Thai Food - ?

[Boarn]

A bit of a rant here but there you go. I'm sick to the back teeth of people saying how much they like Thai food, why, how, what's wrong with you? It has to be one of the worst cuisines in the entire world.

 

OK, as an occasion Tom Yam Talay,  or Tom Kah Gai can be enjoyable but most Thai food is 'edible only because it's cheap'. Maybe I don't have an issue with the taste of Pad Ga Pow for example, I can eat it, but it brings no enjoyment. The one exception being Moo Ga Ta, I do enjoy this.

 

Pla ra, Gaeng Thai Pla and all the other fermented <deleted> is vile to put it lightly. Rice noodle used far too often when egg noodles are far better, everything eaten with hideous jasmine rice when basmati rise is so much more palatable. 

 

When I moved here I didn't even have to contemplate Thai food, but they were different times when Thailand was actually cheap.

 

To name a few foods far better than Thai;

 

Indian

Mexican

All European from Portuguese to French, Italian to Spanish

Chinese

Japanese

American

UK, pie and peas, can't even buy mushy peas here, anywhere, even a shockingly put together steak and kidney pie beats the most refined Pad Ga Pow

Middle Eastern

Brazilian

Infact most South American

Mozambican

 

And the list goes on.

 

If you do enjoy Thai food, and claim it to be a favourite (yes there is a u in favourite as much as my Thai computer settings tell me otherwise) why? 

 

[Dmaxdan]

5 minutes ago, Boarn said:

A bit of a rant here but there you go. I'm sick to the back teeth of people saying how much they like Thai food, why, how, what's wrong with you? It has to be one of the worst cuisines in the entire world

Are we not entitled to our own opinion?

[Boarn]

1 minute ago, Dmaxdan said:

Are we not entitled to our own opinion?

Yes of course however I would argue that lots of people who claim to love Thai food are either;

 

1. Lying, in order to convince themselves that eating it every day is out of choice and not necessity.

2. Saying it's a favourite when they are not actually in Thailand and desire it as a one off 'treat'.

3. Insane

[BritManToo]

13 minutes ago, Boarn said:

If you do enjoy Thai food, and claim it to be a favourite (yes there is a u in favourite as much as my Thai computer settings tell me otherwise) why? 

I agree with you, real Thai food appears to be mainly white rice with garden weeds and insects.

Can't beat pie and chips! ......... and my 10yo Thai son agrees with me!

Edited October 5, 2021 by BritManToo

[Dmaxdan]

2 minutes ago, Boarn said:

Yes of course however I would argue that lots of people who claim to love Thai food are either;

 

1. Lying, in order to convince themselves that eating it every day is out of choice and not necessity.

2. Saying it's a favourite when they are not actually in Thailand and desire it as a one off 'treat'.

3. Insane

So we are definitely not entitled to our own opinion then.

Good to know!

[JustAnotherHun]

Maybe you should avoid your 25-Baht noodle shops in soi nowhere and get an idea what thai food can be.

 

[Boarn]

1 minute ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Maybe you should avoid your 25-Baht noodle shops in soi nowhere and get an idea what thai food can be.

 

Believe me I've tried, I know exactly what Thai food can be.

[Boarn]

16 minutes ago, Dmaxdan said:

So we are definitely not entitled to our own opinion then.

Good to know!

If you genuinely think Thai food is amazing that's fine, I wish I was able to feel the same way.

[timendres]

So many people think sushi is the bee's knees. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. And I genuinely love Thai food, and get frequent requests from the gf to cook for her. Interestingly, the Thai gf begs me to make my Fettuccini in Olive Oil on a regular basis. I genuinely like all of the food in your list of "foods far better than Thai" with the exception of "UK", which I find to be the world's most disappointing menu. 

[Ohyesuare]

I'm one of those that loves Thai food and not a huge fan of the foreign food I've had in Thailand. Isan food to be specific is the category that has a lot of my favorite dishes. I never get sick of Nam Tok Moo with sticky rice or Yum Moo Yang and the spicier the better. It's very hard to get them to make it as spicy as I like it but occasionally they do and I'm very happy. I also love Thai soups, Bah Mi with red pork and wontons, the pork blood soup, Kuaitiao. I really enjoy all these dishes much more than any other non-Thai food that's available to me.

[elgenon]

Dang! American food is not on your edible list. 555

 

So what do you like about Thailand? The jobs, the economy, the government, the culture, the weather, the beer? Just curious. Nice to hear the positives.

[HappyGoLuckyLife]

18 hours ago, Boarn said:

Yes of course however I would argue that lots of people who claim to love Thai food are either;

 

1. Lying, in order to convince themselves that eating it every day is out of choice and not necessity.

2. Saying it's a favourite when they are not actually in Thailand and desire it as a one off 'treat'.

3. Insane

1. I live here in the US for now. Eat homemade Thai food 5 out of 7 days (I cook todays to give my wife a break.)

2. It is my favorite next to authentic Japanese ramen. Again eat it daily.

3. No, I just like what I like. 

 

18 hours ago, Boarn said:

To name a few foods far better than Thai;

 

Indian <-- not a fan of cinnamon, nutmeg in my food. Basmati rice is okay.

Mexican <-- too heavy, leaves me bloated and too sluggish. Only thing I like is a simple taco (cilantro, onion, meat).

All European from Portuguese to French, Italian to Spanish <-- true Italian food is bland AF. Spanish, is okay (not better than Thai) Haven't had authentic French.

Chinese <-- some dishes yes, some no.

Japanese<-- I think ramen and sashimi beat everything, so I might have to agree slightly.

American <-- is why I had to be put on blood pressure meds

UK, pie and peas, can't even buy mushy peas here, anywhere, even a shockingly put together steak and kidney pie beats the most refined Pad Ga Pow <-- heavy on the gut

Middle Eastern <-- Good, not better than Thai IMO

Brazilian <-- have not had, can't say

Infact most South American <-- can't say

Mozambican <-- If like Senegalese, then it's damn good, but I still like Thai better. 

Don't get me wrong, you're entitle to your opinion. I just wouldn't have moved to a country where I hate the food. No matter how many years I've been there.

[HappyGoLuckyLife]

18 hours ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Maybe you should avoid your 25-Baht noodle shops in soi nowhere and get an idea what thai food can be.

Hey, I actually like those quick hit meals when you're on the go. LOL. But I know what you mean.

[HappyGoLuckyLife]

15 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Feeling really bloated now ...........

^ See what I mean. LOL.

[Aussieroaming]

I wouldn't rank Thai within the top ten of favourite national cuisines. I prefer Vietnamese, Indonesian or Malaysian if I had to choose an Asian country for choice.

 

My personal first preference is mediterranean style foods with reasonable wine choices. I did live and work in an ex soviet country for a period of time and that country had a wide array of eastern european and mediterranean style choices with appriopriate wine selections and I really enjoyed the food and wine there and I would rank it highly, though the food choices were all "imported" cooking styles. The local cuisine wasn't flash.

 

Not that I think Thai food is hideous, I do like certain dishes but generally I would rank Thai food a bit further down the food chain on a personal level. 

[Pravda]

Agree with op but only partially. Thai food from the street is rancid, made with worst recycled ingredients. I don't know how "authentic" food tastes in Mexico, but I do know that authentic Serbian food for example is amazing. Same if you go to Turkey. 

 

Thai food can be enjoyable if made with proper ingredients. Sadly the best Thai food I had was outside Thailand, but also ironically the best pizza I had was in Thailand, but it wasn't cheap.

 

Some of the stuff they serve on the street here is not worth 20 baht let alone 50.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Pravda

[The Cipher]

Dude, no offence, but how can you insult people who like Thai food and then up British food - a food that's literally mocked the world over for being bland?

 

Now I'm not a huge fan of Thai food myself, and do think that British food is generally ok, but maybe consider that these things are subjective.

 

Just eat what you enjoy and let other people eat what they enjoy without being made fun of for it.

Edited October 6, 2021 by The Cipher

[Fairynuff]

Thai food is probably the biggest reason I’m still living here.

[dlclark97]

'Up to you' as the saying goes here.  I'm American and I like some but not all Thai foods as would be the case in every country.   In the USA good money is spent on authentic Thai foods.  In the UK I love the fish and chips, and on Friday nights when the chippy truck came around I loved the battered bangers.  Kippers and mushy peas waaaay not for me.  Nothing like some good Spotted Dick for some dessert.  Philippines food even in local shops expensive and far too bland.  American style Mexican food, love it but the real thing not so much.  We all have individual tastes, likes and dislikes.  Enjoy what you can, it's a big world and lots to sample from.     

[marin]

19 hours ago, Boarn said:

Yes of course however I would argue that lots of people who claim to love Thai food are either;

 

1. Lying, in order to convince themselves that eating it every day is out of choice and not necessity.

2. Saying it's a favourite when they are not actually in Thailand and desire it as a one off 'treat'.

3. Insane

What would be the purpose of replying to an OP like this? You have your mind set that you dont like Thai food, but at the same time you are trying to push those feelings onto others. Perhaps you would be better off somewhere else. I do prefer Mexican to Thai, and simply make a decent version here. Some rant dude..

[Sydebolle]

It is in the metamorphosis of Thai food. In the seventies and eighties you simply could not get a bad Thai dish from any of those countless street shacks. 

Reason is that competition was fierce and only the best survived so in any market you'd have a selection of really good and rockbottom cheap food. 

Fast Forward = 2nd decade in the 21st century. Thai food has transformed into too sweet MSG-loaded rubbish at many places; I've seen Thais sprinkling loads of refined sugar on a fried rice with a fried egg, MSG (i.e. Ajinomoto) is sold in 25kgs bags, all those seasonings and sauces are prefabricated cheap stuff in bottles from Sri-Racha-sauce to fermented-fish-sauce. Coconut milk and pulp, previously scraped out of coconuts at the point of sales (i.e. market) today arrives in Ampawa bottles with a consistency, which no coconut is ever producing. Everything is 100% real, genuine and authentic. 

Thais need everything cheap, cheaper, cheapest and the food industry followed suit. Result is, that today's "Royal Thai Food" has little in common with the artistic skills this kitchen produced 30, 40 years ago. 

[EVENKEEL]

When we speak of Thai food, many think of the mobile noodle vendors selling soup made of water with spices and bits of sinewy pieces of pork. Or fried noodle dishes glistening with cheap oil. We have a upperscale Sea Food place on the beach here that caters mostly to Thais. Love the whole steamed Flounder 700 tbh, always have Tom Yum which makes eating more interesting, the yam dishes are good to pick at, kid loves the raw shrimp plates. The 3 of us order more than we should but always eat it all, usually runs in the 1500 tbh range for a nice dinner. 

 

The only noodle joint I like is the franchise joint next to 7-11's, the number 4 place.

 

 

Since staying here full time for 2 yrs now I cook at home more and more.

 

 

[Card]

I don't eat Thai food very often, preferring my own constructed meals but I think it is a good cuisine with a good balance of meat, veg and fresh ingredients.  I completely disagree that Indian and many others are better. Indian food is often overcooked curries with not much fresh veg and too much meat in a similar way to British and German. Western food is often highly processed, although Italian is good. 

 

You should avoid bias by substituting 'preferred' for 'good'. Good can mean many things.

[EVENKEEL]

5 minutes ago, Pravda said:

What is authentic Thai food in USA? Are you sat on blue plastic chairs?

As a matter of fact I am, spooky.

[Speedhump]

57 minutes ago, HappyGoLuckyLife said:

^ See what I mean. LOL.

He obviously meant stuffed, not bloated, just picked the wrong word. ????

[Boarn]

Interesting to look at the replies to the topic ???? 

 

I suppose my main peeve is that when I moved here in 2005 I didn't need to even entertain Thai food. My average meal cost was 200 baht for a great meal of the cuisine of my choice, the prices have skyrocketed for restaurants in the same area, sometimes pushing 1000 for in essence the same thing.

[MrJ2U]

I can't stand most Issan food.

 

Lucky we've got two kitchens.

 

My wife is happy to whip up something tamer for me.  Stir fried vegetables with pork or shrimp.

 

I like Somtom though.

[hotchilli]

19 hours ago, Boarn said:

o name a few foods far better than Thai;

 

Indian

Mexican

All European from Portuguese to French, Italian to Spanish

Chinese

Japanese

American

UK, pie and peas, can't even buy mushy peas here, anywhere, even a shockingly put together steak and kidney pie beats the most refined Pad Ga Pow

Middle Eastern

Brazilian

Infact most South American

Mozambican

Feel free to relocate and end your torment.

[rwill]

Just a troll seeing how many people he can get to argue with each other.

[nikmar]

my wife looks on english food the way you look on Thai food. It's all a matter of taste, i guess.

Personally - i like the occassional pie chips and beans, my wife cooks a decent carbonara but on a Saturday night with beer, then we share a huge homemade yum wunsen and it's perfect.

 

I know, should i return to the UK, i would miss Thai food much more than I miss English food.

 

Having said that, i could proper kill someone for a decent English Breakfast!!