Yup. I mean yup to the part about the two duellists who are both missing my point (or are they and is it just me?), and not yup to your brain, which is wondwrful as well.
On one hand, I see linus’s perspective. There’s a lot to be said for experiencing tradition. On the other, having my colon solely determine my direction in life for the next day or so questions my judgement like when I used to knowingly allow myself to get smashed.
Why thank you sir. I know… It’s like walking on coals siding with someone without offending the other. Well not that dramatic but…
@linus’s irreverence (don’t get mad linus) is a complete crack-up… even when it’s directed at me. But I’ve said this before - IMHO @Chowseeker1999, your reports (and temperament) are the backbone of this blog.
Don’t you guys love when people talk about you like you’re not reading it?
this is true, but i don’t think i’m claiming to be that…staunch? i just thought the ‘how spicy’
question was an interesting phenomenon, and wondered what the earth would be like without it.
it was certainly a lighthearted question, meant as a distraction from more important things like, i don’t
know, usain bolt, simone biles and manchester united’s starting lineup.
since it’s possible the only way i can answer the question satisfactorily – to me, i suppose – is to
acquire the superpower of turning into a thai person and going to thai restaurants and seeing what happens,
i think i’ll just shut my fucking piehole and go back to my couch and my remote control where i belong.
certainly didn’t mean to get anybody all worked up. a thread about luv2eat is not an important moment in history.
Agree on your intent. I’ve already mentioned about your 90%. Without that .9, FTC would suffer La Nina in perpetuity.
As for Bolt, he’s just a bit too flashy and self-idolizing for me. C’mon - he can move his feet faster than anyone else - that’s it. I want to see his ass line up across from Von Miller. What Simone has done is far more impressive to me, and as flexible as she is, she refuses to pat her own back. And Man U? Is soccer really a sport? 
I refuse to acknowledge any activity where diving/flopping is a regular part of a game - more like theatre? Cowards! (Hope was right!)
Thais do seem to possess an innate super power that we mere mortals do not. Ingesting fissile curries measured in half-lifes is not to be taken lightly. I remember attempting such folly for several meals in Thailand. Never again. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I just want to enjoy what I’m eating. Eating food described as “burned like magma going in, through and all the way out” seems more like a futile challenge than enjoyment, but hey - to each…
bolt’s personality doesnt bother me. i guess i dont know much about it or dont care. his accomplishments on the track speak for themselves.
simone is a wonder, no doubt about it. lets see where shes at in 2024.
i dont know who von miller is.
so, you dont like futbol. to each their own; but every game has its flaws, like travelling on every single drive to the basket, or 12 minutes of actual action during a three and a half hour game. and dont get me started on those coach 'staches.
good info on your thai meals. thanks. is possible, maybe, the thai are as diverse in their love of heat as the rest of us?
Yeah, but I think it’s a matter of degrees. The son of a friend lived in Chiang Mai for about five years. He said that Chiang Mai food in general was much more mild than food from Southern Thailand (think Jitlada).
But still, chile is omnipresent in Thailand. So khao soi can be pleasant to Thai folks, but the relatively mild chile kick may be too spicy to many farang eaters in general. Although khao soi is Northern Thai, it is a pretty standard dish throughout Thailand. So adjusting to local preferred spice levels, the “spicy” version in Chiang Mai will probably be lower than the 'spicy" in Phuket, Ko Samui or Yala.
Phuket might be a tourist trap, but having burned out my digestive system there tells me that local Southern Thais (who do eat raw chiles and chile"satay’ as snacks) have no problem laying down the fire on their tongues and still be casual about it.
You’re being overly optimistic, IMHO. When I had the food once a year ago, we ordered mild, and the fish curry was easily one of the spiciest dishes I’ve ever had. Even my partner was ready to tap out (and he has a pretty high tolerance for spice). The very sweet chef informed us that she had already knocked down the spice level considerably from what she herself likes.
I honestly think that 95% of folks ain’t gonna be able to eat the stuff, if you ask for it the way she likes to prep it for herself… I actually appreciate the question of “how spicy do you like it?”
[quote=“paranoidgarliclover, post:129, topic:2295”]
Even my partner was ready to tap out (and he has a pretty high tolerance for spice).
[/quote]That’s it. I’m not goin’.
Fear not: Just learn the word ‘farang’ (foreigner in Thai) when ordering. You’ll find the spice level to be quite pleasant.
Promise? I really do love Thai and have been wanting to go.
nothing wrong with appreciating the q. i was just wondering what life would be like without.
two quick observations:
a) this is totally picking nits. i cop to it. but isnt there a difference between asking for something “the way you like it” and asking for something “the way its supposed to be”? maybe the chef at luv2eat is particularly inclined to heat.
b) i wonder if maybe luv2eat is paricularly hot. like, if u gave the same response to pailin, hoy ka, jitlada etc if you would automatically get something volcanic.
eh, maybe we’ve reached diminishing returns of navel gazing. i have read and seen plenty of info there is lots of thai food that isnt hot. i have experienced it, with little doubt it was “authentically” prepared.
maybe l.a. likes spicy food. maybe im nuts or a pathological liar.
clearly i need to pay more attention when hanging out with my thai brethren and sistren.
Just to make this more complicated - and more funny - let me throw in a new wrinkle to this fascinating discussion.
If one is considering the “I’ll-have-it-the-way-the-chef-likes-it” option, there will be an inherent problem with Love2Eat: there are two fucking chefs and their tolerance for hot food is very different
I know Chef Pla and Fern from being a frequesnt customer.
Fern has told me (when I order the crab curry, or most dishes, “pet pet” or “non-farang style” or how I assume the chef herself likes it) that that spice level is way too hot for her - and she’s the goddamn chef!
Chef Pla, OTOH, is cool with the Game of Thrones, Dragon Slaying, Flame Throwing version.
Now what are you supposed to do???
See what chef is there?
What if both are there? Ummm, “I’ll have it the way the chef who likes it milder likes it…”
exactly my point, as big boy used to say, ciao bob. (see point a above). thats why im leading a violent overthrow of The (thai restaurant) Man.
how is the DISH “supposed” to be made. the ur dish. the DOC version. whats the standard, not the chef’s preference.
you can count me out. i still want to enjoy thai food without having to get an anus transplant.
I will say that, even though my colon took revenge on me the next day in the most horrific way, that curry (I think I actually had it w/ the crab, now that I think about it) was one of the best goddamn things I’ve ever tasted. It truly was.
And that’s my point/question. I think for many people (chefs), “How it’s supposed to be” might be interpreted/misconstrued as “How do you like it yourself” since there presumably isn’t a platonic ideal for any one single dish (and if it’s something that was cooked at home when they were young).
But I understand your point.
For me, part of my fear is based on some Thai home cooking that I had sampled once. Totally delicious, but nearly inedible from the heat (and sour flavor). I’ve always assumed that most Thai people are immune to spice/heat b/c of environmental exposure starting at an early age, but I could be totally wrong about that.
Sorry to intrude but I recall Jazz telling us at our first lunch at Jitlada way back when that while she likes her food at a Jitlada 10 level, Tui (the chef) likes it way milder. So, on the one hand, yes, there’s obviously variation in heat preference among Thais, just as there is in any culture that has very hot food among its cuisines (my parents eat raw green chillies with their dal and rice like it’s nothing; I could never do it); and on a different part of the same hand, it’s also true that there’s a lot of regional variation in these matters (to take another Indian example, Andhra food can be mindblowingly hot; most Gujarati food is very mild and much of it is sweet).
On the other hand, it’s also true that Thai hot is about as hot as it gets and that the average American is not looking for that. So it’s perfectly reasonable for Thai restaurants to ask that question. Keep in mind that Thai Town is not its own enclave in the way that much of the SGV is and so the restaurants probably get far more unsuspecting clientele than your average SGV Sichuan or Hunan place.
Plus I would much rather be asked than have the restaurant make a decision based on their idea of what I might be able to handle.
While I understand the desire to ask the question I think it’s a slightly misplaced one. There rarely is a singular form of how any traditional dish is “supposed to be made”, at least not in terms of something like exactly how hot it is. Different homes will make the same dish with different accents and restaurants and chefs reflect this.
Order no spicy and use the condiment tray.
Most Thai places measure spicy by the spoonfuls of chile. So LOL at you.
Some dishes are meant to be spicy but not meant to destroy the tastebuds and should be eaten with a lot of rice
I am with Linus on this
That’s the one question you should never ask, it’s the perfect time for the sales pitch on dishes they otherwise can’t sell