Bread.... Someone Said Thai People Dont Eat Much

[jfchandler]

Don't forget...at least around Bangkok, there are quite a few of the topped toast places...

I'm sure there's a name for them in Thai, but I don't know it... It's the cafe/coffee type places that serve pretty decent toasted bread served with a variety of toppings.... jams, melted stuff, sweetened milk, etc etc... Very popular with Thais, probably because the topping tend to be on the very SWEET side.

[kikoman]

Thais do eat bread, walking by a local bakery in a small farming town, I saw the biggest hot dog buns that I have ever seen in my life. I asked my wife ,why were the hot dog buns so big as no hot dogs I have seen are any where near that size.

She looked at me and laughed, those are not hot dog buns, they are Ice Cream Buns, Thai vendor open them up and put multiple scoops of ice cream in them.

I brought a few and cut them down to hot dog size, they worked great!

Cheers:

[DP25]

She looked at me and laughed, those are not hot dog buns, they are Ice Cream Buns, Thai vendor open them up and put multiple scoops of ice cream in them.

Yeah, the first time I saw ice cream on hot dog buns I couldn't stop laughing. Thais do eat bread, but like those milk toast places, it's usually as a sweet snack or desert rather than part of a meal.

[tutsiwarrior]

the ice cream vendor comes around after school and the buns are a popular option with my nieces...that arrangement doesn't suit my western sensibilities and I opt for a small tub instead. the nieces are confused; why does uncle tutsi prefer a small tub when he could just as well have a hot dog bun?...too complicated to explain and my language skills wouldn't be up to it anyway...

[catzonly]

LOL suppose they will like Bread and Butter Pudding.... hehehehehe

[sprq]

Throughout East Asia, and especially in Thailand, bread is "play food" (ahaan len in Thai), a kind of dessert or snack, and is never regarded as a staple. Only in the former French Indochina do you find bread commonly made for general consumption -- French white bread. Consequently, as play food, bread in East Asia is almost always white and almost always sweetened. Nearly all the bread on sale in Thailand is white and sweet (always containing at least 3% sugar and often far more), the most frequent exception being Farmhouse "wholewheat" bread, which is brown and sweet.

In Bangkok, many places sell brown bread of some kind, most notably Villa supermarkets and upscale department store supermarkets. However, almost all of it is very expensive on a weight for price ratio and most of it is feeble in taste and ingredients. There is plenty of so-called "wholewheat bread", much of it 90% white flour with a sprinkling of wholemeal -- a con trick aimed at the ignorant.

The only really good brown bread available for several years now is Danish Bake "combicorn", a good heavy wholewheat loaf that is almost wholemeal, i.e. almost 100% wholemeal flour content. The only place you can buy it unsliced -- i.e. correctly -- is in their own bakery in Sukhumvit Soi 33/1, just behind Villa Market. Sliced, you can find it in Villa Markets on lucky days. Cost: 85 baht.

The Danish Bake telephone number is 02 259 7272 or 7533. They will deliver to your home if within their delivery area.

Danish Bake combicorn is the only evidence of wholemeal bread in Bangkok that I know.

[cliokchi]

hi guys,

in chiangmai you can get very good freshly daily baked bread ,sourdough,multigrain,wallnut 7 grain,

wholewheat the works open everyday except sunday, they also make very nice cakes,croissants,

cheesecakes and they have their 0wn dairy production turning out milk,buttermilk,cream,yoghurt.

sour cream,cream cheese, californian jack, mozzarella fresh and smoked, cheddar cheese and many

other cheese very cheap compared to rimping market or villa the place is called hide away cafe

The hideaway café& restaurant

140/93 Amornivet Village,

Chiang Mai - Hang Dong Rd.,

(053) 274521, 203744

and good place for good fresh breads european style is : JJ bakery

JJ bakery

2-6 Ratchadamnoen Road Sriphum,

50200 Muang, Chiang Mai

p: 053 418090

have some nice bread and cheese

cliokchi

Throughout East Asia, and especially in Thailand, bread is "play food" (ahaan len in Thai), a kind of dessert or snack, and is never regarded as a staple. Only in the former French Indochina do you find bread commonly made for general consumption -- French white bread. Consequently, as play food, bread in East Asia is almost always white and almost always sweetened. Nearly all the bread on sale in Thailand is white and sweet (always containing at least 3% sugar and often far more), the most frequent exception being Farmhouse "wholewheat" bread, which is brown and sweet.

In Bangkok, many places sell brown bread of some kind, most notably Villa supermarkets and upscale department store supermarkets. However, almost all of it is very expensive on a weight for price ratio and most of it is feeble in taste and ingredients. There is plenty of so-called "wholewheat bread", much of it 90% white flour with a sprinkling of wholemeal -- a con trick aimed at the ignorant.

The only really good brown bread available for several years now is Danish Bake "combicorn", a good heavy wholewheat loaf that is almost wholemeal, i.e. almost 100% wholemeal flour content. The only place you can buy it unsliced -- i.e. correctly -- is in their own bakery in Sukhumvit Soi 33/1, just behind Villa Market. Sliced, you can find it in Villa Markets on lucky days. Cost: 85 baht.

The Danish Bake telephone number is 02 259 7272 or 7533. They will deliver to your home if within their delivery area.

Danish Bake combicorn is the only evidence of wholemeal bread in Bangkok that I know.

[jombom]

AFAIK they don't have a history of bread eating because they've never been invaded by other nations!

This is a good thing because bread is incredibly bloating and turns to sugar after a few chews. I say this on the back of returning from 7 months in Thailand to find I developed a mild allergy to wheat. In that time I lost a pound or two but my stomach does not need to expand so much to process non-wheat and thus bread based products! wonder why the Thais are slim? My take = lack of bread.

This quote makes sense to me. Returning to Thailand from Cambodia recently, I noticed a net weight gain, which a number of friends noticed also. As my habits and diet are fairly constant, the only difference I can think of is all those beautiful baguettes, not to mention a few croissants.

Oh, Did I forget the pizzas, spaghetti, tagliatelli, tacos etc ?? --- lots and lots of wheat flour.

[NanaFoods]

If you plan on living in one of the larger cities, you can "get by" without a bread machine.

But if you will be living in the boondocks, like me, a bread machine is essential.

I can pick up bread flour, yeast, etc. at the Makro, which is about a 45-min. drive from my house.

I keep a sourdough culture in my fridge, for when I crave sourdough.

[cat5]

Bread can be bought anywhere, though some places the selection is bad, but even 7-11 will have sandwich bread.

That stuff doesn't deserve to be called bread. Mind you, if my bum gun went kaput I suppose I could use a slice or two.

Get yourself a bread maker or buy your bread at one of the better supermarkets in Bangkok.

[NanaFoods]

AFAIK they don't have a history of bread eating because they've never been invaded by other nations!

This is a good thing because bread is incredibly bloating and turns to sugar after a few chews. I say this on the back of returning from 7 months in Thailand to find I developed a mild allergy to wheat. In that time I lost a pound or two but my stomach does not need to expand so much to process non-wheat and thus bread based products! wonder why the Thais are slim? My take = lack of bread.

I highly doubt Thais tend to be slim (a trend that seems to be changing) due to lower bread intake - they get just as many carbs from rice. And one doesnt normally eat bread and rice at the same time. To wit, I stopped eating rice with my meals for three weeks and lost about 6 pounds - no exercise regimen or anything different other than the rice.

Just look at the Vietnamese and Lao people for exampe -- they eat bread as a result of French occupation, and I would argue that the Vietnamese are skinnier than the Thais, and Lao people I wouldn't consider fat in general. It really boils down to carb intake vs. activity level - be it bread, rice, potatoes, or other.

As they say, moderation is the key.

That said, I don't eat bread daily, but do enjoy it with certain Western meals - which I don't eat daily either. But when I do eat bread, I prefer a good quality western-style bread with plenty of texture - not the cake-like junk I see around the Tambol that is best suited for feeding the fish at the Wat.

Edited January 31, 2010 by ChefHeat

[cat5]

^ Exactly.

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

I think Foodland has a fairly good bakery department, and you can buy decent bread there. Bread making machines are readily available and the supplies are not hard to find at stores like Tesco or Big C.

While many Thais have never eaten good baked bread, they do like bread. All the 7-11's carry loaves of bread (yeah, the tasteless bread), but they also sell sandwiches and things like raisin bread and ham bread, which are very popular for breakfast. Some malls have a Yamasaki bakery, and I have seen Thais buy baked items there, although I've only seen falang buy their baked bread, which is also good.

[Chaimai]

Makro uncut loaf at 29 Baht is my favourite (often discounted if you buy 6 or more).

Toasts up a treat and is good if you like thick sandwiches.

[sharonb]

I find I have to 'shop around', to find a decent loaf of bread.

A lot of breads, have a high sugar (nam tarm) content, which makes it too sweet for my liking.

Cheese, which I shouldn't have, is relatively expensive, so it keeps my consumption down.

Not sure where you stay but I buy my bread from Marriott on Charoen Nakorn

Very reasonably priced too

B60 per loaf

they have a very decent selection

I like their dark rye that they call the farmer bread because the loaf is shaped that way

[somtampet]

Would anyone think that a good local fresh,home made english cheddar at about 500-550 baht a kilo is a good deal.

Could be available in Pattaya

[somtampet]

Doesnt anyone love a fresh bread and cheese sarnie mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[LifeArtist]

I think eastern countries in general consumes rice for carbs more than bread comparing to western countries.