Dumbing Down The Food

[Sticky Rice Balls]

also sell dry spice powders of buffalo spicy and nam tok for giving my chicken a little POP

[Sticky Rice Balls]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

For acamic interest the problem was actually pain not the runs. I know. TMI.

Wouldn't order again. 

yep  im pointing the fingers at the chili SEEDS....they tear me up inside so i strain my nam jim jaew sauce as they would haunt me just stewing in my gut all night...much better now

 

nam jim jaew is sold all over tesco--big C--etc...if u see it u can see its packed full of chili seeds

[bignok]

3 hours ago, JimTripper said:

Not if you get it at the local Thai market. It’s fresh there because it’s setup for Thais each night. Also, they can’t mess with the ingredients because it’s already cooked. ????

 

That’s where I went wrong. I used to buy almost always at the market, but switched to getting it cooked when I moved to a touristy area from places that served a lot of foreigners, because it was easier and the thing to do. Fortunately there are some fresh markets in my neighborhood I can’t wait to check out.

Where do you live? Spicy in Isaan. Sometimes too much for my Thai gf. I ask for mai sai prik now. Mai phet is still spicy.

 

Rather taste garlic or pepper. Chilli doesnt taste good.

[Regyai]

7 hours ago, marin said:

Then you will get bland gunk. Without the chilis at all there is no Thai taste. Phet Noi would be better. Not Hot, Not delicious is not what you are looking for. 

Much to learn grasshopper

"mai phet - mai aroy" is a well known Thai idiom meaning if its not phet its not aroy. Not only will you get the correct full measure of spice/hotness but also the kudos of knowing the phrase

[sikishrory]

It's not a new thing.

It's really weird. Like they think they are the only country in the world that eats chilli.

So many times I have ordered Thai food spicy only to get prik chi faa instead of the small chillies. Or get no chilli at all. Or get an entirely different dish.

Or another one is to put little or no chilli and then when you ask they give you a shaker of chilli powder which changes the dish entirely.

It's really weird.

Another one is the pork blood (nam dtok) in noodles.

Ordering noodles from a thai guy with a cart once in Pattaya me and wife both trying to get 2 bowls of nam dtok noodles. He refused to do it for me saying farang mai chob.

[rwill]

On 6/4/2023 at 7:21 AM, marin said:

You are going to restaurants that cater to farung. So change where you go. Hit up a "Khao Gaeng" shop for some curry. Or get out of the tourist area and order a street side Krapow Mu. You will find what you are looking for, if that is the real Thai taste. 

The wife and I don't eat at places that have precooked food.  You know they never throw the old stuff away and just keep bringing the same stuff out and adding more to it when needed.

[KhunLA]

8 minutes ago, rwill said:

The wife and I don't eat at places that have precooked food.  You know they never throw the old stuff away and just keep bringing the same stuff out and adding more to it when needed.

I rarely, if ever do buffets, precooked food.   Last hotel stay, I opted for the brekkie buffet, too cheap & easy not to.  Of course, most of the hot & cold was at room temp, even though in heated or iced serving trays.  Digging down deep didn't help much.

 

One item tasted quite good, so waited to be refilled.   Damn if it didn't come out of the kitchen less hot than what was already left over ... W T F

[Gsxrnz]

13 minutes ago, rwill said:

The wife and I don't eat at places that have precooked food.  You know they never throw the old stuff away and just keep bringing the same stuff out and adding more to it when needed.

The never-ending-stew is a taste to behold. Once spent 10 days deer stalking and we added new meat and veges to the same unfinished pot every day. Rangui Stew.

 

Ended up a combination of venison, goat, chamois, rabbit and I think we also got a tahr. The taste was exquisite, but the pot had to be thrown away.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Gsxrnz

[1FinickyOne]

maybe as you're getting older, your taste buds are fading?

 

It is happening to me. 

[brianthainess]

On 6/4/2023 at 7:19 AM, Captain Monday said:

A tourist lady dragged me to "Asiatique" once. I ate what was the most expensive and simultaneously

blandest Thai food I have ever here. It has been explained by some that we foreigners just want big portions with extra meat and don't complain about price. There is some real good food in Southern California but same for some Thai restaurants in US. "Can I get extra chicken? " They don't have to try too hard so they don't bother.

In the US blah blah blah

[JimTripper]

17 hours ago, bignok said:

Where do you live? Spicy in Isaan. Sometimes too much for my Thai gf. I ask for mai sai prik now. Mai phet is still spicy.

 

Rather taste garlic or pepper. Chilli doesnt taste good.

In Pattaya now ????

[bignok]

7 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

In Pattaya now ????

Full of farangs so they serve up farang Thai not real Thai.

[bignok]

1 hour ago, 1FinickyOne said:

maybe as you're getting older, your taste buds are fading?

 

It is happening to me. 

Everything flops as you age

[1FinickyOne]

30 minutes ago, bignok said:

Everything flops as you age

I would not use the word 'flop' but yes, diminish... and it will for you too.... 60 is just a spit in the wind from 30... 

[Dante99]

On 6/3/2023 at 10:52 PM, JimTripper said:

They are not putting spicy in it

Yeh I always carry a bottle of spicy so I can add it as needed.

[Jingthing]

18 minutes ago, Dante99 said:

Yeh I always carry a bottle of spicy so I can add it as needed.

You and Hillary. 

 

 

[Kwaibill]

Lived in AZ before moving here. Always had a ristra of dried chilies on hand, some Hatch green chilis, etc, and enjoyed Indian curry. A fave som tam joint near Udom Suk asked you to specify the number of chilies you want.  Thai food is often more spicy than is comfortable for me. Peht noi is a good idea, or peht mai and add my own from the table canister.

[Grusa]

On 6/4/2023 at 7:21 AM, marin said:

You are going to restaurants that cater to farung. So change where you go. Hit up a "Khao Gaeng" shop for some curry. Or get out of the tourist area and order a street side Krapow Mu. You will find what you are looking for, if that is the real Thai taste. 

 

 

 

 

The trouble is, all that food is pre-cooked, and sitting rotting in the heat with flies everywhere. The turnover in food whilst high at peak, is not sufficient to ensure freshness. Then, look at the hygeine..... how are plates etc washed and dried.

 

If you have a strong constitution and are acclimatised to the bugs, you may get away with it for a while. Inevitably you will suffer at some point, as do the locals..... the penalty you pay for eating real Thai food. If you see it freshly cooked in a wok it is safer.

[JensenZ]

21 hours ago, marin said:

Then you will get bland gunk. Without the chilis at all there is no Thai taste. Phet Noi would be better. Not Hot, Not delicious is not what you are looking for. 

I find Thai food can taste very delicious with a low spice level. You've probably destroyed your taste buds with all that chili. I don't mean no chili, just a small amount - just enough to tease the taste buds, to make them tingle a bit without burning them up.

 

Sayinig Thai food is all about hot chili is an insult to Thai food. You may as well just add chili to rice and be done with it. Chili should be used to enhance flavour, not to cover it up, and by making it too hot, that's all you're doing.

 

BTW, straight from a doctor's mouth awhile back - a lot of Thai people have digestive disturbances and stomach complaints from eating too much spicy food. My wife was told to stop eating spicy food after the doctor noticed the condition of her stomach on a chest x-ray. She has penty of stomach issues and does love hot spicy food.

Edited June 5, 2023 by JensenZ

[onthedarkside]

A misquoted post has been reported/removed

[ChrisKC]

How many places have you tried that might indicate a trend in all of Thailand?

[KhunLA]

27 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

I find Thai food can taste very delicious with a low spice level. You've probably destroyed your taste buds with all that chili. I don't mean no chili, just a small amount - just enough to tease the taste buds, to make them tingle a bit without burning them up.

Been here long enough, and sampled most things enough, to know which dishes, may or may not come out of the kitchen way too spicy.   Why I travel with my own Cayenne pepper.

 

If ordering one of those dishes, I state 'mai phet, mai chili', as I'll spice it up myself.  Cayenne chili pepper is half the Scoville rating of Thai chili, and aside from frying my taste buds, it's gentiler on my stomach & production of acids.

[JensenZ]

1 minute ago, ChrisKC said:

How many places have you tried that might indicate a trend in all of Thailand?

It might be useful to report on the heat of the considerable amount of frozen Thai meals available in supermarkets and 7Elevens.

 

It would seem obvious that these mass produced Thai frozen meals are produced for the general Thai public's consumption. They give me a fairly good idea of how spicy the average Thai peson likes their food. Most of these curries and other dishes I don't find are spicy beyond my limited tolerance. There are a few I find too hot, but most are ok.

 

Why do I like to consume frozen Thai meals? Apart from being very convenient, I find the quality is consistent when you find a dish you like (it always tastes the same), whereas in restaurants, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not, depending on the chef on the day. Also, it's more hygienic.

[sirineou]

On 6/3/2023 at 10:52 PM, JimTripper said:

I have noticed places and vendors messing with the food recently. They are not putting spicy in it and are asking about it more when I order. Even when I ask for it spicy, they are not doing it.

 

is this a new thing? Never noticed it before. I keep getting bland dishes with no punch at all. Maybe it’s from foreigners complaining “it’s hot” etc

Two possible reasons 

first covit hurt vendors, now , as I am sure you are aware prices on everything is going up, We are all complaining about that and food vendors are trying to keep their prices as low as possible so that their customers can afford and buy their product. So because of it quality is suffering. 

Or......

You had covid and it affected your taste buds.  or both 

 

[JensenZ]

47 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Two possible reasons 

first covit hurt vendors, now , as I am sure you are aware prices on everything is going up, We are all complaining about that and food vendors are trying to keep their prices as low as possible so that their customers can afford and buy their product. So because of it quality is suffering. 

Or......

You had covid and it affected your taste buds.  or both 

 

I'm guessing it's option 2 LOL.

 

There are literally hundreds of Thai restuarants in Pattaya that hardly ever see foreigners (and if you include vendors - thousands). I couldn't imagine they are producing low quality food as the competition is stiff and they wouldn't last if they were selling inferior quality food to their Thai customers. It's easy to stay away from "dumbed down" Thai food if a foreigner is motivated to shop around.  

Edited June 5, 2023 by JensenZ

[Bill97]

4 hours ago, Dante99 said:

Yeh I always carry a bottle of spicy so I can add it as needed.

I have asked in many many stores for a bottle of spicy but nobody has any.

[Pink Mist]

A reported post using only a portion of the original quote to change the meaning has been removed.

[MrJ2U]

On 6/3/2023 at 10:52 PM, JimTripper said:

Maybe it’s from foreigners complaining “it’s hot” etc

Maybe you have COVID and lost your sense of taste. 

 

"80% of those patients who have a loss or distortion of their sense of smell will recover that sense about one to three months after the COVID-19 infection has"

 

https://covidblog.oregon.gov/covid-19-and-loss-of-smell-what-we-know/#:~:text=Timothy Smith%2C ear%2C nose and,COVID-19 infection has resolved.

 

 

[Captain Monday]

13 hours ago, brianthainess said:

In the US blah blah blah

Just a comparison. No need for the tedious anti-American virtue signaling

 

There are businesses here catering to uneducated palates and wallets- same overseas

 

[Puccini]

On 6/4/2023 at 5:21 AM, Jingthing said:

Some anecdotes.

 

If you can communicate this in Thai or English if they understand, it tends to help:

 

I will not send back the food no matter how spicy!

 

That's what they're really worried about. Complaining f-rangs insisting they redo the dishes and costing them money!

 

One time this happened. I asked for phet phet at a shophouse restaurant probably for a krap pow.

 

They served me a plate that was piled high with bird <deleted> chilies as a prank.

 

Nobody wants that Thai or f-rang.

 

So they were all staring and laughing at me.

 

I said nothing, picked through the food enjoying some of the chilies. I was sweating bullets, but I just paid and of course never went back.

 

Thinking about that considering the huge amount of bird <deleted> chilies they used they must have lost money on that sale. Serves them right.

 

 

1. What is a f-rang?

 

2. What are bird <deleted> chilies?