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Is there such a thing as Thai Food in reality?


john luke

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They cook and eat tarantulas in Cambodia, I've never come across that here, so there are some differences. OTOH, the Khmers probably aren't daft enough to eat raw pork salad, or dredge their ponds for tiny animals they then eat raw that carry liver flukes and end up with hepatic cancer, lol.

More seriously, though, there really are differences. Vietnamese food, for example, has tastes that aren't used in Thai cuisine, or aren't common, and probably vice versa, while Indonesian food is completely different again, and is probably my favourite SE Asian cuisine. Having spent 7 years living and eating in the Netherlands explains that, damn Chin Ind restaurants everywhere serving tasty things like loempia speciaal, babi panang, and sate ajam. Unfortunately, Filipino food is also completely different, but not in a good way. I always found that Khmer meals seemed like a poor man's version of Thai food, as if made in desperation, but that may just have been a reflection of the cheap restaurants I was eating in back then. I can't comment on Laos food as I've never been there. And Burma - who knows?

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I suppose it depends on your knowledge of food. 

If you are a Brit who eats Thai or other S E Asian food rarely then you might say it all tastes the same but as a Brit who has worked in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and traveled extensively in other Asian areas over the last 35 years there are distinct differences. 

In fact in Thailand alone there are differences to Thai cuisine depending where you are from. Be it the south, central area or north there are differences. My wife can tell me all the differences and even the foods they eat either side of the Mekong around Nongkhai province.

Unless you are ignorant of food tastes it would be rather rude to try to lump it all together then again those people would be calling it 'Asian Muck' which just ends good conversation anyway.

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32 minutes ago, Toy Boy said:

And Burma - who knows?

I worked around Southern Myanmar for a year (stretching from Ngapoli - Rakhine to Myeik-Thanyinthari) and I would describe it as the worst chinese food I have every eaten submerged in cooking oil. I also worked for two years in PRC so I know the breadth of chinese food available there too.

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6 hours ago, john luke said:

Is there such a thing as Thai Food in reality?

Is Thai food any different to Cambodian food or food on Lao?  

Should it be referred to as South East Asian Food?

There is JL regional Thai food and 10000000% Isaan food. I'll invite you up to our restaurant its a unique cuisine to Thailand.

The rest is fusion food nothing wrong with that before the Woke brigade jump in but yes Isaan / Lao food is Thaiand's real food. 

Bit like roast beef and Yorkshire round your way ..... now go and sort out your cricket club ..... hope Michael Vaughan will be OK.

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isaan food is similar to laos cambo food, mainly because both were part of Thailand once.  original southern food, or chiang mai area foo, added to BKK own style all are different dishes.  of course there is a thing called thai food, I am guessing you posed this for ?  and Pad Thai was created in a competiton, here in.... THailand 🙂

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5 hours ago, coxyhog said:

I love the Chinese Indonesian food in Holland,much better than most of the junk they serve up in Chinese restaurants in the UK.Indo rice table is superb.

I once eat a "Ricetafel " in an Indonesian restaurant in Den Haag which I thoroughly enjoyed but had the most alarming effect on my insides. At the time it was the most spicy meal I had ever eaten. Lots of small dishes each one hotter than the one before.

Early the next morning a coach took me and my English workmates to play a football match against our parent company Dutch employees. The whole journey my gut kept cramping and when we reached the ground I had to literally run to the changing room to nuke trap number one. How I subsequently played 90 minutes football I will never know.

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4 minutes ago, Jambo said:

I once eat a "Ricetafel " in an Indonesian restaurant in Den Haag which I thoroughly enjoyed but had the most alarming effect on my insides. At the time it was the most spicy meal I had ever eaten. Lots of small dishes each one hotter than the one before.

Early the next morning a coach took me and my English workmates to play a football match against our parent company Dutch employees. The whole journey my gut kept cramping and when we reached the ground I had to literally run to the changing room to nuke trap number one. How I subsequently played 90 minutes football I will never know.

When my missus first came to the UK in 1991  it was on hols from Oman where I was working.My ticket was paid for but I had to pay for hers & I got her a ticket which had a free add on return to Europe,so we chose Amsterdam.

We had 3 days there where every night we ate in Chinese Indo places & the food was wonderful,the last night we had the rice table & her eyes were getting bigger with every course that came out.

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