A foreign customer speaking fluent Isan surprised staff at a Korean grilled meat shop in Kalasin after ordering two jumbo sets and asking to pay through the Thai discount scheme using his wife's mobile phone.

The moment, recorded on the shop's CCTV at 5.28pm on 14 July, was posted by the owner on Facebook and drew comments from viewers wondering how a foreigner could use the Khon La Khrueng or Thai Chuai Thai Plus benefit.

Shop owner Apinya Phunnoina later explained that the entitlement belonged to the man's wife. He used her phone to scan and pay for the order, according to the report.

Fluent Isan leaves staff laughing

The customer entered the long-established grilled meat shop on Thanon Thinnanon, on the Kalasin-Yang Talat route in Muang district, to buy food to take home.

He placed his order in Isan, the Lao-influenced dialect commonly heard across north-eastern Thailand. Apinya said she could not contain her laughter after hearing his accent.

In her Facebook caption, the owner said she was already amazed that the foreign customer could speak Isan, before he asked whether the shop accepted the half-price scheme. She described him as both handsome and able to speak Isan.

Apinya said the man asked about the available meal sets. She told him a large set cost 250 baht and a jumbo set 320 baht. He chose two jumbo sets.

He then asked whether the shop accepted Khon La Khrueng. Staff asked whose benefit he intended to use, and he replied that it belonged to his wife before producing the phone to scan the payment.

For foreign residents and visitors, eligibility for government cost-of-living schemes remains separate from simply being able to make a payment at a participating shop. Anyone hoping to use such a programme should check the official conditions and ensure the registered beneficiary is making the transaction in line with the scheme's rules.

Pictures courtesy of Amarin

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Next level integration: speaks Isan better than half the Bangkok politicians. 😆👏

Thai people are often amazed that foreigners can speak other languages than their mother tongue, as in Thailand it is not common surely not in Isarn. However a friend of mine got the Thai nationality, but he never became a Thai but always a foreigner, although he had a Thai passport and ID. So somebody who can speak Isarn is just a smart guy who took time to learn.

SWMBO (Isaan through and through) was trying to explain a bar game to some Thai speaking girls when she turned to me and said can you explain it to them in English....it'll be easier than me trying to talk Thai???????

4 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

However a friend of mine got the Thai nationality, but he never became a Thai but always a foreigner, although he had a Thai passport and ID.

What point are you seeking to make here and is it pertinent to the light-hearted nature of the OP?

Issan people have often said to me learning Issan is easy if you can speak Thai, but I beg to differ.

There are many different words, which one can pick up with time and a patient Thai ( Issan teacher).

If you live in Issan, folks love it if you speak Issan to them.

' an nee Jak baht' ( how much is this)

'Jao sir nyang' ( what is your name)

'Nyang' how to write it in English! And pronounce correctly in Issan.

Listening to villagers, especially older ones speak Issan together is fun. The tones frequently soar skywards,exaggerating a word in the story, like actors narrating events.