Thai Food-No Thank You

[bifftastic]

One of the best nights I had in LOS was sitting at a roadside cart with my Thai girlfriend eating kinds of food i wouldn't have really been game to do by myself.

Great meal one beer each total USd 6

Iv e been eating western food for 50 years now and thats exactly why Im changing.... think old.. be old.

By thew ay ever wondered why thai people compared to us fatty ole farangs are slim, why complexions are generally much better.. nah cant be anything to do with diet can it. My girlfriend eats far more vegetables and fish than us meat lover farangs.

By the way since Iv e regularly been eating som tam Iv e lost about 8 kgs and Mr Percy seems more responsive and able....

Mr Percy?

[DavidARoss]

OP's post made me a bit sad.. for him!

I like Thai food very much

I'm retired and didn't come here to change the way I have eaten for 65 years.

Well... up to you! be free to eat what you like, regardless of the time you have been doing so.

Maybe certain abilities of your stomach have been impaired by eating too much sterilized food for so long. Are you British or American?

Also, many Thai people don't like to eat spicy, and there are plenty of Thai dishes that aren't spicy at all or just very mildly spicy:

- satay skewers

- beef in oyster sauce

- many curries can be made "mai ped", I particularly like massaman curry and gaeng kio wan

- pad thai

- kao pad

- tom ka gai

- thai omelette

- etc.

I'm Canadian and have tried to eat foreign food in restaurants in Canada and didn't like much of it. I'm not fussy on rice except for fried rice with chicken or pork in it and I won't eat sticky rice.

Well, you are a culinarian isolationist!

No problem with that :-)

But I wonder if the aversion against "foreign food" is really in your palate/stomach and not rather cerebral.

My grand father was like you, he hated for example Chinese food.

Once he ate at our home and we prepared a soup.

He said several times how delicious the soup was and asked for more.

Until we told him the receipe was Chinese, at which point he turned pale, was feeling bad and came near to throwing up.

*ting tong* is all what I can say :-)

But he was a good grandfather and a good man!

Everone has his little excentricities.

Yes I suppose I do have my excentricities but I will try any food that is put in front of me but if I don't like it I won't eat it. Many Thais have offered me food when they are eating and I am just passing by and i politely say that I am full and thank you very much. I do hate being on a diet.

[DavidARoss]

OP's post made me a bit sad.. for him!

I like Thai food very much

I'm retired and didn't come here to change the way I have eaten for 65 years.

Well... up to you! be free to eat what you like, regardless of the time you have been doing so.

Maybe certain abilities of your stomach have been impaired by eating too much sterilized food for so long. Are you British or American?

Also, many Thai people don't like to eat spicy, and there are plenty of Thai dishes that aren't spicy at all or just very mildly spicy:

- satay skewers

- beef in oyster sauce

- many curries can be made "mai ped", I particularly like massaman curry and gaeng kio wan

- pad thai

- kao pad

- tom ka gai

- thai omelette

- etc.

Yes I would like to try eating Thai food and not just issan food if I was at a restaurant that served good Thai food but unfortuneately if one doesn't know what to order you are out of luck.

[maiphedmaiaroi]

I am starting to find it isn't spicy enough. But I am use to it being from New Mexico where we have our own brand of hot and spicy. I do take a digestive aid on occasion when I eat to much fried food. My friend who lives in bangkok asked me if I wanted some farange food, I asked him why I am in Thailand lets have thai.

Forget Indian I donot know what spice they use but I eat that stuff for a week.

Hi, if you're from New Mexico then you probably like Mexican food like tacos and cheese dip. I don't like Mexican food either but it wouldn't stop me from going to Mexico. Mexican food is spicy also isn't it? That's why you can eat the hot Thai food.

The problem is that Mexican food is tasty - the food available in Thai markets is all heat and no taste IME.

Depends how much chilli you can handle.

Every dish i have been eating for the last 3 years has been with chillis, I guess over those 3 years i can handle it more than someone that tends not to eat spicey.

For example...Some guy said on this or another thread he loves zinger burgers because they are so hot. Really? i had one last week and i couldnt even feel the heat at all.

I think its best to ask a thai person if thai food is all heat and no taste. Without doubt thai cuisine is amongst the best in the world, or is that thai cusine <deleted> around with to cater for the western mouths

[maiphedmaiaroi]

[

I've thought about it and think that wiping my ass from s---it with toilet paper and then washing my hands with soap thoroughly afterwards is a lot better than wiping the sh--t with my hands and not having soap or on paper to wipe my hands with afterwards and handling food afterwards. The best hospital AEK in Udon Thani in their man's toilet had no soap, no hot air dryer or paper towels to dry my hands , I always bring my own supply with me ,Thank you.

LOL

Well all the toilets i visit have the bum gun which is very hygenic. You dont have to touch sh_it or smear it with tissue Those ones you are on about though, the thais that use them are clever enough to remember to take some tissue paper

To not have soap a bum gun or tissue in the toilets you visit you must be living it ruff up there

[nocturn]

Don't like spicey food? Stay away from the South then.

Really? I have always beenof the impression that the south parts of the country cooks the blandest food there is inThailand. I do a fair bit of scuba diving, and the closer I get to Malaysia theduller the food gets. Similarly, the farther north i travel, the spicier thefood tends to get.

But I may be completely wrong.

double post, deleted

Edited July 12, 2011 by nocturn

[nocturn]

Don't like spicey food? Stay away from the South then.

Really? I have always beenof the impression that the south parts of the country cooks the blandest food there is inThailand. I do a fair bit of scuba diving, and the closer I get to Malaysia theduller the food gets. Similarly, the farther north i travel, the spicier thefood tends to get.

But I may be completely wrong.

i reckon you are, the thais i know who are native southerners eat blindingly hot food. however, they are neither muslims, nor do they live near the border

[nocturn]

The problem with much of Thai food is that its essentially tasteless in its ingredients,therefore neding lots of additives in the shape of MSG and chillies!

If it is cooked with the best ingredients Royal Thai food can be delicious,but this is rarely found these days.

Has anyone tried Hormok talay or Hormok pla chon? One of the great dishes of the world but so difficult to find these days as so much preparation involved.

Does anyone here remember "Once upon a time restaurant" in Bangkok?

Wonderful Thai food and great Hormok!!!

Thees days most Thai food is equivqlent to Western fast food ....tasteless (MSG ugh!)and junk food

The ingredients are tasteless? I really don't understand how you can say that. For good, fresh ingredients, you do not need lots of chilis and MSG.

Yes, hormok is a great dish if it's well-prepared (but not from the market!).

No the ingredients are really tasteless in comparison with Europe.The vegetables are bland and pale! You cant compare tomatoes,carrots,cauliflower,potatoes all of which are used in Thai cooking with European counterparts. Nor meat or poultry.

Ok Thai fruit is very good but what else?

The raw food needs exotic sauces and spices, but as another poster pointed out the quality has generally dropped in the last 10 years.

Delicious? Not really anymore! However a good Gaeng Phet ped yaang is aroi maak if cooked inthe old fashioned careful Thai way!!

lol this precious ! Carrots Cauli tomatoes and Spuds !!! Where do you think you are sweetheart ? Kent ? Rainy England or Scotland ?

Come on this is a serious forum, if you want to talk about Thai veggies please discuss indigenous ones otherwise it's just nonsense ...

Or is this one of this moaning pattern, like you'd also moan about how bad rambuttan papayas and mangoes tastes in your local Sainsbury's in UK ?

you had me with you on your last post, now, like so many of your other posts you prove you are simply pretentious

[nocturn]

i am stunned at the number of people who have dismissed thai seafood.

fresh and prepared well it blows the doors off the pedestrian dishes so many seem to either dismiss or favour.

All said, this thread has the stench of curmudgeon about it. not surprising really given that this is the online equivalent of an old folks home.

Edited July 12, 2011 by nocturn

[Ulysses G.]

Maybe it is just a bunch of people who do not like Thai food.

Edited July 12, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[ozsamurai]

Here they go.... the "ThaiER than thou Brigade".... what should you care what we eat..? Thai food No Thank You is the topic, not how much old codgers complain.

If I like the weather, like the culture and like the freedom, do I now have to like the food as well??

Oz

[nocturn]

Here they go.... the "ThaiER than thou Brigade".... what should you care what we eat..? Thai food No Thank You is the topic, not how much old codgers complain.

If I like the weather, like the culture and like the freedom, do I now have to like the food as well??

Oz

Where? Please point them out to me when they get here so i can avoid them.

[Loz]

I eat Thai food now I live here. I almost never ate it in the UK. I loved CHinese and indian food, also french and italian. Of course I like tradtional british fair too and a good range of american foods. Just because I live in Thailand, why would I limit my range of foods to just thai? That makes no sense. I tried lots of stuff when I first arrived, then I decided what I like and include it in my diet, along with the foods mentioned above.

Thai food has it's place in my diet, but the more I learn about palm oil and how widely used it is, the less I want to indulge. Type 2 Diabetes is no joke so I would prefer to avoid foods that have a proven link to cause it. Everything in moderation. Including moderation.

[thaibeachlovers]

I agree

i have never enjoyed eating Thai Food .

i havent tried everything but what i have tried i really dont like ,plus im not too keen on sharing food eating ala family buffett style as many thais do ,not that im greedy

i just like My dinner on My plate

It is hard in Thailand if you dont enjoy the cuisine apart from putting up with the know it all friends of mine who tell me about all these amazing flavours ,and how im missing out

i always felt if you need to add that much chilli /salt/suger to a dish after its been served it aint that tasty ,

also i dont like having foods with items i cant eat ie lemongrass ,galangall and thise little green peppers if i was a chef id be sieving them out

i shop in Villa Market more than anywere else and i can still eat cheaply i cook the same as my mum did when i was growing up

and i only eat in westernised restaurents /my friends are used to me now so if they are going to eat Thaifood ill eat before i meet them

Im not saying Thai food is bad i just really dont have the stomach for it .

I'm with you. Everytime I see the family sitting on the floor using their ( unwashed ) hands in the common food dishes I'm glad my wife makes me a seperate meal, though I did have to stop her using an old piece of tree to cut up my food on ( I bought her a very nice plastic cutting board that she used in Pattaya- just went back to village ways at home ).

I can't eat spicy food, but there's plenty of other choices, like fried rice with something, sweet and sour etc, available locally. In the last resort, eat something bland and tart it up with sauce.

[thaibeachlovers]

[

I've thought about it and think that wiping my ass from s---it with toilet paper and then washing my hands with soap thoroughly afterwards is a lot better than wiping the sh--t with my hands and not having soap or on paper to wipe my hands with afterwards and handling food afterwards. The best hospital AEK in Udon Thani in their man's toilet had no soap, no hot air dryer or paper towels to dry my hands , I always bring my own supply with me ,Thank you.

LOL

Well all the toilets i visit have the bum gun which is very hygenic. You dont have to touch sh_it or smear it with tissue Those ones you are on about though, the thais that use them are clever enough to remember to take some tissue paper

To not have soap a bum gun or tissue in the toilets you visit you must be living it ruff up there

Many places I've visited over the past 2 years don't have bum guns, and that included my apartment building which was mainly Thai occupied. Most big malls don't have them either. Central in Pattaya for example.

PS the bum gun itself must be loaded with bacteria, so must still wash hands properly.

[KED]

I'm with you. Everytime I see the family sitting on the floor using their ( unwashed ) hands in the common food dishes I'm glad my wife makes me a seperate meal, though I did have to stop her using an old piece of tree to cut up my food on ( I bought her a very nice plastic cutting board that she used in Pattaya- just went back to village ways at home ).

Actually, bacteria can live longer on plastic cutting boards than wooden boards.

[WebBangkok]

I dont think I have ever met anyone who doesnt like Thai food or Italian food. I guess the world must be coming to an end.

[TheWalkingMan]

I dont think I have ever met anyone who doesnt like Thai food or Italian food. I guess the world must be coming to an end.

Expand your circle and you will meet people who have many likes and dislikes. Piece of cake.

[manarak]

I'm with you. Everytime I see the family sitting on the floor using their ( unwashed ) hands in the common food dishes I'm glad my wife makes me a seperate meal, though I did have to stop her using an old piece of tree to cut up my food on ( I bought her a very nice plastic cutting board that she used in Pattaya- just went back to village ways at home ).

Actually, bacteria can live longer on plastic cutting boards than wooden boards.

source for this information please?

[ukrules]

Actually, bacteria can live longer on plastic cutting boards than wooden boards.

source for this information please?

Basic science

[Kilgore Trout]

Don't despair, as Michael Jackson used to sing : - You are not alone -.

After 25 years in Thailand I can honestly say that I've had it with Thai food.

I must have fragile intestines because even if and when I eat in the better Thai restaurants I'm prone to getting a touch or full force of Montezuma's revenge.

I only eat some Thai dishes, and then only when my wife cooks them from fresh ingredients.

However, I live near Pattaya and therefore have an abundance of supermarkets available for my cravings, and a number of good western restaurants.

Having said that, I miss Carrefour already for certain items.

My advice, take regular trips to stock-up or move to a town with more international possibilities, it's normal that Makro Pattaya has a different range of items available than Surin for example.

Hope to have helped

Yermanee :jap:

I'm really bummed; carrefour used to have these steak fries/potato wedges for about 65B per bag, much better than the crap shoestring fries big c (c for crap) has replaced them with.

[Kilgore Trout]

I'm retired and didn't come here to change the way I have eaten for 65 years. I like this country but it doesn't mean that I have to like their food.

dam_n right as well sir.

Do Thais fly half way around the world to eat western food? of course they don't. You eat what YOU like and what YOUR used to.

Quite right, my wife's uncle lived in India for a year working; I asked him what he though of Indian food; his response..."I never tried it."

[F1fanatic]

I'm with you. Everytime I see the family sitting on the floor using their ( unwashed ) hands in the common food dishes I'm glad my wife makes me a seperate meal, though I did have to stop her using an old piece of tree to cut up my food on ( I bought her a very nice plastic cutting board that she used in Pattaya- just went back to village ways at home ).

Actually, bacteria can live longer on plastic cutting boards than wooden boards.

source for this information please?

I heard the same thing many years ago. For some reason wood repels/kills bacteria whereas plastic is fine - until it is scratched or cut. Then, plastic stores the bacteria.

[seriouseats]

probably been said 50 times..

Thai food is awfull crap. Not because of what it is but the people who cook it are usually just interested in making a quick buck.

If you find a thai restaurant that is dedicated(family owned) or higher class then thai food becomes one of the best cuisines in the world.

I love green cury, but i have only have found a few restaurants in this country where i could stomach it.

Even the small 30baht khao pat places, most of them cant make a decent fried rice after making them all day long for 20years.(how hard is it to make a good khao pat? a 5 year old could)

Thai's food problem is the cooks have no sense of pride, just greed. This is why when you find a good restaurant where the owner is always there to greet you and watch his kitchen, you should come back and bring as many people as often as possible. Those people need to be rewarded.

Just on my street, every couple months i have a new restaurant opening. They usualy fail to make money within a few weeks, and try to rent their business. They spend about 4 hours in their business a week and let the burmese or 6000baht a month thai slave do their job. Others say they just want to talk to people but they know they are terrible cooks. The later still works though because the average thai isnt too difficult on cheap food. As long as its close to home and someone talks to them.

[happyrobert]

I'm with you. Everytime I see the family sitting on the floor using their ( unwashed ) hands in the common food dishes I'm glad my wife makes me a seperate meal, though I did have to stop her using an old piece of tree to cut up my food on ( I bought her a very nice plastic cutting board that she used in Pattaya- just went back to village ways at home ).

Actually, bacteria can live longer on plastic cutting boards than wooden boards.

source for this information please?

I heard the same thing many years ago. For some reason wood repels/kills bacteria whereas plastic is fine - until it is scratched or cut. Then, plastic stores the bacteria.

If the American government makes claims that you should do or not do something for your health --it's often better to do the opposite!

Downed trees can take decades, even centuries (visit the rainforest in Washington State sometime) to decay because of their natural resistance to bacteria and fungi which are primary sources of organic decomposistion in nature.

http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm

[happyrobert]

Even the small 30baht khao pat places, most of them cant make a decent fried rice after making them all day long for 20years.(how hard is it to make a good khao pat? a 5 year old could)

If you are ever in Sukhumvit and want the very best Khao Phat in Thailand, there is a no-name hole-in-the-wall on Soi 22. Mom and pop--literally--and very consistent quality. It's not 30 baht, though. My khao phat talay is 80 baht. But half the ocean is in there and the "shrimp" are as big as my thumb. Amazingly fresh.

Open in the afternoon around 2 pm until 8 pm, usually closed on Mondays; owner has bad back so sometimes closed when it should be open, so don't make a special trip from a distance.

Off Sukhumvit Road about 250-300 meters on the left. One block after Raan-derm Restaurant -- not bad itself-- and just before a big massage place. Wife cooks out front, maybe 8 tables.

Edited July 20, 2011 by happyrobert

[DavidARoss]

Even the small 30baht khao pat places, most of them cant make a decent fried rice after making them all day long for 20years.(how hard is it to make a good khao pat? a 5 year old could)

If you are ever in Sukhumvit and want the very best Khao Phat in Thailand, there is a no-name hole-in-the-wall on Soi 22. Mom and pop--literally--and very consistent quality. It's not 30 baht, though. My khao phat talay is 80 baht. But half the ocean is in there and the "shrimp" are as big as my thumb. Amazingly fresh.

Open in the afternoon around 2 pm until 8 pm, usually closed on Mondays; owner has bad back so sometimes closed when it should be open, so don't make a special trip from a distance.

Off Sukhumvit Road about 250-300 meters on the left. One block after Raan-derm Restaurant -- not bad itself-- and just before a big massage place. Wife cooks out front, maybe 8 tables.

It's good to know that there's still good places out there to get good decent food to eat.

[KRS1]

OP get lout of Isaan man, its all bugs, veg and weird chili paste dips up there man.

Did you know traditional "isaan" larb, literally has bullshit added to it, add to that a little coagulated blood.

No Isaan for me, no sir.

[happyrobert]

Even the small 30baht khao pat places, most of them cant make a decent fried rice after making them all day long for 20years.(how hard is it to make a good khao pat? a 5 year old could)

If you are ever in Sukhumvit and want the very best Khao Phat in Thailand, there is a no-name hole-in-the-wall on Soi 22. Mom and pop--literally--and very consistent quality. It's not 30 baht, though. My khao phat talay is 80 baht. But half the ocean is in there and the "shrimp" are as big as my thumb. Amazingly fresh.

Open in the afternoon around 2 pm until 8 pm, usually closed on Mondays; owner has bad back so sometimes closed when it should be open, so don't make a special trip from a distance.

Off Sukhumvit Road about 250-300 meters on the left. One block after Raan-derm Restaurant -- not bad itself-- and just before a big massage place. Wife cooks out front, maybe 8 tables.

It's good to know that there's still good places out there to get good decent food to eat.

Putting aside the potential for spiciness, bizarre ingredients and/or hygeine doubts, I think many who state they don't like Thai food simply have a hard time finding quality Thai food. There's not much of it anymore. Like any other country, quality of restaurants is going down. I like bbq, but I found most bbq joints in Texas were pathetically lacking in many categories. Some was inedible. Doesn't mean I don't like bbq or American food.

Find a place here that has really high standards and nothing too far out in ingredients, and Thai food can be delicious to just about anyone. But many places serve mush or dried fish or organ meats that I would not feed a dog.

So thought I'd mention one that was consistently excellent, basic foods, clean and friendly.

[justben]

This thread amazes me. It also amazes me how popular the threads seeking to determine the best restaurant serving this or that western food are on this forum. I went to one the recommendations on the Chiang Mai forum the other day, only because a Thai friend really wanted to and it was horrendous. There must be so many farangs living in Thailand feeling so out of their element in this country. Let's go to Thailand and eat pasta and burgers. You need help.  

Thailand has fantastic food pretty much everywhere. It's true not all eateries are good, but that's what making local friends is all about. They can tell you where is good and where is bad, because they've already been through all the trial and error in their area. I suspect farangs are naturally attracted to places that only have at least a sign and menu in English. This is probably where things go wrong. You can expect bland food here, it's targeting those with a craving for the Bland and the Uninspired. I live in Chiang Mai, it's full of culinary gems at every nook an cranny. They don't look clean sometimes (though I've never been sick in Thailand), the quality of service and ambience varies and they have no menus in English or English speaking staff, but they house some of the best food on the planet. If you want to know more, just ask. Otherwise enjoy your pasta and beans on toast or whatever.  Consider learning to read Thai (it takes about a week) and not being so stuck on western ways. If you are too attached to your farang identity and all that encompasses, you will always always struggle and have something to บ่น about. Why are you here?

No thank you.

Edited July 20, 2011 by justben