"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" > wrote in message
news [...]
> Even though it was just an example, in the case of Thai food, the reason
> most North American Thai food isn't Thai is because it is made by Laotians
> who pass themselves off as Thai. Most farangs don't know the difference,
> anyway (or don't think there's a difference, for that matter) so they
quite
> happily rave about their favourite Thai food which, in fact, isn't even
> Thai.


I became "friends" with the owners of two Thai restaurants, one in Berkeley,
CA, and one in Seattle. I never thought to ask if they were not Thai after
all, but rather Laotian. They said they were from Bangkok, and one took a
trip back to Bangkok when I knew her. I suppose that doesn't mean she
wasn't Laotian though. Waitstaff have greated me in Thai at Thai
restaurants too. What makes you think most restaurants are cooked by
Laotian chefs?

The food I've had at my favorite Thai restaurants in the US tasted basically
just like that I had in Bangkok. Of course, now I hold a less favorable
view of Thai restaurants in the US: They've gone downhill, but more in a
"bad" sense and not necessarily in an inauthentic sense. I haven't eaten in
a Thai restaurant in years.

Peter

[...]