Guest Posted July 1, 2001 Report Share Posted July 1, 2001 Ok guys don't flame me for what may sound like a stupid newbie question, but I couldn't find any mention of this subject on either the food or the health boards. I want to know your thoughts on the safety of eating food from the street vendors. I know many of you eat it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It just doesn't look sanitary. I watched a lady just outside of NEP washing dishes in a large bowl and I just about blew chunks right there. (Sadly, it looked like somebody else had already done it in the large bowl she was using to clean the dishes). That can't be good for the stomach. Also, outside of NEP (honestly I do travel beyond soi 4) I noticed a vendor with uncooked chicken skewers piled nearly a foot high. It appears to sit there for hours in the 90 degree heat. Apparently, cooking the chicken must do the trick but it sounds iffy to me. I read many rave reviews about the taste of street food, but I'd like to know if there are just as many people complaining (but not posting) about the two days they spent afterward bowing before the porcelain god. Your comments are appreciated. quote: quote: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted July 1, 2001 Report Share Posted July 1, 2001 quote: Originally posted by TurnerBrown: It just doesn't look sanitary. quote: Do NOT look in the restaurant kitchen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Kev Posted July 1, 2001 Report Share Posted July 1, 2001 Once I got over initial hesitations, BKK street food became a favorite of mine. Very tastee and very cheap! I'll find a food cart that looks good and start pointing at variety of things. For 200 Bt., usually end up with enough grub to spread over entire table and feed me and half dozen bar sweeties! There used to be woman parked just outside Clinton Plaza with whole fish as good as any seafood I've EVER eaten. She seems to have disappeared lately, though. Just use common sense. Stay away from chicken you can tell has been sitting out too long and anything that looks like vomit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2001 Report Share Posted July 1, 2001 TurnerBrown Well there's folks that keep their houses and environments sterile, and then they catch a cold if they open a window. Then there's folks like me who, (with some notable episodic exceptions) have a cast iron belly, gained in no small part from eating dirt, snails and worms when young. Ideally, don't eat uncooked food, (but then there's Goon Che Nam Pla), and when on the street, look for a vendor doing a roaring trade, the food'll have a lower sitting time. If you haven't had Thai food before, be aware that some ingredients (Pla Lah for example) may contain organisms your digestive tract may not have encountered before. But I reckon that this is analagous to eating acidilopodoodous (or whatever the correct term is) yoghurt. A few new bugs'll stimulate your immune system. Could be handy that. Ah but I begin to wander... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thalenoi Posted July 1, 2001 Report Share Posted July 1, 2001 Turnerbrown, I am still alive and well, I must be a foodstall reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 2, 2001 Report Share Posted July 2, 2001 Any food left open by a busy street is bound to be full of heavy metals from car exhaust(mercury,lead etc). They accumulate in the body and over time can cause serious/fatal diseases. Bon appetit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 2, 2001 Report Share Posted July 2, 2001 When I'm in LOS I usually eat about twice a day from foodstalls and I've never got sick from it yet. I'm a subscriber to the coss school of thought on this one too. As Shyegye said the restaurant kitchens are probably no more hygenic than the foodstalls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 2, 2001 Report Share Posted July 2, 2001 Don't worry about it TurnerBrown - you haven't really eaten here until you've tried the Khao Phat Salmonella or the Botulism Lad Khao! Aroi mak!!! p.s. Don't forget to wash it down with a nice nam cha Giardia <slurp slurp squirt squirt> Arai wa [ July 02, 2001: Message edited by: Arai wa ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakkabon Posted July 2, 2001 Report Share Posted July 2, 2001 mmm I have bought gai yang from a street cart before gone home to munch into it very pissed as well I add, only to have my tilac stop me from eating it after she showed me it was riddled in maggots, and I just thought it was rice...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falang Posted July 3, 2001 Report Share Posted July 3, 2001 I go to LOS every year since 5 years, always eat in the street stall and never catch anything. The way I choose the stall, I check where the thais go to eat and I go there. For your first experience, go with a bar girl they know where to go and what to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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