On those trips I was either mixing with Thais who were perhaps sensitive to my needs or with expats who knew where to find westernised Thai food. On my present trip to Thailand I have committed myself to learning, as much as possible, to live like a Thai. For my first three weeks in the country I stayed with Thai friends in their home in Bangkok. When we went out to eat, I ate where they ate. I now have the following information to offer potential visitors to Thailand.
If you are used to eating ‘Thai’ food in Australia or some other western country, it is possible to visit Thailand and so long as you don’t stray far from the main tourist routes you will be able to find food that is not too different from this. The more western looking the restaurant the more western the food will be. If the menu and the staff are bilingual you will find they cater to western tastes.
While you may see Thai people eating in these restaurants, on a day to day basis most Thais will eat in a different style of restaurant and the food may be quite different from that which you will find in Australia. The fact is that, generally speaking, Thais have different tastes to most westerners. Often I hear from my Thai friends, ‘Thais will eat anything.’ And if you look at what is available in Thai eateries, perhaps you will agree. Here is some of what I have encountered.
On my previous visit to Thailand I was wandering through the Chatuchak Market when I came across a stall selling deep fried - well what was it? - they looked like giant cockroaches to me. My friends tell me they were not actually cockroaches but insects that are found either in the fields or another variety is found in the sea. OK, so they weren't cockroaches but on several occasions, on street stalls, I have seen deep fried grasshoppers, grubs and other bugs. At Mahasarakham University recently one of the students offered fried silkworms to my western friends and me. We declined. There is also a type of beetle that is considered a delicacy in this region.
When we eat chicken in Australia there are parts that we throw out. The Thais may not throw away the same parts. One night I was on a river cruise with my friends. When the food was brought to the table they told me what each dish was. One plate was simply described as chicken. It looked like deep fried nuggets. I tried one and found I was chewing on gristle. I spat it out and tried another — gristle too. That is what the plate was — deep fried chicken gristle. Apparently they like it. I passed. And if you get a plate of mixed cuts of chicken, don’t be surprised if a foot or two are included.
A group of us were out to dinner one night. We ordered whole fish. Now when you are away from the sea, the fish that is served will probably have been caught in a river, swamp or dam. It may occasionally have a slight muddy flavour, like we get with mullet back home. Add a bit of something spicy and you won't notice. Actually this sort of fish is usually quite good. On this particular night one of my friends removed the head. I thought it was to make it easier to get to the flesh. But no, she put the head on her plate. Since then I have noticed that many of my Thai friends like fish head. And many consider the eyes a delicacy.
The herbs and spices you get with your meal will depend on where you are. In Mahasarakham you will encounter slightly different food from that in Bangkok. Udon Thani is not that far from Mahasarakham but we had a wide range of herbs, in bulk on the table, to add to the dishes. Most of these herbs are not usually found in Mahasarakham or Bangkok. And if we have anything like them in Australia, perhaps we have just not considered eating them.
An English language newspaper, on my previous visit, ran an article and several letters about the practise of some restaurants, apparently in the north, serving dog. As far I know I have never encountered this — but is it such a bad idea? Stray dogs are everywhere in Thailand. Perhaps desexing them has never been considered but in some areas, eating them has.
If, like me, you prefer not to eat pork, you will find it almost impossible to avoid in Thailand. They eat so much of it. If there is unidentified meat in a dish, you can almost bet it is pork. (I hope it's not dog.) I have come to accept that pork is now at least a small part of my diet.
Early in this article I suggested that if you stick to western style restaurants you will not have to take too many risks. So, if you want to be a little adventurous, where do you find the sorts of food I am writing about? For a start, try to get off the regular tourist trails. The restaurants that most Thais eat in don’t look all that classy. Thais seem to like to eat in the open. The restaurant might be on the street — not the footpath. Your table may literally be on the street. The table may be fairly small and perhaps made of metal with a laminex top. You may need to take a Thai with you to communicate with the waiting staff unless you are prepared to point and take a risk. In the country, restaurants may be just a roof (often straw) with no walls. At one chicken restaurant on the edge of the rice fields, in a village near Mahasarakham, the future ingredients were wandering in and picking up any scraps dropped on the floor. Fish restaurants sometimes have tables over the dam that holds their stock.
Cloth serviettes / napkins are rare in Thai restaurants. So are large paper ones. Most places have a container on each table with something that either resembles or actually is toilet paper! Get used to it. That is what most Thais use. By the way, shove a few sheets in your pocket. You may not find any in the toilet.
In Australia, it is just not done to bring food that was bought elsewhere into a restaurant. In Thailand, don’t be surprised if a vendor approaches you with some other treat while you are sitting at the table of a restaurant. The vendor will not be associated with the restaurant in any way and the management will usually not bat an eyelid.
And prices? Well they vary from place to place. In the western style restaurants you can usually get a meal for about A$5 or less. Not bad really. The most I paid was about A$15. This was in a restaurant that used large cloth napkins and I had three waiters hovering for the opportunity to look after my every need. As an example of prices in a genuine Thai restaurant, recently I had lunch with four friends. We all ate adequately. The total bill came to less than A$8. At a really nice restaurant catering for Thais a group of us had a delightful and filling dinner. It worked out at about A$8 each.
And what risks are there when eating in these establishments? Hygiene standards in Thailand are definitely not up to what we are used to in Australia. The guide books give all sorts of warnings about what you should not eat or drink. At the time of writing I have been here for a little over a month and I have broken most of the rules. With the exception of my own allergies and intolerances I have eaten similar food to my Thai friends. On one day only, I got a gut ache — very uncomfortable too I might add. This did not come after eating in any of the establishments I have described above but after I had breakfast in a fairly large hotel. Make up your own mind.
I received this email in December 2003:
Dear John, I have recently been to Thailand on holiday. I disliked Bangkok intensely but loved Hua Hin to the south. I met a lady from Mahasarakham and I was wondering if you were still in that region or even still in Thailand. I would love to know how you survived eating the food up there (this was my biggest worry).
Here is my reply based on one year living in Mahasarakham:
Isaan food is OK. But we farang probably need to be choosy. Did you get to try somtam while you were in Thailand? There are two kinds: Somtam Thai and Somtam Isaan. If they leave out the peanuts and prawns (my allergies) I eat Somtam Thai but Somtam Isaan??? I made a decision to avoid anything fermented but I think many westerners avoid Somtam Isaan just because of the smell. It includes an ingredient called barra (fermented raw fish). Isaan people love it. They can have it as far as I am concerned but some farang do eat it.
They also have noodles made from fermented rice. Some farang like it. I have not tried it.
People here eat many types of insects. Because of the poverty (particularly in the past) anything that is not poisonous is eaten. I tried a couple of fried red ants once. The taste must be pretty boring because they had drowned any flavour in salt. Would not bother again. I have declined all offers to eat grasshoppers but if I was starving perhaps I would.
One of the most popular Isaan dishes is gai yaang (BBQ chicken). No worries. It is eaten with sticky rice which I like (but it will remove any looses fillings) and somtam.
One thing I am wary of is once hot food that has been standing. Thais do not seem to mind it. I will not eat it. Give me a pad thai. It is cooked on the spot.
Isaan food is now available in most of Thailand so perhaps you tried some without knowing it.
There has been a plentiful supply of small beetles (about a centimetre long) in our area lately. Recently I caught one, showed it to a friend and asked if Thais ate them.
'No.'
'Why not?'
'Because dead.'
'This one is not dead. You could eat it.'
'No. Because, you eat, you dead.'
If you enjoyed this page, you may also like Ban Thar Khon Yang market.
copyright © John Shield 2003 and 2004
Page written 17 February 2003. updated 27 April, 5 May, 4 September 2003, 1 January 2004 and 29 February 2004.
1 Occasionally, but not often, you might have to sit on the floor.
2 Chef Jan in her kitchen at Din Dum, Mahasarakham province. Thai kitchens are often at the front of the restaurant.
3 This restaurant on the edge of Khamrieng Village in Mahasarakham province is popular for its gai yaang — BBQ chicken.
4 The ubiquitous toilet roll holder
5 That's a chicken. By time you read this it will have been eaten. On the day I took the photo it was eating our scraps.
6 Linda and Damon enjoy Pad Thai at a street restaurant in Bangkok.
7 Frogs in a Bangkok suburban restaurant — choose deep fried or grilled.
8 On a street vendor's stall near Wat Arun — grasshoppers and other delicacies
9 & 10 It's called a ginka and they told me people eat them, so...
OK I didn't. Apparently they need to be grilled first.
11 Durian has a reputation for its strong smell and you are supposed to either love or hate it. It's over rated. It's nice. I like it. But I can take it or leave it. And the smell... It's not that strong. Actually, the biggest danger when eating durian is having your hands punctured. Wear gloves to cut it.