Thai Foodcast

Thais are one of those happy peoples that live to eat. Food is an incredibly important part of the day, and missing a meal is almost unthinkable. When someone in the west says "I'm hungry" it's more or less an update on their general status, in the same way you would say "I'm tired", or "I'm feeling a bit under the weather". In Thai, "I'm hungry" carries an urgency and a call to action in its connotation, meaning "I'm going to eat, and soon."

Every culture has its own specific norms about eating. It is such an important part of everyday life, that a myriad rules and rituals develop around meals.

Thai food is served communally, meaning that when a bunch of Thai people get together, they don't order individual dishes like we do in the west. Each person orders one dish and all the dishes are shared between everyone. It's a sign of sophistication to listen to what other people order and then order something that compliments the other dishes. At the end of the process you should have several dishes that make up an entire harmonious meal.

It's considered rude, and somewhat unhygienic, to use your own spoon to take food off of a communal plate and put it on your own. Always use the serving spoon provided to dish food from the communal plate, there will be one for each dish.

If you're eating with Thais it won't take long to realize that Thai people abhor an empty glass. As soon as your glass is empty, or a even a bit low, someone will fill it up for you, most of the time without asking, as a courtesy. If you're filled to the brim and not thirsty anymore, don't finish your drink. Leave the glass full and no one will try to top it off for you. This also applies to alcohol.

There is no real concept of courses (appetizer, soup, salad, main etc.) in Thai food, generally everything is brought to the table as soon as it's hot out of the kitchen. Except dessert which is kept till last.

The idea of splitting up the bill at the end of the meal and each person paying for their own part is seen as very rude. They even have a slightly derogatory phrase for it: “American-share”. Generally the most senior person at the table, in terms of age, wealth, or status pays the whole bill. For this they gain face and respect in the eyes of the people at the table in return.