Why Bangkok street food sucks: Opinion

[super22k]

All street food vendors should be made to wear cellophane gloves. I do not like them handling food with grubby hands and dirty finger nails in Singapore,Bangkok or Timbucto.......

Also,I have seen street vendors cough and sneeze over the food they are selling. Is it to improve the flavour? "Coughs and sneezes spread disceases".

[metisdead]

Topic is "Why Bangkok street food sucks", not why Singapore street food is better. Off topic posts and replies have been removed.

[pete66]

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!!

[muratremix]

I hate MSG. They should have banned it long time ago.

[barefoot1988]

i can bloody see it! some familar names before mod deleted some. i just knew it, there must be more me a singaporean lurking around tv. the traits of bashing own nation are showing in your trail, haha. just kidding. i actually bloody miss meepok

i would consider street foods the same way as fast food and tibits. not that they sucks or anything. great for occasional treats, but a disaster in a making when taken regularly, in long term health concern. probably a tard better tasting than fast food, but potentially come with a dose of borax and oil older than the one in my wave

[Suradit69]

"Ive lived here for two-and-a-half years, so I know a lot more than most people about street cuisine." - This is just priceless!

That would accord him Resident Guru status here at Thai Visa. Is there any chance he's being facetious?

I guess some people are colonialists at heart. The people who brought us Mad Cow Disease and gifted sexually transmitted diseases to every population they subjugated will now tirelessly work to direct everyone where, what and how to eat. When everyone is downing mushy peas along with horse meat whiffle balls embalmed in shrink wrap, served up at the nearest cut-rate furniture store their work will be done.

Edited August 14, 2013 by Suradit69

[nosatisfaction]

Although i eat street food maybe twice a week i really do dislike the way vendors of all kinds not only food make it impossible to walk anywhere,

It was explained to me that the police have a hand in this and vendors have to pay on a monthly basis, the same even happens in areas designed to be used for vending.

First of all I think, Know for living here much longer, it takes more than a few years to live here to know everything, not only food, better than most people.

Secondly I have never seen as many rats on SkvitRd as the time the US president came over and all the little shops were removed for security reasons.

Third, there is so much turnover in the food it doesn't have time to be infected or polluted by the cars driving by, or the dust in the street, this part was a bit sarcastic, and maybe you get confused by different smells, I don't like them either, like palaa, or pickled bamboo shoots, but the reality is I've never been sick from street food, I have been sick eating in farang owned airconned shops.

Fourth the little shops don't block the footpaths most of the time the bystanders do.

Maybe next time you can write an article about your bar experiences.

[Suradit69]

iPad and "fat finger" caused duplicate

Edited August 14, 2013 by Suradit69

[wwex]

if you change the title from street food to cheap food it makes more sense, you get what you pay for, street food isnt there for farang tourists, its there for Thais on low wages weather you like it or not, if you dont like it go and pay ten times as much in an upmarket resturant. at least in Thailand we still have a choice

and how many times have I heard the I know so much because Ive been here for 2 years? anyone that says that is totally ignorant of Thailand and probably most else

Edited August 14, 2013 by wwex

[redness23]

Mr. grumpy, "want to make everything as close to the West", should go live in Singapore then. Go on, off ya pop! If Bangkok turned into a Singapore I would be so disappointed. Let's sterilize the country and make it feel lifeless and governed by what we can and can't do. If I want to eat street food I can choose, if I want to eat in a restaurant I can, if i want to do the food court thing I will - likewise with Mr. Article of complaining like a bitch can do as he pleases. Don't eat there if you don't like it!

I thoroughly enjoy sitting down with some pleasant vendors and eating food which they specialize in. Sure there are some pretty average ones out there but there are also some great ones. I would much prefer to go to a street vendor rather than sitting in the food courts trying to hear myself think and having no personal touch or association with the people making me my food.

If you hate the congested walkways, then catch a taxi, lose some weight so you can fit through the gaps or go to Singa-sterile-pore. I love being out and food vendors everywhere knowing that any time I can get a meal.

So Mr. Oliver Raw, if you choose to put together such an article of hate about where you live then there is such a simple method to dealing with it - LEAVE!!! Go home. This is one of the reasons I love Bangkok. I have never had food poisoning from a vendor but only a restaurant. Take your food courts and your Western thinking, pack your bags and head off home while you bypass Singapore for a toss.

**** p.s. The last time I had food poisoning was when i went to Singapore....cheers

Edited August 14, 2013 by redness23

[Dararasmi]

A quarter century of traveling to/living in Thailand and I never once ate food off the street. Being a vegetarian put that right out of the realm of possibility. However, if I did eat carrion, I'd still not eat off the street. As the old saying goes, you don't eat where dog's poop...or something like that. (And I steer clear of restaurants in general.)

[jitenshaman]

After almost a decade of living here I don't eat that much street food anymore. Mainly because I am far more discerning now in terms of taste and quality...meaning I go to some sit down places where i pay an extra 50 baht for what i feel is some of the best food in the country. That said, the food being on the street has nothing to do with the quality of it. There is plenty of street food if you know the right stalls that is out of this world and puts the majority of high end "artisinal" "organic" places here to shame. One reason I still live here is the fact that Bangkok has not become a sterile devoid of life city like Singapore and precisely because I don't want to pay 100 baht to eat street food in an air conditioned mall (actually the places I really avoid here are the air conditioned mall food courts as in Tesco or Big C, you will find stuff outside that is scores better).

I wonder if the original poster has ever wandered around Tops, Villa, Tesco, or Big C late at night, when it is not an abberation to spot rats running here or there. Does that stop you from shopping in the supermarket?

In all my years here, probably got sick from street food twice, and both times from fish that had been sitting out quite awhile.

You will also notice that many of the best vendors sell their wares according to needs...the best lunch vendors set up just prior to office towers emptying out at noon, and most of them have sold out by 130, same goes for some of the after work vendors as well.

For anyone who doesn't appreciate street food, pick up a copy of Chawadee Nulkhair's guide to the best vendors in Bangkok, very well researched and written.

[lomatopo]

Many of the folks extolling the virtues of their local street food seem to focus on three four criteria:

1.) Convenience

2.) Cost

3.) It didn’t make me sick

4.) It hasn't killed me, yet. (Doh, if you're posting here one assumes you're not dead.)

FWIW, the lightening-rod OP topic/linked article did compare the current Bangkok street-food scene, with Singapore, pre- and post-food court, so comparisons seem appropriate?

Do I want to change everything in Bangkok so that it resembles Singapore? No. (Traffic? Public transportation? Sh*t no.)

Would I enjoy more large food courts, which actually retain and enhance the local food culture, where I can go to one, single nearby place and get a wide assortment of high quality dishes? Heck no. I just want cheap food that doesn't make me sick.

IMO, Bangkok should be more of a food destination than it is. On the Asian Food Channel there are multiple shows on just about every country save Thailand. I realize there may be many reasons for this anomaly, but making more, higher quality food options, in centralized locations, available to locals and visitors would improve both the local food scene, and the perception of Bangkok/Thailand as something more as a destination for visitors.

There are plenty of cheap 'almost on the street' but not blocking the footpath places that serve quality food (with decent looking and tasting) meat for 35 baht in Bangkok.

It's that type of place that you will find me if I want cheap eats.

I love these wildly vague assertions.

Can you share your top three "almost on the street" spots which serve decent looking and tasting "meat"?

You will also notice that many of the best vendors sell their wares according to needs...the best lunch vendors set up just prior to office towers emptying out at noon, and most of them have sold out by 130, same goes for some of the after work vendors as well.

This has more to do with the economics of pavement rental payments per shift and the amount of hours in a working day, rather than a desire to deliver "the best lunch".

Edited August 14, 2013 by lomatopo

[ozyjon]

About any food in Thailand,, unless you cook it yourself expect handful's of MSG thrown into your food,, why because it makes it taste better,, i'd like to see Chef Ramsey do a cooking show in Thailand and face the camera with the comment,, "the secret ingredient here for authentic Thai cuisine is this magic crystals you can buy in any supermarket in Kilo bags and up to 10 Kilo bags" everyone uses it and i wonder what health problems arise from consuming so much in the future ?

[HUAHIN62]

Many blind tasting tests have been done with MSG and not many have passed it. For the anti MSG's test yourself (honest test no cheating) and you will have the same result, no significant statistical correlation in your ability to taste it or have any negative reaction to it. There is more harm in a bottle of coke and a BIG MAC than in a dish with MSG. Before I get 100's of responses here is a quote on a study done on behalf of the US FDA, " A controlled double-blind multicenter clinical trial failed to demonstrate the relationship between MSG symptom complex and the consumption of MSG in individuals who believed they reacted adversely against MSG. No statistical association has been demonstrated, there were few responses and they were inconsistent." Another one - "Adequately controlling for experimental bias includes a double-blind placebo-controlled experimental design (DBPC) and the application in capsules because of the strong and unique after-taste of glutamates.^[21] In a study performed by Tarasoff and Kelly (1993) 71 fasting participants were given 5 g of MSG and then administered a standard breakfast. There was only one reaction, and it was to the placebo in a self-identified MSG-sensitive individual."

Yes a lot of street food have crap in it, but its dishes made with processed food, sausage, moo balls and fish balls, one needs big balls to survive on street food.

[Mousehound]

I would like many more street food vendors and any other kind of vendor that can fill the streets - then close all these new shopping centres. This would hopefully make all the whingeing farangs go to Singapore and leave me to enjoy the place that I love. Street food hasn't killed me yet and I've enjoyed it for forty years (include HK time).

Edited August 14, 2013 by metisdead
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[ABCinSG]

As a Singaporean, I would say that it's neither better nor worse, if anything, we hide our dirt better.

Truth be told, hawker centres, food courts and even restaurants in Singapore only really give you the illusion that food are hygienically prepared. Most would have a grading done by the NEA (National Environment Agency), but there are no constant checks. I've had my fair share of scares from hawkers to restaurants. If anything, a huge part of one of the more popular hawker offerings, tze cha (Chinese dishes cooked to order), REQUIRES a lightly washed wok and oil that is as old as the hawker. It's always been an urban myth that younger chefs would go to established (and older) chefs to buy a portion of used oil.

Other then that, lack of gloves or hair nets, unhygienic placement of raw and cooked food, use of sub-par ingredients and equipment are all rather common here.

But like blindly ordering from a hawker that breaks all the rules, at least those that should send alarm bells ringing in your head, you shouldn't blindly walk up to a roadside stall in Thailand. I mean, with every amazing road side stall, there's at least another which serves food even a rabid stray wouldn't touch. Perhaps, instead of complaining about them and Grandma Daeng's probably awesome banana fritters, the author should have talked about the things to avoid or look out for when it comes to buying from roadside hawkers.

[lomatopo]

Move da fuc_k back home!

I nominate this highly intelligent post as the "premier post" of the year.

An alternative might be to not eat street food?

[writeshack]

20 years ago I Iived on street food, and so did all my friends. late nights with delicious food and a few beers. Movie stars and the like turning up at out of the way soi food markets to join the party at two, three or four am, where ever you happened to be. Really sanook. And then around the late 90s, after the 97 financial crisis and beyond, it changed as people with no real pride in the street vendor profession started setting up stalls because they were out of work and saw it as an easy way to make money. And then. of course the government made all the legal stalls close early. The food lost quality, quick easy and cheap options replaced seriously nice food. Cheap subsitutes for proper ingredients, and lack of proper pre-preparation - and, of course, MSG by the shovel full. I don't eat street food any more. It doesn't taste very good and I've had too many allergic reactions to the crap they add to it. Yes, there still are good stalls for the people in the know to search and find. And the food there is sensational. But there are too few of them, and they are no where near where I live.

[dick turpin]

What is it with American-speak, everything

either "sucks" or is "awesome."

[Dararasmi]

What is it with American-speak, everything

either "sucks" or is "awesome."

What is "American-speak"?

[marell]

I didn't want to read anymore when this guy feels that a mere 2-1/2 years in Bangkok makes him an authority about ANYTHING there.

But lets take a look at this ludicrous article.

First of all, the price of street food should tell anybody with even an ounce of common sense that it's not going to be artisan quality product or <deleted>' organic. Let's get real.

Second, he goes on about how it worsens the problem of rats and similar vermin. Well, the real attraction for the vermin in streets like Bangkok's is the garbage -- it's placed by the street side in great quantities by restaurants, residents, and other business. There's a hell of a lot more of that than there is waste/refuse from the street vendors.

Once again, common sense should kick in and make people realize that cleanliness standards (dish cleaning, etc) are probably going to be compromised at a street stall, so one makes their choice knowing that.

Does this guy really think that MSG is ONLY used in street food?

Now, as for the ambiance offered by a street vendor, roadside eating is not everybody's cup of tea, but isn't the romantic image of a sidewalk cafe in Paris iconic in the world of dining? Some people love to eat out near the street to enjoy the parade of life as it passes by. Others feel an air-conditioned restaurant is better. each to their own. If this guy had his way and all the street vendors were forced inside, it would be just plain sad.

Finally, his whole sorry attempt at junior journalism reeks of someone who travels to another country and decides that he's going to be the one to set these people straight and make them see that his way is the only way. An embarrassing display of arrogance and naivety, I would say.

What a minute. This guy has been here two and a half years! A virtual eternity. How can anyone question his impressive credentials or question his unimpeachable opinions?

[isawasnake]

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.

Edited August 14, 2013 by isawasnake

[harrry]

What is it with American-speak, everything

either "sucks" or is "awesome."

Well if he was a kid everything is "SICK" just like after eating some streetfood.

[pomchop]

I’ve lived here for two-and-a-half years, so I know a lot more than most people about street “cuisine.”

Oh my two and a half years and you know a LOT MORE than MOST people.......arrogant much?

[midasthailand]

"I’ve lived here for two-and-a-half years, so I know a lot more than most people about street “cuisine.”" - This is just priceless!

Yes I must admit I nearly choked on my Kana Moo Krop when I read that statement.

[kdw512]

I agree with the nuisance of street vendors on sidewalks, the grease left behind that runs into the streets and causes pedestrians to slip and falls, not to mention the chili pepper spray that burns eyes and lungs, the grilled chicken smoke that sticks to the hair and skin as you zig-zag your way down a soi. A happy day for me is when rain pours down hard washing everything!

I don't eat street food, never had, never will, so I don't really care what they put on it. However MSG is poison to me, and unfortunately is vastly used everywhere including at some fine dining places. My body reacts immediately after the smallest amount of MSG enters it, so I have learned to cook Thai food and only eat my own homemade ones.

Would I love to see street food banned from the sidewalks? Yes. Will it ever happen? Not in Bangkok. Not ever.

[metisdead]

A nonsense trolling post has been removed.

[horsewell]

Been around two and a half years and feels like a boss... just because they sell it you don't have to buy it. Lots of great cheap restaurants around (probably not that much cleaner in the kitchen), better yet cook for yourself... but who has time for that?

[deecee10]

I think it's the author of the article who is a touch 'artis anal'.