring waterproof shoes/boots so you don’t get sick if melted snow gets in. 

❄️ If you will touch snow/have snowball fights, waterproof gloves are a must

❄️ Ask hotel if sleds are free to borrow

❄️ Bring SPF coz snow reflects sun

❄️ As you can see in the reel on our first day it was winter wonderland. The day after things started melting. On our last day things were starting to puddle. After I imagine rivers!

❄️ there was this gigantic snowman & I was too tired to take a pic. It disappeared the next day to my disappointment.

❄️ The SNOWMAN WORLD was already closed when we arrived. It would have been so cool to see the ice resto/bar, slides & disco!

❄️ We found out that the day we were leaving was also the last full day of our hotel. So though Santa Claus Office is open 365 days a year, check with the hotels to see which ones are open.

☀️ Summer activities are different. For example the huskies pull sleds with wheels.

🌈 BONUS TIP: If you pick a resort inside @santaclausvillage_rovaniemi, 3 days is enough. Because of the perfect location of @glass_resort we were able to make SO many wonderful memories in such a short time.

#udwinsantaclausvillage
PARTIES & PLUMBING #diplolife + OUR FIRST TIME TO PARTIES & PLUMBING #diplolife

+ OUR FIRST TIME TO HOST AMBASSADORS IN OUR SWISS #DIPLOHOME
(Except for my FIL of course)

This has to have been the most hectic weekend in recent memory here. Each day @diplobaby had a kid’s party to attend. (Thankfully here you leave the child for 2-2.5hrs & parents can do errands while waiting)

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Last Saturday, TD and I were hosting a lunch for his boss & also a little farewell for the boss of the other mission. And as you guys know we were really stressed with a clogged kitchen sink drain. Not the most convenient or sweet smelling when you are having people over.

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We had pork adobo with mango, tomato & cilantro salad. And our fave spaghetti bolognese. I bought small cakes from our favorite boulangerie in the little French town next door. 

P.S. 
For those of you were asking if we finally had to call a professional for our kitchen sink. In a way yes we did. After all our best efforts, we finally had to ask for help. We feel so lucky to have such a lovely landlord who came and had the knowledge to remove the clog from the pipes that were built into the wall. We are ever so grateful to him for coming on his weekend.

This is #diplolife guys… PARTIES AND PLUMBING! LOL!!!

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