Foreigners who order spicy dishes but modify them to be not spicy.

[Lemsta69]

1 hour ago, Everyman said:

Do they like food that tastes like <deleted>?

 

If the dish tastes like crap because there's no chillies in it then the cook is either not very good, or the recipe is crap to begin with.

 

Me, I can't eat even one spoonful of a dish that contains chillies, the guts just won't have it. 

 

The solution for me is to simply not eat Thai food anymore. I did all that years ago when I was here as a backpacker and was still CS by the place. Even then I ate mostly Chinese food anyway, noodle soups etc.

 

However, if I was forced to go to a Thai restaurant I'd probably try and order something that is usually "spicy" but can be made without chillies.

 

That rules out a lot of dishes because the base seems to be pre-made. So if worse came to worst I'd probably have to order pad krapow sans chillies.

 

If that ruins your dinner then I'm sorry but that's on the Thais, not me. If you go into a Thai restaurant and tell them in fluent Thai not to "water down" the dish, but they still do, then it's probably not a restaurant you'd be wanting to eat at anyway.

 

PS. what's this obsession with pad krapow anyway? Had it once in 1998 and it was OK but not so special that I ever went back for it let alone rave about it on YouTube like all the newbies seem to.

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, NextG said:

I knew there was something not quite right with you. Anyone who doesn’t like a good Khao Niew Ma Muang is quite possibly a rum sort..😊

 

 

Haha... indeed...    I love mango...  but that sweet sticky rices stuff...  Nope !...  not for me...  Son loves it though !.. 

[Ralf001]

14 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I am astonished at the number of expat friends I have and people I know, that do not like spicy at all and refuse to even make an attempt to adopt to spicy food. They order the same dish nearly every time we go out (Chicken with cashews) and they must be bored to tears with their diet.

 

I'm very grateful that I like Thai food, I like it spicy and that is never an issue, hasn't been since I started traveling to Mexico as a teenager. 

Ive never eaten dog <deleted>.... but I suspect Thai food would taste similar.

[still kicking]

56 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Thai food = rotting or poor quality meat with excess spices+ MSG + sugar added to disguise the nasty flavour.

All cooked by people that never wash their hands after taking a dump.

Don't even mention the liver flukes from rotting fish sauce.

 

As for desserts, apple pie or mince pies is about my limit.

Agree Thai food is overrated, I cook myself and no not just Farang food I also cook a nice spicy Vindaloo or Chinese foods. Just going to a Thai market puts me of food the smell is unbearable. 

[NextG]

7 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Haha... indeed...    I love mango...  but that sweet sticky rices stuff...  Nope !...  not for me...  Son loves it though !.. 

 

Yes, I’ve noticed some strange sorts not even slathering the sticky rice with coconut milk. The seem to miss the point of the whole thing, which is to make a sticky porridge by mixing the sticky rice with copious amounts of coconut sauce. Eating that with the right mango and you have the quintessential pudding. Savages not even touching the coconut milk and wolfing down dry rice and mango. I have to tune them out. 
Durian can be used as an alternative to mango. 

Edited December 9, 2023 by NextG

[Lemsta69]

25 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Not really.... There are levels of Spice.

 

When the level of spice in some Thai dishes is too light, it tastes somewhat bland. 

The same Thai dish with too much spice is just too hot to be enjoyable. 

 

I find Kapraw to be a lot like that...  There are some restaurants in Bangkok which I've found make it at the 'ideal spice level' for my tastes and there are others that are too spicy, others too mild...  

 

There is one place that I really like that makes Kapraw with decent sized chunks of chicken, no MSG, Sugar or other crap.. just clean ingredients...   its right on the limit of my tolerance for level of spice. 

 

As far as the world 'bland' is concerned for food that isn't spicy, thats subjective and depends on the dish. 

I would call good fish-n-chips bland and I wouldn't want spicy fish-n-chips either.

 

Correction ... there are levels of chilli. 

 

OP needs to change to title to replace "spicy" with "chilli". It's not the only spice in the world you know 😉

[richard_smith237]

16 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

However, if I was forced to go to a Thai restaurant I'd probably try and order something that is usually "spicy" but can be made without chillies.

 

Something like Paad Kapraw, you mean ?????.....     (and that answers your question below !!)

 

16 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

PS. what's this obsession with pad krapow anyway? Had it once in 1998 and it was OK but not so special that I ever went back for it let alone rave about it on YouTube like all the newbies seem to.

 

 

 

[BritManToo]

15 minutes ago, still kicking said:

Agree Thai food is overrated, I cook myself and no not just Farang food I also cook a nice spicy Vindaloo or Chinese foods. Just going to a Thai market puts me of food the smell is unbearable. 

Yep, I also cook Indian curries, and I sometimes cook Mexican .... but I've never mastered Chinese.

[Everyman]

I’m not saying everyone has to like spicy food, just that when 99 farangs reject any food with a single chili in it (when it’s supposed to because they ordered a spicy dish) the cook will see my face and assume i will as well and 

make me the “farangitized” version. 

 

There are some dishes that are never made with any chilis and Thai people that don’t like chilis tend to order those, not order “pad prik gang” with no “prik” (and therefore no gang). 

 

As far as food being premade…I am not talking about the “rice curry” shop. I’m talking about restaurants that make each dish from scratch. 

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, Everyman said:

I’m not saying everyone has to like spicy food, just that when 99 farangs reject any food with a single chili in it (when it’s supposed to because they ordered a spicy dish) the cook will see my face and assume i will as well and 

make me the “farangitized” version. 

 

There are some dishes that are never made with any chilis and Thai people that don’t like chilis tend to order those, not order “pad prik gang” with no “prik” (and therefore no gang). 

 

As far as food being premade…I am not talking about the “rice curry” shop. I’m talking about restaurants that make each dish from scratch. 

 

You can order whatever dish it is and ask for it to come as spicy as it normally would for a Thai person. 

 

 

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, Everyman said:

I don’t get it. Why order pad grapow “not spicy?” Why not order something that is normally not spicy, like gang jeut, or fried rice or pad thai or sweet and sour pork or an omelet? Do they like food that tastes like <deleted>? Because when i go to a new restaurant i often see lots of delicious food around me being eaten by Thais but i am served some “farangitized” garbage i wouldn’t feed to a soi dog. Then when i protest they act like “well of course you want crap food mr. farang, that’s what your species eats.” so instead i have to have a conversation ahead of time where i beg them not to ruin my food and often STILL won’t make it properly. It’s not just leaving out chilis - it’s leaving out anything resembling a flavor. I don’t even recognize the crap i see most foreigners eating.

 

Aside from me always ordering Grab, which seems to solve the problem of getting “farangitized” food (since they can’t see my white face) why can’t foreigners just order dishes that are normally not spicy? Why ruin my dinner by teaching Thais that all foreigners  have chili-phobia? Can TAT hand out pamphlets or something?

 

Is anyone else as frustrated by this as I am?

 

Could be worse, @georgegeorgia gets frustrated when the high temperatures down in Australia reminds him of shirtless foreigners in Thailand.

 

What's wrong with you people?

[stoner]

2 hours ago, Everyman said:

I don’t get it. Why order pad grapow “not spicy?” Why not order something that is normally not spicy, like gang jeut, or fried rice or pad thai or sweet and sour pork or an omelet? Do they like food that tastes like <deleted>? Because when i go to a new restaurant i often see lots of delicious food around me being eaten by Thais but i am served some “farangitized” garbage i wouldn’t feed to a soi dog. Then when i protest they act like “well of course you want crap food mr. farang, that’s what your species eats.” so instead i have to have a conversation ahead of time where i beg them not to ruin my food and often STILL won’t make it properly. It’s not just leaving out chilis - it’s leaving out anything resembling a flavor. I don’t even recognize the crap i see most foreigners eating.

 

Aside from me always ordering Grab, which seems to solve the problem of getting “farangitized” food (since they can’t see my white face) why can’t foreigners just order dishes that are normally not spicy? Why ruin my dinner by teaching Thais that all foreigners  have chili-phobia? Can TAT hand out pamphlets or something?

 

Is anyone else as frustrated by this as I am?

 

you sound tense. want to come over and smoke ? it won't be spicy i promise. 

[novacova]

34 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

It can be a complete 'gamble' trying to second guess and order 'spicy or not spicy'... 

 

It depends on the area... Go to a touristy area and they may make the dish more mild than you are used to, but if you ask in Thai for it spicy, then they may think, ok, he likes it 'nuclear'....   Its a difficult one to gauge.. 

 

In a 'touristy area' (and area's with lots of Western foreigners ) - I'll order in Thai and just say 'normal spicy' if they ask (P̄hĕd ṭhrrmdā')....  the issue, then, in some of these places is the staff don't speak Thai and you have to order in English and then you know its going to be mild as the restaurant has adapted to complete 'farangatisation'. 

 

In a less touristy place I'll just order and eat it as it comes and its usually fine.. (but that could be a facet of being here for a while and getting used to spicy food).

 

Generally, outside of tourist areas I find any second guessing and asking for a dish to be  'not too spicy' or 'spicy' ends up with it arriving at either end of the 'spicy spectrum'...    

 

I can take it either way, though I do like it pretty spicy prefer roasted chili. Four of my favorite shops know how I like my food, spicy and no sugar. Going to a shop that’s unfamiliar with me l request phet maiwan, sometimes wan sometimes maiwan in my food.

[Celsius]

My wife always instructs the staff to make the food less spicy.

 

You would be surprised how many Thais suffer from acid reflux.

 

To me you are just another idiot living in Thailand.

 

Good luck.

Edited December 9, 2023 by Celsius

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, Celsius said:

To me you are just another idiot living in Thailand.

 

The Op will be beside himself that he's not met with your approval... 

[Everyman]

4 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

The Op will be beside himself that he's not met with your approval... 

 

I’m just confused because I thought what i am saying makes sense and people will agree with me. 

[phetphet]

Spicy is subjective according to the taste and familiarity and acclimatisation with spicy foods.

 

What the chef or some diehard Isaan or Souther Thai ( they seem to like the really spicy stuff) might consider normal might blow the socks of someone who has never eaten spicy food.

 

e.g. When I used to regularly eat Som Tum with a group of Thai's might chilli count went up to seven. The Thais were eating ten, fifteen, or more. Can't do it now though, as don't eat it so much.

[Lemsta69]

23 minutes ago, Everyman said:

I’m not saying everyone has to like spicy food, just that when 99 farangs reject any food with a single chili in it (when it’s supposed to because they ordered a spicy dish) the cook will see my face and assume i will as well and 

make me the “farangitized” version. 

 

There are some dishes that are never made with any chilis and Thai people that don’t like chilis tend to order those, not order “pad prik gang” with no “prik” (and therefore no gang). 

 

As far as food being premade…I am not talking about the “rice curry” shop. I’m talking about restaurants that make each dish from scratch. 

 

You're still blaming the wrong people. Not everyone in the world is obsessed with eating chillies and for many it completely spoils the dining experience.

 

Eating a chilli-laden dish is a nightmare for a lot of people, both at the restaurant and back at the hotel a few hours later. 

 

Tourists come here to experience the "local flavour" but for many it's too hot to handle. So rather than miss out they simply ask for the dish to be "not spicy". 

 

If you go to that same restaurant and tell them in fluent Thai that you want it made Thai style, and they don't comply, then that's on them and not the tourist or the poor person like me who can't tolerate even one spoonful of a chilli destroyed dish.

[sirineou]

2 hours ago, Everyman said:

don’t get it. Why order pad grapow “not spicy?”

I will take a wild stab at this ,

Because you like the taste of pad kra pao but you don't want it spicy. 

How the heck would "gang jeut, or fried rice or pad thai or sweet and sour pork or an omelet " taste like pad Kra pao?

 

I see all these threads started . and I am wondering, what kind of music is it playing in your heads? 

Honestly , I am jealous. It must be a hell of a patry. 

[Lemsta69]

3 minutes ago, phetphet said:

Spicy is subjective according to the taste and familiarity and acclimatisation with spicy foods.

 

What the chef or some diehard Isaan or Souther Thai ( they seem to like the really spicy stuff) might consider normal might blow the socks of someone who has never eaten spicy food.

 

e.g. When I used to regularly eat Som Tum with a group of Thai's might chilli count went up to seven. The Thais were eating ten, fifteen, or more. Can't do it now though, as don't eat it so much.

 

Thais don't know what spices are, all they know are chillies and ironically it was the dirty foreigner who introduced them to it 😂

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, sirineou said:

I will take a wild stab at this ,

Because you like the taste of pad kra pao but you don't want it spicy. 

How the heck would "gang jeut, or fried rice or pad thai or sweet and sour pork or an omelet " taste like pad Kra pao?

 

I see all these threads started . and I am wondering, what kind of music is it playing in your heads? 

Honestly , I am jealous. It must be a hell of a patry. 

You've never seen the old foreigners in bars boasting about how spicy they can eat?

I always equate it to a form of dementia, as if they've reverted to childhood, 'my dad can beat your dad' kind of game.

I may be mistaken of course.

[Baht Simpson]

I) It's a big misnomer that all Thais love industrial strength spiciness. I eat with them regularly and have seen a number of them leave food because it is too spicy. A lot of them will battle on though. See Papaya Salad.

 

2) Often it's not the spiciness of the food that's the problem but happening upon the seeds that are in the chillies. Separate them out.

 

3) Ask for your food mai phet. It takes a bit of experimentation but if you're a regular they'll soon adjust to how you like it. 

 

4) Indians tend to eat medium spiced curries not hot vindaloos.

 

5) Don't conflate flavour with spiciness. 

 

[themongoose]

When my wife orders the food, with the staff they tend to discuss the spicyness in terms of age.

 

i.e. she will order and "adult" spicy dish for herself, and "grade school" for me.

 

Until I have to correct her and say I am fine with the same as her...

 

...and then regret it the next morning.

[Baht Simpson]

8 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

 

Thais don't know what spices are, all they know are chillies and ironically it was the dirty foreigner who introduced them to it 😂

Demonstrably untrue. We have a shop here that has sacks of about 20 diffeerent spices, all used in cooking. It's true that a few of them are more widely used though.

[SAFETY FIRST]

2 hours ago, Everyman said:

Why order pad grapow “not spicy

I never order not spicy. 

 

I just remove those red chillies before eating. 

 

[alien365]

What I tend to do is order my food and then tell them I can eat spicy, followed by I like to eat khuar kling (I usually get a 'wohooa' kind of sound from them). When they hear I can eat southern spicy I always get the correct spice level 

[Fr87]

Thai chilli's add no flavor so there's that.

 

Tourists have limited knowledge give em credit for trying something different donchaknow

 

It's the expat diet and long term backpackers that is shonky af

 

Foreigners don't really eat Thai food. Maybe only if married lol.

 

BBQ, Phad Thai, Fried rice, Khaosoi, Masaman, omelette, 711 sandwiches and the odd bowl of noodles or green curry.

 

I can still do and enjoy five medium chilli's in som tam Thai.

 

Proper Issan food can be withering and that's coming from someone that can eat spicy food.

 

Getting older, I don't enjoy the heat as much. Sometimes my wife just forgets to cut it back a few chilli's and it's basically inedible for me.

 

This afternoon just brought home minced sirloin and we had phad khapao. My absolute fave and full on go-to dish for decades. It's savory and aromatic it's great spicy but still enjoyable otherwise

Edited December 9, 2023 by Fr87

[Lemsta69]

3 minutes ago, Baht Simpson said:

Demonstrably untrue. We have a shop here that has sacks of about 20 diffeerent spices, all used in cooking. It's true that a few of them are more widely used though.

 

Easy tiger! I was just having a bit of a dig at the now universal concept that "spicy" equates to dumping chillies into everything because you're addicted to the endorphin rush and that everyone else must follow suit.

[sirineou]

14 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You've never seen the old foreigners in bars boasting about how spicy they can eat?

I always equate it to a form of dementia, as if they've reverted to childhood, 'my dad can beat your dad' kind of game.

I may be mistaken of course.

No , you are not mistaken. 

A sign of insecurity, or way too much to drink LOL

[Baht Simpson]

5 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

 

Easy tiger! I was just having a bit of a dig at the now universal concept that "spicy" equates to dumping chillies into everything because you're addicted to the endorphin rush and that everyone else must follow suit.

I see.