Bangkok On A Very Restrictive Diet

[bkkbaz]

Hi all.

My father's coming to Bangkok for a short vacation in October, and is on a hugely restrictive diet at the moment, for rather unpleasant medical reasons.

Basically, he can eat no processed food, no fats, no meats, no dairy, no gluten and no sugar. That leaves fruit, a few nuts and vegetables. Ideally as raw and organic as possible.

By the time October comes around, he might be able to add a small amount of deep-sea fish or free-range chicken to the mix, but that's unconfirmed as yet.

A Google search threw up a few vegan restaurants in Bangkok, which is a good start, but even vegan food is likely to use saturated fats, sugar and gluten.

I'll be booking him into a serviced apartment rather than a hotel, so that he'll have a kitchen in which to prepare the fruit, nuts and veg that he can actually eat. But since he's on holiday, he's going to want to eat out as often as possible.

Any suggestions?

[eek]

I am unable to offer advice on exact locations as i dont know Bangkok well. But may i suggest one idea: to have a card made up that can fit in your fathers wallet, which states his dietry requirements. One side written in English, the other in Thai. State 'Important Health Warning: Food Allergies' or something along those lines as the title and as a caution (will be taken more seriously) and list what he cannot eat. Some places may refuse to serve him out of worry, but those that do will be more than informed. Watch out also for sauce ingredients as some places use pre-made and dont think to check the ingredients list..so maybe put that in the card also.

I hope also your father has anti-histimines or medicine to counteract any problems incase something is overlooked. If there is a great risk to his diet, would be best to play it safe and check with serveral places before he arrives and stick to those that can cater for him, rather than impromptu dining.

[ricklev]

http://www.rasayanaretreat.com/

Raw food restaurant. I've eaten there many times, always excellent. They used to deliver to my home for a small extra charge. Should be able to handle his needs with wonderfully prepared stuff! (I have no affiliation with them whatsoever.)

[bkkbaz]

I am unable to offer advice on exact locations as i dont know Bangkok well. But may i suggest one idea: to have a card made up that can fit in your fathers wallet, which states his dietry requirements. One side written in English, the other in Thai. State 'Important Health Warning: Food Allergies' or something along those lines as the title and as a caution (will be taken more seriously) and list what he cannot eat. Some places may refuse to serve him out of worry, but those that do will be more than informed. Watch out also for sauce ingredients as some places use pre-made and dont think to check the ingredients list..so maybe put that in the card also.

I hope also your father has anti-histimines or medicine to counteract any problems incase something is overlooked. If there is a great risk to his diet, would be best to play it safe and check with serveral places before he arrives and stick to those that can cater for him, rather than impromptu dining.

Thanks eek, some good suggestions. I'll certainly be checking a few places out over the next couple of months, but I'm hoping to get a few decent suggestions as to places to start. Bangkok is BIG, and my usual diet is pretty much the opposite of the above! If many (any?) of the suitable restaurants are all in one area, then that'll be a big help with deciding where to put him up as well!

http://www.rasayanaretreat.com/

Raw food restaurant. I've eaten there many times, always excellent. They used to deliver to my home for a small extra charge. Should be able to handle his needs with wonderfully prepared stuff! (I have no affiliation with them whatsoever.)

That looks promising, thanks!

Edited July 25, 2007 by bkkbaz

[Bellatrix]

There's a post here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=125349 about a place called Wai Thai that I have also heard good things about (but not been to yet) - might be worth looking into? Good luck

[chownah]

With the restrictions you describe it seems he would have a difficult time eating at almost any restaurant anywhere in the world....my guess is that he prepares his own food almost for every meal....he is probably used to this....he probably expects that he will have to prepare most of his own meals....why not ask him if this is what he expects and most assuredly is what he will have to put up with here....it would probably be good if you spent some time finding out where he can buy the things he can eat so that he will have as much variety as possible.

Also, I'm a bit sceptical about the truthfulness of your post in that I have never heard of a medically required diet that suggests that things be raw or as "organic as possible".

chownah

[bkkbaz]

There's a post here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=125349 about a place called Wai Thai that I have also heard good things about (but not been to yet) - might be worth looking into? Good luck

Looks good, thanks - will check it out

With the restrictions you describe it seems he would have a difficult time eating at almost any restaurant anywhere in the world....my guess is that he prepares his own food almost for every meal....he is probably used to this....he probably expects that he will have to prepare most of his own meals....why not ask him if this is what he expects and most assuredly is what he will have to put up with here....it would probably be good if you spent some time finding out where he can buy the things he can eat so that he will have as much variety as possible.

That was my initial reaction, hence my post here. Like I said, my own diet is pretty much the opposite of the above, so I'm coming from a point of pretty much zero knowledge! Some of the dishes at Rasayana look like they should be okay, I'll check out Wai Thai - hopefully that'll be at least two places we can go. Fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts are obviously available at most markets and supermarkets (I'm thinking Villa for more "organic" fare), so no problems there.

Also, I'm a bit sceptical about the truthfulness of your post in that I have never heard of a medically required diet that suggests that things be raw or as "organic as possible".

With all due respect, you don't know what you're talking about. Sorry, but it's rather a sensitive subject for me at the moment for obvious reasons, and comments like that really don't help.

[Ulysses G.]

Also, I'm a bit sceptical about the truthfulness of your post in that I have never heard of a medically required diet that suggests that things be raw or as "organic as possible".

With all due respect, you don't know what you're talking about. Sorry, but it's rather a sensitive subject for me at the moment for obvious reasons, and comments like that really don't help.

Sounds like he's on a raw food diet and although I believe in its merits, not many MDs do. chownah is pretty much right, whether you like it, or not.

[chownah]

Also, I'm a bit sceptical about the truthfulness of your post in that I have never heard of a medically required diet that suggests that things be raw or as "organic as possible".

With all due respect, you don't know what you're talking about. Sorry, but it's rather a sensitive subject for me at the moment for obvious reasons, and comments like that really don't help.

With all due respect, I believe that I do know what I am talking about. What I am talking about is my feelings about your post...I am a bit sceptical...this is absolutely true...and I it is also true that I have never heard of such a diet required medically...absolutely true. I do know what I am talking about when I am talking about my reactions to a post. I hope I was using polite language in describing my feelings about your post...it was my intention to give you a heads up about how some people view your post so that you might aleviate our reservations by explaining why a doctor has made these recommendations or something of that sort...but of course if your father's condition is bothering you so much that you don't want to mention something for fear that it reveal what should not be revealed then that's ok and fine. Its not a big deal if I'm sceptical really....at least for me its not a big deal...I'm sceptical quite alot and sometimes my scepticism is inappropriate...oh well. I hope your father comes and has his dietary requirements met and has a good time.

Chownah

[bkkbaz]

Also, I'm a bit sceptical about the truthfulness of your post in that I have never heard of a medically required diet that suggests that things be raw or as "organic as possible".

With all due respect, you don't know what you're talking about. Sorry, but it's rather a sensitive subject for me at the moment for obvious reasons, and comments like that really don't help.

Sounds like he's on a raw food diet and although I believe in its merits, not many MDs do. chownah is pretty much right, whether you like it, or not.

I can happily believe that Chownah is right that he's never heard of such a medically required diet. And if he's never heard of one, he logically can't possibly know what he's talking about. QED

And FYI, he's not on a raw food diet.

With all due respect, I believe that I do know what I am talking about. What I am talking about is my feelings about your post...I am a bit sceptical...this is absolutely true...and I it is also true that I have never heard of such a diet required medically...absolutely true. I do know what I am talking about when I am talking about my reactions to a post. I hope I was using polite language in describing my feelings about your post...

That's fine. But I was after restaurant recommendations, rather than medical opinions from people who know nothing about the case in question.

it was my intention to give you a heads up about how some people view your post so that you might aleviate our reservations by explaining why a doctor has made these recommendations or something of that sort...but of course if your father's condition is bothering you so much that you don't want to mention something for fear that it reveal what should not be revealed then that's ok and fine.

Not at all. If this was a medical forum, we could discuss the technical details all day. But it's not. It's the Bangkok forum, and I was asking about restaurants in Bangkok...

Its not a big deal if I'm sceptical really....at least for me its not a big deal...I'm sceptical quite alot and sometimes my scepticism is inappropriate...oh well. I hope your father comes and has his dietary requirements met and has a good time.

It was your use of the word "truthfulness" that hit a nerve. The suggestion that I might be lying about such a thing brought the red mist down, so I apologise if I was simply being over-sensitive.

[chownah]

It was your use of the word "truthfulness" that hit a nerve. The suggestion that I might be lying about such a thing brought the red mist down, so I apologise if I was simply being over-sensitive.

I have thought about this a bit and I came to the same conclusion...i.e. that the use of the word "truthfulness" was not necessary and my post probably would have caused less waves if I had worded it differently. My posts are not always received well and I think it is often because of my choice of words. Thanks for helping me focus on this.

I'm still sceptical about a medically required diet that suggests that things be raw or as "organic as possible" as a result of some medical condition. I could understand if some physician thought that raw or organic foods are best for healthy as well as sick people but I can not think of any medical condition that would call for this. Can anyone come up with a medical condition that would require this diet? I don't think we need to worry that this is the Bangkok forum....it can be discussed here as part of the interest of this topic...I think....if not I'm sure a moderator will come and tell us to stop.

Chownah

[Clipped]

sounds like a good candidate for the vast variety of 'somtom' variations...if millions of issan people can do it, im sure your father will be fine.

regarding the OP's orignal post, all the foods on that list are regarded as foods that bring up body heat...the thai term for inner body heat is 'lon nai'

i imagine his father is having problems with blood circulation.