Did you Eat Yet?

[Inspire]

Did you Eat Yet?

 

Orlando Barton

 

 

This month the focus of my blogs will be on food in Thailand. I guess we could call it “Eating Thailand”. I’ve always said that the food in Thailand is the second biggest reason for living here.

 

When I was taking Thai language lessons I learned the basic Thai greetings. “Sawadee Khrap” as an all-purpose anytime greeting. “Arun Sawat” if I wanted to get fancy and say “Good Morning”.

 

But, that’s not what Thai people say to each other. They say “Gin khao reeyang?” which means, “Have you eaten yet?’ Listen closely to a conversation between two Thai people and focus on food words. I stand by my claim that 90% of Thai conversation is about food.

 

With that said, many foreigners who consider staying in Thailand are also obsessed with food for a variety of reasons. When you think about a budget for living food is probably in the top 3 items on your budget along with housing and transportation. Stay here a while and it becomes pretty clear that eating a steady diet of foreign food will seriously impact your budget not to mention your waistline. For sure you can get Mc Donald’s, KFC and even a pint-and-a-pie; but it’ll cost you.

 

To take full advantage of the legendary food culture in Thailand, you have to be a bit adventurous. You have to have an open mind. And it helps to have a Thai significant other. That’s the story this picture tells.

 

This picture was taken in a village near Buriram in the Northeastern part of Thailand known as Issan. I was visiting my in-laws for the first time and quite nervous about it. After the initial introductions were made I sat near the biggest fan, sipped on my Leo beer and listened to my wife’s family talk about food for three hours.

 

Full story: http://www.inspirepattaya.com/lifestyle/eat-yet/

[FritsSikkink]

"I stand by my claim that 90% of Thai conversation is about food. "

Try to meet some educated Thais next time

[dotpoom]

She who must be obeyed says......Thai people talk about food a lot because they have nothing else to talk about......That I find perfectly understandable, considering the fact that I come from a country where 90% of what we talk about is the weather.....no mystery.

Edited August 21, 2016 by dotpoom

[billd766]

quote from the OP " Stay here a while and it becomes pretty clear that eating a steady diet of foreign food will seriously impact your budget not to mention your waistline. For sure you can get McDonald’s, KFC and even a pint-and-a-pie; but it’ll cost you."

 

That is true if you eat out all the time but I live in rural Thailand and make a lot of my own foreign food and by doing that I know and can control what goes into it. I can also make it how I like it.

 

It isn't that difficult to do either.

[Suradit69]

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

"I stand by my claim that 90% of Thai conversation is about food. "

Try to meet some educated Thais next time

 

Probably because 90% of the o/p's contact with Thais involves restaurants, markets or dropping in at meal time. Can't say that Thai friends/acquaintances of mine talk about food that much unless it's time to eat and even if we're in a restaurant, once the food is ordered that pretty much ends the food conversation, aside from a few words regarding whether it turns out to be aloi or mai aloi.

[Laza 45]

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

"I stand by my claim that 90% of Thai conversation is about food. "

Try to meet some educated Thais next time

I thought 90% of Thai conversation was about money..

 

[balo]

Another stupid thread 

[shaggy851]

Its a sure guess that in talking to anyone they would ask have you eaten yet and what you eat and if it was delicious or not, but i dont think they talk about food that much. I find it irriatating the amount of gossip and in short rubbish thats talk of the villiages. I find some blatant lies funny when they are all living like dogs in the dirt but are trying to one up the others. For instance the ex husband phone calls to the mother of my wifes friend and brags about something or other and she replies oh yeah well out daughter already bought me a house, he says oh yeah right what color is it? Blue ,its a big blue one oh suay! and hangs up. She lives on her grandmothers land and has no blue house. Her daughter has a farang who has bought her a new isuzu for 300,000 baht. You can not buy a new isuzu for 300,000, he likely put a small downpayment on it and the reason why she isnt wearing her gold anymore was because she is struggling with the repayments. In short my opinion is they all just talk rubbish, in north eastern villiages at least.

[gemguy]

Kin Kow Rue-Yahng ( Have You Eaten Yet )

 

Yes, that is one way to greet Thai people but it is more commonly said as a friendly greeting amongst Thai people who already know one another or just after you have said Hello ( Sah-Wah-Dee Clrap )

The Chinese Thais using the greeting more so than Thai, Thais,  as having lots of food to eat and in effect well fed is somewhat of a social status to achieve, in their minds.

In other words ...we may not be so wealthy but we eat well and always well fed.

That is what I was told by Thai people several times over the years.

 

Meantime, when people ask me what is it that Thai people are thinking when other people ( foreigners ) are trying to figure out the often perplexing logic and mentality of Thai people when having to deal with Thai people in a variety of circumstances, both business and social circumstances, I answer by telling them:

 

They have Som Tum on their minds...spicy Som Tom usually ...as they are not thinking or focusing or concentrating rather they are thinking about their next meal and spicy Som Tum....lol

 

Cheers

Edited August 21, 2016 by gemguy

[akentryan]

Short version is "jeet yet"

[sydneyboy]

6 hours ago, balo said:

Another stupid thread 

 

Thats because it's started by the owners of TV. 

Not much else to converse about to build up their forum... 

[anotheruser]

My problem with these threads is they seem to be aimed at people that have never been to Thailand. It seems the author wants to show you how much "in the know" he is but insists on spewing out what is painfully obvious to those of us that have been here more than two weeks. 

 

The articles themselves would be fine if they were for the back page of a magazine on an airplane. The problem is for these pieces to be enlightening the author would need to find an audience that simply does not know the first thing about Thailand. They could be great talking points in a class of first graders who have just learned where Thailand is for the first time in class that morning. 

[Bender]

They say “Gin khao reeyang?” which means, “Have you eaten yet?’

 

From my understanding, this is the thai way to ask: "how are you?"  (i can explain longer, but i am quite lazy now).

 

" I’ve always said that the food in Thailand is the second biggest reason for living here."

 

I really dont want to know what is his first reason to live here, no more meaningless article please

 

[louse1953]

". I was visiting my in-laws for the first time and quite nervous about it."

If your wife's parents were not at your wedding,no wonder you were nervous.

[louse1953]

16 hours ago, sydneyboy said:

 

Thats because it's started by the owners of TV. 

Not much else to converse about to build up their forum... 

At least they let your post stand.I was banned for mutinous talk like that by the previous owners.

[Thingamabob]

Yawn. Next...

[Rob8891]

1 hour ago, transam said:

Next what....?

trans, trans, trans....surely by now you have learned not to ask questions like that.

[Rob8891]

@ Inspire

 

Could you please try very very hard to live up to your name? Thank you