Thai Eating Habits

[Tony59329]

I have been eating recently with Thai families. My question is: When eating do Thais normally chew with their mouth open, make loud chewing noises and also talk with their mouth full of food?

I realize that this is Thailand and I am the visitor but is this the norm?

Honest question.

[Shot]

YES

[lovelomsak]

I would say it isnot the norm. I have never seen it. All the Thais I know take small amounts of food at one time and eat slowly and appear to enjoy their food. Thais eat slowly take food from the main dishes on the table and place it on their plate and politely let the food sit on their plate a while and then eat it.

Just a question for you. Where do you see what you describe?

Edited April 15, 2012 by lovelomsak

[Tony59329]

I would say it isnot the norm. I have never seen it. All the Thais I know take small amounts of food at one time and eat slowly and appear to enjoy their food. Thais eat slowly take food from the main dishes on the table and place it on their plate and politely let the food sit on their plate a while and then eat it.

Just a question for you. Where do you see what you describe?

Very good Koh Chang hotel.

[transam]

Even in farang land some folk eat the way you describe.

My wife's son (16) eats like a camel, l told her to teach him how to eat properly, she says he's just enjoying his food.

[h90]

No you eat slowly, small pieces and don't speak while eating. As well you don't put more on your place than you can eat.

It is the same in Farangistan and Thailand.

And the same in Thailand and in Farangistan some people do different. In both it is considered as ugly.

[Semper]

small pieces and don't speak while eating

Yes, small pieces is the keyword here, as they do love to talk and they don't want to miss the opportunity to do this by having their mouths full of food. Hence the small pieces.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Just as with back home, decent table manners are more widely taught and enforced as you go up the socio-economic spectrum.

However even in the poorest upcountry families strong mothers that are aware of the rules and consider them important will produce polite children.

If you are the head of your household, you can politely but firmly teach them how you want them to behave, and they won't consider you rude, mostly likely just chalk it up to another crazy farang cultural difference, like not enjoying extremely loud noise, not picking your nose in public, not believing in ghosts, not liking the smell of puu plaa etc.

Let them know what you want, and if you're the one paying the bills they should comply, at least when you're around.

But for things that don't bother you much, it's easier to just let it slide. . .

[DrTuner]

Correct, a class thing. Whereas the peasants gobble their food with the other hand while making loud sucking noices and conversing with the neighbour half a mile apart, the Hi-So's carefully place a single molecule of food substance on a porcelain plate and proceed to stare at it for half an hour, in hopes it would magically enter the digestive system without the need for chewing.

As I have no class, I tend to eat my BBQ'd ribs by digging my head into the sauce and making noises like a wolf eating up. Keeps the peasants away quite nicely.

At least I don't burp all that much, although the myth seems to be that if you're of chinese descent it's a sign of appreciating a good meal. Perhaps I should let some gas out, just in case.

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[h90]

small pieces and don't speak while eating

Yes, small pieces is the keyword here, as they do love to talk and they don't want to miss the opportunity to do this by having their mouths full of food. Hence the small pieces.

true!

[payak]

in thailand its not polite, in china the opposite is polite.