Thai Restaurants in the UK

[PeteC]

Big Boy, when you catch up with this one, you'll have to tell us if your friend "Daeng" opened a Thai restaurant in London? If so, how is it?

The general question is how do the Thai restaurants in the UK stack up to restaurants here? Seems like a silly question but there are many in the States that rank right up with the best Bangkok has to offer.

However, there are many also who try to "americanize" the Thai food which results in disaster. Same in the UK?

A small example, there is a restaurtant over here in Pattaya named Chow Soy English Chinese Food. I don't know what "English" Chinese food is, and I'm really a bit afraid to find out! Pete

[DawnHRD]

Chop Suey, Chow Mein, Singapore fried noodles & chips & curry sauce available with everything!!!

[chelsea]

As I have not been back to the UK for 25 years, I cannot comment on the ones there, but in Australia, it is one of the most popular foods going around.

Although in my town in the UK where I come from (Harpenden) there are now two Thai places operating, I would imagine that the more people come out to Thailand, the more demand there will be to have them, and you will see them popping up all over the place.

Only problem I find, is that like most of the places I went to in HH (and other major resorts), they seem to lack a lot of the hotness that you get in places that are not so commercialised.

I have been to Ao Nang, Krabi, Koh Lanta, Phuket, Phi Phi Island and Koh Samui, and only on Koh Lanta did I sample anything like what I imagined Thailand food to be like in relation to its hotness without having to request it.

In HH, all of the resteraunts that are on the streets around the Hilton were very tourist type Thai food, but did find the ones in Poolsuk Road (by the temple) to be very good and the nearest thing to what I imagine local Thai food to taste like. I was there only a few weeks ago and were the only places that I ate when I wanted Thai food.

In Australia, there are loads of very small and medium size places popping up all over the place, but there are also some very good upmarket ones in most of the capital cities (in particular Sydney, Melbourne & Perth). You tend to pay a lot of money for the food there, but the ones that I have been to, you could not fault the quality of the food.

Who knows, if Thai Food gets to be that popular, it may remove some of the horrendous Chinese take aways that seem to have taken over every street corner in the UK.

[lomuamart]

As Chelsea has said, a lot of the Thai restaurants in London do good food, but they're not 100% authentic. Then again, I've been to some, in more unlikely places that do great grub.
For instance, The Blue Elephant in Fulham is really up-market - I went once years ago for my birthday (guess who was paying) and was horrified when I got the bill. It was correct. The food was mediocre.
Up until a couple of years ago, there was a small cafe at the back of Waterloo that served simple Thai food (fried rice, fried noodles and noodle soups) that was excellent and packed every lunchtime with office workers and labourers.
A chap I used to go to school with went out to BKK to teach, married a Thai lady and returned to Lincolnshire to open a Thai takeaway. The food I had from there again was excellent and they've been so sucessful that they've opened a proper restaurant now with 100 covers. Havn't eaten there yet.
Probably the biggest surprise was up near my brother's in Northants at Watford Gap. Superb food and the laab moo I ordered was spot on as I did ask for it to be made authentically.
I suppose that many Thai restaurants will tone down the dishes as they're worried about making it too hot or pungent. But if you ask for it "Thai style" and give 'em a bit of the lingo, I'm sure you'll be rewarded with the real fare. All the ingredients are readily available over there now anyway.
And Thai food is the fastest growing cuisine in the UK now - at least it was a couple of years ago.

[darwinian]

Ihe best Thai restaurant in London in my opinion is Esaarn on Uxbrige Road .
It is used by the Embassy staff,Thai diplomats and even by Thai Royalty.
It has an Isaan bias but has excellent standard Thai specialities.It is no more expensive than the average London Thai restaurant. Their Laab Duck is out of this world.I have never found a Thai restaurant in Bangkok to match it. I think that the superperior quality of the meat available in London enables a top chef to achieve better results than she could at home.

[Big Boy]

prcscct wrote:

Big Boy, when you catch up with this one, you'll have to tell us if your friend "Daeng" opened a Thai restaurant in London? If so, how is it?

Yes it is a Thai restaurant, but they also do a few other things such as steaks for those who don't like Thai food.

There are many Thai restaurants here in the UK - mostly overpriced, service mediocre with westernised versions of Thai food. However, as with Thailand, standards tend to vary depending upon who is cooking the food. As an example of the authenticity of the Thai restaurants I've seen here, I've only ever found one where they have sticky rice on the menu - it can be quite amusing watching a green Farang (is that the right word when talking about an Englishman in England?) trying to eat his/her sticky rice with a knife and fork.

Personally, I try avoid the Thai restaurants in the area where I live. My wife is such a good cook, most of the restaurant owners/staff tend to visit us to get some of her authentic Thai/Isaan food. Many people have often suggested that she should start her own restaurant - 3 reasons that we haven't:

1. I don't like the hours that restaurants have to work.

2. I don't think my wife would actually do 6/7 days a week ie she would start off very keen, but I know her interest would wain very soon. Thai cooking is a social thing to real Thais, not a job.

3. It would be too much hassle.

Several restaurant owners have tried to recruit my wife's cooking skills for obvious reasons. I have always restisted her acceptance because of point 2; but more importantly, they only want to pay Thai wages - well below the minimum wage here in the UK.

[H2ODunc]

Hi all, I went out wjth some friends Id met in Thailand last week to a place in Camden. SHOCK!!!! looking at the menu was shocking. £7 for som tam YEE GODS tom yung kung £8.50 roll on Dec when I can get back and get some good well priced food again. The bill for 4 with 3 of us drinking ( small singha at £3 ) came to £90 £100 with the tip. The food was i would class as average but the service was excellent and it gave me a chance to practice my Thai. I've also noticed a lot of bars now seem to have got themselves a Thai cook so everywhere you look you can get a pint and pad thai again though expensive. But as London has just officially been voted the most expensive place in the world to live it is only to be expected. As said roll on Dec. PS have tried everywhere to see if I can get Chang but to no avail. Youd think as they sponsor everton you would be able to aahh well mai pen rai

[PeteC]

Many people have often suggested that she should start her own restaurant - 3 reasons that we haven't:

1. I don't like the hours that restaurants have to work.

2. I don't think my wife would actually do 6/7 days a week ie she would start off very keen, but I know her interest would wain very soon. Thai cooking is a social thing to real Thais, not a job.

3. It would be too much hassle.

Several restaurant owners have tried to recruit my wife's cooking skills for obvious reasons. I have always restisted her acceptance because of point 2; but more importantly, they only want to pay Thai wages - well below the minimum wage here in the UK.

Just a suggestion, perhaps consider her preparing a half dozen of her specialities at home, and sell them ready to serve to the restaurants that are trying to recruit her. Look at their menus on what they charge their customers per portion, and charge them about 60% of that per portion.

Not a bad profit for the restuarant as they are doing nothing but serving it, and perhaps a good little income for her. She stays at home and works to her schedule. Pete

[richard]

My daughter lives in Earlsfield close to Wimbledon. On the high street there is a Thai deli run by Thais. There produce or at least fruit, vegetables and spices are flown over weekly from Bangkok. They are not freeze dried and therefore retain their flavour. Down the street there is a Thai restuarant run by the same people and it is excellent.

The Thai boss flys over to BK frequently to check on the suppliers

When I took my Thai girl over there, after trying a few other establishments she started using the deli and pronounced their produce to be excellent

[Big Boy]

H2ODunc wrote:

have tried everywhere to see if I can get Chang but to no avail

You can buy it in the oriental supermarket in Bath, which specialises in Thai food. However they are supplied by a wholesaler from Nottingham, so its probabaly missing the London market.

prcscct wrote:

consider her preparing a half dozen of her specialities at home, and sell them ready to serve to the restaurants that are trying to recruit her. Look at their menus on what they charge their customers per portion, and charge them about 60% of that per portion

It just wouldn't work - the greed factor would cut in. Most restaurant owners are not paying legal wages, and certainly very little is declared. Most Farang punters in the UK would not know whether they are being served a decent Thai meal, or a pile of rubbish. Therefore, they don't have to employ the best cooks at higher prices.

Knowing a lot of the Thai Restaurant trade in the Bristol/Bath area, I can assure you that it is rare that they will serve good authentic Thai cooking.

[vancer]

Myself & my gal Helen can pay testiment to Big Boys good Ladys' cooking skill.

They very kindly invited the two of us to their home just outside Bristol where we spent a great evening discussing Hua Hin life and of course.....eating...

Many thanks again to the two of you.

Regards
Vance & Helen - Bristol UK

[Jaime]

Knowing a lot of the Thai Restaurant trade in the Bristol/Bath area, I can assure you that it is rare that they will serve good authentic Thai cooking.

But what exactly is that - and 'good' by whose reckoning? I suppose it depends on what you mean by authentic Thai cooking. The home cooking I get served up North is unrecognisable from the standard dishes that are served in Hua Hin, let alone in Britain! I honestly don't think serving them up in a UK restaurant would result in a successful business, not because the cooking skill is low but because the food is just so alien, of unappetising appearance (vegetables and bones bobbing in bowls of what looks like dirty fish tank water come to mind) and, well frankly, extreme! Does anyone think that som tam bplah la or nam bpoo is going to be the next chicken tikka massala? - And that is at the less extreme end of the spectrum.

[Big Boy]

Jaime,

But what exactly is that - and 'good' by whose reckoning? I suppose it depends on what you mean by authentic Thai cooking. The home cooking I get served up North is unrecognisable from the standard dishes that are served in Hua Hin, let alone in Britain!

Firstly let me clarify my understanding of the difference:

Isaan cooking is my understanding of the home cooking that you get served up North. However, I accept that you may well be eating outside of Isaan, but I would expect it to be similar. It is usually quite unpallatable for many Farangs, and nearly always extremely spicy. However, having said that, I do know many Farangs in the UK that can stomach it - I am not one of them. Most of the Thai (Isaan) visitors we get at home, come because of my wife's reputation of being able to prepare an authentic meal, and yes, if its purely for Thais, she will leave the bones or chicken's feet bobbing about in the bowls. She will also adapt the same meal to Farang (I'm always uneasy about using that term when talking about English people in England)visitors tastes by using best cuts of meat etc. I agree, I don't believe serving this food commercially in the UK would be very successful.

Thai cooking is the food that tends to be served in Thailand in restaurants where there is likely to be a Farang clientele. It still has a flavour that we associate with Thai food, but I doubt whether you would see this food being served in the average Thai home.

When I said

There are many Thai restaurants here in the UK - mostly overpriced, service mediocre with westernised versions of Thai food. However, as with Thailand, standards tend to vary depending upon who is cooking the food.

I was trying to say that very few restaurants serve food to the same standards that I would expect to find in Thailand. Very often, rather than use authentic ingredients, restaurants cut corners and use ingredients that do not produce the 'Thai' taste.

[richard]

Hey guys,

I think it's variable

I have a house, wife and extensive family 80 kms north of Khon Kaen

I've eaten everything. Frog,snake,insects,goat,dog,turtle, fish (still alive), beef (uncooked) and of course sticky rice. Washed down with real Thai whisky

I mix it with a balance of farang food and have so far survived. Needless to say I get a bollocking from the missus saying I have a farag stomach not a Thai stomach

Some of it is unpalatable but I participate to show manners as I'm normally invited to partake

When in Rome............. but don't overdo it

[Big Boy]

Richard wrote:

I've eaten everything. Frog,snake,insects,goat,dog,turtle, fish (still alive), beef (uncooked) and of course sticky rice. Washed down with real Thai whisky

There's no wonder you're pining for Roast Beef & Yourkshire Pudding and Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas.