Bugs 'n' Things

[Treadeasy]

Hi Guys,

Newby here, I'll be in Bangkok end of May (for the first time) and wondered if it would be safe to eat at the numerous street stalls I see they have. If they are OK what's the things to go for, I can eat most things but the thought of eating those "bugs n things" they have in dishes makes me cringe, I'll try anything except those. Thanks for your help.

Treadeasy

[Steve Ireland]

Hi Guys,

Newby here, I'll be in Bangkok end of May (for the first time) and wondered if it would be safe to eat at the numerous street stalls I see they have. If they are OK what's the things to go for, I can eat most things but the thought of eating those "bugs n things" they have in dishes makes me cringe, I'll try anything except those. Thanks for your help.

Treadeasy

Treadeasy,

The "bugs 'n' things" are usually ordered seperately so once ya stick with your OWN usual faves ya should be fine. In my experience, if your buying food from the street guys, only buy from the ones you can SEE cook the food and be vigilant as to how they are storing the uncooked stuff. As with all food just keep your eyes, nose and taste buds awake. If it doesn't taste right, throw it away. The street guys are pretty cheap anyways. Enjoy Thailand.

Steve (Ireland)

[Jamie]

I'd say try them. It's all in the mind. Who knows, you might end up liking them. As Steve said, make sure the food you eat is the food you see them making. That probably rings true with any vendor where ever you are.

[Steve Ireland]

Hi Guys,

Newby here, I'll be in Bangkok end of May (for the first time) and wondered if it would be safe to eat at the numerous street stalls I see they have. If they are OK what's the things to go for, I can eat most things but the thought of eating those "bugs n things" they have in dishes makes me cringe, I'll try anything except those. Thanks for your help.

Treadeasy

Treadeasy,

The "bugs 'n' things" are usually ordered seperately so once ya stick with your OWN usual faves ya should be fine. In my experience, if your buying food from the street guys, only buy from the ones you can SEE cook the food and be vigilant as to how they are storing the uncooked stuff. As with all food just keep your eyes, nose and taste buds awake. If it doesn't taste right, throw it away. The street guys are pretty cheap anyways. Enjoy Thailand.

Steve (Ireland)

BY THE WAY Treadeasy, Ya gotta try fried scorpion. Looks unpleasant but it tastes just like 'Cracklin', the skin on prok when it goes crispy while roasting....mmmmmm

Cheers

Steve (Ireland)

[Ijustwannateach]

If they're small enough, fried salted grasshoppers (the really tiny ones) taste just like dried shrimp, too.

As far as general safety is concerned- remember there aren't many health inspectors going around checking on the street stalls. I've frequently seen rats running over them after closing time. Cooks don't get sick days off, either, so if they're sick they'll be cooking anyway. And remember that the bulk of the street-cook population is not going to be the group that has degrees in food/restaurant/hotel management- though actually I have met one or two of them who do have such an education!!

On the plus side, the group doing fancy hotel and restaurant food are not all that different always from the street stall cooks- and in the street stalls you have the advantage (most of the time) of food cooked to order from the moment you order it, not food that has been sitting in an air-cooled buffet table or kitchen pantry for a few hours breeding bacteria.

If you're a tourist, you're going to get some of the runs, anyway. These days I don't even think about what/where I eat, as long as the Thais eat there, too- but my system's been adapting the last 4-5 years.

"S"

[PhilHarries]

Just follow the good advice above and enjoy. You don't say where you are at present but assuming it is a western country the chances are you'll get a dose of the runs. No real problem, just pack some immodium or whatever it's called these days, it only usually lasts a couple of days.

As teacher says, the chefs in the hotels are just street vendors smartened up a bit. I usually avoid hotel food especially the buffet stuff, you never know when it was cooked and how hot it has been kept since. A couple of guys I worked with came over for a business trip and went back with the worst case of the squits they'd ever had, one was hospitalised back in the UK. It was put down to the milk they had on their cornflakes in the five star hotel.

I quite like the large crispy fried locusts, they go down quite well with beer as it washes the bits of shell case and legs out from between your teeth. Not keen on scorpion but I definately would not recommend maeng da, the large cockroach like diving beetles. I've eaten them three times, first p1ssed the other two sober and they do not taste good.

I was last in LoS a week back for a few days and ate street vendor food every day, best value and best taste IMO. Another plus factor is you get down and meet with the local people who inevitably will want to chat with the farang.

[Gary A]

When I lived in Bangkok, I had a couple of favorite dishes. One was kao ka moo (pork leg, rice and veggies) and the other was duck soup made with egg noodles. I KNOW that food was fresh because the vendor made one batch per day and when it was sold out that was it. VERY seldom could you get either past 2:00 PM. If I was too late, I would order gapow moo and watch them cook it. I'm not fond of buying the pre-cooked food because you never know how long it has been there.

[Treadeasy]

Thanks Guys,

I'll definately give the street vendors a try but whether the bugs taste of shrimp,crackling or crap I'll still give them a miss.

Thanks again for your help.

Treadeasy

[jdinasia]

Thanks Guys,

I'll definately give the street vendors a try but whether the bugs taste of shrimp,crackling or crap I'll still give them a miss.

Thanks again for your help.

Treadeasy

You'd be amazed at how many bugs/bug parts the average person in the west eats annually

[realthaideal]

"You'd be amazed at how many bugs/bug parts the average person in the west eats annually"

Good point ! Brilliant. And in addition, think how many food items are artificial or just plain crap out there. I was home in the US and was shocked at the qualtiy of some food served in restauratns there. Either it's gone donw in the few yrs I've been away, or I've become more sensitive. I was served cheap Chinese (Panda Express) that was awful. Just awful. And one restaurant gave me a salad where the tomatoes were just chemically ripened and anemically gross.

Wholesome food is wholesome food whether it be bugs or vegetables. But food that is not really fit for eating or raised as it ought to be raised shold not be served or consumed.

Perhaps there is room for you to take on new freedoms and discoveries for your life here, not just travel and what should I eat ?? YOu can come here and let Thailand teach you what it has to offer rather than arriving with a fixed point of how it is or will be for you. The country has a way of turning the way you see life on its head for most of us here.