Thai Food - ?

[bbko]

The only thing I don't like about Thai food is having to pick out/around those items I'll never eat, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lemon grass stalks, or eating soup and having to remove shrimp shells at the table, other than that I enjoy a well cooked Thai dish.

To me, many of those 30-40 baht meals often use low quality ingredients or watered down soup.

[Mansell]

I don’t believe anybody mentioned that most Thai food is fried…..this isn’t good for your heart at all. Most of the Thai food I pass on here. Had a really good duck curry in Phuket, and went up to Chiang Mai and asked for it there, response was, we don’t eat duck here. So that was the end of that. I much prefer Indian food, (family is now eating this) and Mexican food….spent decades living in S. California. But in Mexico their food is not like American Mexican food. I found a lot of Mexican food in America heavy etc, until I found crab enchiladas…..the best. And of course Margaritas and Tequila Sunrise’s. With the best quality Tequila there is no hangover.

[Boarn]

15 minutes ago, rwill said:

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

Not at all, just disheartened that the country I fell in love with has changed so much since I moved here, meaning that i now have to entertain Thai food on some days whereas before I never did, prices have gone through the roof at my favourite places (well the ones that are still there).

[Boarn]

11 minutes ago, elgenon said:

That's why I am interested in hearing what American food the OP likes. I need to tell others!

Southern BBQ is a favourite of mine from the US.

[bang saen guy]

21 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Feel free to relocate and end your torment.

Sorry. Today you are the second TV expert to recommend someone go home if he does not like something in Thailand. Try to post earlier tomorrow if you want to top spot. Good try however. Congratulations. I know this took a lot of thought

[1FinickyOne]

I rarely eat Thai when out and about - often at home but not always... my wife cooks pretty well, but mostly I prefer Western foods... 

 

I like American food: French fries... 

 

Sure, pizza, spaghetti, american chinese and Indian... 

[Chalong circle]

53 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

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. 

Spot on !

[Parsve]

I agree. I use to say that thai food is like 50:s farmer food but ruined with spices so you not could feel the taste of anything else. And to that always rice. I live in the middle of the rice belt and here they have rice even in the ice cream. 

[ChipButty]

My wife is a wonderful cook she can make anything I want whether it be farang food or Thai she make all our own bread and if I want pies she can,

I bored with these so called Thai restaurants the food is bland over cooked and cheap ingredients, I reckon they have got even worse trying to cut back and save money.

We very rarely eat out these days I much prefer to eat at home, Having said that we did go out for lunch the other day to a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant and it was very good, good sized portions and good quality,

 

[RocketDog]

2 hours ago, elgenon said:

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.

Definitely the music! Especially when played at ear-splitting volume, as it nearly always is. ????

Oh, and the government for sure... who wouldn't?

[Moo 2]

Totally agree, as for the taste, I don't know, it takes me 15 mn to cool off my mouth. Today, I refuse to be polite, I just refuse to eat it.

[Andre0720]

My claim is that the 'cook' is the one who makes the sauce.

The 'cook' in Thailand is Tesco or Super Cheap, where all sauces come from.

The sauces are laced with sugar, which ultimately is a bad ingredient, detrimental to a person's health.

I have stopped eating Thai food entirely.

I cook at home, and I am the one making the sauce. No sugar in my home, and no bottled sauces.

But if one thinks that Thailand has some of the worst food on this planet, this person has yet to see, smell or eat food from Cameroun. The stench will prevent anybody from sleeping. 

[actonion]

Thai food,   cooked with cheap oil, too much salt, too much sugar, in mostly un hygienic conditions

 

[JayClay]

1 minute ago, actonion said:

Thai food,   cooked with cheap oil, too much salt, too much sugar, in mostly un hygienic conditions

 

Stop it... You're making me hungry! ????

[ChipButty]

3 minutes ago, actonion said:

Thai food,   cooked with cheap oil, too much salt, too much sugar, in mostly un hygienic conditions

 

And mostly over cooked 

[bbko]

2 minutes ago, actonion said:

Thai food,   cooked with cheap oil, too much salt, too much sugar, in mostly un hygienic conditions

 

You must mean Thai street food, cause the Thai food my wife cooks at home it nothing like the way you describe it.

[thurien]

"To name a few foods far better than Thai"

 

having said that in your initial contribution you could have closed your thread at that point already

[ChipButty]

7 minutes ago, bbko said:

You must mean Thai street food, cause the Thai food my wife cooks at home it nothing like the way you describe it.

I think thats what he means

[Pravda]

Not everyone has a master chef at home. And lets not forget why most moved here. Amazing food, beaches and temples. 

[clivebaxter]

10 minutes ago, actonion said:

Thai food,   cooked with cheap oil, too much salt, too much sugar, in mostly un hygienic conditions

 

Especially the street muck, so much loved by vloggers and tourists it's become a fad in recent years. Deep fried in palm oil well past it's use, fish that looks off to start with and meat balls I would only feed to a soi dog. Very trendy ????

[EVENKEEL]

35 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

My wife is a wonderful cook she can make anything I want whether it be farang food or Thai she make all our own bread and if I want pies she can,

I bored with these so called Thai restaurants the food is bland over cooked and cheap ingredients, I reckon they have got even worse trying to cut back and save money.

We very rarely eat out these days I much prefer to eat at home, Having said that we did go out for lunch the other day to a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant and it was very good, good sized portions and good quality,

 

Good reminder, think I'l get a set of the VN sausage set on the bottom for dinner tonight. 

[ChipButty]

10 minutes ago, clivebaxter said:

Especially the street muck, so much loved by vloggers and tourists it's become a fad in recent years. Deep fried in palm oil well past it's use, fish that looks off to start with and meat balls I would only feed to a soi dog. Very trendy ????

Thai's dont throw anything away, how many days has been sitting there?

[DiDiChok]

I know what the OP means and it wasn't until I found that there were lots of things being hidden from me because the Thais thought I wouldn't like them.  Like Kai Yat Sai which is an omelette formed into a case like a pie containing lovely minced meat, gravy, vegetables and potatoes like in a shepherd's pie.  The cheap battered fried chicken and sticky rice sold by the road is really nice for breakfast.  Breaded fish with vegetables in oyster sauce is lovely.  They do have children and they don't eat much spicy food.  Then there are regional variations of dishes that can make Thai food suitable for our palate.  I've had wonderful pork leg in gravy with spaghetti and noodles, some mixtures are amazing.  Sweet and sour anything is nice as is fried rice with meat or prawn.  Most sweets are sickly sticky Indian type items but if you persevere, there are plenty of edible ones with fruits.  Make lists of what you do like and what you don't.  You'll be surprised by how many nice things there are.  Mind you, I dislike cheese intensely so the Thais' aversion to dairy products suits me very well.

[ChipButty]

5 minutes ago, DiDiChok said:

I know what the OP means and it wasn't until I found that there were lots of things being hidden from me because the Thais thought I wouldn't like them.  Like Kai Yat Sai which is an omelette formed into a case like a pie containing lovely minced meat, gravy, vegetables and potatoes like in a shepherd's pie.  The cheap battered fried chicken and sticky rice sold by the road is really nice for breakfast.  Breaded fish with vegetables in oyster sauce is lovely.  They do have children and they don't eat much spicy food.  Then there are regional variations of dishes that can make Thai food suitable for our palate.  I've had wonderful pork leg in gravy with spaghetti and noodles, some mixtures are amazing.  Sweet and sour anything is nice as is fried rice with meat or prawn.  Most sweets are sickly sticky Indian type items but if you persevere, there are plenty of edible ones with fruits.  Make lists of what you do like and what you don't.  You'll be surprised by how many nice things there are.  Mind you, I dislike cheese intensely so the Thais' aversion to dairy products suits me very well.

There are lots of dishes available in Thailand that many farang never get to try, They get stuck on Phad Thai

[Freddy42OZ]

I like all the food types you listed, but without fail I will add chilli sauce or chilli flakes to most of them.

A steak and kidney pie is so much better with chillies in it to give it some bite. 

 

[cdemundo]

21 hours ago, Boarn said:

I'm sick to the back teeth of people saying how much they like Thai food,

You seem to be presenting with symptom that is indicative of condition that is prevalent in miserable old SOBs.

You could have your MD check, but you may have a large arthropod lodged in your posterior.

This is of course the ICD-10 designation, the layman's description is usually, "You have got a bug up your a$$."

 

Lots of Thai restaurants near where I am staying.

Must be lots of insane folks near here.

[Tropposurfer]

Love the phrase "What's wrong with you?"  says it all huh ????

[4MyEgo]

21 hours ago, Boarn said:

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

Eating at Thai restaurants doesn't really define eating Thai food because most, not all Thai restaurants, depending on the level of course, use cheap oils/ingredients which rob you of the true flavours of Thai food and only cater for certain Thai foods. 

 

Street food is for those on tight budgets and those who don't care about taste and their long term health, only wanting to fill up the hole in their stomach while washing the food down with a beer, just my opinion.

 

I could eat Thai every single day if it was made by my wife who knows how to cook not only Thai, but all types of foods with love. 

 

I enjoy eating at home far more than eating at any restaurant, and if we ever go to a restaurant, it would be because we are away on holidays, that said, if the wife had her say, she would cook while we are away on holidays because she appreciates cooking to perfection, but that would defeat the purpose of being on holidays and she has accepted the fact that she has to eat out when we are on holidays as much as we both don't enjoy the food that much, but when you got to eat, you got to eat.

 

The above said, while there are choices and I have an open budget, I also enjoy Mediterranean food and some good old home made beef burgers and pizzas made with sourdough, so variety is key, that goes with the home made sweets as well.

 

Let's not forget a good glass of red to wash it down makes it all the more enjoyable.

 

 

[The Cipher]

3 minutes ago, Dene16 said:

i suppose you could say that British food is bland due to the fact that we don't need spices and hot influences to enjoy our food. However i don't see us as any different to countries such as Germany, France, Poland Holland and quite a few more i could mention. However all my overseas friends have always stated they really miss an English breakfast

Sorry. I didn't mean to insult British cuisine. I prefer it to Thai myself (sour tastes aren't my jam), but I couldn't help but clap back at a supposedly grown man making an entire thread to insult people with different tastes than him.

[Na Fan]

It's a lot of mixed feelings for me.

 

Some dishes I absolutely love - Larb Pet, Tom Saab, Tam Tua. Some insects are great (Jingrid for example) as well.

 

But, in most cases, they will give me horrible diarrhea, because it's either not fresh, has been left laying in the sun or who knows where, or is just filthy because hygiene is a strange concept to Thais. When the wife cooks it, it's fine though.

 

And a lot of it is just disguised junk - it contains more sugar than your Big Mac would and is otherwise also rather unhealthy and did I mention it's very unhygienic  (meat sourced from markets where it's left rotting in the sun covered in flies, which hop from the nearby dog feces to the meat and back again). Prime example is the noodle soups "Guoy Tiaw" - they are drowing that <deleted> in sugar to extreme levels. Simple bowl of noodles with two tablespoons full of refined sugar. Daily. Or several times per day. Not exactly healthy.

 

So would I choose an Isaan feast over lobster or an Argentinian Black Angus tenderloin? Yeah, sometimes. If I know and trust the source.

 

Do I want to eat it every single meal for every single day? Absolutely, positively not.

 

That's my 0.02 Satang