Teenager Found Decapitated in Mysterious Drowning Case in Mukdahan Pond

[sumongkhwai]

Never had them before but, do fancy the name and, the name, in and of itself, sounds like something that would be hot and spicy. Maybe not enough sugar in this batch? Whenever my wife makes some som tam (which seems like every day!) it's a coughing/choking/runny nose affair but, that's how she likes it (sometimes too hot for her reles).

 

Seems like a good opportunity to use that Thai line; the doctor says she tasted her friends Dragon Balls (the food from the restaurant) the other day and they weren't as hot to which the waiter gets to reply "Same same but different".

 

Trial should be a banger; Dr. Walia how often do eat Dragon's Balls? In your previous experience, what was your favorite part of the Dragon's Balls? Could you please describe for the court the size and shape of said Dragon's Balls? Have you ever have to treat a patient with Dragon's Balls?

[bradiston]

12 hours ago, Sigmund said:

She is right as most restaurants do not even bother to ask the foreigner if they want it very spicy or not to spicy. Depending on their mood of the day, even if you ask, they answer just with the usual "No can Do". Happens all the time in Hua Hin restaurants.

I'm always asked if I want "spicy" in Thai restaurants in Pattaya. And I've never ever heard a Thai say "No can do". "Cannot" is usual. And when would a waiter or waitress say they can't vary the heat? Are you making this stuff up?

[AustinRacing]

The central issue is Thai culture of just nodding yes when foreigners ask. I’m not a big fan of super spicy food. Occasionally when asking not to put chilli they say ok but the dish is already made in the pot, or they prepare it as always, or simply they forget to tell the chef, or the chef being in “auto” mode makes it like he always does. Not just with food, i see this in other situations. They say ok/yes but clearly not understanding the question. 

[Kerryd]

"Restaurant staffers should have been trained to serve Thai iced tea or “some other dairy-based product” to customers with bad reactions to “spice intensity” — but there were none of the beverages on hand, according to the suit.

Instead, Walia was forced to chug “an entire glass of coconut water and more water, but the burning did not subside,” the lawsuit states."

"Walia’s lawsuit also targets over two dozen individuals, including her server, chefs and other employees who may have “influenced, designed, prepared, or participated in creating” the dish."

“A new employee who prepared the dish made an error and added additional peppers, rather than reducing them as requested,” Walia, of San Jose, claimed in a November court filing."
(And she knows that how ?)

The restaurant literally just has to bring a menu and have oh, I don't know, 500 or so customers show up to testify that they've eaten the same dish with no problems.
Lol at their menu when they do things like this: "Pad Grr Pow" or "Pad See U". The list the alcoholic drinks they serve but don't show any non-alcoholic drinks (like smoothies or shakes).
Note the restaurant is located about 70 kms south of San Fransisco.
And their food is not that spicy. LOOK at the chilies they are using.

Those same dehydrated (or "sun dried") hard chilies that have almost no flavour at all. The Chinese use these a lot and restaurants overseas where they can't get fresh ingredients.
"Dragon Balls" from the restaurant's web menu.

 

[Kerryd]

I found that "Thai" restaurants - literally around the world - rarely make food that tastes "authentic" or is as spicy as it is in Thailand.
In part because they can't get fresh ingredients like red chilies, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves or galangal so they "substitute". After all, ginger pretty much looks like galangal, right ? And dried lemon grass powder in a spice jar is probably just as good as the fresh stuff, right ?

(Chinese restaurants around the world have the same problem. In Vancouver we were lucky. Restaurants would have cooks that literally just got off the plane from Beijing or or Shanghai and we had local "Asian" markets full of fresh "Asian" vegetables and herbs. But as soon as you travelled even a hundred kilometers away from Vancouver, the food in Chinese restaurants took a huge dive in taste and quality.)

And - they ALL "dumb down" the spice because they know 99% of their customers couldn't handle it if it was made "Thai style". I found that out back in '98 when I was in Ontario and planning a trip to Thailand. 
I was getting food from a local Thai restaurant to "prep" myself to handle the chilies. I thought I was doing good. I was ordering the "3 chili" (hottest) levels and not having a problem. I was also ordering the "suicide wings" from another place and not even getting a tingle on my tongue. I was ready !!

I went to Thailand all brave and confident, went to a local Thai restaurant and ordered something like a Pad Kaprow "Thai style". 
I couldn't get through 3 spoonfuls. Too spicy. I was kind of upset because I couldn't handle a simple dish.
Because a "scorching 3 chili" dish in Canada was probably the same as "made for young children in Thailand" level of spice.

Last time I was in Canada I found a Thai restaurant near my hotel and gave it a try.
I think I ordered a green or red curry and some other dishes and the waiter cautioned me that it was very spicy.
I told him "no problem, in fact, ask them to add some extra chilies".

The dish came out - with those hard, dried out chillies that are inedible. Like trying to eat brittle plastic.
And needless to say, the dish was not even close to being "spicy".

(The worst was when the company I was working for put us up in a 5 star hotel in Dubai. They had Tom Kha Gai on the menu. Spicy coconut soup with chicken. One of my favourite dishes.
They brought it out and immediately you're looking at it going "huh ?". No coconut milk at all. Not spicy. Had like 2 of those dried out chilies in it.
It was like an oily tomato soup. But that's what you get when you order a Thai dish at a restaurant in Dubai that probably uses Indian "chefs" that got their certification from the the local print shop where they also got their qualifications to be an electrician, mechanic and transport truck operator.)

(I spent 10 years working in Afghanistan and we had a lot of Indian employees and we quickly found out how most of them got their qualifications. We had "mechanics" who were qualified because they'd worked at a Tata assembly plant. One guy did nothing but put the front-left tire on each car as it passed. Another guy only put the front bumpers on. But somehow they were "qualified auto mechanics". Our plumbers used to go ballistic because every time a "qualified plumber" did a job they'd have to go back in and redo it properly the next day. The electricians literally had to sit on "qualified" electricians and teach them how to do basic tasks - properly.)

[IslandLover]

5 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

She got burned by a PRIC, obviously.

 

PRIC YI NOOOO

 

What is pric-yi-nu....anyway?

 

 

Deh-wah...

 

I doubt that this bird ever even tasted a decent prik.

I mean a prik ki nu.

 

A decent prik would have truly wasted her....

And she would have been in NO position to complain...

After downing one.

 

 

 

On my first visit to Phuket in 1983, I told the waiter I liked spicy food because I had grown up on Vindaloo curries.  The cook decided to play a prank on two unsuspecting tourists and overdid it with the chilies.  Well, it nearly blew our heads off but we survived with no ill effects.  We were told they were "mouse sh*t" chilies.  Now we can't get enough of them. This woman is obviously a wimp and is suing for suing's sake.  Her name sounds Indian too.  Obviously she doesn't like her native cuisine.

[IslandLover]

12 hours ago, novacova said:

She’s a doctor and should have known full well that the chemical in chili is Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide). 

 

Chili peppers have many health benefits too.  12 Amazing Health Benefits of Chili Pepper - Natural Food Series

[Kerryd]

And I've never had a Thai restaurant, anywhere in the country, tell me they couldn't make a dish without chilies or couldn't "reduce" the amount used. And I've eaten in "Thai" (i.e. "where the locals eat") restaurants all over the country.

I often order something somewhere and the staff (who usually don't speak English) will tell my friends that what I ordered is spicy and they'll tell them not to worry because "farang gin phet" and everyone laughs (except me).

And when it is served I still end up adding ground "prik daeng" and chili sauce to it.
(I've spent a lot of time improving my tolerance to very hot chilies. I use a lot of Blair's Mega Death (Scoville scale - 500,000) and Ultra Death (Scoville scale 800,000) sauces when I'm making curries or BBQ sauce or mixing it with Tartare sauce for fish.)

But back when I first started visiting Thailand one of the first phrases I ever learned (after "Where is the bathroom") was "mai phet" (no spice).

Never had a problem ordering anything and having it made "mai phet"  or "phet nid noi" (spicy little bit).
Even in gas station food courts in the middle of Isaan, I would just point at something and say "mai phet" and the (usually) old ladies would point out which dishes were not spicy.
(Turns out a lot of Thais don't like eating super spicy food all the time either and a lot of dishes are made without any chilies at all.)

[IslandLover]

13 hours ago, Middle Aged Grouch said:

Spicy food can lead to colon cancer and other issues with age. Usually there are no symptoms during the process, Ban all spicy food and at the restaurant make sure they understand your request. If not, don't go back if they fuss or pretend not to understand.

 

Nonsense.  Chili peppers have many health benefits, including inhibiting cancer cells.

 

12 Amazing Health Benefits of Chili Pepper - Natural Food Series