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[Soi224]

I've had some great Thai food in Dubai several times, I think mostly due to the quality of the ingredients, especially beef dishes.

But whether there, or Los Angeles, my old home, I find getting on with the Thai staff and letting them know you live in Thailand gets you both better treatment and quality of food.

Soi224

[Jingthing]

Quote

. Yes, there are a very few Thai restaurants that cater to a Thai clientele or who remain true to the original recipes in other countries but they are outnumbered probably 100 to 1 by those that don't.

Surely, the majority naturally alter their cooking to suit the local tastes. However, there are exceptions and I know this for a fact. Places I have had Thai food as good as or better than Thailand: Thai area of the tenderloin San Francisco, Thaitown and Santa Monica,  Los Angeles area, a Thai neighborhood in suburban Washington DC. The best green curry dish I have ever had: San Jose, California and the best Thai desert I ever had, Santa Monica. There will be many locales without a big enough Thai population to support authenticity but there are indeed some. I imagine they exist in Australia as well. However, after living in Thailand a while the COST of Thai food outside of Thailand seems ridiculous. I used to cook some dishes myself in the US and was indeed able to recreate authentic Thai tastes.

Edited by Jingthing, 2008-12-30 18:23:59.

[Groongthep]

Jingthing, on 2008-12-30 03:19:28, said:

Quote

. Yes, there are a very few Thai restaurants that cater to a Thai clientele or who remain true to the original recipes in other countries but they are outnumbered probably 100 to 1 by those that don't.

Surely, the majority naturally alter their cooking to suit the local tastes. However, there are exceptions.....  

On this we agree and I believe I have mentioned in all my posts that there are a few (emphasis on "few") Thai restaurants outside Thailand that serve authentic Thai food. I've been to one or two myself but they are rare.

Quote

I used to cook some dishes myself in the US and was indeed able to recreate authentic Thai tastes.

I know the title of this thread is "Thai Food  in the West" but the subject has almost exclusively dealt with Thai restaurants not food you or your Thai wife, partner or friend prepare at home. Anyone can claim to be a good cook but it takes customers to determine if the claims are valid. This same arguement appears frequently on the Mexican food threads where someone often says "The best Mexican food in Thailand is at my house." I'm sorry but who cares? IMHO the purpose of an ethnic food thread on any internet forum is to discuss where one might go to purchase good food or to avoid bad food. "My house" is not a place that anyone on the forum is going to be able to show up and order food, so including it in the discussion is pointless.

Edited by Groongthep, 2008-12-31 14:00:28.

[Jingthing]

Quote

"My house" is not a place that anyone on the forum is going to be able to show up and order food

True that, but the point is if you live in a place outside Thailand where you can obtain EVERY ingredient you would need to cook the same dish in Thailand, and you can learn the recipe from a Thai, a book, internet, etc., you can have Thailand in your home outside Thailand and you can cook it as you like it. Some classic Thai dishes such a Tom Yum Goong are actually VERY SIMPLE, QUICK, and EASY  to cook when compared to many complex western dishes.

Anyway, I basically agree with you. In general, it can be very frustrating to go to Thai restaurants in the west especially after experiencing being in Thailand for a long time, but if you are lucky enough to live in some select cities, and you do your research, there is relief.

Edited by Jingthing, 2008-12-31 14:22:37.

[Groongthep]

Fair enough.

[Groongthep]

It's been a few years since we last visited this subject and I felt that it was time to do a quick update.

Now that the Thai Food craze (in the US anyway) has long past I am happy to report that I have discovered several Thai restaurants in my hometown of Seattle that really strive to serve authentic Thai food as it is found in Thailand. The overwhelming number of Thai restaurants there still serve the same overly sweet pad thai and pass off plain red curry as panang but there are a few gems out there now who are doing a terrific job. I was at a place yesterday that served bpoo pad pong karee, kung chaem nam pla and yam pla dook foo; items almost never seen in your run-of-the-mill Thai joint. You even see Thai people eating at these places which you almost never see in the made for falang joints. A good development indeed.

I'm not sure of course, but I think the over saturation of the market with Thai restaurants lead to less than mediocre food being served in the large majority of them and the clientele simply got tired of it. Vietnamese seems to be the new asian food of fashion even though many have been around for decades. The Vietnamese always seem to fix their food the way they themselves would like it prepared.
 Pad Phet Bpla.jpg   52.61K   10 downloads    Som Tam Pla Ra.jpg   90.01K   11 downloads  Guay Jab.jpg   96.78K   9 downloads  Som Tam gab Kao Niow.jpg   75.15K   9 downloads  Moo Pad Bai Grapao Kai Tawd.jpg   90.42K   9 downloads  Laab Gai Baeb Isaan.jpg   113.54K   13 downloads  Ran Gafae Cho Huay.jpg   55.7K   14 downloads  All food is valuable as there are many in the world for whom life is hard and have little to eat..jpg   31.42K   16 downloads
                     All foods from restaurants in Seattle. Too many others to show.

Attached Files

•  Yam Pla Dook Foo.jpg   61K   12 downloads

Edited by Groongthep, 2011-04-04 15:23:17.

[Spee]

Carib, on 2008-08-14 04:14:14, said:

Amsterdam, lots of Thai restaurants,

Mekong River along the canal in the RLD. A bar that has a small kitchen. Many Thai-speaking Dutch regulars. Got to know the owner and some staff over the course of many visits. One of my favorite places to hang out and party when overnighting in the area. Very good food. One warning though .... closed for two weeks during Songkran.

Thai resturants in other parts of NED, as well as BEL, FRA, UK and US, from my experience, are hit or miss. Can find a good one now and then, but usually have to stick with the basics, like pad grapow and tom yum and hope for the best.

[arithad]

Some place in the word, Thai food didnot cooked by Thai chef but by Chinese, the taste is very salty like in Oberhausen

[onionluke]

Hong Kong has the "thai shop" where Thais eat , sing karoke , gamble and socialise . They are often unliscensed , speak easy sort a places . The food is hit or miss but definatley home style and the cooks give a regional twist . These are found all over the territory .
There is also Kowloon City , a Thai ghetto for want of a better description with all things Thai for sale . There on Nam Kok street there is a restaurant called Sep Elee Doo  with  delicious food , Isaan stylo .
Onion

[wellred]

We got for a Thai for lunch at least once a week at work, and quite often ill squeeze in another. The best Thai food I had over here was at this place I saw on Ramsay's Best Restaurant. I think it won the Thai vs comp anyway, Yum Yums in Stoke Newington. Went there for our work xmas party and it didn't dissapoint.

[newdubai]

Sawat di ka, we are two friends living in Al Barsha, Dubai - we cook Thai & Isan food for Thai people all over Dubai. We deliver on a daily basis, or you can order something you like. Call 055 883 9178 or 055 8395495

[Mosha]

I took my sister and her husdand to a Thai restaurant in Wakefield. They used peas instead of the baby aubergines.  

[WebBangkok]

I agree Thai food in Sydney is very very good.

I would have to say the beef dishes are better than the beef dishes in Thailand, but the chicken dishes in Thailand sheet all over the chicken dishes in Sydney.

Yes the Chinese run Thai restaurants in Sydney are crap, once I ordered a Pad Thai and they used tomato sauce, WTF is that??????

[Jingthing]

Tomato PASTE is commonly used as an ingredient in pad thai. While just a tomato sauce would be very bad, tomato paste is actually an excellent addition to the seasoning, and I have cooked this myself with excellent results, better than I can get in restaurants.

Also it took me a while to grasp this, but ketchup is a common ingredient in some Chinese dishes, even in China.

Edited by Jingthing, 2011-06-27 20:15:47.

[wandrinstar]

Oh Dear, i loved Thai Food in Stratford U.K. run by Thais, then came here and its "ORRID" unless i go to a Posh Hotel.

[Jingthing]

wandrinstar, on 2011-06-27 20:17:32, said:

Oh Dear, i loved Thai Food in Stratford U.K. run by Thais, then came here and its "ORRID" unless i go to a Posh Hotel.

You're right, kind of. Most of the random Thai restaurants I go to in Thailand aren't all that good. Like anywhere, it pays to be picky and work to find the good places.

[wandrinstar]

Its worth remembering Thais are no different from other Nations.My FI.Law made his own food somedays, he disliked his Wifes Nortern Thai, and made Chineasy Style.Some areas eat Lamb Curry,yet 3 Hrs drive, and no one eats Lamb.My Wife thinks here Sisters foods passable, and our Kids hated Grandmas Food. I never normally mention this in conversation because Ferangs here say their Wifes Food is Thai, and thats that. For me as long as its Subtle,and doesnt set my cap on fire, i get by.

[WebBangkok]

There is a place net door that sells green curry for only 20 baht.Its the best green curry I have EVER had. I remember paying $17 for a green curry in Sydney.The 20 baht sheets all over the Sydney one, but like I  said before, most beef dishes in Sydney are better than what I have had here.

[marcjaiyenyen]

thai food in thailand is far better than thai food in the uk , as my wife says thai junk food more like.

[tamsom]

I would agree that most "Thai restaurants" serve up less than authentic dishes. Seattle, Washington does have a few good places. Seattle was swamped 20 years ago with the Thai food invasion. The famous chef, known in the venacular as McDang remains highly critical of most places in the States. I can remember ordering Somtam in an authentic Thai restaurant, and when the server did not speak Thai, the owner came over to our table. I spoke Lao first ie. sai padaek...she did not understand, so I spoke in Thai ie. sai pla la. Her response:"No one has ever asked for it...it smells!" What a joke. If I was spending more time in my original home, I would open a simple Lao restaurant because the best Thai food is Lao food. Adios amigos.

[Polsci]

blue eyes, on 2008-05-08 04:44:09, said:

In South Florida in the US there are many Thai resturants but sadly they are all geared to the American palate.Or what the Thai think the Americans want of Thai food.Which they must because they are open and making money every day.When we go to a few where we know the owners we can get real Thai food but that is rare.If we want real Thai food all we have to do is go to Wat Bhuddarangsi of Miami.Which we do on a regular bases.
Edit to show a photo of the food for the Monks.Of course we get the left overs.   

I have to agree with you about the best leftover food at the Wat. It's a not so-secret secret that the best Thai home cooking is at Thai temples where Buddhists offer food alms to monks. Traditionally, food givers then feast on a buffet of delicious potluck after monks finish their once-a-day meal. The ingredients are normally best and freshest suitable for monks.

For a few years after the initial posting, many posters have summed up very well about the Thai food scene in the West that it's a hit or a miss. If fresh vegetables cannot be grown in the United States or any Western countries with colder climates, Thai restaurants have to substitute certain ingredients with something comparable or omit them altogether.

[wintermute]

tamsom, on 2011-07-26 04:22:22, said:

I would agree that most "Thai restaurants" serve up less than authentic dishes. Seattle, Washington does have a few good places. Seattle was swamped 20 years ago with the Thai food invasion. The famous chef, known in the venacular as McDang remains highly critical of most places in the States. I can remember ordering Somtam in an authentic Thai restaurant, and when the server did not speak Thai, the owner came over to our table. I spoke Lao first ie. sai padaek...she did not understand, so I spoke in Thai ie. sai pla la. Her response:"No one has ever asked for it...it smells!" What a joke. If I was spending more time in my original home, I would open a simple Lao restaurant because the best Thai food is Lao food. Adios amigos.

Maybe one of the reasons why they told you everything was unavailable was to get rid of you because you had no reason to be squawking offensively to the asian owner in Lao bar speak who was probably born and raised in the U.S. to begin with.

Edited by wintermute, 2012-01-24 15:45:21.