Friday, July 26, 2013

Eating Abroad

Food is an interesting subject!  I have been posting a lot of the more interesting meals on Facebook regularly!

Meal times tend to be similar to American meal times, though lunch typically begins at 11 o'clock in Thailand.  That's about as specific as I've got.  Thai people tend to share much more than Americans, so sometimes you will order a dish and it will come with a fork for the other person as well.  So far this has happened at the Roti place we go to.  Roti (or Rotee) is delicious, by the way.  If you go to Thailand, GET SOME.  It's kind of like a fried crepe with various fillings and toppings - sweet or savory.  Portion sizes are similar as well, though I would say smaller than American dishes more often.  I got a tiny bowl of spaghetti at the roti place, though.  Etiquette isn't much different, either, to be honest.  The main difference is that Thai people use spoons.  They mostly just use forks to push the food onto the spoon.  Just be prepared to ask for your check or catch the waiter more often here than in America.

We eat most of our meals in the restaurant located in our hostel called Lemon Tree, as well as getting food on campus at cafes.  Though recently, we have been venturing out to different restaurants and cafes on Nimmanhaemin Road.

One thing I have learned in Thailand is be prepared for spicy food.  It may not be labeled spicy, but it could potentially be, not just spicy, but Thai spicy - which is a whole different level and taste of spicy.  If it says spicy on the menu there is no doubt it will be Thai spicy.  Mouth burning and overwhelming - but something to experience if you can handle it.  The first time going out by ourselves, I made this mistake.  I ordered spicy ramen.  It was the spiciest dish I have ever had in my life.  Though now I feel like I could face the highest level of hot wings at Quaker Steak and Lube.

I would have to say that out of all the dishes, Lad na is a favorite, which is kale, noodles, and possibly meat, in a gravy.  The gravy isn't like our gravy - it's kind of sweet.  A lot of food here is sweet, actually, but it's not too odd once you get used to it.  Pad See Ew, which is soy sauce based instead of gravy, is also really good.  Recently, I had chicken in coconut soup - this is how I found out that things that aren't indicated as spicy on menus are spicy.  It wasn't as powerful as the ramen, but it was still spicy.  I liked it a lot.  In general, there's a lot of food to try here and most of it is pretty great.

I've had so many different drinks here, as well.  I've had some interesting herbal teas, but I can definitely say that the smoothies in Thailand are the best smoothies.  Sweets in general taste exactly what they are made out of or supposed to be flavored as, it's really amazing.  Snack foods come in way different flavors.  We had salmon and cream cheese flavored potato chips in the first couple weeks that were delicious.

Overall, I love Thai food and I will be sad to return to the states and not have this food regularly.

(Also the ketchup here rivals Heinz.  I am serious.  Also McDonald's tastes different, but really good!  Burger King tastes pretty much the same.)

1 comment:

  1. So, in the end analysis, ketchup must be compared to Heinz! LOL

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