Thai's and foreign food.

[Seastallion]

 

 

 

Both not true:

McDonalds

Pizza

Bread

KFC

all the Chinese and Japanese Food

every saw the milk products and sausage in the supermarket

They sell these lot of spaghetti and chocolade not only to Farangs

 

So a lot foreign food in Thailand. Just they don't celebrate it as foreign food, they often include it into their food.

 

And in the USA you have no other choice than to eat foreign food. I am not aware of any US food. Even the Burgers were known in Europe before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Many of the originals of what's now been massively modified and sold as Mexican or Texan food.

 

 

It just came into my mind that chili isn't native in Thailand, it is South American (true???) which technically would make all food with lots of chili not really Thai food. Or just recently developed Thai food.
 

 

Pappaya is from South America also. Try that on one of your Thai friends.

 

And tomatoes

[benj005]

My girl tried oatmeal a few days ago. Hated it. I told her to not put milk in it, but she didn't listen.  

 

I like my oatmeal very dry. Add some honey and blueberries and yumsters!!  Blueberries are expensive here so I didn't use them. :(

[Bernard Flint]

I know plenty of thai who eat regularly

 

english breakfast

 

Sunday roast

 

Fish and chips

 

Chilli concarne

 

spagheti

 

etc etc etc

[willyumiii]

"not keen on there sweets as they are too sweet...."

 

Please tell me what traditional sweet that is too sweet?

 

The majority of Thai deserts mix savory with their sweet.

 

As for the OP, I am not sure that you represent the majority of American families. I think the typical American family is just as narrow with their food choices. Most Americans that don't travel abroad typically eat quite bland boring monotonous foods.

 

Thai's typically are not adventurous but often like things that they are introduced to. Sushi is incredibly popular here, Korean food is also.

I think you are very, very wrong !

 

The American diet is extremely diverse!

 

This is a result of a very diverse population.  Americans come from every country in the world and all have brought their previously native cuisine with them.

 

Americans consider food from all over the world to be "American" food as a result.

 

Pizza, spaghetti, Tacos, Burritos ,   baklava,  potatoes, sushi , crepes, lox, bagels, deli meats and cheeses,...I can think of many many foods from other countries that are so common in America that Americans consider them to be American foods.

 

English, French, German, Chinese, Italian, Greek, Mexican , Porchagese, Japanese, and Indian food are all very common where I come from in California 

 

Did you know that hamburger and hot dog are from Germany? With a name like Zeichen, I would expect you to know that!

 

In a place like Thailand where it is a mno culture, you have a very limited diet. In NE Thailand where I live you are pretty much limited to pork, chicken, fish, rice and noodles unless you go oout of your way to go shop for foreign foods and pay an arm and a leg for them. Why/ because the Thais are not very interested in anything new...unless they can smother it with fish sauce and hot pepper!

 

Where are you from?  My guess is that it is not America since you do not really know the diet there! 

 

Again, I think you are very wrong...another TV expert exposed!

[Bernard Flint]

Money.

 

If they want a pizza, look how much it costs.

McDonalds? That may not be expensive to us but one meal will cost the same as 3 or 4 basic Thai meals.

Steak? Mexican? Indian? Many Thai people have never heard of these.

If you were raised on chicken and rice or similar all your life in the village, that is what you understand. Everything else needs to be affordable and also learned about.

Not everyone on say 300 Baht a day can afford to spend half that or more on one meal unless it is a very special occasion.

If you were raised on chicken and rice or similar all your life in the village, that is what you understand

 

 

you think thats all that villagers eat ahahahahahahahahah

 

Also not every thai lives in the issan villages, far from it. Your post is totaly and utterly crazy

[Soutpeel]

The American diet is extremely diverse!

Yes we know, we have all seen the size of them, would you like to supersize that ?

 

I really dont thing you can use American and diet in the same sentence...

Edited August 6, 2014 by Soutpeel

[arthurwait]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

 

 

I think they have to be exposed to the variety....there's a great many western foods my wife enjoys - however when we eat a lot we both gain weight......Thai's are happy with their diet and for the most part it is a good one....

 

A lot has to do with the spices.....they simply accept them as normal and when traveling quite frequently either send them ahead (USA) or bring along.....on a group tour to China (I was the only farang) they wouldn't touch Chinese food without adding the spices the tour company was obliged to bring - they explained to me they would otherwise lose the Thai business......they looked at the Chinese food with visible dismay....easy for me to take it all in as I am not fluent in Thai so people watching, which I do anyway but more so this trip was a little more interesting.....as were meal times....

 

 

 Bangkok and Chonburi plus many other places I suppose are full of Chinese food stalls. Half the food about is of Chinese origin.

 

 

That's a good observation - I wonder if it has been Thai'ised in some way.....Akin to "Mexican" & "Pizza" in the USA which are nothing like the original and authentic dishes.....In China the group I was with of 40+ folks weren't too happy with the Chinese fare......

 

 

 

 Yes Thai made MSG and Thai grown sugar.

[RikDao]

Lets face it, Thai food is pretty darn good.  I reckon that country folk who grow up on copious amounts of spicy foods find the average western meal quite bland. I've got a theory that their taste buds have been dulled by all that chili. But I know just as many Thais who adore food from all over the world, eating local is their comfort food.

 

 

 

 

 

Umm, my wife makes and eats some horrendously spicy som tam type stuff, stuff which I find very tasty but can't eat comfortably because it burns my lips up. At any rate, she has the most sensitive palate of anyone I've ever known. She doesn't care for some of the western food I make because it messes with her digestion. Also, now and then I can score a pretty good Aussie or NZ steak at the store, but she doesn't like it because I cook it medium rare. "Cook all the way and I'll eat," she says. Sorry, baby. 

[AlexRRR]

Silly observation, Americanized versions of what ever cuisine means your actually eating the real deal?  Thais love affair of Japanese food is nothing more than Thai version spiced up to suite Thai pallet.

 

And some culinary expert even suggested  that the Thai menu was narrow, just goes to show how many people live in la la land.

 

Oh i had to comment ....................silly post.....

[AYJAYDEE]

Silly observation, Americanized versions of what ever cuisine means your actually eating the real deal?  Thais love affair of Japanese food is nothing more than Thai version spiced up to suite Thai pallet.

 

And some culinary expert even suggested  that the Thai menu was narrow, just goes to show how many people live in la la land.

 

Oh i had to comment ....................silly post.....

tthey are not necessarily americanized versions just because they are prepared in america. italian food cooked in america with the same ingrediennts used in italy is still italian food. food is not aware of latitude and longitude

[David48]

Silly observation, Americanized versions of what ever cuisine means your actually eating the real deal?  Thais love affair of Japanese food is nothing more than Thai version spiced up to suite Thai pallet.

 

And some culinary expert even suggested  that the Thai menu was narrow, just goes to show how many people live in la la land.

 

Oh i had to comment ....................silly post.....

tthey are not necessarily americanized versions just because they are prepared in america. italian food cooked in america with the same ingrediennts used in italy is still italian food. food is not aware of latitude and longitude

 

 

I have to take you to task on that as it's not really true.

 

Since you have used an Italian example, lets discuss the famed dish spaghetti bolognese ... technically it doesn't exist ... it's not an Italian dish ... 

 

Bologna is a region in Italy, famous for it's tomato/meat based sauce.  It goes wonderfully with the spaghetti style pasta.  So good they are almost universally married together as a dish.

 

If you eat spaghetti bolognese in Italy it is quite different to that which is eaten by the Italians in the Bologna region.  More olive oil, more tomato and less meat.  If you ate that dish in Germany, the sauce is almost like eating a steak, there is so much meat in it.

 

In Thailand, you can buy a pre-cooked 'spicy' bolognese sauce.

 

In the USA, the dish will be adjusted to suit the local palette.

 

Ask almost any successful Restaurant (Owner/Manager) who makes food that is not native to that particular country and you will discover that the dishes presented are usually different to that which they would prepare from the country or origin of the dish.

 

I suggest that the majority of Thai Restaurants in the West will 'tone down' the amount of Chilli used to suit the local palette.

 

There is a member here who has a Thai Restaurant in the West ... he says that basically he could survive on just serving 3 popular dishes.

 

It's just the reality of the Food Business.
.

[AYJAYDEE]

 

Silly observation, Americanized versions of what ever cuisine means your actually eating the real deal?  Thais love affair of Japanese food is nothing more than Thai version spiced up to suite Thai pallet.

 

And some culinary expert even suggested  that the Thai menu was narrow, just goes to show how many people live in la la land.

 

Oh i had to comment ....................silly post.....

tthey are not necessarily americanized versions just because they are prepared in america. italian food cooked in america with the same ingrediennts used in italy is still italian food. food is not aware of latitude and longitude

 

 

I have to take you to task on that as it's not really true.

 

Since you have used an Italian example, lets discuss the famed dish spaghetti bolognese ... technically it doesn't exist ... it's not an Italian dish ... 

 

Bologna is a region in Italy, famous for it's tomato/meat based sauce.  It goes wonderfully with the spaghetti style pasta.  So good they are almost universally married together as a dish.

 

If you eat spaghetti bolognese in Italy it is quite different to that which is eaten by the Italians in the Bologna region.  More olive oil, more tomato and less meat.  If you ate that dish in Germany, the sauce is almost like eating a steak, there is so much meat in it.

 

In Thailand, you can buy a pre-cooked 'spicy' bolognese sauce.

 

In the USA, the dish will be adjusted to suit the local palette.

 

Ask almost any successful Restaurant (Owner/Manager) who makes food that is not native to that particular country and you will discover that the dishes presented are usually different to that which they would prepare from the country or origin of the dish.

 

I suggest that the majority of Thai Restaurants in the West will 'tone down' the amount of Chilli used to suit the local palette.

 

There is a member here who has a Thai Restaurant in the West ... he says that basically he could survive on just serving 3 popular dishes.

 

It's just the reality of the Food Business.
.

 

who said anything about restaurants or the food business?

[geronimo]

Well if you think about it, you've answered the question yourself. US and western countries have had big exposure to these different foods.

 

Thailand has never been colonised so their culture is undiluted. I know Mcdonald's etc are all here but that is commercial rather than cultural.

[takkatan in the land]

thais love and consume lots of foreign food, specially japanese

 

also they love western food: hotdog, sandwich, pizza, kfc, mcdonals...

 

also we can't forget that some of the most eaten foods by thais are chinese origin: khao man gai, khao kha moo... 

 

 

[daveAustin]

I guess it comes down to what you've been exposed to growing up. While Bangkok and other tourist areas are awash with foreign foods, most of the country is quite bland where choice is concerned. That and the expense of course and the thought that they might not like a dish and not forgetting that Thai food, like everything else, is 'number one'

I'd also posit that very little thought goes into eating well and also that a swathe of the populace is typically one-dimensional and, let's face it, not very adventurous.

Having said that, wife adores western food when home and will eat it here when she gets the chance. As above, the fast food burger places are always heaving. Edited August 11, 2014 by daveAustin

[wotamess]

I'm pretty surprised that nobody so far seems to have pointed out the obvious: it is forbidden for foreign nationals to work in the food & catering industry!

 

All of the international foods we love typically began with a foreign national opening a restaurant or takeaway in their new country; the indigenous population learn from there, and begin to cook their own.

 

You can't do that here!

 

Uncle Guido can't open his bistro & make all the dishes Mama used to make..

You don't get a “curry mile” full of Indian restaurants run by Indians and Pakistanis like you do in Manchester..

You can't have a Chinese takeaway run by Chinese, or a Greek restaurant run by Greeks.

 

So far as “farrang” food is concerned, the local efforts are pathetic – they really have no idea how to cook them; hardly surprising. Although I love Thai food (even though it often doesn't love me back!) I also cook “farrang” dishes, and these genuinely go down a big hit with the rest of the family. It is however, not so easy to find affordable ingredients. Unless you spend a lot on imported butter, the locally available effort tastes like you've just spread ice-cream on your toast, although some items can be surprising – beef steak & pork fillet are quite inexpensive by comparison to the UK.

Given what I mentioned earlier, unless properly taught to cook foreign dishes, they can only try to mimic, and will get it wrong most of the time. Steak turns into leather & “pizza” is smeared with over-sweet mayonnaise. I recall my mother making similar mistakes when she tried to cook Indian or Italian dishes – with dire consequences (I blame her dreadful cooking as a reason for my relatively diminutive stature ;-P). Once taught however, they are quite capable of cooking Western dishes to a good standard – my step-daughter is testament to this fact.

 

We live out in the sticks here, roughly half an hour from Chiang Mai. Typical cooking facilities are a hob (indoor well-ventilated LPG) and wood/charcoal-fired bbq bucket. This wooden "stove" enables you to grill meat or fish, and turn any pot or pan black within a matter of minutes. We have a microwave too. You will note the absence of any kind of oven thus preluding the option of a traditional western roast meat or poultry dish, or the cooking of typical western bread (I cook flat bread in a pan). Traditional Thai cooking methods are not always conducive to cooking Western dishes. One of my first kitchen purchases was a “farrang pan” (frying pan) – now it is a regularly used item by all the family as an alternative to a wok where best suited. A toaster was a relatively recent acquisition too. Prior to my meeting my wife, her family had pretty much nothing at all to do with bread or potatoes - we were given a load of spuds the other week by an elderly neighbour who had no clue what to do with them...

[AYJAYDEE]

I'm pretty surprised that nobody so far seems to have pointed out the obvious: it is forbidden for foreign nationals to work in the food & catering industry!

 

All of the international foods we love typically began with a foreign national opening a restaurant or takeaway in their new country; the indigenous population learn from there, and begin to cook their own.

 

You can't do that here!

 

Uncle Guido can't open his bistro & make all the dishes Mama used to make..

You don't get a “curry mile” full of Indian restaurants run by Indians and Pakistanis like you do in Manchester..

You can't have a Chinese takeaway run by Chinese, or a Greek restaurant run by Greeks.

 

So far as “farrang” food is concerned, the local efforts are pathetic – they really have no idea how to cook them; hardly surprising. Although I love Thai food (even though it often doesn't love me back!) I also cook “farrang” dishes, and these genuinely go down a big hit with the rest of the family. It is however, not so easy to find affordable ingredients. Unless you spend a lot on imported butter, the locally available effort tastes like you've just spread ice-cream on your toast, although some items can be surprising – beef steak & pork fillet are quite inexpensive by comparison to the UK.

Given what I mentioned earlier, unless properly taught to cook foreign dishes, they can only try to mimic, and will get it wrong most of the time. Steak turns into leather & “pizza” is smeared with over-sweet mayonnaise. I recall my mother making similar mistakes when she tried to cook Indian or Italian dishes – with dire consequences (I blame her dreadful cooking as a reason for my relatively diminutive stature ;-P). Once taught however, they are quite capable of cooking Western dishes to a good standard – my step-daughter is testament to this fact.

 

We live out in the sticks here, roughly half an hour from Chiang Mai. Typical cooking facilities are a hob (indoor well-ventilated LPG) and wood/charcoal-fired bbq bucket. This wooden "stove" enables you to grill meat or fish, and turn any pot or pan black within a matter of minutes. We have a microwave too. You will note the absence of any kind of oven thus preluding the option of a traditional western roast meat or poultry dish, or the cooking of typical western bread (I cook flat bread in a pan). Traditional Thai cooking methods are not always conducive to cooking Western dishes. One of my first kitchen purchases was a “farrang pan” (frying pan) – now it is a regularly used item by all the family as an alternative to a wok where best suited. A toaster was a relatively recent acquisition too. Prior to my meeting my wife, her family had pretty much nothing at all to do with bread or potatoes - we were given a load of spuds the other week by an elderly neighbour who had no clue what to do with them...

nonsense, I know lots of farang that provide the expertise and advice on running a western style kitchen that is owned by the thai wife

[wotamess]

 

I'm pretty surprised that nobody so far seems to have pointed out the obvious: it is forbidden for foreign nationals to work in the food & catering industry!

 

All of the international foods we love typically began with a foreign national opening a restaurant or takeaway in their new country; the indigenous population learn from there, and begin to cook their own.

 

You can't do that here!

 

Uncle Guido can't open his bistro & make all the dishes Mama used to make..

You don't get a “curry mile” full of Indian restaurants run by Indians and Pakistanis like you do in Manchester..

You can't have a Chinese takeaway run by Chinese, or a Greek restaurant run by Greeks.

 

So far as “farrang” food is concerned, the local efforts are pathetic – they really have no idea how to cook them; hardly surprising. Although I love Thai food (even though it often doesn't love me back!) I also cook “farrang” dishes, and these genuinely go down a big hit with the rest of the family. It is however, not so easy to find affordable ingredients. Unless you spend a lot on imported butter, the locally available effort tastes like you've just spread ice-cream on your toast, although some items can be surprising – beef steak & pork fillet are quite inexpensive by comparison to the UK.

Given what I mentioned earlier, unless properly taught to cook foreign dishes, they can only try to mimic, and will get it wrong most of the time. Steak turns into leather & “pizza” is smeared with over-sweet mayonnaise. I recall my mother making similar mistakes when she tried to cook Indian or Italian dishes – with dire consequences (I blame her dreadful cooking as a reason for my relatively diminutive stature ;-P). Once taught however, they are quite capable of cooking Western dishes to a good standard – my step-daughter is testament to this fact.

 

We live out in the sticks here, roughly half an hour from Chiang Mai. Typical cooking facilities are a hob (indoor well-ventilated LPG) and wood/charcoal-fired bbq bucket. This wooden "stove" enables you to grill meat or fish, and turn any pot or pan black within a matter of minutes. We have a microwave too. You will note the absence of any kind of oven thus preluding the option of a traditional western roast meat or poultry dish, or the cooking of typical western bread (I cook flat bread in a pan). Traditional Thai cooking methods are not always conducive to cooking Western dishes. One of my first kitchen purchases was a “farrang pan” (frying pan) – now it is a regularly used item by all the family as an alternative to a wok where best suited. A toaster was a relatively recent acquisition too. Prior to my meeting my wife, her family had pretty much nothing at all to do with bread or potatoes - we were given a load of spuds the other week by an elderly neighbour who had no clue what to do with them...

nonsense, I know lots of farang that provide the expertise and advice on running a western style kitchen that is owned by the thai wife

 

 

Good for you. Know any around Sansai that are regularly affordable to a typical Thai family?

 

[champers]

we were given a load of spuds the other week by an elderly neighbour who had no clue what to do with them... I hope you have a deep fat fryer and made some chips.

[wotamess]

My point was to try to answer the OP's original question:

 

"In America and most western countries it seems most people eat a wide variety of cuisines from around the world.  When living in the states, for as long as I can remember, our family never went a week without eating food from at least 4 different parts of the world.  We would always eat things such as Italian food, Japanese, French, Chinese, Peruvian, Mexican, Cuban, Indian, Thai, etc.  I always found it very exciting and always kept dinner as an interesting experience.  

 

My question is, why do most Thai's stick to almost only Thai food?  Most Thais I know eat food foreign to the Asian continent once a month if that.   Doesn't it get boring eating rice almost every day?"

 

From this, I imagined that the OP was referring to Thais in general; not wealthy Thais living in Bangkok, or even in Chiang Mai.

 

How often do Thais eat Western food? My experience (NOT including McDonalds, KFC etc - that's not proper food, it's Junk):

 

• Mother in Law, 65 years old - NEVER ATE IN A FARRANG STYLE RESTAURANT
• Two stepdaughters & one son in law - NEVER ATE IN A FARRANG STYLE RESTAURANT
• Wife, 45 years old - ate ONCE in a farrang style restaurant in Chiang Mai maybe 10 years ago, no clue what she had, but didn't like it

Point is, how will a typical Thai possibly get to try REAL Western food? Some old guy who taught his wife to fry a steak and charges >250THB per order in "her" central Bangkok restaurant doesn't really cut it when it comes to introducing foreign menus to a population. Foods need to be commonly accessible to all, but real Western cuisine in this scenario is frankly NOT.

[wotamess]

we were given a load of spuds the other week by an elderly neighbour who had no clue what to do with them... I hope you have a deep fat fryer and made some chips.

 

Too right edit: no deep fat fryer; did them in a pan.

 

Also got some local spicy Thai sausage & made proper onion gravy - Bangers & Mash

Edited August 11, 2014 by wotamess

[AYJAYDEE]

 

 

I'm pretty surprised that nobody so far seems to have pointed out the obvious: it is forbidden for foreign nationals to work in the food & catering industry!

 

All of the international foods we love typically began with a foreign national opening a restaurant or takeaway in their new country; the indigenous population learn from there, and begin to cook their own.

 

You can't do that here!

 

Uncle Guido can't open his bistro & make all the dishes Mama used to make..

You don't get a “curry mile” full of Indian restaurants run by Indians and Pakistanis like you do in Manchester..

You can't have a Chinese takeaway run by Chinese, or a Greek restaurant run by Greeks.

 

So far as “farrang” food is concerned, the local efforts are pathetic – they really have no idea how to cook them; hardly surprising. Although I love Thai food (even though it often doesn't love me back!) I also cook “farrang” dishes, and these genuinely go down a big hit with the rest of the family. It is however, not so easy to find affordable ingredients. Unless you spend a lot on imported butter, the locally available effort tastes like you've just spread ice-cream on your toast, although some items can be surprising – beef steak & pork fillet are quite inexpensive by comparison to the UK.

Given what I mentioned earlier, unless properly taught to cook foreign dishes, they can only try to mimic, and will get it wrong most of the time. Steak turns into leather & “pizza” is smeared with over-sweet mayonnaise. I recall my mother making similar mistakes when she tried to cook Indian or Italian dishes – with dire consequences (I blame her dreadful cooking as a reason for my relatively diminutive stature ;-P). Once taught however, they are quite capable of cooking Western dishes to a good standard – my step-daughter is testament to this fact.

 

We live out in the sticks here, roughly half an hour from Chiang Mai. Typical cooking facilities are a hob (indoor well-ventilated LPG) and wood/charcoal-fired bbq bucket. This wooden "stove" enables you to grill meat or fish, and turn any pot or pan black within a matter of minutes. We have a microwave too. You will note the absence of any kind of oven thus preluding the option of a traditional western roast meat or poultry dish, or the cooking of typical western bread (I cook flat bread in a pan). Traditional Thai cooking methods are not always conducive to cooking Western dishes. One of my first kitchen purchases was a “farrang pan” (frying pan) – now it is a regularly used item by all the family as an alternative to a wok where best suited. A toaster was a relatively recent acquisition too. Prior to my meeting my wife, her family had pretty much nothing at all to do with bread or potatoes - we were given a load of spuds the other week by an elderly neighbour who had no clue what to do with them...

nonsense, I know lots of farang that provide the expertise and advice on running a western style kitchen that is owned by the thai wife

 

 

Good for you. Know any around Sansai that are regularly affordable to a typical Thai family?

 

 

never been there, cant help you. but from your descriptions of the people, I can see you have found a long lost tribe of indigenous people

[Thai at Heart]

My missus eats everything. She is the ultimate foodie.

But she loves nothing better than to sit with relatives and prepare a family thai meal. Its in her soul. Thai food for.family is much more than just food

[Thai at Heart]

I'm pretty surprised that nobody so far seems to have pointed out the obvious: it is forbidden for foreign nationals to work in the food & catering industry!
 
All of the international foods we love typically began with a foreign national opening a restaurant or takeaway in their new country; the indigenous population learn from there, and begin to cook their own.
 
You can't do that here!
 
Uncle Guido can't open his bistro & make all the dishes Mama used to make..
You don't get a curry mile full of Indian restaurants run by Indians and Pakistanis like you do in Manchester..
You can't have a Chinese takeaway run by Chinese, or a Greek restaurant run by Greeks.
 
So far as farrang food is concerned, the local efforts are pathetic they really have no idea how to cook them; hardly surprising. Although I love Thai food (even though it often doesn't love me back!) I also cook farrang dishes, and these genuinely go down a big hit with the rest of the family. It is however, not so easy to find affordable ingredients. Unless you spend a lot on imported butter, the locally available effort tastes like you've just spread ice-cream on your toast, although some items can be surprising beef steak & pork fillet are quite inexpensive by comparison to the UK.
Given what I mentioned earlier, unless properly taught to cook foreign dishes, they can only try to mimic, and will get it wrong most of the time. Steak turns into leather & pizza is smeared with over-sweet mayonnaise. I recall my mother making similar mistakes when she tried to cook Indian or Italian dishes with dire consequences (I blame her dreadful cooking as a reason for my relatively diminutive stature ;-P). Once taught however, they are quite capable of cooking Western dishes to a good standard my step-daughter is testament to this fact.
 
We live out in the sticks here, roughly half an hour from Chiang Mai. Typical cooking facilities are a hob (indoor well-ventilated LPG) and wood/charcoal-fired bbq bucket. This wooden "stove" enables you to grill meat or fish, and turn any pot or pan black within a matter of minutes. We have a microwave too. You will note the absence of any kind of oven thus preluding the option of a traditional western roast meat or poultry dish, or the cooking of typical western bread (I cook flat bread in a pan). Traditional Thai cooking methods are not always conducive to cooking Western dishes. One of my first kitchen purchases was a farrang pan (frying pan) now it is a regularly used item by all the family as an alternative to a wok where best suited. A toaster was a relatively recent acquisition too. Prior to my meeting my wife, her family had pretty much nothing at all to do with bread or potatoes - we were given a load of spuds the other week by an elderly neighbour who had no clue what to do with them...

Guess you missed the Italian restaurant in town run by the Italian guy, or the French one run by the French guy.

Absolute twaddle that a foreigner cannot cook in a restaurant in Thailand.

[wotamess]

"never been there, cant help you. but from your descriptions of the people, I can see you have found a long lost tribe of indigenous people"

 

You've just confirmed what I said.

 

Unless a Thai is in their 20's-30's, on a good income, and live in a city; their only exposure to Western food will be KFC, McDonalds or Pizza Hut unless they travel abroad. Even trying to imitate junk food has its difficulties - try sourcing proper sized buns to make a burger, or finger rolls to make a hotdog. No oven means no pizza.

 

Out of curiosity, where are you? - Bangkok?

[wotamess]

I stand corrected!

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/330-0.html

 

I could have sworn that working in catering i.e. restaurants & bars was on the above list - apparently not.

 

 

Seems my options just got opened up. Begs the question as to why we don't see more "farrang" restaurants - no, not been to the Italian restaurant in town run by the Italian guy, or the French one run by the French guy.

 

Any good?

 

Could a regular Thai family afford to go?

[AYJAYDEE]

"never been there, cant help you. but from your descriptions of the people, I can see you have found a long lost tribe of indigenous people"

 

You've just confirmed what I said.

 

Unless a Thai is in their 20's-30's, on a good income, and live in a city; their only exposure to Western food will be KFC, McDonalds or Pizza Hut unless they travel abroad. Even trying to imitate junk food has its difficulties - try sourcing proper sized buns to make a burger, or finger rolls to make a hotdog. No oven means no pizza.

 

Out of curiosity, where are you? - Bangkok?

sorry pal, we live in isaan and can get any kind of western food we want and it is delicious. you really should have quit when you were only slightly wrong. sorry about the backwards place u live

Edited August 11, 2014 by AYJAYDEE

[seajae]

western food is available all over the place if you look for it, seems that the only ones that dont are those that prefer to keep their personal bias against it. People in here obviously have internet access and there are squillions of recipe sites from every nation, the ingredients can be found in most good supermarkets so there is no excuse not to cook it right, its usually thai preferences for sweet/chilli food that buggers it up. On an open fire you can cook a hell of a lot of western food, pot roasts, damper, stews etc all only need a pot, we never failed to eat well when camping with just a fire and camp oven/fry pan.  

[wotamess]

 

"never been there, cant help you. but from your descriptions of the people, I can see you have found a long lost tribe of indigenous people"

 

You've just confirmed what I said.

 

Unless a Thai is in their 20's-30's, on a good income, and live in a city; their only exposure to Western food will be KFC, McDonalds or Pizza Hut unless they travel abroad. Even trying to imitate junk food has its difficulties - try sourcing proper sized buns to make a burger, or finger rolls to make a hotdog. No oven means no pizza.

 

Out of curiosity, where are you? - Bangkok?

sorry pal, we live in isaan and can get any kind of western food we want and it is delicious. you really should have quit when you were only slightly wrong. sorry about the backwards place u live

 

 

Didn't realise we were scoring points "PAL" - in fact I'm quite happy to make mistakes and learn from others, so sorry, I won't be crying all the way home Grow up!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isan - doesn't exactly narrow it down for me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Sai_District - already told you I'm not in a city; if you want to behave like a twot about it, carry on my friend.

 

My wife's family have lived here many generations, and she is unaware of any truly farrang owned or run restaurants or bars. Prior to me coming here, her family was a fairly typical example of a decent, well appointed, rural Thai household. There are plenty farrang around here too, so that would also support any true farrang foodie enterprise, yet none exist.

 

Don't know who you are, where you are or how you fall in with a typical Thai family - if you're just out trying to score points, go ahead & enjoy yourself - I just discovered another business opportunity that I had previously thought off-limits, so I don't care!

 

Better still, why not try to contribute to the OP's question?

 

[AYJAYDEE]

western food is available all over the place if you look for it, seems that the only ones that dont are those that prefer to keep their personal bias against it. People in here obviously have internet access and there are squillions of recipe sites from every nation, the ingredients can be found in most good supermarkets so there is no excuse not to cook it right, its usually thai preferences for sweet/chilli food that buggers it up. On an open fire you can cook a hell of a lot of western food, pot roasts, damper, stews etc all only need a pot, we never failed to eat well when camping with just a fire and camp oven/fry pan.  

a small convection oven can be bought very cheaply in any tesco or big C and with it you can roast and bake just like in the west. also  we have access to scones, baguettes, dinner rolls, sourdough bread, cornish pasties, sausage rolls , meat pies, steaks, pizzas, roast turkey with stuffing, hamburgers, etc etc. all cooked under the guidance of farangs.