Thai Airways soars with ‘plane’-tastic gourmet menus for all classes

[phrakid]

i was at food park n saw a food stall with 'fried rice with garlic pork' displayed on the board. 30B

so i ordered that n guess what i got? rice with fried garlic pork instead of fried rice with garlic pork.

dam_n

it didnt taste very nice... the pork was dry, n the soup was very salty

Edited November 29, 2007 by phrakid

[cnxmike]

Yeah, it's a wild world. I recently had such a shaking experience as well. I ordered an iced coffee without sugar and it was served with sugar. The only solution is to leave the country.

[hanuman1]

I agree

the food at Big C Hang Dong is not that good at all, but I'm putting it down to early teething problems. once they get a few complaints/recommendations i'm sure it'll improve. the food court at Tesco up the road is way better at the moment.

by the way, does anyone know what that other (unfiinished) building opposite the Big C food court is going to be? my daughter is hoping for a cinema, but gut instinct tells me its gonna be something along the lines of HomePro.

H.

[realthaideal]

Well..... without being preachy about the whole "you should learn Thai" thing, I will say you should commit to the phrase for fried rice with pork "Khao Pat Hmu" as one of the first ones you get down. What you got was Hmu Pat Kratiem which was understandably translated directly and came out looking like it shold be something else on the menu. Yes, likely a kink to be worked out soon, as many a non-speaker is likely to get caught by this the same way as you were. I won't balme the victim this time. THough that little phrase to order what you want will give the power back to YOU. And furthermore, if you were at a foodstall or little Mom n Pop who did it right, Hmu/Gai Kratiem is one of the best dishes you can order here. And eventually you may even enjoy the chewy or hard texture that it often entails. It goes great with the soft plain rice; they complement each other. These textures are appreciated by Thais.

[realthaideal]

I just relooked at the menu posting as you explain it, and it's all f@#$d up, so I can't really fault you for that. It wasn't a straight translation as I thought. Definitely a kooky kink in the system. Everything else still stands though. I know some guys in their 50's n 60's who've been here for 10 yrs or so who can barely respond in Thai to "Hi, how are you today?" But they can always, ALWAYS, order their food and beer correctly. That's just essentials.

[jaideeguy]

In all fairnes, i can say that most [90%] of the many 'mistakes' on my ordering food have been pleasant surprises and do not complain. What good would it do anyway??

[bunta71]

Normally hate to expose my inferior side but ate there a couple days ago and the whole system of buying coupons to pay threw me into a tailspin what with my inability to sa peak Thai and the fact that the Thais absolutely REFUSE to simply display a sign with an explanation in (God forbid) English as to how this ridiculous system works is in my opinion bad for retaining MY business. Not asking to change the world but felt it would be so much simpler to just "pay" with cash and not have to go back for the change. I seem to only be able to process one or two Thai words daily, so it will be a slow tedious process for me. Luckily my 5 year old hopefully be my translator as I've opted to put her in a total Thai sa peaking school (Wai Daroon) and she has either been picking it up quickly or maybe just B.S.ing me with jibberish that isn't Thai.....I suspect a combination of the two.

[JuniorExPat]

I agree

the food at Big C Hang Dong is not that good at all, but I'm putting it down to early teething problems. once they get a few complaints/recommendations i'm sure it'll improve. the food court at Tesco up the road is way better at the moment.

by the way, does anyone know what that other (unfiinished) building opposite the Big C food court is going to be? my daughter is hoping for a cinema, but gut instinct tells me its gonna be something along the lines of HomePro.

H.

According to the signs it is going to be something exactly like Home Pro.

JxP

[PeaceBlondie]

I wouldn't complain about the coupon system if it works the way the upstairs, rear food court works at Central Kad Kaew, or the food court upstairs at Tesco-Hang Dong Road. You pay your 50 or 100 baht, get your coupons or your plastic card, buy your food, and come back for change. That's just how it works.

As for ordering, I look at the schhttuff that's on sale as "food" and pick one thing that I recognize, like, and can actually eat. I've learned there's one stall at Tesco that sells some kind of teriyaki chicken and rice. But, you pay cash money for drinks at the other stand.

I'd say if you can't learn to order the food, don't eat it. There's always stale popcorn for sale at D-K books, there's Swensen's and BurgerKing and McDonalds and KFC; there's pizza and Miguel's and Salsa Kitchen; there's the Duke's and the UN Irish Pub; there's all that mystery sausage at 7-11 for hot dogs.....who needs Thai food, anyway?

[Nienke]

I'd say if you can't learn to order the food, don't eat it.

Hhhhhmmmmm, I can make myself understand quite well in Thai, but after all those years here still don't know the names of many dishes. Does that mean I shouldn't eat it?

Sometimes when I order something (from the menu in Thai and the waiter or waitress even looked at what I pointed out), I get food I didn't order or it's too spicy while I ordered without chilli. It usually depends on what that is and how spicy it is whether I will just eat that or have it sent it back.

I donot make a fuss about the whole thing, as it will be me who ends up with nasty feelings and that's just ain't worth it.

Been there done that, it just ain't worth it.

Nienke

[Ulysses G.]

who needs Thai food, anyway?

I pretty much agree. Why can't they have Singapore style Chinese food here instead?

[tigerbeer]

who needs Thai food, anyway?

I pretty much agree. Why can't they have Singapore style Chinese food here instead?

exactly!

i would have thought some other complain would have come up on the new Big-C instead. What a pleasant surprise, its about food.

[PeaceBlondie]

Just because you're in Thailand, doesn't mean you have to eat Thai food. The teriyaki chicken is okay.

Neinke, point well taken. It's difficult to get what you order even when you speak the words correctly.

[bunta71]

sorry for asking or trying to be funny in my simplistic manner...whew!!!

[PeaceBlondie]

No problem, bunta, we're mostly having a big of fun here.

[bunta71]

rude and witless but becoming common nowdays . I stand by my thought that by simply paying would save a couple redundant and unnecessary steps in the whole process. But then silly me.

[chanchao]

Ah, regular Thai food, my favorite topic.

I had food there at the new Big C once and it was ok.. I mean, they have a Chang Phuak Khaa Moo outlet there (they have one in most other food centers) so that's a pretty solid choice for Khao Khaa Moo; I especially like what they do with the sour / smokey cabbage, the eggs are spot on.. World Class.

The Khao Man Kai was also reasonable; at least my 2 year old ate nearly a whole plate of it and she's picky. Of course the Khao Man Kai was nowhere near Kiart O-cha standards or even Nantharam standards, but reasonable for what you might expect in a food center. The Mrs had some curries over rice, which were quite reasonable also.

As with any food choice, choose with care, especially in Food Centers. One that's better than one might expect for a small place is at Pantip; worth noting because there doesn't seem to be a whole lot in the way of budget food near the Night Bazar. Airport Plaza is good too though not the cheapest. I'd say my Food Center Vote would go to the Carrefour food center. Lotus Hang Dong did improve a lot, but then that's not too hard as it was completely abysmal before.

Edited November 30, 2007 by chanchao

[SamSipEt]

I stand by my thought that by simply paying would save a couple redundant and unnecessary steps in the whole process.

Of course it would but it wouldn't be half as much "Fun" or "Time consuming" (delete as appropriate).

But then silly me.

Don't be so harsh on yourself - other posters will happily fulfill that role if you (and the Super moderators) give them half a chance

[uptheos]

As with any food choice, choose with care, especially in Food Centers. One that's better than one might expect for a small place is at Pantip; worth noting because there doesn't seem to be a whole lot in the way of budget food near the Night Bazar. Airport Plaza is good too though not the cheapest. I'd say my Food Center Vote would go to the Carrefour food center. Lotus Hang Dong did improve a lot, but then that's not too hard as it was completely abysmal before.

Carrefoure does have a good selection of OK foods, but I agree with you about Pantip, I have found the food there quite good and certainly worth a try if in the area.

[toybits]

In this kind of experience, you usually get what the person receiving your order think you ordered. I suspect you ordered in English and not Thai. This used to happen to me a lot of times in the past until I learned to speak Thai well enough. Now I don't have much problem and usually get what I want.

That's life.

So how much did you pay? Actually, the Thai staff were trying to do exactly what you they think you wanted. Thais will not ask if what think you ordered is really what you want to have. Oh well....

i was at food park n saw a food stall with 'fried rice with garlic pork' displayed on the board. 30B

so i ordered that n guess what i got? rice with fried garlic pork instead of fried rice with garlic pork.

dam_n

it didnt taste very nice... the pork was dry, n the soup was very salty

[toybits]

Most of the time, it is best to just order what they have. Don't ask for something that is not on their menu.

i was at food park n saw a food stall with 'fried rice with garlic pork' displayed on the board. 30B

so i ordered that n guess what i got? rice with fried garlic pork instead of fried rice with garlic pork.

dam_n

it didnt taste very nice... the pork was dry, n the soup was very salty

[chanchao]

Though try the 'Phad Macaroni' from the booth where they make food to order when at Pantip. Interesting pseudo-Thai dish, that.

[Loaded]

rude and witless but becoming common nowdays . I stand by my thought that by simply paying would save a couple redundant and unnecessary steps in the whole process. But then silly me.

Not redundant or unnecessary. The small food units don't trust their staff taking cash payments. The voucher is valueless to them but 20 baht notes aren't!

[phrakid]

In this kind of experience, you usually get what the person receiving your order think you ordered. I suspect you ordered in English and not Thai. This used to happen to me a lot of times in the past until I learned to speak Thai well enough. Now I don't have much problem and usually get what I want.

That's life.

So how much did you pay? Actually, the Thai staff were trying to do exactly what you they think you wanted. Thais will not ask if what think you ordered is really what you want to have. Oh well....

Most of the time, it is best to just order what they have. Don't ask for something that is not on their menu.

hey i ordered what was exactly shown in the menu. it says fried rice with garlic pork. i think the menu is written wrongly in english.

so the problem lies in the english sentence in the menu, not with me. probably an error in translation. i hope someone points this out when the go there

[briley]

I've always assumed that the voucher system is to enable the food hall owner to take a % of the food stalls takings to cover rent, cleaning etc

[Ricardo]

I've always assumed that the voucher system is to enable the food hall owner to take a % of the food stalls takings to cover rent, cleaning etc

not to mention giks, massage, beer or Thai-whisky.

[Naam]

Yeah, it's a wild world. I recently had such a shaking experience as well. I ordered an iced coffee without sugar and it was served with sugar. The only solution is to leave the country.

the top floors of high buildings provide convenient alternatives

[bunta71]

Alright..thanks to Briley and Loaded it now makes a little more sense to me.Appreciate your intelligent answers that addressed what were my real questions..

[SwaziBird]

I've always assumed that the voucher system is to enable the food hall owner to take a % of the food stalls takings to cover rent, cleaning etc

Hi Bunta71,

Have you considered that there is possibly a much more important aspect to the "coupon system" , which hasn't yet been raised on this thread ?

IMO the system is more than likely in place for its hygeine aspect.

Food handlers do not become money handlers - and, as we all know, money is probably the most contagious commodity possible ( although it's nice to have and to spend !) . But, seriously, although it's a bother having to retrace steps and get re-imbursement for unused coupons - just think of the safety aspect.

For this reason I, personally, find it very satisfactory and comforting.

That's my "tuppence" worth.

Cheers.

[el jefe]

I've always assumed that the voucher system is to enable the food hall owner to take a % of the food stalls takings to cover rent, cleaning etc

Hi Bunta71,

Have you considered that there is possibly a much more important aspect to the "coupon system" , which hasn't yet been raised on this thread ?

IMO the system is more than likely in place for its hygeine aspect.

Food handlers do not become money handlers - and, as we all know, money is probably the most contagious commodity possible ( although it's nice to have and to spend !) . But, seriously, although it's a bother having to retrace steps and get re-imbursement for unused coupons - just think of the safety aspect.

For this reason I, personally, find it very satisfactory and comforting.

That's my "tuppence" worth.

Cheers.

When is money contaminated? The first time it's handled or the 20th? I don't see how the coupon system eliminates the handling of dirty money. After I put my filthy hands on the coupons, I always return the unused coupons for my change. Those coupons are "recycled" several times. You're touching them and eventually the food preparer is too.

The reason for the coupons is so the Food Court owner can collect the agreed upon commission from the vendor.