10 hours ago, bobandyson said:

I think British food is bland but then that is why there's seasonings, sauces, gravies, herbs, creams, condiments etc.

 

Take away the spices, herbs, sauces, seasonings, condiments, etc. from Thai food, what are you left with? Bland food.

And if you remove heat from the equation it's raw.

 

You understand the concept of cooking right?

I'm blessed in that all of my wife's family are well educated and most speak English well.  We often get together and eat family style.  At dinner we'll order 6 - 10 dishes.  They have given me a great education about how to combine dishes to make a very pleasing experience.   The dishes are mostly from central Thai cuisine but they do add in some favorites from other regions as well.

 

We'll usually order a couple of whole fish dishes.  In my experience Thai's are the best when it comes to fish recipes.  My favorites are deep fried with curry sauce (shooshi?), with yum mango sauce, one with a lot of lime juice and lime chunks.

 

I recommend that the OP go eat with Thais or with others that have a good understanding of Thai cuisine.  Don't be content with only one side street order of whatever!  Go exploring.

13 hours ago, sirineou said:

No doubt there is a lot of great Thai food. and I enjoy a lot of it, but it all depends where in Thailand you are. We are in khon Kaen and they put way too much sugar  and or stinky stuff in food here for my taste. 

Even western can foods that I was familiar with back in the US here in Thailand  are produced  different .

  I enjoy making my own Pizza, so the other day that we were at Macro I bought a couple of jars of Heinz spaghetti sauce for those days that I am lazy and don't feel making tomato sauce. After I made the pizza it tasted very sweet and I was confused. I did not remember putting any sugar in it? 

I thought I made a mistake and instead of salt I had put sugar in the dough. Then another day , before again making pizza, i opened another can of the spaghetti sauce,and for some reason I decided to test it before I used it. It was full of sugar!! 

Same when I ordered Wonton soup from a sheet vendor.. It was sweet!!

I like sweet in my deserts, but certainly not in my dinner. 

Alot of times I ask them to leave some things out of my dishes. No stinky shrimp or fish sauce in som tom. No pun chulott (MSG) in anything. No sugar please. Many times they actually listen!

14 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

No stinky shrimp or fish sauce in som tom.

No wonder Thais think that foreigners don't know anything...............!!

Well stop buying 30 bht meals and go biy real thaifood.... 

1 hour ago, bojo said:

No wonder Thais think that foreigners don't know anything...............!!

We all have our own preferences. I love Thai food. I do not like Issan food. I can live without the 10,000 year old eggs, the insects, the loads of fish sauce, the stink, and the truly funky flavors. I love a clean som tom. Delightful green papaya, before they start loading it up with dried shrimp, tons of fish sauce, tons of MSG, sugar, salt, and other stuff.

 

If some Thais think I do not know anything, that works for me. I care not one iota what strangers think of me. Means less than zero to me. 

IMO thai food second only in SE to Vietnamese. Honorable mention to singapore which is really a hybrid of chinese. With thai food its not just the flavours, but also the obsession of the natives i think that enhances the experience. Also i am clearly addicted to the chili hit as i long for something hot with rice after a few days of not having

19 hours ago, sirineou said:

We are in khon Kaen and they put way too much sugar  and or stinky stuff in food here for my taste. 

ไม่หวาน (mai wan) "no sweet" goes a long way. I use this phrase a lot when visiting the family.

Some of it I don't mind but most of it is rubbish, and as boring as hell. Even the majority of educated Thai's admit that Western food, or Indian, middle-eastern, etc,  is better, which of course it is.

 

Also, Thai restaurants overseas are always better than the ones here.

On 10/6/2021 at 5:49 PM, spidermike007 said:

 my wife is a gourmet chef

 

 

 

Well what a shock that is! Don't tell me, she is also practicing law?

On 10/5/2021 at 6:46 PM, Boarn said:

Southern BBQ is a favourite of mine from the US.

How about turkey? Isn't that an American dish? Excellent these days. Sought after in Thailand by certain farangs. Has properties that cause you to be sleepy. Avoiding doing the dishes is extra enjoyment.

On 10/5/2021 at 7:34 PM, RocketDog said:

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

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

Yes, the government has done an exemplary job handling Covid. Many countries are studying their methods so they can copy them!

11 hours ago, Johnny Mac said:

Well what a shock that is! Don't tell me, she is also practicing law?

With those pics she's also apparently Mark Weins' photograper

"Also, Thai restaurants overseas are always better than the ones here."

Crazy talk; there is no country in the world whose food is better outside their country than in.

 

4 minutes ago, Michaelaway said:

"Also, Thai restaurants overseas are always better than the ones here."

Crazy talk; there is no country in the world whose food is better outside their country than in.

 

My Thai sis-in-law has a Thai restaurant in Maryland, USA.  My wife says her sis alters the food to what she thinks Americans would like.  Or maybe it's just too sweet or something.  Maybe it's because they don't serve Som Tam and chicken feet.

On 10/6/2021 at 9:50 AM, 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.

Obviously yes, street foods

15 hours ago, Johnny Mac said:

Well what a shock that is! Don't tell me, she is also practicing law?

Thankfully no. Law is so utterly boring. 

15 hours ago, Johnny Mac said:

Some of it I don't mind but most of it is rubbish, and as boring as hell. Even the majority of educated Thai's admit that Western food, or Indian, middle-eastern, etc,  is better, which of course it is.

 

Also, Thai restaurants overseas are always better than the ones here.

I could not possibly disagree more adamantly. I think you need to step up your game. Eating in the food stalls does not offer much. When I am back in the US with my Thai wife, we avoid the Thai restaurants, and they are nearly always disappointing. Last time we went to the highest rated Thai restaurant in LA, and we got surly service, from the Thai waiter, and marginal food, at best. And it was $80 for lunch. The food is so much better here. If you eat in good restaurants.

 

I might suggest you have been in Thailand too long? Time for some international travel?

11 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I could not possibly disagree more adamantly. I think you need to step up your game. Eating in the food stalls does not offer much.

Food stalls?? You won't see me at those places. I wouldn't give that muck to my dog (if I had one)

4 hours ago, Michaelaway said:

"Also, Thai restaurants overseas are always better than the ones here."

Crazy talk; there is no country in the world whose food is better outside their country than in.

 

I certainly prefer Chinese food in the UK to Chinese food in China.

Chinese food in Thailand is also bad.

14 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I certainly prefer Chinese food in the UK to Chinese food in China.

Chinese food in Thailand is also bad.

 

 

Not if it comes from the likes of Siamsburys and has Union Jack packaging....

27 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I certainly prefer Chinese food in the UK to Chinese food in China.

Chinese food in Thailand is also bad.

You need to hang out with more knowledgeable locals.

Excellent Chinese food available in Bangkok, at least where and when I lived there.

My wife's family know where+what to order.

1 minute ago, gamb00ler said:

You need to hang out with more knowledgeable locals.

Excellent Chinese food available in Bangkok, at least where and when I lived there.

My wife's family know where+what to order.

Every Chinese take away I ever had in the UK was good.

Never needed any specialist local knowledge.

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

Every Chinese take away I ever had in the UK was good.

Never needed any specialist local knowledge.

Well, in Thailand the signal to noise ratio is quite low.

44 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I certainly prefer Chinese food in the UK to Chinese food in China.

Chinese food in Thailand is also bad.

And very uncommon, as well as being ridiculously expensive too. Why? What is up with that? When you consider that a significant percent of Thais are ethnic Chinese, one would think there would be some affinity for the food. Guess not. 

On 10/6/2021 at 11:49 AM, spidermike007 said:

Step it up a notch. Stop eating in food courts. Spend a bit more, and the food you will find will blow your mind. For me, and many others, it is one of the highlights of living here. Most of the restaurants I eat at make beautiful food. Fresh, and delicious. The ones who do not, I don't go back. It is a simple system.

Thais not only know how to make amazing food, they are blessed with the culinary gene, unlike most others. Thai people are the polar opposite of Cuban or Philippine people, with regard to their cooking skills, and their great instincts with regard to the preparation of food. And alot of the food is healthy. I typically order all of my food without pan chulott (MSG). And my wife is a gourmet chef, and cooks with only the healthiest oils. 

You might want to step it up a notch. Perhaps you have set your sights too low, with regard to the caliber of restaurants you are choosing. There is some spectacular food here that I am incredibly thankful for!

 

 

 

I totally agree, pay the money and you get the best food.  Same for those who criticise British food.

 

The OP mentions cost - so I assume he is pretty broke and can't afford the nice food - or just too tight to pay for it.

1 minute ago, sharksy said:

The OP mentions cost - so I assume he is pretty broke and can't afford the nice food - or just too tight to pay for it.

Best Thai restaurant I know is Number 9 at Huay Tung Tao lake.

Hardly expensive, 1,000bht buys more than 4 people can eat.

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Every Chinese take away I ever had in the UK was good.

Never needed any specialist local knowledge.

Totally agree, however, it is not authentic Chinese food.  I remember eating in Hong Kong at a busy restaurant where I was the only westerner I could see.  Pork had the skin and hair still attached.  Nasty.

 

I did have a Shechuan hot pot at the Chinese area of Birmingham.  The Shechuan chillis were even too hot for my Thai girlfriend.  Didn't even taste nice.

On 10/7/2021 at 6:18 AM, spidermike007 said:

I love a clean som tom.

Then it's not som tom. LOL

can buy Batchelors dried peas from Siamsburies, when in stock and cook them to become MUSHY PEAS....

I do them often