Why Don'T Thai People Like Indian Food?

[elektrified]

Thais generally think Indians are dirty, and by extension that their food is dirty.

Sadly that is the train of thought here. I have never been successful in getting a Thai friend to come along for a meal at an Indian restaurant. Almost always there is a racist comment; i.e. they don't wash their hands when preparing food or something along those lines. Their loss.

[KarenBravo]

Thais generally think Indians are dirty, and by extension that their food is dirty.

Sadly that is the train of thought here. I have never been successful in getting a Thai friend to come along for a meal at an Indian restaurant. Almost always there is a racist comment; i.e. they don't wash their hands when preparing food or something along those lines. Their loss.

Have heard the same and like to respond with "......but, Buddha was an Indian wasn't he?".

[barefoot1988]

im guessing the spices. its either a love it or hate it issues as far as i had observed. my wife is a big fan of mutton curry and biryani but not into certain sour tasting curries like vindaloo and she loves nann and seems to have some addiction towards papadum

[NewlyMintedThai]

People across a large swath of Thailand (especially the North and Northeast) eat exvlusively with their hands. It wasn't all that lomg ago that all Thais ate that way.

As for never having been able to get a Thai friend to join you for a Thai meal, all I can say is that you need to find more sophisticated Thai friends.

[TheGoktor]

Agree with the last two posts. Real dry Indian food is much better than the slop served up throughout most of Thailand.

I've not yet ventured into an Indian restaurant in Thailand.... having lived in Kerala, I find Indian food in the UK to be suspect enough, so I fear for it here in Chiang Mai! I've been trying to find Indian spices here, so I can cook real Indian food at home.

ETA: I've heard the 'eating with their hands' thing too... 1. In every home, restaurant, and café you will find a washbasin by the dining area. 2. Not everyone eats with their fingers, and not all foods are suited to finger-eating. 3. Sticky rice is eaten with the fingers here, so how is it any different?

I have to say that, as much as I love Thai, Khmer, and Italian food (I'm Italian!), Keralese is the best I've tasted anywhere in the world!

Edited July 2, 2013 by TheGoktor

[TheGoktor]

Most Thai don't even know anything about Indian food and never tasted Indian food.

Most Thai don't get used to the smell of spices e.g cinnamon, cloves in their food etc..

Most Thai can't tell the different between Indian, Muslim, or Arab.

A lot of Thai food smell like rotten meat and in fact they do indeed rotten.

Most Thai don't know anything outside their country.

They know enough (mostly) to think they don't like it and to turn their noses all crinkly if you even mention it.

Of course food ignorance isn't limited to Thai nationals. I love Ethiopian food but if you mention that the the majority of Americans who have never tried it, you are likely to hear an idiotic joke about starvation.

Ethiopian food is amazing! I love having one big injera with lots of little bits of spicy dishes served up on it, and just tearing bits off.... with my fingers! Oh, and Ethiopian coffee.... mmmmmm!

[1020]

Because they mainly view Indians as smelly and dirty and poor, Thais are obviously much higher up. Why would they insult themselves by enjoying the food of smelly, dirty and poor people.

Next thing they'll be saying Khmer cuisine is delicous for cry out loud.

[1020]

I would also guess that the Thai people who declare they don't like Indian food, have never tasted so much as a spoonfull or snot-infused finger lick of the stuff.

Edited July 2, 2013 by 1020

[joeaverage]

while i like indian food i rarely eat it because it generally makes me fell sluggish and disgusting.

it also disturbs me that it smells the same coming out as it did going in.

and i can smell it coming from my pores the next day, especially at the gym.

and it is not racist to remark that the indian diet can affect the way a person smells, and not necessarily due to hygiene.

i find the excessive perfumes and musks affected by other cultures far more offensive though, especially when used to mask poor hygiene.

couldn't have put it better myself

[Donnie Brasco]

necronx99 wrote:

Thais generally think Indians are dirty, and by extension that their food is dirty.

Oh yeah there's always gonna be something weird and smelly about anyone who's outplayed, outfoxed and outboxed you isn't there?

I have met the odd Thai, a fabulously travelled and schooled female banking executive, a mid-level bureaucrat and the occasional Thai foodie who will just laugh at their countrymen's outright rejection of an entire sub-continent's cuisine and have a kick at the Arab's as well but pound back junk food like there's no tomorrow.

They fail to understand that their prized chiles were brought here from Peru by the Portuguese and "their" sacred tom yam aharn teleh, delicious and tantalizing as it is, is just another bouillabaisse or fisher men's soup with generous editions of local herbs. Their curries as well owe a lot to generations of Arab, Indian, European and Chinese traders as well as indigenous Laos, Hakka, Lisu, Hmong, Khmer, Thai Tae.

So really, doesn't this culinary tub thumping come off as a bit contrived ?

This kind of exclusionary ritual and tribalistic incantation plays out in one form or another and to some degree or another, every day on most of these threads, n'est-ce pas ;-?

Love it.

Edited July 2, 2013 by Donnie Brasco

[Donnie Brasco]

Hasn't curry kind of replaced a lot of English restaurant food to the point where Curry joints are England's most popular restaurants ?

[Kathy2014]

Indish and Thai food are different. Eventhough we cook with so many ingredients, and looks similar to Indish food for european's eyes. Thai nowaday getting used to Chinese or Japanese food more than Indish food , which strong smell of herbs, pepper, joghurt. Some part of Thailand like northeastern ...they seldom cook with coconut milk, so Indish food would certainly not their favarite. Thai getting used to Moslem food, like beef or curry ( Kukuma ) rice more than real Indish food. But if someone try a real Indish food and open minded, they would like it, if you go to Pahurat Area ( Indish area in Bangkok ) , there are many Indish yummy snack....like samosa fried or bake pasty with spiced potatoes, onion, peas, lentills...very delicious and cheap. In good Indish restaurant, there are lots of yummy to try. Maybe I am a thai who is curious in other culture and love to try their culinary national food.

[blorg]

Much Muslim Thai food such as roti and biryani comes from Indian cuisine. Roti is popular all over the country from street stalls and little hole in the wall restaurants and Roti-Mataba in Bangkok which is a sort of Thai-Indian hybrid is always packed full of local Thai people.

Edited October 14, 2013 by blorg

[A1Str8]

Most of them have no problems with indian food. The only reason they refuse to eat it is the curry. They think it would make them smell bad and as a result they would lose face.

[Konini]

I was told a long time ago by a Thai lady that (presumably in the same way that ethnic Indian people smell of curry), Farangs smell of sour milk.

It makes sense really, we sweat what we eat. Had that reconfirmed recently whilst talking to an English expat from Sri Lanka on a flight. He really had that curry smell going on. If fear of smelling 'bad' is the reason they keep away from it, I can't really blame them (although common sense tells me it would take a long time of eating nothing but 'Indian' food to acquire the smell).

When we lived in UK, there were no Indian restaurants or takeaway shops around us (we left in 1987, there are more now than the proverbial stick can be pointed at). Our introduction to Indian food was home made (from authentic recipes) and Malaysia, where the food in Penang is said to be the closest thing possible to Tamil food in India. I've since tried Indian food in England and can't eat it - too bland, too sweet. Tried a restaurant in Cambo but it was obviously set up for English tastes, one in Chiang Mai was the same. By bland I don't mean not hot. There are dozens of spices and chili is only one. It seems to be the only spice in overload at the places we tried.

Off topic but interesting: In Mumbai there are apparently 'Indian food English style' restaurants where the middle class Indians are finding novelty eating.

[Khun Jean]

It is simple.

Indian food is not good because Indian people are lower class. (Poor)

Japanese food is higher because Japanese people are higher class. (Rich)

You do not want to be caught eating poor people food, and you show off by eating rich peoples food.

Isaan food like Som Tam is Thai food so it trumps lower or high class.

Thailand is such an easy country to figure out.

Just think about everything as rich or poor.

[sms747]

Mainly cos they think Indians are dirty, I could not pay my mrs to eat Indian, pity.

[macksmith345]

Hi,

I really like Indian food not just curry other junk food like jalebi and Samoa etc.

......................

catering services in Melbourne

[Ace of Pop]

Same reason Indians cant stand Thai Food.. I must be an Indian.

[gaurang]

lolz...i might be replying too late..but its true.

the only reason they hate indian food is because mostly of their pre-conceived notion that indians smell.

I being an indian and living here for some time have heard that.

I aint complaining as its their loss ...although i was able to take a couple of my colleagues to a good indian restaurant in both bangkok and pattaya and they liked some of the stuff...but still they think otherwise.

As for racism being the factor ..well its everywhere just a lil bit more in thailand per say ...as the common opinion is that all of india is "islam" as said here and that thailand is way over india..

Silly thing though ..i just tend to overlook it now instead of giving them a feedback.

[Water Buffalo]

It don't think it's so much about the taste. Most Thais will tell you they don't like Indian food even though they have never tried it. Then your next question should be, "What do you think about Indian people?" The answer is usually the same if they are a very uneducated person, or maybe a 'little white lie' if educated enough to be culturally sensitive.

Some mindsets are acceptable to different cultures.

My better half really did enjoy Tandoori chicken with Naan bread (until she found out where it came from). Then it was Chinese takeaways or pizza after that.

[RichBKK]

My father in law loved it but other than that, you could generally tell most of the visitors to Indian restaurants were Indian or western expats

Seem to prefer Japanese food here. Wasabi, mayonnaise, raw fish. Ugh teriyaki chicken is ok by me though

[kkkkkeke]

I think just because they don't like India people

[Thai at Heart]

Because someone told them it isn't nice.

[Tomtomtom69]

Sorry. Thai people only eat Thai food.

Not necessarily, they also like western and Japanese food, not to mention Korean. However, as far as Indian goes it's true that few Thais seem to like it. Or rather they assume it's bad despite never having tasted it.

[Tomtomtom69]

My father in law loved it but other than that, you could generally tell most of the visitors to Indian restaurants were Indian or western expats

Seem to prefer Japanese food here. Wasabi, mayonnaise, raw fish. Ugh teriyaki chicken is ok by me though

That's true, seems to be the case region wide. While I haven't been to an Indian restaurant in Thailand in recent years, I regularly go to Indian restaurants in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam when I travel to those countries. In all 4 countries, the majority of the patrons are either western tourists, expats and Indian residents/tourists, more or less in that order. In Bangkok's Pahurat district, there'd be more Indian or Indian-Thai customers than westerners, but in Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Pakse, Nha Trang, Mui Ne and Phnom Penh for example, the vast majority of the clientele are western tourists.

It's somewhat different in China. Indian restaurants there aren't common, but an Indian chain with 6 stores called "Yindu caicai", which is kind of a play on words meaning "Indian food food" in a couple of Chinese cities including Kunming and Chongqing is quite a hit with the locals. Foreign residents and tourists, usually westerners, make up the second biggest clientele, but at certain times the majority of patrons are local Chinese. They go because it's fashionable, exotic and different. In fact it's quite authentic in terms of atmosphere right down to the Bollywood videos, music and decor, or maybe they are overdoing it a bit. Although I think it's not a bad attempt. However, stay away from their lassi. It's absolutely dreadful and nothing like what Indian lassi should taste like. The good news is that virually everything else on the menu tastes quite good.

On the other hand, most Indian restaurants in SE Asian countries are independent hole-in-the-wall places with cheap decor and virtually no atmosphere; the cooks tend to be Indians, whereas the waitresses/waiters are locals (although the Indian manager may also take orders occasionally). Ganesh, a chain of Indian restaurants in central and southern Vietnam is a noticeable exception. Nice decor, atmosphere and food. Prices are also quite reasonable.

Edited September 1, 2014 by Tomtomtom69

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Thais generally think Indians are dirty, and by extension that their food is dirty.

Do they think Buddha was dirty?

And by extending that thought, all their monks are dirty,

Or don't they understand Buddha came from India?

I actually prefer Indian food to Thai food.

Edited September 1, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[kkkkkeke]

My father in law loved it but other than that, you could generally tell most of the visitors to Indian restaurants were Indian or western expats

Seem to prefer Japanese food here. Wasabi, mayonnaise, raw fish. Ugh teriyaki chicken is ok by me though

That's true, seems to be the case region wide. While I haven't been to an Indian restaurant in Thailand in recent years, I regularly go to Indian restaurants in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam when I travel to those countries. In all 4 countries, the majority of the patrons are either western tourists, expats and Indian residents/tourists, more or less in that order. In Bangkok's Pahurat district, there'd be more Indian or Indian-Thai customers than westerners, but in Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Pakse, Nha Trang, Mui Ne and Phnom Penh for example, the vast majority of the clientele are western tourists.

It's somewhat different in China. Indian restaurants there aren't common, but an Indian chain with 6 stores called "Yindu caicai", which is kind of a play on words meaning "Indian food food" in a couple of Chinese cities including Kunming and Chongqing is quite a hit with the locals. Foreign residents and tourists, usually westerners, make up the second biggest clientele, but at certain times the majority of patrons are local Chinese. They go because it's fashionable, exotic and different. In fact it's quite authentic in terms of atmosphere right down to the Bollywood videos, music and decor, or maybe they are overdoing it a bit. Although I think it's not a bad attempt. However, stay away from their lassi. It's absolutely dreadful and nothing like what Indian lassi should taste like. The good news is that virually everything else on the menu tastes quite good.

On the other hand, most Indian restaurants in SE Asian countries are independent hole-in-the-wall places with cheap decor and virtually no atmosphere; the cooks tend to be Indians, whereas the waitresses/waiters are locals (although the Indian manager may also take orders occasionally). Ganesh, a chain of Indian restaurants in central and southern Vietnam is a noticeable exception. Nice decor, atmosphere and food. Prices are also quite reasonable.

You are right,as I'm a Chinese used to live in Beijing ,actually Beijing got some good Indian restaurant and the food is good it really tease like India food but it's quite expensive ,I think as many Chinese people don't like curry things so India restaurant don't have too much customers,like middle aged Chinese usually don't like that kind of food but young people love to choose popular things they just go to restaurant other people told them it's good,as Asian people love to do that,they like to hear advise from friends,they don't have really strong character

[Tomtomtom69]

My father in law loved it but other than that, you could generally tell most of the visitors to Indian restaurants were Indian or western expats

Seem to prefer Japanese food here. Wasabi, mayonnaise, raw fish. Ugh teriyaki chicken is ok by me though

That's true, seems to be the case region wide. While I haven't been to an Indian restaurant in Thailand in recent years, I regularly go to Indian restaurants in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam when I travel to those countries. In all 4 countries, the majority of the patrons are either western tourists, expats and Indian residents/tourists, more or less in that order. In Bangkok's Pahurat district, there'd be more Indian or Indian-Thai customers than westerners, but in Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Pakse, Nha Trang, Mui Ne and Phnom Penh for example, the vast majority of the clientele are western tourists.

It's somewhat different in China. Indian restaurants there aren't common, but an Indian chain with 6 stores called "Yindu caicai", which is kind of a play on words meaning "Indian food food" in a couple of Chinese cities including Kunming and Chongqing is quite a hit with the locals. Foreign residents and tourists, usually westerners, make up the second biggest clientele, but at certain times the majority of patrons are local Chinese. They go because it's fashionable, exotic and different. In fact it's quite authentic in terms of atmosphere right down to the Bollywood videos, music and decor, or maybe they are overdoing it a bit. Although I think it's not a bad attempt. However, stay away from their lassi. It's absolutely dreadful and nothing like what Indian lassi should taste like. The good news is that virually everything else on the menu tastes quite good.

On the other hand, most Indian restaurants in SE Asian countries are independent hole-in-the-wall places with cheap decor and virtually no atmosphere; the cooks tend to be Indians, whereas the waitresses/waiters are locals (although the Indian manager may also take orders occasionally). Ganesh, a chain of Indian restaurants in central and southern Vietnam is a noticeable exception. Nice decor, atmosphere and food. Prices are also quite reasonable.

You are right,as I'm a Chinese used to live in Beijing ,actually Beijing got some good Indian restaurant and the food is good it really tease like India food but it's quite expensive ,I think as many Chinese people don't like curry things so India restaurant don't have too much customers,like middle aged Chinese usually don't like that kind of food but young people love to choose popular things they just go to restaurant other people told them it's good,as Asian people love to do that,they like to hear advise from friends,they don't have really strong character

Yes, that's true, most of the clientele at the Indian restaurants I've been to in China (mainly in Kunming) were younger people and although not very expensive, it's certainly not cheap (think 50-100 Yuan minimum per person). The difference between China and SE Asia is that in China, any given food is seen as worth trying by younger, nouveau rich types (or just those that want to get seen, the "in-crowd"), basically it's fashionable to eat something new and "exotic", whether it's Indian, New Zealand food, even McDonalds. Unfortunately, that concept does not really apply to Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia etc. where the most exotic thing young locals like to go for is KFC, pizza or similar, but Indian food? Almost never.

[IMA_FARANG]

I will tell you the truth.

My Thai girlfriend will not eat:

• Indian food because they all eat with their hands (the Banana Leaf thing).
• Korean food because they all eat Dogs
• And "English" food because they eat .... (wait for it) ..... "Spotted Dick".

She saw these things on Thai PBS programs on the television she only half-understood.

As the saying goes ..... "Against such ignorance, even the Gods would struggle in vain".