Reviving Thailand: Street Food

[Will B Good]

You can see the logic.....what self-respecting high value, high spending millionaire tourist is going to eat on the street?????

[KhunLA]

Not a big fan of it myself, though have certainly eaten my share.  Do need to choose your vendor wisely, and location (off main, dusty rd), along with fresh cooked.

 

Those generalizing it as unhealthy & unsanitary, have a point, sort of, though doubt if any of you ever worked in a restaurant with that attitude.  If so, you'd never eat out again.

 

Never gotten sick from street food, buy have 3x from restaurants, 2 here, 1 USA.  Actually not bad, considering how many times, and what c r a p I've eaten from all vendors, street or non.

 

I do prefer to sit at proper table & chairs, and if AC even better, so food courts win with me usually.  Offering the same plus so much more than a side soi full of vendors.

 

Choosing wisely is the key to all dining ... ENJOY

Edited December 15, 2021 by KhunLA

[In Full Agreement]

On 12/13/2021 at 10:36 AM, Pouatchee said:

Your post tries to make street food sound romantic. It is actually quite disgusting. I rather go to a cleaner Thai restaurant ... 

 

????????????

 

[clivebaxter]

On 12/14/2021 at 7:05 PM, Screaming said:

Street food is very unhealthy and unsanitary. There is no reason to support this industry.

Spot on, but it's become very trendy in the past few years with travelers, as if it were something special., bit like visiting prisoners they did not even know. I knew somebody who had a restaurant in Bkk and street sellers would buy his old oil, which should have been dumped, and used it again to cook in. The deep fried stuff is to avoid and most of the food has far too much sugar and salt in it. Add to that the dirty plates left stinking in bowls, the cockroaches, rats and traffic fumes and it's hard to see what the novelty is.

[Boyn]

47 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

You can see the logic.....what self-respecting high value, high spending millionaire tourist is going to eat on the street?????

Hands up everybody who thinks high spending millionaires are going to flock to Thailand, what can this country offer them, if you are rich you can buy what you want in countries a lot easier to live in than Thailand.

[DonniePeverley]

1 hour ago, MrJ2U said:

Probably better than street food.

 

But I get your drift.

There are two types of street food. One is the rough looking chicken hanging out in bare heat. The other where a freshly cooked meal is cooked rite infront of you. 

 

There was a street food cooker on soi 34 (who was cleared to make way for condos), and i'd go to him 3 times a week. He's make a fresh Padh kaprao Pa, or a vegetable burger for me cooked fresh, on the stove for around 60 Baht. The cost wasn't the issue, the food was unbelievably good. 

 

Not only does this allow Thai's to earn a living, provide food for locals, add to the colour and exotic look of cities for tourism, but it's a part of Thai culture. To erode this to make way for greedy capatlistic vultures is horiffic. Even India, they do not allow this erosion of culture to occur and protect the livelhoods of these people. 

 

Go see the countless documentaries on Thai street food, vloggers on youtube and instagram covering Thai street food. It's a unique aspect to Thai life. 

 

Thailand over the past 5 years has done so much to erode away all it's culture for the love of condos and a misguided belief it needs to be Singapore. 

Edited December 15, 2021 by DonniePeverley

[billd766]

20 hours ago, Will B Good said:

You can see the logic.....what self-respecting high value, high spending millionaire tourist is going to eat on the street?????

OTOH millions of Thais will spend more on street food in a year than all of the "millionaires" will do in the same year.

[billd766]

18 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

There are two types of street food. One is the rough looking chicken hanging out in bare heat. The other where a freshly cooked meal is cooked rite infront of you. 

 

There was a street food cooker on soi 34 (who was cleared to make way for condos), and i'd go to him 3 times a week. He's make a fresh Padh kaprao Pa, or a vegetable burger for me cooked fresh, on the stove for around 60 Baht. The cost wasn't the issue, the food was unbelievably good. 

 

Not only does this allow Thai's to earn a living, provide food for locals, add to the colour and exotic look of cities for tourism, but it's a part of Thai culture. To erode this to make way for greedy capatlistic vultures is horiffic. Even India, they do not allow this erosion of culture to occur and protect the livelhoods of these people. 

 

Go see the countless documentaries on Thai street food, vloggers on youtube and instagram covering Thai street food. It's a unique aspect to Thai life. 

 

Thailand over the past 5 years has done so much to erode away all it's culture for the love of condos and a misguided belief it needs to be Singapore. 

Actually if you think about it it isn't Thailand or the Thai people who are trying to erode Thai culture but the people who are slowly and determinedly doing it. They are the "government" which is a misnomer if ever I heard one. 

 

They are in charge and have the power and the guns to stay there for as long as they wish.

[KhunLA]

Don't know what needs reviving.  I have no problem finding street food in Krung Thep, and I'm usually not looking for it.  It's literally everywhere people need & want it to be.

Edited December 16, 2021 by KhunLA

[DonniePeverley]

8 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Don't know what needs reviving.  I have no problem finding street food in Krung Thep, and I'm usually not looking for it.  It's literally everywhere people need & want it to be.

 

You must clearly be aware the authorities have got of hand banning street food, markets, culture. 

 

Cue you to say "oh i like pavements and a boring city". I know how this argument goes. 

Edited December 16, 2021 by DonniePeverley

[KhunLA]

3 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

 

You must clearly be aware the authorities have got of hand banning street food, markets, culture. 

 

Cue you to say "oh i like pavements and a boring city". I know how this argument goes. 

Feel free to argue with yourself, just leave me out of it. 

 

As 'I' stated, never a problem finding street food.  It's everywhere.  Your experience, expectations, ability to find may differ.

 

Have a nice day

[steven100]

On 12/15/2021 at 8:26 PM, The Hammer2021 said:

Anal retentive drug laws

Singapore's strict drug laws have worked .....  if the same had been used by Australia and other places you wouldn't have so many nut cases running loose. 

[whiteman]

The Hospitals would love to have Street food back seeing it would improve there bottom lines with all the new casers of Trotty Botty they would get.

[DonniePeverley]

The banning of street food, street markets, eroding at the heart of Thai culture has been one of the bleakest aspects of recent Thai history. Destroying iconic buildings, neighbourhoods, even the train station owned by the government during the past 5 years has been an utter disgrace. 

 

And who benefits from this? Vulgar capatilists, who see a peice of land and make a grab for short term gain, or to hide illicit wealths from off shore funders (we all know where from).

 

Instead of the authorities protecting their citizens and the culture of Thailand, they seem to complicit in the behaviour. They'd like to see nothing better than Bangkok full of condos, and little else. Hell they would even build over Phuket beaches with condos if it meant they could earn a little.