Deterioration of Dining Quality and Experience

[In Full Agreement]

On 12/26/2024 at 12:55 PM, Patong2021 said:

I was laid out with awful food poisoning for 2 days. I was literally leaking crap and could not stray far from the toilet. 

 

 

That's a more than adequate description, thank you..

[cdemundo]

19 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

When it comes to quality of the (sweet) bakery, my favored is Paul bakery, not available in Hua Hin.

The scent and flavor of the real butter and the few selected natural ingredients used in its recipes are a triumph of simplicity and pastry art.
Starbucks is a chemical laboratory not a bakery. Its chemists and physicists playing with artificial flavours, colorants and preservatives to bake eyes appealing cakes. Those cakes stay fresh on the shelves for days in a row, worryingly without showing any sign of decay. I never performed the test, but I am under impression that they may glow of an innatural violet light when observed in the dark.
But it's just my opinion, and to each its own.

My daughter lectures me on avoiding preservatives, meh.

They might be harmful to health, apparently might not be harmful as well.

I was in Laos and bought a loaf of bread in the evening.

Next day I went to make a PBJ and every inch of that loaf's surface was spotted with mold.

So I see why preservatives are used.

[kingstonkid]

21 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

When it comes to quality of the (sweet) bakery, my favored is Paul bakery, not available in Hua Hin.

The scent and flavor of the real butter and the few selected natural ingredients used in its recipes are a triumph of simplicity and pastry art.
Starbucks is a chemical laboratory not a bakery. Its chemists and physicists playing with artificial flavours, colorants and preservatives to bake eyes appealing cakes. Those cakes stay fresh on the shelves for days in a row, worryingly without showing any sign of decay. I never performed the test, but I am under impression that they may glow of an innatural violet light when observed in the dark.
But it's just my opinion, and to each its own.

 

Last time I checked STARBUCKS was a coffee shop that served coffee and had cakes and treats for people toeat withtheir coffee. No one I know goes there just to eat the food.  

 

YOu can not compare STARBUCKS to a restaurant as they are 2 different service routes.  Micorwaving a mass produced item is the not same as cooking it.

[kingstonkid]

2 hours ago, cdemundo said:

My daughter lectures me on avoiding preservatives, meh.

They might be harmful to health, apparently might not be harmful as well.

I was in Laos and bought a loaf of bread in the evening.

Next day I went to make a PBJ and every inch of that loaf's surface was spotted with mold.

So I see why preservatives are used.

 

I lived in Pakistan, where everything is fresh without preservatives.  Imagine butcher selling meet on sid or road.  It was explained to me by my driver that that is why there is so  much spice in Pakistani meatsd when cooked.

[Patong2021]

Thank you for the observations and comments.

 

On 12/26/2024 at 7:44 PM, SiSePuede419 said:

I'm going there next year and people are raving about the nice restaurants there.

Yeah, classic upscale Thai restaurant scenario.

They start out good, lots of customers but then they realize they're losing money so they start to cut corners or get a cheaper cook and the customers drift away.

Aren't there several Swedish restaurants there?

Osot place?

Ogen Israeli food?

Dim sum?

Seems like there's some choices there. 😋

 

Ogen has moved up the road, into a new and much fancier location. It also slightly rebranded as Mediterranean Food. I found the  food at the old place a bit too salty, but otherwise interesting. Haven't tried the new location.

 

On 12/26/2024 at 11:09 PM, AndreasHG said:

Frankly speaking (and with due respect) if you really believe that the ‘only reliable and consistently good experience has been with Starbucks’, then I believe you set the bar unusually low when it comes to food.

No surprise you get food poisoning.

 

I received food poisoning from a Thai curry at a midscale restaurant that I frequented for 2 years straight without problem. Once or twice, fish was off, but otherwise, reliable midlevel Thai restaurant.

 

Starbucks has consistency. It's bakery items are produced to exacting quality standards. Despite comments to the contrary, the baked goods do not rely on chemicals and additives. I purchased a piece of apple pie the other day. It was mostly apples and it was good.  It was not a palm oil palm oil crust. The croissants are made with butter. The blueberry muffin has real blueberries.

 

There are several "French"  and "Japanese" style bakeries in the  2 shopping malls here. The products look good, but the quality is generic  western grocery chain. I have tried 3 different European bakeries, one is French and the either 2 German. Quality is decent, but it is a hastle to have to make a special trip to the bakery , especially since I can't consume a loaf in a day or two like  a normal family does.  I go to the Europeans because I don't want sugary bread, and like a good rye or whole grain.

 

I will be back to eating more salads and fruit at home again.