Why do farangs go all the way to LOS to eat western food?

[thaibeachlovers]

I never knew this sub forum existed till now, so it's the perfect place to ask my question.

I can understand a 3 day tourist not eating local cuisine as afraid they'll get sick, but why would expats eat western food routinely when local dishes are so much cheaper and just as good?

I've never understood that, having eaten mainly local food in all my years in LOS.

 

However, I will admit to eating western food occasionally, but definitely not all the time. Not when fried rice chicken was only 25 baht.

[madmen]

Sugar in everything, 70% high carb White rice and slivers of poor quality meat. Msg in everything, I no longer touch it and much prefer cooking Western veges and fish or pork etc at home

 

[Tayaout]

This is what shocked me the most when I went to Hua Hin. The terasse looked more like Germany than Thailand and the price too! 

[Kenny202]

Where I live up country food is as described above. Most restaurants here couldnt cook Thai or otherwise. The ingredients here however from the markets are exceptional and cheap so I cook 98% at home now. Western and Asian food. Yes Thai food is cheap and I have eaten at plenty of soi restaurants, Ive never been sick but its just rubbish food. Most things are knocked up for cheap and fast as possible. Chicken powder, sugar, fish sauce, chilli powder, mushroom and oyster sauce (none of which have anything to do with mushrooms or oysters). Oily disgusting unimaginative muck. Its cheap food designed to make you full and most Thais will tell you this. Have you tried what they pass for seafood and beef lol. I havent even started on their food handling capabillities or ingredients. I like Thai food now about as much as I like temples. Lived here 5 years and now in the final expat non denial stage. "Im just here for the pussy".

[PatOngo]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

why would expats eat western food routinely when local dishes are so much cheaper and just as good?

Because I can afford to!

[seasia]

I dislike Thai food, consider much of it rubbish, bad ingredients, cheap palm oil used for cooking in most cases.

Very rarely eat it. Far prefer western food.

[Don Mega]

Because Thai food is <deleted>.

[Jonathan Fairfield]

I enjoy eating Thai food but there's nothing wrong with eating a bit farang grub in Thailand.

 

Food is just food. Who cares where it comes from!

[worgeordie]

I cook and eat Thai,Indian,Western,Mexican,Italian,ect,even dishes

I makeup myself,also buy dishes from the market when too tired

to cook,eat out ,mostly Thai, Indian,wish there was a British Chinese

 style takeaway nearby.

regards worgeordie

[Hummin]

Would your Thai friends and family only eat western food if go to your home country?

 

I eat a miks of western and Thai, but the longer I stay, the more hunger for western food. 

[KiChakayan]

Well, isn't the ideal world Thai p...y with w...ern f..d?

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I can understand a 3 day tourist not eating local cuisine as afraid they'll get sick, but why would expats eat western food routinely when local dishes are so much cheaper and just as good?

I find Thai food dull, poor quality meat, and always over-spiced to hide the rotten taste of the meat.

I eat English, Indian, Italian or Mexican food wherever I go, most of it I can cook.

Local dishes aren't any cheaper when you cook it yourself.

Edited August 28, 2019 by BritManToo

[Chazar]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 just as good?

opinion only

[Chazar]

I  find Thai  food  pretty  grim, bowl of water with things floating in it is what I see. Add to that 5000000000000000000000 chillies and well.....no thanks.

[OneMoreFarang]

Soon after I arrive in Thailand many years ago I somehow decided to eat only Thai food. I don't remember why I did that.

But I remember that a few months later I didn't want to see it anymore. An then I eat a lot of "western" food.

And then, over the years, I eat lots of different foods from all over the world. Maybe I eat Khanom chin for 35B for breakfast at the fresh market. And then maybe my gf prepares at home tom kha gai or one of the other delicious Thai dishes for lunch. But maybe we go to MK and eat duck or to BBQ plaza or to a hotel buffet with sushi, roast beef, and lots of other wonderful things.

There is no reason to restrict oneself to one kind of food when so much good food is available.

[ChipButty]

My wife is a great cook she will make anything I want she has lots of recipes for Asian Fusion style sometimes we go out to eat I get disapointed with the junk they serve poor quality

Edited August 28, 2019 by ChipButty

[Sticky Wicket]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

Sugar in everything, 70% high carb White rice and slivers of poor quality meat. Msg in everything, I no longer touch it and much prefer cooking Western veges and fish or pork etc at home

 

Damn you get the slivers! You're one of the lucky ones.

The quality of Thai food has gone down drastically in recent times. 

Lobo mixes for the curries and watered down coconut milk with hardly any edible meat

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

but why would expats eat western food routinely when local dishes are so much cheaper and just as good?

I would say it would be based on two things:

 

1) What diet your used too, i.e. clean food, like veggies high in fibre, good carbs like brown rice, brown pasta, brown bread, protein, eggs, good fish with omega 3, chicken, meat, and good fats, like Almonds, Avocadoes etc etc etc

 

2) What you can afford

 

I have a Thai wife who had some experience working in an Italian restaurant and she picked up things pretty quickly, add to that she is a born natural and can cook up anything, and never knowing if it's ever good enough, always asking the same question over and over and over again, with me having a full mouth devouring whatever she makes, nodding my head and talking at the same time, yeh so so honey ????

 

talian, Greek, Thai, or Western cuisine, her sweets are as good, but I have banned her from making them, add to many kilos to my waistline, last time she attempted making Galaktoboureko, a Greek sweet, she nailed it, and if you have never tasted it, have a sweet tooth, I wouldn't recommend it, because if your like me, you would polish off the tray in no time, especially at 3am in the morning when you wake up to go to the loo, the addiction is just too much.

 

As for eating out, Thai on the cheap, well only a couple of spots that we know and have survived, have seen too many places handling food, the cheap quality, recooked or other, even seen rats in the kitchens etc etc, pass, pass, pass, wife's kitchen is best.

[Sticky Wicket]

There is lot of artisan western food about as people try to top up their incomes and it's great quality

[Boycie]

They should have signs at the airport arrivals for Sizzler Salad Buffet specials @ 139baht

Eat as much as you like

 

Welcome to Thailand

[CGW]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

However, I will admit to eating western food occasionally, but definitely not all the time. Not when fried rice chicken was only 25 baht.

Above says it all, your preference is based on price! the vast majority of Thai food cooked outside the house is <deleted>! Cost to me is immaterial, I only eat two small meals a day, my preference is clean, healthy nutritious food, "fried rice chicken" is not ever going to be considered, especially at 25 Baht, they are serving very low quality food at this price. ???? 

[Jingthing]

Variety. Duh. 

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, CGW said:

"fried rice chicken" is not ever going to be considered, especially at 25 Baht

You could probably cook it yourself with more chicken for under 5bht.

[Sticky Wicket]

3 minutes ago, CGW said:

Above says it all, your preference is based on price! the vast majority of Thai food cooked outside the house is <deleted>! Cost to me is immaterial, I only eat two small meals a day, my preference is clean, healthy nutritious food, "fried rice chicken" is not ever going to be considered, especially at 25 Baht, they are serving very low quality food at this price. ???? 

I wish I could only eat two small meals a day. I regularly consume 5000 calories!

[watcharacters]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I can understand a 3 day tourist not eating local cuisine as afraid they'll get sick, but why would expats eat western food routinely when local dishes are so much cheaper and just as good?

 

Can't the expats get sick as well?

 

I don't choose my food based on cost.    I eat according to my likes.

 

To each his own I say.

 

P.S.   How's the food in Canada working out for you since you left Thailand for greener pastures?

 

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by watcharacters

[Pilotman]

I live here and cook and eat almost excursively, western food, from Italian, to Greek, to Spanish and of course good old English fare. I much  prefer it to any Asian and I hardly ever eat Thai/Indian/Chinese food.   I do it because that is what I like. I have no criticism of people who come here on holiday and stick to fare they know and enjoy, after all, they are on holiday and some Thai food, at some venues, can be pretty awful.  

Edited August 28, 2019 by Pilotman

[FritsSikkink]

45 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

I enjoy eating Thai food but there's nothing wrong with eating a bit farang grub in Thailand.

 

Food is just food. Who cares where it comes from!

Food is not just food, there is a world of difference in taste, quality and nutrition. Cheap food can be nice every now and then, but a (Michelin) quality meal is a complete different league.

[ChipButty]

20 minutes ago, Boycie said:

They should have signs at the airport arrivals for Sizzler Salad Buffet specials @ 139baht

Eat as much as you like

 

Welcome to Thailand

Ive got to admit that salad is top value with soup included

[Isaanbiker]

There's nothing wrong with eating Hoi Soth. No matter if it's Noi's, Porn's, Oey's, or Lek's  But they have to be washed before. 

 

 

    

[thaiguzzi]

And there you have it folks.

Just got to the bottom of the first page - typical Thai Visa answers.

NEGATIVITY.

I avoid Thai restaurants like the plague - IN MY HOME COUNTRY OR EUROPE!

Overpriced and bland.

16 years of living here, my local market town must have over 50 restaurants, some absolutely wonderful, all edible, and all serving good, healthy, excellent value, great tasting food.

I really just don't get why people are even here.

Ah right, yeah the p#ssy.

Jesus what a sad bunch of cultural losers.

The oft quoted common phrase is just so apt for the vast majority of whining, wingeing , moaning expats here.

Ya don't like it - f##k off back home!