Govt Steps In To Solve Beachside Food Battle

[george]

Govt steps in to solve beachside food battle

PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN, Feb 18 (TNA) - In many parts of Thailand, a plate of somtam, or papaya salad, would set you back Bt15. But in the country's southern seaside resort of Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, vendors are charging 10 times that amount for the same dish, prompting that the Department of Internal Trade to step in to investigate.

Mr. Prasert Thongthep, head of the Prachuap Khiri Khan's Internal Trade Office, yesterday confirmed reports that beach vendors were selling somtam for Bt150 a plate and iced fizzy drinks for Bt60 for a 1.25 litre bottle.

Nonetheless, he said that the vendors had the prices clearly displayed, and could justify what they charged by pointing to the wide range of expensive and unusual seafood used in their upmarket version of the traditional salad.

Rather than prosecuting the vendors, who are acting perfectly within the law, the internal trade officer advised purchasers to think before they bought.

--TNA 2005-02-18

[LadyinRed]

Fair enough for newbie tourists, but shameful really

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Fair enough for newbie tourists, but shameful really  <_<

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

IMHO it is much worse than shameful.

[Ned]

Anyone else noticed that the servings are getting smaller too in many restaurants? One way to keep afloat I suppose , cutting the food bill for the owners but not a good way to get customers back i would have thought. At least it's still cheap so can't complain eh.

[Thetyim]

The prices were " clearly displayed"

Yeah, in which language ?

If I saw a sign saying 150B I would assume that was for a bottle of whisky not the SomTam

[RDN]

Two quid for a tourist at the beach - no problem. 20 baht for a Thai in town - no problem. Hence the phrase "stupid farang". (But I bet we paid over the top when WE were newbies ).

What would be much, much worse was if they charged tourists 150 baht but Thais only 20 baht in the same shop. Of course, they wouldn't do that, would they?

[taxexile]

Mr. Prasert Thongthep, head of the Prachuap Khiri Khan's Internal Trade Office, yesterday confirmed reports that beach vendors were selling somtam for Bt150 a plate and iced fizzy drinks for Bt60 for a 1.25 litre bottle.

Nonetheless, he said that the vendors had the prices clearly displayed, and could justify what they charged by pointing to the wide range of expensive and unusual seafood used in their upmarket version of the traditional salad.

Rather than prosecuting the vendors, who are acting perfectly within the law, the internal trade officer advised purchasers to think before they bought.

its about time the minister of fizzy drinks was moved to an inactive post if that is the best it can come up with.

[Ajarn]

Just another 'Buyer Beware' story.

Posted Prices, freedom to set whatever prices they want.

No buyers interested? Som naam naa

Buyers interested? So what? Prices Posted. No scam, legal in every way. Plenty of other places that are cheaper, if you want cheaper...

In San Francisco, with the exact same ingredients, 150 baht would be considered very cheap for Som Tam... When I last ate the Oriental in Bkk, Tom Ka Gai was 420 baht per bowl...Prices posted, too.

Yawn...

[sriracha john]

could justify what they charged by pointing to the wide range of expensive and unusual seafood used in their upmarket version of the traditional salad.

this is what caught my interest...

are they using Norwegian salmon and Russian caviar in their som tam ta-lay?

[tuky]

could justify what they charged by pointing to the wide range of expensive and unusual seafood used in their upmarket version of the traditional salad.

this is what caught my interest...

are they using Norwegian salmon and Russian caviar in their som tam ta-lay?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

obviously SJ

[Briggsy]

90 baht for som tam at Phliw Waterfall, Jantaburi. Prices not displayed.

[petedk]

It's the same in Phuket.

I went with my Thai girlfriend to eat a quick Khao pad (fried rice) at a simple road side stall on the seafront but they didn't display the prices. I thought I would ask just to be safe but my girlfriend said she would "lose face" as Thais don't ask the price and anyway "Khao Pad would be cheap". Well the bill came ... 150 Baht each!!! Normally it's 30 or 40 baht at a street stall. My girlfriend was quite surprised and complained but only to be told "That's the price"

I guess the motto is: Always ask the price or stay away from tourist areas.

[Patex]

could justify what they charged by pointing to the wide range of expensive and unusual seafood used in their upmarket version of the traditional salad.

this is what caught my interest...

are they using Norwegian salmon and Russian caviar in their som tam ta-lay?

sj,

How long do you already stay in Thailand?

For me it would be easy to make a somdam talay only from local products in this price- range...

Thailand, the Land were you get what you pay for... mostly

Patex

[sriracha john]

Gosh!! I love these seven month old thread revivals...

Make me actually go back and read the whole thread again, ... as I had no idea what the heck I was referring to from back then.

To answer your question, I've never paid more than 20 baht locally for som tam and that includes the best seafood in all of Thailand, be it crab, mussels, shrimp, fish, etc... so I was wondering what on Earth they were using to attempt to justify their 150 baht price-tag and the only thing that I could think of that might attempt to explain their exorbitant prices is that they use imported seafood. No local seafood used anywhere in Thailand should equal that cost.

It's just a pure tourist rip-off.

What on Earth kind of seafood do you use, Patex, which would account for a 150 baht som tam?

and oh yes, lest I forget the other, as well... 7 years.

Edited August 20, 2006 by sriracha john

[jdinasia]

Gosh!! I love these seven month old thread revivals...

Make me actually go back and read the whole thread again, ... as I had no idea what the heck I was referring to from back then.

To answer your question, I've never paid more than 20 baht locally for som tam and that includes the best seafood in all of Thailand, be it crab, mussels, shrimp, fish, etc... so I was wondering what on Earth they were using to attempt to justify their 150 baht price-tag and the only thing that I could think of that might attempt to explain their exorbitant prices is that they use imported seafood. No local seafood used anywhere in Thailand should equal that cost.

It's just a pure tourist rip-off.

What on Earth kind of seafood do you use, Patex, which would account for a 150 baht som tam?

and oh yes, lest I forget the other, as well... 7 years.

I lived in HH for awhile (7 months) and the beach places they are talking about are HIGH ... but they are honestly far better than most other places like it I have been to in Thailand over the years ... out from the main beach entrance to the left ... towards the Hilton ...

I had just moved here then and thought the prices were ok ... BUT go into town ... get fresher food in the evening for FAR less!

[migrant]

Most tourist places I've been to anywhere, are more expensive, considerably so.

Here in California food at the beach, or a sporting event, are 2-3 times other places.

Obviously people pay it, if I were a vendor I guess I'd do it too

[Patex]

...What on Earth kind of seafood do you use, Patex, which would account for a 150 baht som tam?...

"Somdam Kai Mengda" was on my mind, small, tasty yellow eggs from a fascinating animal who looks like a survivor from the primeval world.

[sriracha john]

...What on Earth kind of seafood do you use, Patex, which would account for a 150 baht som tam?...

"Somdam Kai Mengda" was on my mind, small, tasty yellow eggs from a fascinating animal who looks like a survivor from the primeval world.

mmmm... I agree ... delicious....

and yes, an incredible creature ... a throw-back to the dinosaurs

and ok, ok ... a more rare and thus more expensive seafood... so we're up to 40 baht now...

[jdinasia]

Horseshoe crabs? aren't they where warfarin the blood thinner comes from? cool!

[sriracha john]

Horseshoe crabs? aren't they where warfarin the blood thinner comes from? cool!

uhmmm... I hope not....

"wiki":

Warfarin is an anticoagulant medication that is administered orally or, very rarely, by injection.

Warfarin is a synthetic derivative of coumarin, a chemical found naturally in many plants, notably woodruff (Galium odoratum, Rubiaceae), and at lower levels in licorice, lavender and various other species. Warfarin was originally developed as a rat poison, but it is no longer used for that purpose as modern poisons are much more potent and toxic.

more "wiki" stuff:

The horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) is a chelicerate arthropod, therefore it is more closely related to spiders and scorpions than crabs.

Egg quantity is dependent on female body size and ranges from 15,000-64,000 eggs per female.

Horseshoe crabs are one of the oldest classes of marine arthropods, and are often referred to as "living fossils", as they have not changed much in the last 350 to 400 million years.

Horseshoe crabs possess the rare ability to regrow limbs lost.

The blood of horseshoe crabs is blue (real blue-bloods, eh?) which is a result of its high content in copper-based hemocyanin instead of the iron-based hemoglobin found, for example, in humans. The fact that horseshoe crabs have evolved so little over the past 300 to 400 million years is part of the reason why they are so different from most other animals. Horseshoe crabs are also one of the few species on the planet that does not develop cancer.

geez.... u guys are making hungry enough to go in search of som tam at 1am....

[jdinasia]

oooops right ... their blood is uses as a reagent for pharmacuetical purity tests and to test for blood poisoning ... that is about 20 year old biology stuff from college .... my mistake

[Mossfinn]

geez.... u guys are making hungry enough to go in search of som tam at 1am....

Don't go paying a premium because of the late hour now SJ......

Good Luck

Moss

[sriracha john]

ahh.. well, decided in the end, it was better to just forego it... and go to bed.

BUT... if I had, it certainly wouldn't have been for B150... but then, I'm not a tourist in a tourist area.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Gosh!! I love these seven month old thread revivals...

Make me actually go back and read the whole thread again, ... as I had no idea what the heck I was referring to from back then.

To answer your question, I've never paid more than 20 baht locally for som tam and that includes the best seafood in all of Thailand, be it crab, mussels, shrimp, fish, etc... so I was wondering what on Earth they were using to attempt to justify their 150 baht price-tag and the only thing that I could think of that might attempt to explain their exorbitant prices is that they use imported seafood. No local seafood used anywhere in Thailand should equal that cost.

It's just a pure tourist rip-off.

What on Earth kind of seafood do you use, Patex, which would account for a 150 baht som tam?

and oh yes, lest I forget the other, as well... 7 years.

It is a lot longer than 7 months John

[sriracha john]

Gosh!! I love these seven month old thread revivals...

Make me actually go back and read the whole thread again, ... as I had no idea what the heck I was referring to from back then.

To answer your question, I've never paid more than 20 baht locally for som tam and that includes the best seafood in all of Thailand, be it crab, mussels, shrimp, fish, etc... so I was wondering what on Earth they were using to attempt to justify their 150 baht price-tag and the only thing that I could think of that might attempt to explain their exorbitant prices is that they use imported seafood. No local seafood used anywhere in Thailand should equal that cost.

It's just a pure tourist rip-off.

What on Earth kind of seafood do you use, Patex, which would account for a 150 baht som tam?

and oh yes, lest I forget the other, as well... 7 years.

It is a lot longer than 7 months John

GOSH! So it IS!!..... criminy... it was 2005, not 2006.... no wonder it had all been deleted from my limited hard-drive space for memory....

[egeefay]

Govt steps in to solve beachside food battle

PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN, Feb 18 (TNA) - In many parts of Thailand, a plate of somtam, or papaya salad, would set you back Bt15. But in the country's southern seaside resort of Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, vendors are charging 10 times that amount for the same dish, prompting that the Department of Internal Trade to step in to investigate.

Nothing wrong with charging a lot more for a plate of somtam in a nice air conditioned hotel restaurant as opposed to a street vendor and as long as the prices are the same for Thais and farangs alike.

I'd take issue with charging farangs more than Thais just because of the color of their skin or because you ASSUME that they are a lot richer and can afford it.

In the West prices vary from restaurant to restaurant for the same dish and people are use to paying different rates. What upsets many farangs in Thailand is that they often get gouged by vendors who charged much higher prices to them than to the locals. They justify it by saying that farangs can afford to pay more. But generally they sell at the same price to Thais irrigardless of what type of car they are driving.

[tuky]

could justify what they charged by pointing to the wide range of expensive and unusual seafood used in their upmarket version of the traditional salad.

this is what caught my interest...

are they using Norwegian salmon and Russian caviar in their som tam ta-lay?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

obviously SJ

Lets see if I can shut it down for another year and a half, here goes.

obviously SJ

[terry57]

Most tourist places I've been to anywhere, are more expensive, considerably so.

Here in California food at the beach, or a sporting event, are 2-3 times other places.

Obviously people pay it, if I were a vendor I guess I'd do it too

very nice piece of top information my friend.

thats how it is in my town as well .

get within coo wee of the water and add frigging 50% to it.

the moral of the story is that if you are on top of the game like us top fella's on this forum are,

you just steer clear of them.

sweet mate.

cheers friends

[tuky]

Like Kailis Bros terry? are they still serving their good ol' fish n chips out there?

[sriracha john]

could justify what they charged by pointing to the wide range of expensive and unusual seafood used in their upmarket version of the traditional salad.

this is what caught my interest...

are they using Norwegian salmon and Russian caviar in their som tam ta-lay?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

obviously SJ

Lets see if I can shut it down for another year and a half, here goes.

obviously SJ

terrifically funny line...

but it doesn't seem to be working..

I suppose the trick now is to see if we can have more posts put to it than its original run 1-1/2 years ago.

and I know just how to do it...

staying on-topic...

Isn't this thread about Hua Hin?

And isn't there a National Park near Hua Hin?

And don't these National Parks charge foreigners ten times as much as they do Thais to enter???

WHY IS THAT??

... over to the forum for response ...

Edited August 21, 2006 by sriracha john