Eating and Shopping for Food

Welcome to Letters From Thailand, the nifty little newsletter that tells the truth about overseas living, at least most of the time.

Can you speak Thai yet?  I can speak just enough to make Thai people think that it is okay for them to rattle off in Thai at about 100 words per minute, and then I have to say, "Mai Khao Jai" (I don't understand).  Then, they have to try and say it in English. 

What is it like to go shopping for food in Thailand? It's like a visit to the days before supermarkets and grocery stores, if you go to a market.
      In Chiang Mai there are many open-air markets, each with many vendors under one roof.  They may be under a huge tent, or inside a big building, but everyone is in one big room.  They may sell clothing, handbags, and housewares in addition to food.  The food they have in these markets ranges from raw ingredients to food that is already cooked and ready to eat.  There are fruits, such as papaya, oranges, apples, bananas, and pineapples, and vegetables, such as carrots, string beans and spinach.  They also have grilled chicken and fish, and stews and curry dishes.  I don't buy the meat dishes because sometimes they have been sitting around for a while, and I don't have a stove or a microwave to reheat them.  They also have Thai sweets, made from bananas, rice, or coconut milk, and which are not as rich as western desserts.  There is some green stuff I really like, called namprik num.  This is sort of like a salsa, except it is a little bit thicker, and it is very spicy, a lot like Mexican green chile sauce, and it is eaten with sticky rice.

What is sticky rice?  It is a kind of rice very popular in the north and northeast, and it is not fluffy like regular white rice, but rather dense instead.  As the name suggests, it sticks together so that when you grab it, you can hold a clump of it in your fingers and dip it in things.  It is usually eaten with the hands.   

Do you go shopping at more modern places sometimes? Yes, in Chiang Mai  I go to small grocery stores to buy things like bottled water, tea, milk, and so forth.  I have occasionally gone to the big supermarkets, too, and here they have many choices, including a western style salad bar (but with Thai vegetables).  I can pretend I'm in Los Angeles if I want, except that I don't have a refrigerator and I don't have to worry about getting mugged on the way home. 
      If I need fast food, I can go to Dunkin Donuts, Burger King, KFC, Swensens (I go there when I need a fix for a hot fudge sundae) and Seven-Eleven (they have really tasty iced coffee to go).  If I want to go to a mall and shop for clothes, there are a couple of malls with big, modern department stores.  But at all these places, I know I'll pay a lot more than I would at the market. 

Can you get good western food in restaurants?  In a pinch, if I really need some lasagne or some halfway decent pizza, or a club sandwich, I can get that.  But more and more I try to get away from it, and just stick to Thai food.  A lot of restaurants serve western food, but the dishes just aren't authentic.  You may get an omelet but no home fries, or a chicken enchilada that tastes suspiciously like tom yum kung, a Thai soup made from lemongrass.  When I realized I wasn't going to get satisfaction from food, I stopped eating for satisfaction.  Now, I just eat to survive, and I eat cheaper and feel much better anyway.  (I had to come all the way to Thailand to learn this?)
 
So, what are Thai restaurants like?  I've been to traditional Thai places where they have nice decor, live Thai music and dancers.  They may be outdoors, in a nice garden, or alongside a river or a lake.  They serve traditional Thai food, and they may not even have a menu in English.  These places are generally pretty reasonably priced; 150 baht (about six dollars^* ) often covers dinner for two.
      Then there are the restaurants along the river which generally serve farang food, such as hamburgers, as well as Thai food, and have live music.  These places tend to be crowded and noisy, and they are popular with the young trendy Thais as well as with tourists.  Usually they have Thai musicians playing western music, and they are often good, but it's kind of hard to talk while they are playing. 
      Finally, there are the outdoor places that are set up and taken down on the sidewalks every day (or every night).  They have rickety card tables to eat at and plastic stools to sit on.  Cars and motorcycles whiz by on the street, and pedestrians walk right through the middle of their "cafe."  A portable burner on wheels is usually their stove, and they make soup, spicy Thai salad, fried rice, fried noodles, and lots of other dishes.  Prices in these places are usually about 15 baht (60 cents*) per plate. 
      The thing about Thai food is that the cheapest places often make the best food.  It's easy and fast, and you can take in the city and the people while you eat.  It's not like eating French food, where you have to pay for the chef and buy a bottle of wine with dinner.  Relax, your're in Thailand. 

So, do you ever miss America?  I miss some things like being able to walk into a record store and know that they're probably going to have what I'm looking for.  If I think about material things (like Madonna), or technology, then I want to be in California.  But other than that, I'm okay. 

Why did you say "America," instead of the "United States"?  Don't you know that is incorrect to say that, since America also includes Canada, Mexico, Colombia, etc. etc Because that's what all the Thais (and other Asians) call it, and if I say I'm from the United States, they look at me funny and don't understand. Then I say "California," and they light up and say, "Oh, America," and I say "Right."

^* Since this was written, exchange rates have changed; as of Jan 1, 2000, 15 baht = 40 cents.
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Hope you enjoyed this one.  Next time we'll have a quiz, so be sure you read these newsletters carefully. 

A sidewalk restaurant with curious onlooker