watcharacters Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 He is right I think. The street food here is overrated. I too think Thai food dine right is a beautiful thing, but can only think of one street food vendor that really works magic for me. There are more really good small, open air restaurants I feel. Many bad ones too of course. The thing he didn't mention that I thought he should have: if you go into a truly good street food country like mexico, it does not matter how many people are waiting - you order 3 tacos and the guy starts cutting your beef and a woman behind him is chopping some more fresh onions and cilantro. He makes exactly what you order, no more, no less. In bangkok, they cook once and it all just sits there, all day, and maybe into the next. They use vegetables that have really gone past the point of no return, and it is just generally annoying the way they look at cleanliness vs profit. If it is no good, throw it out for F--- sake. At the very least it is very unnerving. There are exceptions of course, but the general rule here is food sitting there in the heat all day. The best street food is made eloquent by counteracting the "street" with a fresh preparation. I am a huge street food fan in general, and Thailand has got it no doubt, but I am becoming less and less of a fan. It really just isn't that good at all. . What doesn't sell today is fresh for tomorrow? 555 "In bangkok, they cook once and it all just sits there, all day, and maybe into the next. They use vegetables that have really gone past the point of no return, and it is just generally annoying the way they look at cleanliness vs profit. If it is no good, throw it out for F--- sake. At the very least it is very unnerving. There are exceptions of course, but the general rule here is food sitting there in the heat all day. The best street food is made eloquent by counteracting the "street" with a fresh preparation. I am a huge street food fan in general, and Thailand has got it no doubt, but I am becoming less and less of a fan. It really just isn't that good at all." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somchai Mao Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 The ever present rats, unhygienic utensils, dirty washing up water and lack of personal hygiene by some of the cooks are enough to put me off Bangkok street food but after a dozen Changs I have no problem with some barbecued chicken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummiebob Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Actually around office area like Silom or Asok, the vendors seem to organize themselves into small foodcourts with electricity for fridges and running water, but obviously they'll need to pay rent on such place. If the things are freshly cooked it's probably fine. It's the 'Khao Gaeng' dishes that is served with rice that seems to be cooked since 4AM and has been sitting there all morning that I can't get my head around, how could you eat something like that? As for issue with the oils, sometime the health department does spot checks on frying oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackfox Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 I live in Phahonyotin area. Tom yum at Centara Grand was the least delicious and very expensive. By contrast, Tom yum at Lad Phrao Soi 15 is inexpensive and the best my gf and I have had in BKK. It is of great quality and our yardstick when having the dish elsewhere. Another thread about schooling, just because you pay more in a better environment does not translate to it being better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt1591 Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 In that area, across from Central Ladphrao, there is a little cook-to-order shop about 20 meters down this trok: http://goo.gl/maps/2wNGQIt was recommended to us by a worker at World Camera. The lady puts out some real tasty dishes. Funny thing, the guy with the moto-cart is still there, two years after this Google photo was taken! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millwall_fan Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 The street food is not made for you guys and if you cant see that you really haven't been here very long. This food at 30-40 baht a plate is all that most Thais can afford. Most don't have cooking facilities in their apartments or can't afford the overloaded electric charges that most unscrupulous Bangkok landlords charge. Street food is a necessity for millions of Bangkokians.its not for the wealthy and if it crowds the sidewalk too bad for you, if they invented hawkers centres a la Singapore, some rich Chinese Thai would coin it in charge the vendors and the prices would go up and then the poor couldn't afford to eat again. or wags would have to rise and more inflation. Most Thais know its not organic and the MSG is the only thing that makes it edible and that rats are in teh area but thats all they can afford. WAKE UP PEOPLE! In point of fact most street food is perfectly clean and edible. Thais have very good basic hygiene standards, even in the grubbiest environments. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikkii Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 I lived in Singapore for 2 yrs. Does that make me know better than most..lol. I can assure you that most hawker market food there was filled with MSG especially the Chinese food. And some of the rats I saw running around my Lorong coffee shop were equal to anything in BKK. Food was delicious though and so was the MSG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetrout Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 i cannot eat when everything around you smeels so bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt1591 Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Find a better location. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetrout Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 you should try india Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangon04 Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 i cannot eat when everything around you smeels so bad Why do street vendors often set up next to a stinking khlong? Is it just because of the washing plates, or do Thais prefer the mixed aromas to enjoy the food? I suppose the answer must be to eat street food inside - in the food courts of the millions of shopping malls in Bangkok... not much more expensive and just as "authentic" as anything else... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt1591 Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 i cannot eat when everything around you smeels so bad Why do street vendors often set up next to a stinking khlong? Is it just because of the washing plates, or do Thais prefer the mixed aromas to enjoy the food? I suppose the answer must be to eat street food inside - in the food courts of the millions of shopping malls in Bangkok... not much more expensive and just as "authentic" as anything else... Although there are some good stalls, at some food courts, often, many of the stalls are owned buy the malls themselves. This means that the operator is simply someone who was looking for a job and bags a couple hundred baht/day for their efforts. Most carts and small shops are started and run buy people who cook what they like to cook, and usually do it well. As far as dining-in-the-stink goes, we often eat from street food carts and shops. But, if the place stinks, we find another. I mean really, smell is a big part of taste. We also don't eat food that stinks, looks like it has sat around, or simply looks awful. We like to call it common sense ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikkii Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 I love street food, always have, always will. and yes never have been sick sampling many different places around Thailand. Ate 2 fried eggs and toast with a coffee at a halal restaurant last week, had the runs and stomach cramps ever since??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millwall_fan Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 i cannot eat when everything around you smeels so bad Why do street vendors often set up next to a stinking khlong? Is it just because of the washing plates, or do Thais prefer the mixed aromas to enjoy the food? I suppose the answer must be to eat street food inside - in the food courts of the millions of shopping malls in Bangkok... not much more expensive and just as "authentic" as anything else... It's because those are often the only locations where some Mr. Big hasn't bought the rights to the sidewalk or some mafia type doesn't extract a fee for setting up a stall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toybits Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Behold! The Messiah (named Terence Wang) has arrived!!! He who knows more than most has suggested (rather lame for a Messiah) the Singaporization of Thai Street Food vendors! Heed this call in order to be saved. Get your last 30 baht noodles before the price increases. Where is the Thai Lee Kwan Yu??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirlDrinkDrunk Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Due to most people's financial situation here, many such as laborers cannot afford to sit inside of a new, air conditioned supermarket every meal, c'mon. Most need a quick meal and don't have time anyway due to Bangkok's horrendous traffic and other things. Street food and the spontaneous feel of Bangkok is what makes it special. I don't see the need for moaning. If you're fussy, have a high budget & think you're so great, then go to greyhound, sit down & shut up, especially a spoiled little kid who has been here all of 2.5 years! Ah greyhound, the epitome of fine dining. you sure know how to do it up right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetrout Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 just get drunk before you eat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thechineseguy Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 (edited) due to limited budget (means i am poor), and i'm chinese, i ate all kinds of sh!ts my whole life, so i eat street food occasionally, but still, when i eat street food, i try to avoid any salad or any thing fresh, even egg i like to have it well xxxxxxx done, this is one of the most useful things i learned from china.sure street food exist for reasons, like letting poor dude like me can actully afford a meal.but for those street food lovers, especially ` song-dum '(thai salad), how about getting a parasites test? Edited October 22, 2013 by metisdead Profanity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzvic Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I LOVE the street food and look forward to particularly good rice noodles and fishballs just along from my son's home (not salty or msg added). It costs 8x that price for the same meal in Ak. Still miss the disappeared vendor whose kowl mun gai had the perfect steamed chicken, soup and sauce, despite trying lots of great restaurants with very interesting Thai dishes...yum, can't wait until November for three-monthly Thai fix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikkii Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I LOVE the street food and look forward to particularly good rice noodles and fishballs just along from my son's home (not salty or msg added). It costs 8x that price for the same meal in Ak. Still miss the disappeared vendor whose kowl mun gai had the perfect steamed chicken, soup and sauce, despite trying lots of great restaurants with very interesting Thai dishes...yum, can't wait until November for three-monthly Thai fix! I'm with you on that. Half the fun for me eating street food is seeing what condiments I will be served to add to my meal at each place. Some will serve coriander, spring onion, chilli, others garlic cloves, chilli, Thai basil etc. A rich part of Thailand's culture would dissapear if we sterilised street food and commercialised it in giant food courts.its all anout choice OP, you can go to a shopping centre and eat at a food court, I prefer to be on the road, eating from a place that looks like s@@t but tastes delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaiyapoon Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 Been eating street food for years often twice a day. I can say the only time I have had problems is in restaurants. You can at least see whats being cooked and how at a stall. Who knows what is going on in a kitchen out the back? Stick to busy places where they turn over a decent amount of food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJIC Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 (edited) Thing is you can see what street vendors are doing to the food. Just because you pay more in a restaurant, doesn't mean they aren't doing the same, or perhaps much worse. Better the devil you know. I'd love for Gordon Ramsey to do a "Kitchen Nightmares" here. "Don't you know the first rule of food preparation. Never put cooked meat next to uncooked meat. That's it. I'm closing the place down" I doubt many BKK eateries (streetside or restaurant) would survive ;-) But yeah, I've lived here 20 years and never had food poisoning. Last time I get food poisoning was Loughborough University food centre!! "Don't you know the first rule of food preparation. Never put cooked meat next to uncooked meat. That's it. I'm closing the place down" And that's exactly what put me off Korean Barbecues,and as it's a multiple do it yourself effort,nobody would wait for one batch of meat to cook ,before slopping on some uncooked meat,before taking off the already cooked meat!contaminated with partially cooked meat juice. This is a great business idea,but to my knowledge (and rumoured,true or not ?) Public Health Regulations food hygiene licences,are not available, to open up this kind (Thai style Korean Barbecues ) of Food establishments in the UK,for the lack of hygiene reasons mentioned above! but certainly not a good idea to mix raw and cooked meat! Edited October 26, 2013 by MAJIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJIC Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 I LOVE the street food and look forward to particularly good rice noodles and fishballs just along from my son's home (not salty or msg added). It costs 8x that price for the same meal in Ak. Still miss the disappeared vendor whose kowl mun gai had the perfect steamed chicken, soup and sauce, despite trying lots of great restaurants with very interesting Thai dishes...yum, can't wait until November for three-monthly Thai fix! I'm with you on that. Half the fun for me eating street food is seeing what condiments I will be served to add to my meal at each place. Some will serve coriander, spring onion, chilli, others garlic cloves, chilli, Thai basil etc. A rich part of Thailand's culture would dissapear if we sterilised street food and commercialised it in giant food courts.its all anout choice OP, you can go to a shopping centre and eat at a food court, I prefer to be on the road, eating from a place that looks like s@@t but tastes delicious. The power of MSG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetrout Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 50million thais say you are wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetrout Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 Thing is you can see what street vendors are doing to the food. Just because you pay more in a restaurant, doesn't mean they aren't doing the same, or perhaps much worse. Better the devil you know. I'd love for Gordon Ramsey to do a "Kitchen Nightmares" here. "Don't you know the first rule of food preparation. Never put cooked meat next to uncooked meat. That's it. I'm closing the place down" I doubt many BKK eateries (streetside or restaurant) would survive ;-) But yeah, I've lived here 20 years and never had food poisoning. Last time I get food poisoning was Loughborough University food centre!! "Don't you know the first rule of food preparation. Never put cooked meat next to uncooked meat. That's it. I'm closing the place down" And that's exactly what put me off Korean Barbecues,and as it's a multiple do it yourself effort,nobody would wait for one batch of meat to cook ,before slopping on some uncooked meat,before taking off the already cooked meat!contaminated with partially cooked meat juice. This is a great business idea,but to my knowledge (and rumoured,true or not ?) Public Health Regulations food hygiene licences,are not available, to open up this kind (Thai style Korean Barbecues ) of Food establishments in the UK,for the lack of hygiene reasons mentioned above! but certainly not a good idea to mix raw and cooked meat! here here or hear hear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planetdweller Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 What is it with American-speak, everything either "sucks" or is "awesome." Pretty narrow-minded viewpoint. So , all ages , educational levels and virtually every American demographic uses "American-speak ? I get as annoyed as anyone at the lack of originality people use in conversing or writing in the US. But, I will say , if I had a dollar for every time I have heard 'awesome' , I'd be on a beach-front property in some exotic locale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetrout Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 What is it with American-speak, everything either "sucks" or is "awesome." Pretty narrow-minded viewpoint. So , all ages , educational levels and virtually every American demographic uses "American-speak ? I get as annoyed as anyone at the lack of originality people use in conversing or writing in the US. But, I will say , if I had a dollar for every time I have heard 'awesome' , I'd be on a beach-front property in some exotic locale. take it easy what about the awwsome foursome thats wicked man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt1591 Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 What is it with American-speak, everything either "sucks" or is "awesome." Pretty narrow-minded viewpoint. So , all ages , educational levels and virtually every American demographic uses "American-speak ? I get as annoyed as anyone at the lack of originality people use in conversing or writing in the US. But, I will say , if I had a dollar for every time I have heard 'awesome' , I'd be on a beach-front property in some exotic locale. take it easy what about the awwsome foursome thats wicked man Bloody Hell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F4UCorsair Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Oh yes. Please make Bangkok like Singapore. NOT NO, never make Bangkok like Singapore. I recall back in the 60/70's when it was decreed, by the government, that Singapore should be 'cleaned up'. It's not nearly the place it was as a result. Hong Kong was next. Leave Bangkok just as it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzvic Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 MSG aint the magic MAJIC, allergic to the stuff. Chickenstock from boiled bones from the street vendors I buy from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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