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Thai food in you home country (outside LOS)


Brink15

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I am lucky to live in the San Francisco area, where we have all sorts of cuisine available. That said, most of the Thai place really truly suck! For every decent place, there are 5-10 that really bite the ganggreen big one. As for grocery items, we can get almost anything, with the exception of (Thai) fresh fruits.

 

As for keffer lime leaves, you can try buying a packet of seeds next time you are in LOS, plant your own tree and best of luck!

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The following comments are from our member Roppongi who wants this to be posted on his behalf:

 

Thai food in Japan: Excellent authentic fare, IMHO. Been to various from Erawan to an old favorite I'm yet to share with JP1 and UAL875 in sleazy Okubo.

 

Erawan offers the image of Thailand that the Tourism Authority would love to project. Exotic waitresses, decor etc., but I have one major gripe with the place. They make everyone wait in the foyer 10-15 minutes even when the place is only half full. Pisses me off and I let the manager know it once and he must have said something to the staff as I got the red carpet treatment last time.

 

The place we go to in Akasaka (what is it's name?) is a no frills affair that is closer to the real Thailand. It has a sister restaurant in Takadanobaba which I regularly visit. Love their Pla Lard Prik (deep fried fish with sweet and spicy sauce) which at 850 yen is superb value.

 

At street level in Okubo which is infamous for Thai freelancers lies the new improved collection of Asian street stalls under one roof. The young Mama san at this mom and pop place even sent me a New Year greeting card (thankfully to work!)

 

As for supermarkets, there are three places in Okubo that seem to offer everything.

 

One noticeable difference in Thai food menus in Japan compared to Oz is the variations of noodle dishes and the lack of "Curry Puffs" in Japan, despite their popularity in the West.

 

Getting hungry...

 

ROPPONGI

 

 

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When traveling through the US with the missus (we live in LOS), she can usually get through two or three weeks without Thai food. After that, though, it seems to become a thing of urgency.

 

Most of the Thai food we have eaten in the US is utter crap. At one place in Connecticut, the missus was so upset that she berated the owners in a rather loud voice that they were a disgrace to their country. They looked sheepish, but could only say "that's the way the farangs like it" in their defense. BULLLSHIT!

 

We have so far found only one place in the US that seemed 100% authentic, and it wasn't even a restaurant but a small supermarket in Houston run by people from Nong Khai. At their deli counter, they sell somtam made to order. Poo, pla ra, the works. And it is the real deal. Also kaeng normai that the missus says is better than any she's had in Bangkok.

 

In Hong Kong many years ago, we ate at a little dive of a place near the old Kai Tak airport that was quite authentic. There was a street that was kind of like a "Thai" street, with a number of restaurants and shops. The restaurant I'm talking about was the lowest-rent of all of them, but it was very good.

 

Otherwise, the only satisfying Thai food we've had outside of Thailand was in Paris, at a great place called Ruen Thai. Although we'd sworn off Thai food outside of Thailand, we got caught starving in a rain storm and found ourselves standing outside this place, so shrugged and said "what the hell". It was a real find: excellent.

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Isn't it amazing how an area can have great Chinese, killer Japanese, but yet have lousy Thai food? We have some really decent Japanese restaurants and some very good Vietnamese, but the Chinese food here is abysmal and the Thai only slightly better.

 

Oh well. Tomorrow I'm heading to one of the very few, maybe the only, really good Chinese places for some of the best dim sum I've had anywhere. "Yum, yum dim sum."

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Says Old Hippie:

...most of the Thai place really truly suck! For every decent place, there are 5-10 that really bite the ganggreen big one. As for grocery items, we can get almost anything...

 

Seattle: same-same.

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I first got infatuated with tom kha gai in huahin where I had one of the best versions ever & learnt how to order it in thai :angel:

The great thing about many popular thai disches like this is that every chefs soup is slightly different than others & definately different from mine! Unfortunately some less than desireable versions exists too, but usually I'm more than delighted of the serving. The color of the soup can vary from almost clear over thick white to almost red & I just love the reddish version which some great restaurents serve up :p

Noodle soups is the dishes it took me longest to appreciate & I still can't name a single dish or even try to make it succesfully myself, but fried noodles are a bit easier...

Bye

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