Is fast food the greatest scam ever in LOS?

[thaibeachlovers]

Given the prices that the international fast food chains are asking now for their obesity causing bad food, is it the greatest scam ever foisted on LOS to make Thai people think the crap is actually status cuisine?

I can only surmise that they don't understand that fast food in the west is usually just the cheapest option to fill the gap while in town, and NOT, NOT, NOT a status option of fine dining.

The prices they are asking now are about 10 times the price of a standard Thai meal, whereas 10 years or so ago, they were only about 3 times the cost of a standard Thai meal.

In fact, for an average fast food meal ( burger, fries and drink ) they charge over 100 baht more than a very nice meal in an AC restaurant in Pattaya, where I can get a much larger burger, and nicer fries.

[JJGreen]

Must be cheap in pattaya.

Last time I bought some Mcdonalds I remember a set being about 180 baht or less...
kfc was similar...or 120 baht for 8 drumstick looking pieces..add some fries and drink...not sure that's 10 times either

The real criminality of deception is Starbucks and their clones...
165 baht for a iced coffee?? Now that coffee is on a par with 3in1 Birdy

[rijb]

According to The Big Mac index, the rising fast food prices in Thailand are due to the overvaluation of the Baht.  

 

In other words, blame the Thai government for playing games with the Baht.

 

http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index

[Henryford]

My tgf used to work at KFC and she only got paid about 250 baht a day. For her lunch break she used to buy a KFC meal and drink which cost ... 250 baht. She didn't realise she was working for free.

[Kwasaki]

Have a Burger King burger in CM when l go there for me better than Mc.D but l wouldn't say it's 10 times expensive, tasty though.

l find 7-11 cheap for a snack the 25 bht burgers l find OK.

Mostly I only eat out when not at home.

Don't find Pattaya cheap unless you eat in those tucked away Thai places in market places but still more expensive than my Mrs charges at her cafe' where we live.

[thaibeachlovers]

10 hours ago, JJGreen said:

Must be cheap in pattaya.

Last time I bought some Mcdonalds I remember a set being about 180 baht or less...
kfc was similar...or 120 baht for 8 drumstick looking pieces..add some fries and drink...not sure that's 10 times either

The real criminality of deception is Starbucks and their clones...
165 baht for a iced coffee?? Now that coffee is on a par with 3in1 Birdy

 

Try over 300 baht for a Maccers in Pattaya.

Can still get a Thai meal of fried rice chicken for 25 baht outside of Pattaya. Correct me if that isn't 10 times.

I don't get why Thais think the crap is so status.

[JJGreen]

Try over 300 baht for a Maccers in Pattaya.

Can still get a Thai meal of fried rice chicken for 25 baht outside of Pattaya. Correct me if that isn't 10 times.

I don't get why Thais think the crap is so status.

I agree about the status thing...

But it isn't ten times the price. KFC does a mega go bowl of fried rice for about 70 baht...Street price bkk 30 or 40 baht

[nausea]

Compare the price of fast Thai food in the UK with fast Westen food here, if you want a proper comparison.

[Razzler1973]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Try over 300 baht for a Maccers in Pattaya.

Can still get a Thai meal of fried rice chicken for 25 baht outside of Pattaya. Correct me if that isn't 10 times.

I don't get why Thais think the crap is so status.

 

Do they think it's so status (whatever 'status' is, I assume high status?)

 

The amount of people in Thailand .... it's not like those fast food places are super rammed! It's not like Hong Kong, there's a Maccers on every corner there and always busy when I lived there. You go to a Maccers around Thonglor or Ekkamai and hardly anyone there.

 

Around Khao San it's full of tourists/backpacker. Even Sukhumvit/Chitlom fancy places the fast food places are hardly full. I think KFC maybe does ok (?) seeing as it's fried chicken, fried chicken is popular throughout Asia as it is.

 

I don't eat fast food at all but in Thailand it makes even less sense with cheap, tasty food everywhere.

 

 

[Ace of Pop]

The Fast part of Mc D is the speed the Chips go Cold.

[eldragon]

Possibly. Put some of the blame on the lowered quality of the street food though.

[Aussie69]

Mostly I only eat out when not at home.

Eating out is generally done when your not at home [emoji2]

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, Aussie69 said:

 

Eating out is generally done when your not at home
 

 

 

That is what l said. 

[thaibeachlovers]

9 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Try over 300 baht for a Maccers in Pattaya.

Can still get a Thai meal of fried rice chicken for 25 baht outside of Pattaya. Correct me if that isn't 10 times.

I don't get why Thais think the crap is so status.

Apologies to Maccers. Their most expensive meal is 220. The over 300 deal is Burger King's at 339. Their most expensive is 409.

[thaibeachlovers]

9 hours ago, JJGreen said:

I agree about the status thing...

But it isn't ten times the price. KFC does a mega go bowl of fried rice for about 70 baht...Street price bkk 30 or 40 baht

I was talking about paying over 300 for a meal set, not their cheap options.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, Razzler1973 said:

 

Do they think it's so status (whatever 'status' is, I assume high status?)

 

The amount of people in Thailand .... it's not like those fast food places are super rammed! It's not like Hong Kong, there's a Maccers on every corner there and always busy when I lived there. You go to a Maccers around Thonglor or Ekkamai and hardly anyone there.

 

Around Khao San it's full of tourists/backpacker. Even Sukhumvit/Chitlom fancy places the fast food places are hardly full. I think KFC maybe does ok (?) seeing as it's fried chicken, fried chicken is popular throughout Asia as it is.

 

I don't eat fast food at all but in Thailand it makes even less sense with cheap, tasty food everywhere.

 

 

Maccers in Central World used to be full of Thais. That was many years ago, so might have changed. The point of this thread is that Thais are paying a lot of money to eat western crap food, and I wonder why they would do that, given that Thai options are available far more cheaply.

Don't tend to see rich people eating in Maccers in cities like London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

[swissie]

While the disposable income has risen over those 15 years, it would still not make it feasible to dine at McDonalds daily for most Thai's.
Maybe just a change of taste?
The bar-ladies used to buy fruits from vendors. Now it seems that they prefer to buy things that are dripping with oil for a snack. And not overly expensive.
I venture the guess, that this is where the calories come from that turned Thai's from "slim and trim" to something else. McDonalds & Co can not be isolated as the sole "perpetrators".
Not rushing to the defense of McDonalds & Co, I would still like to think, that the food served at those fast food temples has gone thru certain minimal "quality tests" internally.
On the other hand, I have never seen any officials galloping around at those open air food stalls, taking samples to be analised in a laboratory.
- I have only seen Farangs hospitalized for 3 days, after having indulged on Thai Cuisine, purchased from a "Cuisine" on 3 wheels. That can spoil your day (or holiday).  
Cheers.   

[swissie]

17 hours ago, Henryford said:

My tgf used to work at KFC and she only got paid about 250 baht a day. For her lunch break she used to buy a KFC meal and drink which cost ... 250 baht. She didn't realise she was working for free.

Assuming you paid for everything else. Why should she not.

Cheers.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, swissie said:

While the disposable income has risen over those 15 years, it would still not make it feasible to dine at McDonalds daily for most Thai's.
Maybe just a change of taste?
The bar-ladies used to buy fruits from vendors. Now it seems that they prefer to buy things that are dripping with oil for a snack. And not overly expensive.
I venture the guess, that this is where the calories come from that turned Thai's from "slim and trim" to something else. McDonalds & Co can not be isolated as the sole "perpetrators".
Not rushing to the defense of McDonalds & Co, I would still like to think, that the food served at those fast food temples has gone thru certain minimal "quality tests" internally.
On the other hand, I have never seen any officials galloping around at those open air food stalls, taking samples to be analised in a laboratory.
- I have only seen Farangs hospitalized for 3 days, after having indulged on Thai Cuisine, purchased from a "Cuisine" on 3 wheels. That can spoil your day (or holiday).  
Cheers.   

The OP wasn't about the quality of Thai food, but about the cost, and why Thais would assume fast food is a hi so status cuisine?

As for fat Thais, before fast food became easily available Thais were generally slim, and after, they became fat. While it may be erroneous to link the two, it seems to me to be linked. Certainly, sugar must be involved, and there is always a sugar supply in any Thai restaurant.

 

PS, my worst food poisoning in LOS was after eating in a posh western food chain restaurant. I don't eat at stalls, as they have no hand washing facilities.

[chiang mai]

On 26/09/2016 at 0:56 AM, rijb said:

According to The Big Mac index, the rising fast food prices in Thailand are due to the overvaluation of the Baht.  

 

In other words, blame the Thai government for playing games with the Baht.

 

http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index

 

Educate us, or more probably humour us: how does the Thai government play games with THB and make it overvalued?

[rijb]

Don't be so lazy.  Do your own research.

[williamgeorgeallen]

On 9/26/2016 at 7:43 AM, Henryford said:

My tgf used to work at KFC and she only got paid about 250 baht a day. For her lunch break she used to buy a KFC meal and drink which cost ... 250 baht. She didn't realise she was working for free.

hope you were topping up her salary.  she may have been working there to meet western men not for the money. i spoke to someone managing a car dealership. they said the sales staff would disappear with the first western man they could who came in to buy a new car. i told him to start hiring more ugly sales staff.

[Emster23]

No one is forced to go to those places. The prices are clearly posted. You get the items you pay for. No hidden service charges. No touts on the street dragging you in.

 I agree Thai street food far superior. And it is a status thing for many.

It's called the free market and consumer choice. Their choices make make no sense to your, but it is customers choice.

[overherebc]

On 9/26/2016 at 11:17 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

Try over 300 baht for a Maccers in Pattaya.

Can still get a Thai meal of fried rice chicken for 25 baht outside of Pattaya. Correct me if that isn't 10 times.

I don't get why Thais think the crap is so status.

 

Maybe because they can sit in the Benz at the drive through and more people will notice them. You can't park it next to your table in a normal restaurant.

[williet98248]

On ‎9‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 4:49 PM, Razzler1973 said:

 

Do they think it's so status (whatever 'status' is, I assume high status?)

 

The amount of people in Thailand .... it's not like those fast food places are super rammed! It's not like Hong Kong, there's a Maccers on every corner there and always busy when I lived there. You go to a Maccers around Thonglor or Ekkamai and hardly anyone there.

 

Around Khao San it's full of tourists/backpacker. Even Sukhumvit/Chitlom fancy places the fast food places are hardly full. I think KFC maybe does ok (?) seeing as it's fried chicken, fried chicken is popular throughout Asia as it is.

 

I don't eat fast food at all but in Thailand it makes even less sense with cheap, tasty food everywhere.

 

 

KFC is the worst.  Decent food pressure cooked in grease to make it really bad for you.  Salt and sugar added to make it taste good.  Been several years since I have eaten Fast Food.  Real food is cheaper, tastier and better for you.

[Suradit69]

Quote

I can only surmise that they don't understand that fast food in the west

 

Presumably most people choose to eat something because they like the taste, not because of their (mis)understanding of western culture or consumerism. 

 

Most of us eat some things that we fully understand are not the healthiest choices without wringing our hands over the  political. economic or health issues.

 

I don't personally care for the food churned out by such places as McDonald's, but I also don't take the view that those who do  need to be lectured to by some Khun Farang who fancies himself to be omniscient. 

 

 

[AlQaholic]

If you go to Fashion Island in Bkk on a weekend, every single "junk food" restaurant is packed with Thais and there is a Que, and when I say Que I don't mean like people actually standing in Que, there is a staff member at the door with a list, they put you down on the list, give you a menu to order what you intend to eat, and then tell you approximate waiting time. They will call you when it's your time, so you have to leave one member of your group in the vicinity. And almost all the people (except the very young kids) already in the restaurant are fat!

[johninbkk71]

I think all food in Thailand is overrated and over priced for the rubbish you get

[alex8912]

The only fast food I ever eat on the run is Subway. It's cheap at  69 baht for their sub of the day in Thailand  and you can get lots of veggies on it. Been doing them for decades. The very first one was opened right in the next town over from me in Connecticut.  Now there are thousands and thousands.  I've seen on more than one occasion the vegetables getting their temperature taken. I bet BK OR McD's don't do that. 

[rijb]

That's disappointing.  I buy all of my vegetables at McD's.