Dumbing-down The Palate

[chiangmaibruce]

Our boy is 3.5 and has spent most of his life in Thailand. He is rather fond of (mildy) spicy food, and spends a lot of time with my wife's family. At some stage we are quite likely to relocate to Australia and am wondering how we will go with him eating the usual fare on offer there.

With a view to starting him on a path of cultural and culinary adaption, I just tried him with some vegemite on toast. The results were heart-breaking, as he turned up his little nose and said "mai ow!".

I am just wondering about the experiences of others in a similar situation and whether the kids just got used to what was on offer and never looked back ... or woke up crying out for somtam, or whatever.

Any tips for the unwary?

[icebkk]

surly there is thai food in Australia?

[chiangmaibruce]

I'm not "surly", just a little concerned

And of course we have food in Australia, one only needs to look at some of the porkers getting off the plane to confirm that.

The issue is one of taste and variety, and nothing compares with Thailand in that regard, especially when you add in the value factor. Kids (and grown-ups) like the tucker that they are accustomed to, and may or may not adjust to the loss of all their faves.

Do you have anything a little (ahem) meatier to add to this discussion?

[londonthai]

The issue is one of taste and variety, and nothing compares with Thailand in that regard, especially when you add in the value factor.

bruce, you probably missed "thai" in icebkk post.

there are thai foods in australia - it's enough to buy locally grown fruits/vegetables and use thai souces/spices/herbs (some of those hard to come or expensive ones you can bring from thailand, if properly packed).

spicy foods, like somtam, are not for kids - makes them hiperactive, burn a digestive system. Kids should eat a mild diet, properly prepared for them

[chiangmaibruce]

bruce, you probably missed "thai" in icebkk post.

Oops, you are right, sorry.

The bought Thai food in Australia is largely miserable and wildly over-priced compared to here

If you leave in a capital city (and can shop in the Chinatown area) you can buy most ingredients - again cost and time are somewhat of an issue. And yes you can grow some stuff if you have garden/time. There there is school tuck-shops, going out to friends places, etc etc

The bottomline is that it's just not feasible to replicate the diet we have here, so he will have to change his tastes significantly. I'm sure he will survive but was just curious to hear of others experiences

[think_too_mut]

Thai food for my child (now 5, left Thailand at 4.5) was dumber than anything. She would not know what som tum is - she has seen it 1000 times but never tasted and would have no interest in it at all.

Now, the closest it gets to Thai food is fried rice, which is available everywhere and tastes similar as in Thailand. Even asks us "change spoon" when we eat spicy and dip into the joint bowl of soup - not to wash off chilly taste from the spoons and our meals.

A standard display at the table, only fruit changes. For breakfast she would eat cereals or bread with several jams. She likes to play with small jars more than really eat the contents.

Strawberries get milked over with that condensed sweet milk cream. Vegemite was rejected (for now) as - spicy!

Standard lunch in a restaurant, no problem. Comes with small containers of ketchup, jelly and keeps her amused:

Can be Asian too:

Edited February 11, 2009 by think_too_mut

[canadianmonkey]

You do know that theres TONS of people who dislike vegemite?

Try something that everyone loves.. mashed potatoes, real meat with real proteins(thai food lacks every nutriment), make homemade mac and cheese with saussage.. theres not a single kid in the world whose favorite food isnt mac and cheese with sausage

[chiangmaibruce]

Think_too_mut, An excellent response thank you Edited February 11, 2009 by chiangmaibruce

[chiangmaibruce]

You do know that theres TONS of people who dislike vegemite?

I know, it's sad isn't it?

Yes, we will no doubt roll out the usual suspects to see what he turns him on. Sausages and tomatoe sauce or "french fries" are fine, but a few other western kid staples we thought he would go for, he didn't like at all. So it will be a case of trial and error.

[bina]

theres not a single kid in the world whose favorite food isnt mac and cheese with sausage

except for those that follow kosher food laws )) canadian monkey, u do know that there are thousands of kids that due to dietary laws, think it is disgusting to eat milk with meat?

white rice is same same every where; fruits and veggies are similar; if my non thai kids can get used to eating thai food for breakfast (no pork of course for them) and a thai friend of mine requested 'healthy bread ,white cheese and tomatoes' when i offered her somtom and dried meat along with my husband's breakfast, then your kid will soon start to eat whatever it is that his friends are eating... try pancakes, and whats wrong wtih congee (rice and meat stewed together), tr ketchup on everything; hot dogs, the thai israeli two year old that was at my house last week ate yougurt, cornflakes, israeli white cheese (yuck i hate it), and ... somtom and sticky rice, all at one meal... along with chocolate milk in a bottle and de seeded green olives... dont try too hard. just offer foods that u eat , eventually he will want to try 'daddy's food' on his own.

and i dont see a problem with a kid eating spicy food; babies need bland, but children change their tastes with age.

bina

israel

[think_too_mut]

white rice is same same every where;

Far from daily reality.

When eating Japanese rice, those who grew up on Thai rice would wonder if it is also rice.

Thai rice in Japan is used for things that can not be eaten with chopsticks....which excludes 99.99% of food.

That sees it going into products where type of rice is immaterial - rice cakes, processed rice goods, sake. It also works where Thai rice is good at - in Thai style rice soups.

Never seen in it any restaurant (even cheap ones equivalent to Denny's) or in any meal. Even my wife is impressed and, after 1 initial sack of Thai rice back in September, has never bought it again.

Edited February 12, 2009 by think_too_mut

[Boo]

Last night for dinner my son (22 months) ate coq au vin & rice with a strawberry yogurt for dessert then harrassed his dad until he got some of his jasmine rice mixed in with thai omlette & a bit of pad kapow moo ( only a bit though cause hubby does his food stupid spicy even for thai folks) and woofed the lot.

I agree with Bina, just give him what you all have & don't make too much of an issue over it. My son will eat plain pasta with nothing on it mixed with veggies for lunch but will also eat the mass of flavour & mildly spicey thai food daddy makes him at the weekends. He doesn't balk at either cuase he has been raised having both & he doesn't get a 2nd option. Check out the annabel karmel website for ideas on how to introduce more foods to his palate but tbh I have found they will eat when they are hungry no matter what you put in front of them. It may not be their favorite but they will eat.

[PattayaParent]

Our boy is 3.5 and has spent most of his life in Thailand. He is rather fond of (mildy) spicy food, and spends a lot of time with my wife's family. At some stage we are quite likely to relocate to Australia and am wondering how we will go with him eating the usual fare on offer there.

<snip>

Just keep a bottle of chilli sauce handy to lash onto his rooburgers.

[bina]

when she was much younger (and before i had thai husband) , daughter was putting rice or chips (fries) in her pita and lacing it all with ketchup (in kibbutz dining room);

as for rice: my family obviously all seem to prefer the thai jasmine rice here; although most israelis prefer the persian rice (not sure if u all have that stuff), but basmati has made a strong statement here also... i noticed that among the arabs also jasmine rice hom mali is also preferred over the indian or the persian types...

its true that thai differentiate between types and can be fussy, husband is a good example: there are even variations among brands of thai mali here, so he buys where all the thai workers buy their rice... but when there is no access to other types, rice is just rice no matter what type so a two year old wont care...

[endure]

Our boy is 3.5 and has spent most of his life in Thailand. He is rather fond of (mildy) spicy food, and spends a lot of time with my wife's family. At some stage we are quite likely to relocate to Australia and am wondering how we will go with him eating the usual fare on offer there.

With a view to starting him on a path of cultural and culinary adaption, I just tried him with some vegemite on toast.

Isn't that child abuse?

[think_too_mut]

.. theres not a single kid in the world whose favorite food isnt mac and cheese with sausage

I have never been to Mac with my kid. Probably helps that we don't watch TV, ever, so junk food ads can't reach her.

Don't really know if they have them on TV here. In Thai, kids time programmes were overflowing with garbage ads.

Only one thing she likes from Macs is chicken nuggets.

(Macs in Japan are frequented mainly by office workers on the budget, seeking a cheap meal)

Free choice from the kids menu, there is a burger in the top corner:

What got ordered is the bottom corner asian style meal:

(note there is seaweed bar missing - she gobled it as the tray was landing on the table)

Today's lunch box for school:

Now, if you said "there is not a single kid in the world that likes broccoli", the pic above would prove you wrong.

Edited February 18, 2009 by think_too_mut

[Boo]

Mac & cheese = Maccaroni & cheese, not Macdonalds

[think_too_mut]

Mac & cheese = Maccaroni & cheese, not Macdonalds

Never heard of that term. Last time I saw maccaroni was in some movie 40 years ago, soldiers eating and complaining, never tried them myself.

Must be pasta like any other.

[Boo]

It seems to be a popular meal for American kids, not so much in UK. They have an adult version in the shops here but it is quite rich but the kids version has things like little hotdogs put in.

[think_too_mut]

One thing that is hard to unlearn after early childhood in Thailand is using fork and spoon for everything.

Even when eating a chocolate cake:

[Boo]

lol, very cute.

[think_too_mut]

Another way to get Thai kids in the West to eat new food could be - let them help cooking.

Like mashed potato. Never heard Thais relie on potatoes.

Here we have a 5 yrs old girl enjoying "cooking".

Then, eating it with a small salmon fillet:

A tomato cachet had to be called in to make (she did it) eyes, nose and smile.