Quote: (10-07-2014 11:15 PM)RioNomad Wrote:
I never said that Thai soup is garbage. Who wrote that?
But Thai street food is garbage, even if it Is soup. Low calories doesn't mean it's healthy. It can taste really good, but it is made with low quality ingredients. Shit oils, MSG, lots of added sugars, low protein and high amounts of simple carbohydrates. Getting sick isn't much of an issue.
I still eat it sometimes, but it you care about your health and how you feel, you dont want to live off of it.
But we are getting off subject. I'm not saying dont eat it, I'm saying eating 30 baht street food for all of your meals is no way to live, at least long term. So yes, you can do it and you wont die, but it isnt much of a lifestyle. People get all bent out of shape because they love street food, but that's mostly people who have never lived here. Street food tastes great often times and I like eating it occasionally, but it's unhealthy and made with low quality ingredients so I don't want to live off of the stuff.
This is spot on. I did notice that I felt very lean and light my first week in bkk, but after 5 days of street food it got old real quick.
There are proper sit down restaurants in any city. Navigating them or finding a good one is another matter. In Bangkok I highly recommend Som Tam Boo Maa. Top notch Isaan food.
You'll learn to sniff out good/bad restaurants. The first indicator obviously is if there are non-Thai dishes on the menu. Skip that place. Second indicator is if the menu is too big. Skip that place too. Third indicator is if they're serving regional dishes that are from all over the place: Som tam, Yam wunsen, laap ped, pad kee mao, and massaman curry all on the same menu? Skip it.
You want to find a restaurant that specializes in something. Some places do curry over rice, these are great. Some places specialize in seafood. Some places specialize in noodles and noodle soups. These are the places to hit.
This guy is a bit of a nutjob, but his intel is pretty great: http://www.eatingthaifood.com/blog/
Edit: wanted to add that my digestion has never felt better. Not sure why. I think everyone has different gut health. I've now eaten in two of the most notoriously bad parts of the world for food safety (SEA and Mexico) that people complain about, and walked out unscathed. By contrast, my two trips to Paris left me on my deathbed both times.