It is about time restaurants should change their habits.

[yardrunner]

Remember the saying, when in Rome do as the Romans do nuff said

[NoshowJones]

Mr AYJAYDEE. If you think it is OK to go in to a restaurant and get your French fries and chips half an hour between each other, then that's your opinion. I only ever knew one expat here in Thailand who would agree with you and he was a Frenchman. France and Canada, are they not connected in some way?

[AYJAYDEE]

Mr AYJAYDEE. If you think it is OK to go in to a restaurant and get your French fries and chips half an hour between each other, then that's your opinion. I only ever knew one expat here in Thailand who would agree with you and he was a Frenchman. France and Canada, are they not connected in some way?

not that I know of but feel free to enlighten

[bkkcanuck8]

France and Canada, are they not connected in some way?

US and UK are they not connected in some way?

[stoli]

Hardly a major catastophe, but it can be annoying if it happens too often.

A few times in the same place & you should think about looking elsewhere for snacks.

Of course, it also happens in the west...

Never seen this happen anywhere else but in Thailand. There is no defense for this here either.

[AYJAYDEE]

Hardly a major catastophe, but it can be annoying if it happens too often.

A few times in the same place & you should think about looking elsewhere for snacks.

Of course, it also happens in the west...

Never seen this happen anywhere else but in Thailand. There is no defense for this here either.

no defense needed

[NoshowJones]

France and Canada, are they not connected in some way?

US and UK are they not connected in some way?

Yes they are.

[stoli]

the reason is the different style of kitchen design.in a western kitchen you have different sections: for appetizers,veggies,meat and pastry and somebody who direct it.here you got one,two or three wok stations one chef at each section,if lucky somebody who assembles the ingredients and whatever is ready get served.it is the so called "family style"- took me almost a year to change this strange habbit.now my waitstaff ask the guests how they would like to get served and most Thais like it "family style".

From someone who has owned restaurants in the U.S., it is quite obvious that you never have. What you know about restaurants you learn from Kitchen Impossible apparently. It is so easy to serve all of the tables dishes at one time, unless you are either too stupid or just lazy.

[AYJAYDEE]

the reason is the different style of kitchen design.in a western kitchen you have different sections: for appetizers,veggies,meat and pastry and somebody who direct it.here you got one,two or three wok stations one chef at each section,if lucky somebody who assembles the ingredients and whatever is ready get served.it is the so called "family style"- took me almost a year to change this strange habbit.now my waitstaff ask the guests how they would like to get served and most Thais like it "family style".

From someone who has owned restaurants in the U.S., it is quite obvious that you never have. What you know about restaurants you learn from Kitchen Impossible apparently. It is so easy to serve all of the tables dishes at one time, unless you are either too stupid or just lazy.

or dont see a pressing need to alter the way they have always served meals

[SoiBiker]

Mr AYJAYDEE. If you think it is OK to go in to a restaurant and get your French fries and chips half an hour between each other, then that's your opinion. I only ever knew one expat here in Thailand who would agree with you and he was a Frenchman. France and Canada, are they not connected in some way?

Who orders french fries and chips?

That's not a healthy diet.

[NoshowJones]

Mr AYJAYDEE. If you think it is OK to go in to a restaurant and get your French fries and chips half an hour between each other, then that's your opinion. I only ever knew one expat here in Thailand who would agree with you and he was a Frenchman. France and Canada, are they not connected in some way?

not that I know of but feel free to enlighten

I don't really know the history between the two countries, but when I was in Canada, there were so many French speaking people there, It was mainly in Montreal, I found the Canadian people very friendly and helpful as I do the Americans, but the French ??????????

[thailiketoo]

the reason is the different style of kitchen design.in a western kitchen you have different sections: for appetizers,veggies,meat and pastry and somebody who direct it.here you got one,two or three wok stations one chef at each section,if lucky somebody who assembles the ingredients and whatever is ready get served.it is the so called "family style"- took me almost a year to change this strange habbit.now my waitstaff ask the guests how they would like to get served and most Thais like it "family style".

From someone who has owned restaurants in the U.S., it is quite obvious that you never have. What you know about restaurants you learn from Kitchen Impossible apparently. It is so easy to serve all of the tables dishes at one time, unless you are either too stupid or just lazy.

Easy, boy what professional kitchen have you ever worked in?

4 top. WD Filet MIgnon, 10 minutes. Broiled Salmon, 2 minutes. Prime rib rare, 1 minute. Steamed whole main lobster, 5 minutes. Easy?

Saturday, 7 p.m., and the heat is cranking up in the main kitchen of The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Behind the line of stoves, a dozen chefs are working at full speed, stirring, tossing, their pans sizzling and bursting into occasional flames. Along a parallel line, uniformed servers are jostling with trays held high, filling orders they have transmitted earlier from the dining room. In between them, a single figure is orchestrating it all: The Expediter.

The expediter is the unsung hero of the professional kitchen. It is the expediter who channels orders from the wait staff to the cooks on the line, and back out again into the dining room.

In the old days, orders were shouted to the stations, and in France, the expediter is still called the aboyeur, the barker. Today, electronics take over and staff are often equipped with headsets, talking in a clipped jargon, much like a pilot to ground control.

As orders come in, the expediter breaks them down for individual stations, whether for the cold section, for the fish, meat and vegetable cooks, or for the pastry room (though desserts usually come later), adding times when dishes should be ready.

Next stage is the "firing" of the hot food, when chefs get the word to start cooking. Here the expediter's culinary background is critical -- a single table of four may have four different entrees, each with different cooking times of maybe 5 to 20 minutes.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2000-05-18/features/0005160331_1_orders-cooks-dishes

[NoshowJones]

Mr AYJAYDEE. If you think it is OK to go in to a restaurant and get your French fries and chips half an hour between each other, then that's your opinion. I only ever knew one expat here in Thailand who would agree with you and he was a Frenchman. France and Canada, are they not connected in some way?

Who orders french fries and chips?

That's not a healthy diet.

French Fries and Chips are both the same, I only have the very odd meals in KFC or McDonalds. Not having a weight problem, I believe a little of what you fancy does you good, and I also exercise regularly.

[AYJAYDEE]

Mr AYJAYDEE. If you think it is OK to go in to a restaurant and get your French fries and chips half an hour between each other, then that's your opinion. I only ever knew one expat here in Thailand who would agree with you and he was a Frenchman. France and Canada, are they not connected in some way?

Who orders french fries and chips?

That's not a healthy diet.

French Fries and Chips are both the same, I only have the very odd meals in KFC or McDonalds. Not having a weight problem, I believe a little of what you fancy does you good, and I also exercise regularly.

lol! right over the head

[SoiBiker]

French Fries and Chips are both the same...

No shit.

Do you read your posts?

[AYJAYDEE]

Mr AYJAYDEE. If you think it is OK to go in to a restaurant and get your French fries and chips half an hour between each other, then that's your opinion. I only ever knew one expat here in Thailand who would agree with you and he was a Frenchman. France and Canada, are they not connected in some way?

not that I know of but feel free to enlighten

I don't really know the history between the two countries, but when I was in Canada, there were so many French speaking people there, It was mainly in Montreal, I found the Canadian people very friendly and helpful as I do the Americans, but the French ??????????

of course you heard french being spoken. its an official language of canada.

[bkkcanuck8]

Mr AYJAYDEE. If you think it is OK to go in to a restaurant and get your French fries and chips half an hour between each other, then that's your opinion. I only ever knew one expat here in Thailand who would agree with you and he was a Frenchman. France and Canada, are they not connected in some way?

not that I know of but feel free to enlighten

I don't really know the history between the two countries, but when I was in Canada, there were so many French speaking people there, It was mainly in Montreal, I found the Canadian people very friendly and helpful as I do the Americans, but the French ??????????

of course you heard french being spoken. its an official language of canada.

So the guy goes to Montreal and is surprised that French is spoken in a mainly French speaking city It has a large English speaking minority, but still -- it's majority is still French speaking (probably higher percentage of that minority spoke English when my parents lived there -- but after they left the percentage changed).

As per France and Quebec being connected in some way....

I have lived in both the UK and in the US and the culture is quite different even though they came from the same routes. English are more two-faced (similar to Japanese in some ways), while the Americans tend to be more direct.... (Canadians tend to fall somewhere in between). It has been 100s of years since they went their separate ways.

Similarly the French speaking population in Quebec (Quebecois) went their separate ways from France hundreds of years ago.... although their relationship with France is even more complicated since they know/feel that they were betrayed and abandoned by France and did not necessarily chose their path. France is still seen as the cultural centre in many ways, but the betrayal will never be forgotten. In many ways it is just a tie that gets used by sovereigntists as an anchor, but as soon as Quebec gains it's freedom that anchor would not be as much use.

A few hundred years ago the borders are not even close to what they are now, so in a similar manner most of Europe is not that far apart (other than language) - they are only separated by a few hundred years of changing borders (Germany did not even exist back then). There are probably as much similarity between each of the European countries as exist between France and Quebec.

[chrissables]

The cultural arrogance of this thread is amazing. Summary: "This is the way it is done in my country, it is the right way, Thailand must change their way for me, if they don't do it they will never advance to being a first world country".

If you have that attitude -- you really should never leave the country where it is "done right"....

If i opened a Thai restaurant in UK, but served it "my way" not how Thai people would like it, i am sure they would complain. If a Thai person starts to sell Western food and wants to have a good business surely they cater for the customer!

One thing that happened here to me was in a "English" style pub, the barmaid insisted on pouring a beer with a head, i asked many times to stop, she would not. She was taught to do that, i tried to explain it must be served how i, the customer who is paying wants it.

Eventually, i explained to her, if she ordered somtam at my restaurant, would she want me telling her how spicy, or should she tell me. Only then did she get it!

[bkkcanuck8]

the reason is the different style of kitchen design.in a western kitchen you have different sections: for appetizers,veggies,meat and pastry and somebody who direct it.here you got one,two or three wok stations one chef at each section,if lucky somebody who assembles the ingredients and whatever is ready get served.it is the so called "family style"- took me almost a year to change this strange habbit.now my waitstaff ask the guests how they would like to get served and most Thais like it "family style".

From someone who has owned restaurants in the U.S., it is quite obvious that you never have. What you know about restaurants you learn from Kitchen Impossible apparently. It is so easy to serve all of the tables dishes at one time, unless you are either too stupid or just lazy.

Easy, boy what professional kitchen have you ever worked in?

4 top. WD Filet MIgnon, 10 minutes. Broiled Salmon, 2 minutes. Prime rib rare, 1 minute. Steamed whole main lobster, 5 minutes. Easy?

Most stir-frys take the same amount of time, the curries are just sitting in a pot, the rice is already cooked....... this is why most orders are served as soon as they're ready. If there is a backlog they come later. There could quite easily be a backlog on a western style deep-fryer (which takes time to fry things when none is sitting ready). Gas woks are fairly cheap here, and they likely have many woks running which can churn out stir-frys in no time. Westerners like their food served hot, and the cooking takes a lot longer to complete and the times vary. Not to mention this whole restaurant culture is fairly new in Thailand. It is not surprising that western food will come out at varied times.

[AYJAYDEE]

So the guy goes to Montreal and is surprised that French is spoken in a mainly French speaking city It has a large English speaking minority, but still -- it's majority is still French speaking (probably higher percentage of that minority spoke English when my parents lived there -- but after they left the percentage changed).

As per France and Quebec being connected in some way....

I have lived in both the UK and in the US and the culture is quite different even though they came from the same routes. English are more two-faced (similar to Japanese in some ways), while the Americans tend to be more direct.... (Canadians tend to fall somewhere in between). It has been 100s of years since they went their separate ways.

Similarly the French speaking population in Quebec (Quebecois) went their separate ways from France hundreds of years ago.... although their relationship with France is even more complicated since they know/feel that they were betrayed and abandoned by France and did not necessarily chose their path. France is still seen as the cultural centre in many ways, but the betrayal will never be forgotten. In many ways it is just a tie that gets used by sovereigntists as an anchor, but as soon as Quebec gains it's freedom that anchor would not be as much use.

A few hundred years ago the borders are not even close to what they are now, so in a similar manner most of Europe is not that far apart (other than language) - they are only separated by a few hundred years of changing borders (Germany did not even exist back then). There are probably as much similarity between each of the European countries as exist between France and Quebec.

i dont find the english two faced at all. and I dont quite understand how a military defeat can be seen as a betrayal.

[Spoonman]

Who actually orders french fries ?

[bkkcanuck8]

i dont find the english two faced at all.

Two faced in respecting to saying what you actually mean. And yes they are, which is why they understand the Japanese more in business negotiations than Americans. The Japanese will say things like "it is difficult" which really means "no". This concept is so foreign to the Americans that they would typically, ok, it is difficult so how much is it going to cost. This misconception gets really funny when Americans negotiate with Japanese companies and come home thinking a deal is in the works when the Japanese have just told them - not going to happen..... each has it's benefits, and both can be annoying at times.....

I dont quite understand how a military defeat can be seen as a betrayal.

Then you will never understand Quebec/Quebecois.

It is a common theme in Quebec from the 1800s up until 1970s when the sovereignty movement took hold. So the most recent "relations" are only because of need.

[bkkcanuck8]

Who actually orders french fries ?

People that have a problem with geography

[AYJAYDEE]

i dont find the english two faced at all.

Two faced in respecting to saying what you actually mean. And yes they are, which is why they understand the Japanese more in business negotiations than Americans. The Japanese will say things like "it is difficult" which really means "no". This concept is so foreign to the Americans that they would typically, ok, it is difficult so how much is it going to cost. This misconception gets really funny when Americans negotiate with Japanese companies and come home thinking a deal is in the works when the Japanese have just told them - not going to happen..... each has it's benefits, and both can be annoying at times.....

I dont quite understand how a military defeat can be seen as a betrayal.

Then you will never understand Quebec/Quebecois.

It is a common theme in Quebec from the 1800s up until 1970s when the sovereignty movement took hold. So the most recent "relations" are only because of need.

and I say no they arent. and I didnt say the SOME of the quebecois dont say that. i said it is not logical to me that they do. montcalm did his best and but for a chance discovery of a trail up the cliffs to the plains above, wolfe may never have taken the citadel. did they expect france wouldnt have to cede territory to the winner of the war? just further proof of the illogical dreaming of the separatists!

[thailiketoo]

I have lived in both the UK and in the US and the culture is quite different even though they came from the same routes. English are more two-faced (similar to Japanese in some ways), while the Americans tend to be more direct.... (Canadians tend to fall somewhere in between). It has been 100s of years since they went their separate ways.

Do you mean all of the UK is two-faced to include the Scots or is it just the English that are two faced like the Japanese?

[bkkcanuck8]

I have lived in both the UK and in the US and the culture is quite different even though they came from the same routes. English are more two-faced (similar to Japanese in some ways), while the Americans tend to be more direct.... (Canadians tend to fall somewhere in between). It has been 100s of years since they went their separate ways.

Do you mean all of the UK is two-faced to include the Scots or is it just the English that are two faced like the Japanese?

English, being a scottish descendant I don't associate Scotland with the UK

The English make up 80%+ of the UK anyways....

[AYJAYDEE]

I have lived in both the UK and in the US and the culture is quite different even though they came from the same routes. English are more two-faced (similar to Japanese in some ways), while the Americans tend to be more direct.... (Canadians tend to fall somewhere in between). It has been 100s of years since they went their separate ways.

Do you mean all of the UK is two-faced to include the Scots or is it just the English that are two faced like the Japanese?

English, being a scottish descendant I don't associate Scotland with the UK

The English make up 80%+ of the UK anyways....

if you dont consider scotland to be a part of the UNITED kingdom, who do you consider to be a part of it?

[bkkcanuck8]

if you dont consider scotland to be a part of the UNITED kingdom, who do you consider to be a part of it?

Scotland, then the EU.

The "rest of the UK" makes up 90% of the UKs population, therefore I tend to use UK and England interchangeably because UK and England are generally percentage wise English.

I do have some "English" blood on my mother's side.... which my mother lovingly calls her "bad blood". When I worked in England / London area my mother told me NOT to marry a girl from there because we already had enough bad blood in our family. I then asked are you including Scotland and she said - no.... Scottish ok, Japanese ok, Thai ok, but not English

[AYJAYDEE]

if you dont consider scotland to be a part of the UNITED kingdom, who do you consider to be a part of it?

Scotland, then the EU.

The "rest of the UK" makes up 90% of the UKs population, therefore I tend to use UK and England interchangeably because UK and England are generally percentage wise English.

I do have some "English" blood on my mother's side.... which my mother lovingly calls her "bad blood". When I worked in England / London area my mother told me NOT to marry a girl from there because we already had enough bad blood in our family. I then asked are you including Scotland and she said - no.... Scottish ok, Japanese ok, Thai ok, but not English

well they say it IS passed down from parents. my condolences

[thailiketoo]

I have lived in both the UK and in the US and the culture is quite different even though they came from the same routes. English are more two-faced (similar to Japanese in some ways), while the Americans tend to be more direct.... (Canadians tend to fall somewhere in between). It has been 100s of years since they went their separate ways.

Do you mean all of the UK is two-faced to include the Scots or is it just the English that are two faced like the Japanese?

English, being a scottish descendant I don't associate Scotland with the UK

The English make up 80%+ of the UK anyways....

If a Scottish lass marries an Englishman (I know rare but .....) are their children only half two faced? What would you call them? Quarter faced or one faced?