Robotic Taster Will Judge 'Real Thai Food'

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Robotic Taster Will Judge 'Real Thai Food'

Posted by timothy on Tuesday September 30, 2014 @01:22AM from the what-about-best-barbecue? dept.

HughPickens.com (3830033) writes The NYT reports that Thailand's former prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra repeatedly encountered a distressing problem while traveling the world: bad Thai food. Too often, she found, the meals she sampled at Thai restaurants abroad were unworthy of the name, too bland to be called genuine Thai cooking. The problem bothered her enough to raise it at a cabinet meeting. Even though her political party has since been thrown out of office, in a May military coup, the Thai government is unveiling its project to standardize the art of Thai food using a robot. The government-financed Thai Delicious Committee, which oversaw the development of the machine, describes it as "an intelligent robot that measures smell and taste in food ingredients through sensor technology in order to measure taste like a food critic." Thailand's National Innovation Agency has spent about $100,000 to develop the e-delicious machine. The e-delicious machine has 10 sensors that measure smell and taste, generating a unique fingerprint (signature) for each sample of food that passes its digital maw. Generally with electronic tasting, there are electronic sensors that work just like the taste buds on your tongue, measuring the quantity of various taste-giving compounds, acidity, etc. While these electronic sensors can't actually tell you how something tastes — that's a very subjective, human thing — they are very good at comparing two foods scientifically. Meanwhile at a tiny food stall along one of Bangkok's traffic-clogged boulevards, Thaweekiat Nimmalairatana, questioned the necessity of a robatic taster. "I use my tongue to test if it's delicious or not," said Nimmalairatana. "I think the government should consider using a human to gauge authenticity." Nakah Thawichawatt, who runs a business producing herbal supplements, has a vision for the machine that he says will take the next step in the digitization of our lives. The so-called e-delicious tasting machine would produce a digital signature of food at a particular restaurant. Consumers would then indicate their preferences on an app for mobile phones. The app would match consumers with their favorite tastes at other restaurants that participate in the program. "It's just like pressing 'like,' " says Thawichawatt. "You rate the food. Then we will know that you love that taste."

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I measure taste like a food critic by kruach+aum · 2014-09-30 01:25 · Score: 1

but that doesn't mean I can distinguish thai food from vietnamese food any way but linguistically.
1. Re:I measure taste like a food critic by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 01:30 · Score: 0
  
  So are these foreign thai places actually "bland" or is "real" thai food simply overly spiced?
2. Re:I measure taste like a food critic by hawkinspeter · 2014-09-30 02:49 · Score: 2
  
  Real Thai food is very spicy as the Thais love their chilis. I like my food spicy, but when you ask for Thai food "local style" (as opposed to the tourist food that is a lot milder), you get a VERY hot dish.
  
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  You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
3. Re:I measure taste like a food critic by jrumney · 2014-09-30 03:20 · Score: 1
  
  The foreign places are bland because they use curry paste from a jar. About all you can taste is MSG and chilli power. Genuine Thai food uses fresh herbs and spices to get the flavour.
4. Re:I measure taste like a food critic by rwa2 · 2014-09-30 04:47 · Score: 2
  
  Real Thai food has a strong balance of all flavors. I've never seen a good use of radar charts in engineering, but I think they'd be perfectly suited for assessing good Thai food which would have components to fill out the entire spectrum of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, spicy, savory, crunchy, chewy, etc. in a similar way that good Japanese food tries to throw in something of each primary color when arranging a dish.
  As a case study, I present a common northern Thai appetizer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M... , which illustrates this simply and perfectly, and is even presented like a radar chart. You combine each of the fresh and basic ingredients in roughly equal proportions to contribute to the package:
  * sweet tamarind sauce for tang and to provide moisture
  * sliced bird's eye peppers for sharp heat
  * lime wedges (with rinds) for sour and bitter
  * peanuts and fried coconuts to provide just enough crunch and crisp
  * onion for some tear-inducing fumes
  * ginger for some zing
  * shrimp for chewy
  * leaf to hold it all together
  So I think a the tasting robot is a great start at characterizing the spectrum of flavor and texture and coming out with a signature of what kind of foods is more "Thai-like" than others, similar to how Pandora or whatever creates musical signatures to categorize sounds. Won't replace a human, but will help codify the process and bring you "close enough" to finding more of what you want.
  Tourists focus on the spicy stuff, probably because that's the flavor they're least accustomed to. When Thai restaurants open in the US, they tone down the spice and everything else, and crank up the sugar and syrup, because, well, that's what americans are most dull to. Pad Thai, the staple of americanized thai cooking, is rarely eaten by natives in Thailand.
  Another interesting cultural point... Western cooking expects the chef to have seasoned the dish to taste, and the cook would tend to get offended if you drown their dishes in salt / pepper or condiments like ketchup. In Thailand, however, the condiments are referred to as "krueng therm" (literally "engine fillup") and come with a wide variety of fixins... salt , pepper, sugar, sriracha, soy sauce, "orange" sauce with peppers, peppers in lime juice, crushed peanuts, etc. (GIS for "Thai condiments caddy). So back to the radar chart, the condiments are provided to help you push each spectrum and "fill out" the chart to as wide as you can handle.
5. Re:I measure taste like a food critic by Dahan · 2014-09-30 05:12 · Score: 1
  
  "krueng therm" (literally "engine fillup")
  While "engine" is one possible translation of "khrueang", that's not the sense that's being used in "khrueang toem". There, "khreuang" means "ingredient" or "item" (sense 2 at this dictionary)--you wouldn't literally translate "khrueang duem" (beverage) as "engine drink", right? :) So, a better literal translation of "khrueang toem" is "additional ingredient".
6. Re:I measure taste like a food critic by parkinglot777 · 2014-09-30 06:41 · Score: 2
  
  leaf to hold it all together
  Not really. The flavor of the leave is mild but helps your taste bud and eases the spiciness as well.
  As the GP said, real Thai food has strong balance; however, it also depends on where you get the food. Each region has different preferable taste. Normally, Northern part tends to be mild to medium spicy hot, Eastern part is medium to hot, the Central part is mild, and the Southern part is medium to very hot.
  I guess it is the reputation that Thai food has to associate with peanuts and/or coconut. This is NOT TRUE especially peanut. Most Thai dish does not contain peanuts. Many does not contain coconut and peanuts. I guess the reputation comes from curry dishes (most of them contain coconut but not all types). For peanuts, I guess it is from Pad Thai (but I never order it with peanuts). By the way, Sriracha is NOT a traditional seasoning in Thai but rather a brand name of hot source that makes its name to the west. They don't usually use it in Thailand.
  
  "krueng therm" (literally "engine fillup")
  a better literal translation of "khrueang toem" is "additional ingredient"
  I had trouble for a while trying to figure out the word "Krueng therm." As the parent post said, "Krueng" can be "engine" or "ingredient," but using the word alone will not give you a clear meaning like that! In Thai, the word does not have a complete meaning until you put it in a context. However, it gives you a sense of something that usually has more than one thing involved, and the word is a noun. The word "therm" or "toem," if I guess correctly, means to fill or to add. However, no Thai people would ever use these 2 words together. Thai people either use "Krueng Proong Ros" ("Proong Ros" means to season food) in a formal way. As you see, the word "Krueng" is in there to indicate the word as a noun. Or another word that Thai people would use is "Puang Prick." The first word means a bunch of (normally you would see 4 different kinds of seasoning). The second word means chilli (which indicates some if not all of them contains chilli as an ingredient). I know that some Westerners would want to make fun of the word, so go ahead. If you don't know, the "F" word in English is actually a type of vegetable in Thai, so go figure.
7. Re:I measure taste like a food critic by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 07:12 · Score: 0
  
  That's weird because the two cuisines are overall quite different. Are you sure you ever had authentic samples?
8. Re:I measure taste like a food critic by rwa2 · 2014-09-30 08:09 · Score: 1
  
  Thanks to Dahan for the link to a good thai dictionary! Maybe the phrase I used was just a colloquialism my family uses in Bangkok... I know I've used it to ask for the condiments carousel in many Thai restaurants all over, though. And yes, sriracha isn't common in Thai restaurants, I couldn't remember the name of the "red stuff" at the time, I guess it's just called "garlic chili sauce"
  The engine/ingredients part wasn't as interesting as the "fillup" part, though... it makes it sound like the dish isn't complete without it.
  http://www.thai-language.com/i...
  Contrasting that with the western thought that additional seasoning is entirely optional, or that you'd even insult the chef by using it.
9. Re:I measure taste like a food critic by Taco+Cowboy · 2014-09-30 11:13 · Score: 1
  
  So are these foreign thai places actually "bland" or is "real" thai food simply overly spiced?
  
  While I do not know how you would define that "overly" in the "overly spiced" description of yours, real Thai food (and yes, I have been to Thailand many times on business trips) are certainly much more tasty than what you get from those "Thai Restaurants" on your main street in Europe or America
  I have great doubt that the robot could do a decent job identifying a real tasty Thai food from a bad one
  Sure, the bot can judge the level of spiciness / sourness / sweetness by measuring the level of glucose / acid / capsaicinoids, but that still doesn't mean it can ascertain how tasty the food is
  
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10. Re:I measure taste like a food critic by mjwx · 2014-09-30 12:24 · Score: 1
  
  Real Thai food is very spicy as the Thais love their chilis. I like my food spicy, but when you ask for Thai food "local style" (as opposed to the tourist food that is a lot milder), you get a VERY hot dish.
  Not all Thai food is spicy but very few dishes are bland and tasteless. If you've ever been to Thailand and tasted proper Thai food you'd quickly have learned that the muck that gets passed off at Thai food in western countries is nothing like the real thing. Much like proper Chinese food, it's westernised and made bland. Often in Australia Thai restaurants aren't even run by Thais.
  
  when you ask for Thai food "local style" (as opposed to the tourist food that is a lot milder), you get a VERY hot dish.
  The best way is to ask in Thai, "Phet" means spicy, "Phet mak" is very spicy and "Phet mak mak" is very very spicy. For those of you with weak stomachs "Mai Phet" is not spicy.
  
  A quick note on the Thai language, it's a tonal language so you might want to hear how they're spoken before practising yourself.
  
  --
  Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Misread by zildgulf · 2014-09-30 01:28 · Score: 2, Funny

I misread the phrase "Thailand's National Innovation Agency has spent about $100,000 to develop the e-delicious machine" as "Thailand's National Innovation Agency has spent about $100,000 to develop the ridiculous machine".
1. Re:Misread by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:13 · Score: 1
  
  wow, did you come up with that comeback all by yourself? it's so original and detached. makes you feel better about yourself, too.
2. Re:Misread by pkinetics · 2014-09-30 08:11 · Score: 1
  
  A taste bud to nowhere boondoggle
Moron by slashmydots · 2014-09-30 01:30 · Score: 0

Not everyone else in the world dumps pounds of pepper into a dish to make it "less bland." In fact, no professional chefs do that. Anyone who does that to Gordon Ramsey on Hell's Kitchen certainly hears his opinion on it.
1. Re:Moron by CastrTroy · 2014-09-30 02:02 · Score: 1
  
  That's fine if they want to take some of the spice out to appeal to local people, but they should at least add something else to account for the lost flavour. I've been to too many Indian, Thai, and other restaurants that serve food which is very bland because they didn't add enough spice, which would be present in the traditional dish, and didn't add any additional ingredients to make it taste good. Also, there's a certain expectation that goes along with calling a dish by a specific name. If I order chicken vindaloo, jerk chicken, jambalya, or pad prik khing, I expect it to be spicy. Serving something that isn't spicy means you are serving me some other dish.
  
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  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
2. Re:Moron by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:15 · Score: 0
  
  In fact, no professional chefs do that.
  I have two questions about that remark:
  1) Are you sure that's true everywhere, even in Thailand? I'd think that if someone went to Thailand and paid to try their food, they would consider it to be extremely unprofessional, and maybe even fraudulent, for the cook to remove the local spices. Might as well eat at the Bangkok McDonalds.
  2) What about amateur chefs (i.e. the best cooks on the planet)?
  One thing mid-westerners (and for some reason I think you might be one of those -- are you from Iowa?) might not understand is that chile/chillies/pepper aren't just a heat thing; they're a flavor thing too. (Try to imagine New Mexican food without the chile flavor, for example. It'd taste completely different than the real thing.)
  When you get around to "stunt peppers" like ghost and all the silly extracts people make from them, sure, it's borderline-lame and doesn't help the taste. (And yet even then it can sometimes be put to good use, but you have to use it very sparingly.) But that's a corner case within the chile world.
3. Re:Moron by king+neckbeard · 2014-09-30 02:31 · Score: 1
  
  Well if Gordon Ramsey does it, that must be definitive. He has, after all, opened several well regarded Thai restaurants before. Oh wait, he didn't. Perhaps you should recognize that different cultures have different perspectives on food, and that that diversity is what makes eating food from different cultures interesting.
  
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4. Re:Moron by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:34 · Score: 0
  
  That's fine if they want to take some of the spice out to appeal to local people, but they should at least add something else to account for the lost flavour
  Some people forget that capsaicin does not have any flavour, itself, and it's important to distinguish between "spicy-flavourful" and "spicy-fire." If you're measuring the taste of your Thai food by how much it hurts, you're doing it wrong. Interesting: children don't really use taste/smell, so much as texture in determining food preference, so the composition of food puree or extract is only a small part of "good food."
5. Re:Moron by Whorhay · 2014-09-30 02:52 · Score: 1
  
  It may be my imagination or something, but I've noticed that a number of foods that I like have a better taste when they are also spicy hot. Is it possible that capsicacin oil acts in a similiar way to salt in enhancing flavors? For example I order pad thai mild for my children and hot for myself. On occasion I'll eat their leftovers for lunch and it always seems that the flavor isn't nearly as strong as mine was.
6. Re:Moron by kilodelta · 2014-09-30 02:56 · Score: 1
  
  Luckily I live in a city that understands spiciness. For example there are several Indian restaurants - all have great food. Then there's a Carribean restaurant near me - the jerk spicing is excellent.
7. Re:Moron by hawkinspeter · 2014-09-30 02:57 · Score: 1
  
  Thailand has loads of different types of chilis all with subtly different flavours. It's not just about the heat (although it's an important factor), but about the flavour as well.
  
  --
  You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
8. Re:Moron by slashmydots · 2014-09-30 03:02 · Score: 0
  
  See what's happening here is your brain and your tongue are broken. Peppers developed a do-not-eat-me defense of making them burn your mouth so you wouldn't eat them. All animals including moderately intelligent apes stay away from peppers because of this but not you. You should have your brain checked out.
9. Re:Moron by Minwee · 2014-09-30 03:03 · Score: 1
  
  Perhaps you should recognize that different cultures have different perspectives on food, and that that diversity is what makes eating food from different cultures interesting.
  Or, instead, you could develop a robot which will allow you to enforce your own personal culinary tastes on people all over the world.
10. Re:Moron by slashmydots · 2014-09-30 03:04 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  There is no flavor of spicy. Your tongue can't sense spicy. It's just a chemical that makes your mouth feel like it's on fire. People who are stupid enough to keep eating peppers stop feeling it as much and then can sort of taste the actual flavor. Otherwise peppers actually cover up the flavor. So people who like their mouth to work properly, didn't nuke all their taste buds, and like their digestive system to work properly don't add peppers to their dish in the first place.
11. Re:Moron by slashmydots · 2014-09-30 03:05 · Score: 0
  
  Nobody has ever won a Michelin Star by lighting someone's mouth on fire so they can barely finish the dish. That is a fact.
12. Re:Moron by king+neckbeard · 2014-09-30 03:17 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, only an irritant for mammals. Birds can consume it just fine. We are also pretty much unique amongst mammals in consuming milk and derivative products past infancy. Does anyone that likes cheese need their brain checked too?
  
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13. Re:Moron by king+neckbeard · 2014-09-30 03:26 · Score: 1
  
  There's actually some suggestions that capsaicin can actually aid digestion, and capsicum are a great source of fiber. It's obvious that you hate spicy food, but that doesn't mean that spicy food is bad food, nor does it mean that spicy food lacks flavor or nuance.
  
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14. Re:Moron by king+neckbeard · 2014-09-30 03:30 · Score: 0
  
  So, one French establishment doesn't care for a certain type of food? Who cares?
  
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15. Re:Moron by tlhIngan · 2014-09-30 03:42 · Score: 2
  
  Thai food is known for its balance of flavours. It's a delicate balance of a minimum of 2 (but usualy 4) of spicy, sweet, bitter, salty and sour in a dish.
  It's also VERY easy to screw up.
  As an aside, Jet Tila was appointed the Culinary Ambassador to Thailand for his role as a guide to Thai cuisine. (People from LA and Food Network viewers will recognize the name for he's had numerous appearances on various shows).
  I guess we'll have a new Food Network special - Jet Tila vs. this machine.
16. Re:Moron by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 04:32 · Score: 1
  
  I'm a supertaster. (Yes, that is a real thing). I like mildly spicy food. Anything actually very spicy all tastes the same to me and is extremely painful and to be avoided at all costs. There are actually a decent percentage of supertasters out there which is one reason why - when cooking for very large groups - caterers tend to make the food on the bland side. If I ordered something "Thai hot", or "Carribean spiced" or whatever - it would just taste like fire to me. I'm glad there is such a variety of foods and spice levels available so that we can all get something we enjoy.
17. Re:Moron by hendrips · 2014-09-30 05:38 · Score: 1
  
  People who like spicy food are stupid? I guess that writes off Thailand and most of the Indian sub-continent, along with plenty of other people.
  Seriously, I feel like this is a new low in Slashdot insults - not because it's obviously incorrect, but because it's such an unimportant and unnoticeable personal preference (at least if you were insulting someone's bad taste in fashion or grooming or art, you could complain about having to look at the result). Really, I'm stupid because of the food that I like?
18. Re:Moron by aaaaaaargh! · 2014-09-30 07:13 · Score: 1
  
  As if Gordon Ramsey could cook...
19. Re:Moron by pkinetics · 2014-09-30 08:15 · Score: 1
  
  I think the implied assertion was that people who think spicy = flavor are morons.
  In other words, just cause it burns more doesn't mean it tastes better.
20. Re:Moron by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 16:10 · Score: 0
  
  The reason you say this is because you're a candyass who can't handle anything hotter than scrambled eggs, and you're insecure about it so you insist that anyone who can handle some heat must be defective somehow. But because you're an even bigger idiot than you are a pansy, you can't make an even remotely convincing argument to that effect.
21. Re:Moron by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 16:13 · Score: 0
  
  Nope. Check his other recent posts. He's just throwing a hissyfit because he can't handle spicy food and hates anyone who can for reminding him of that fact by existing.
22. Re:Moron by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-01 15:49 · Score: 0
  
  Are
  you
  sure?
  You were too fucking stupid to spend the ten seconds on Google it would have taken to avoid outing yourself as the biggest retard on Slashdot. Again.
  You desperately want to refute me, but you can't. Instead, you will tuck your tail between your legs and slink away in shame.
This is test equipment not a robot by EmperorOfCanada · 2014-09-30 01:31 · Score: 4, Insightful

I would no more call this a robot than I would call an xray machine a robotic innards examiner or a smoke detector a robot fireman's nose.

I would call it a robot if it wandered the streets of Bangkok smelling for the most Thai food and recording on a map where it found it.
1. Re:This is test equipment not a robot by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:12 · Score: 0
  
  Yes but if someone put a 3D printed plastic shell over an existing car frame, it becomes a 3D printed car though, right?
2. Re:This is test equipment not a robot by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:25 · Score: 0
  
  I would call it a robot if it wandered the streets of Bangkok smelling for the most Thai food and recording on a map where it found it.
  Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern are now robots.
3. Re:This is test equipment not a robot by gnupun · 2014-09-30 03:37 · Score: 1
  
  Can't they simply hire some thai cuisine experts to taste and certify that a restaurant is up to standards (something like "XYZ restaurant is certified by the govt. of thailand taste testers") instead of building a (pie-in-the-sky) machine? Other countries could should probably do the same.
Thai Tasting by Translation+Error · 2014-09-30 01:32 · Score: 2

"I use my tongue to test if it's delicious or not," said Nimmalairatana. "I think the government should consider using a human to gauge authenticity."
I don't know... Being a taste tester for Thai food sounds like a good way to suffer severe burnout.

--
When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
1. Re:Thai Tasting by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:29 · Score: 0
  
  I travel a lot for work, and Thai cuisine is one of the few Asian cuisines that I don't get burnt out on after a week. There's lots of variety but almost all dishes are built around fresh, bright flavors. Elsewhere in the region, you get a lot of muted, stewed, leaden cuisine will too much starch or grease. At least to this Western palate.
2. Re:Thai Tasting by Rei · 2014-09-30 02:30 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  While I personally see a device like this (sorry... ROBOT!) of rather limited use for testing prepared dishes, I can see great utility for it for testing ingredients. You could have a standardized, unambiguous way to rate the quality or at least properties of a given product, be it meat, fruit, vegetables, etc. I bet cultivar breeding programs in particular could really benefit from this - "Well, I was hoping that this new mango would be a huge innovation, but actually it's almost identical to a Keitt. Though to be fair its mouthfeel is somewhat like a Carrie, and it does have a small amount of a new novel aromatic compound..." Just a single mass produced sensor package that measures a wide range of different properties at once in a repeatable, universal manner. If such a thing could become widespread, I'd bet half of the "cultivars" out there would pretty much disappear, having been shown to be essentially identical to others.
  
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3. Re:Thai Tasting by plover · 2014-09-30 02:52 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I definitely agree there is value in testing the ingredients. The strength of peppers varies widely based on their growing conditions, and it would be good to avoid making a dish too hot or too bland.
  I can also see using this automated taster to evaluate how a hybrid produces year over year, how the fruit of different parents crossed to produce the same hybrid compares to the original hybrid, or how the taste may vary from field to field. That's when it could be more useful to quantify the difference from the "standard".
  But I think when you're hybridizing you'd still want a human doing the evaluation. It's a new thing, and quantifying taste of a new thing isn't as important as the perception of the taster.
  
  --
  John
Waste of money by Jonifico · 2014-09-30 01:34 · Score: 1

So what? It's not like people around the world will become good cooks after this. It almost seems like prank news... and a total waste of money.
1. Re:Waste of money by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:05 · Score: 0
  
  So what? It's not like people around the world will become good cooks after this. It almost seems like prank news... and a total waste of money.
  The only thing this story reeks of is ignorance, particularly surrounding a woman who travels a lot and assumes that the rest of the "bland" world likes their food "Thai hot", which is likely what she's used to.
  And you're right, unless this robot becomes the next standard by which we judge Michelin stars, no one is going to change a damn thing about their meals because some shiny piece of metal told them to. Things like real customer feedback and sales dictate this to a business owner, not some bot.
2. Re:Waste of money by desdinova+216 · 2014-09-30 03:00 · Score: 1
  
  just exactly how did a tire company become involved with rating resturants.
3. Re:Waste of money by king+neckbeard · 2014-09-30 03:42 · Score: 1
  
  They were French and created guides for motorists, their customer base.
  
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4. Re: Waste of money by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 03:43 · Score: 1
  
  To encourage road trips. Seriously!
  http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/tpl/mag6/art200903/htm/tour-saga-michelin.htm
5. Re:Waste of money by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 04:06 · Score: 0
  
  At least in my town there is a Vietnamese restaurant and tire care center in one building. Not two separate businesses in sharing one building, one business with two separate operations operating in one unified building. It's like you replaced the Pep Boys parts section with a restaurant. Maybe they started some sort of trend...
You want Thai food?!? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 01:35 · Score: 0

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THAI FOOD!
A "robatic" taste tester? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 01:40 · Score: 1

Meanwhile, typos and poor editing still done by a drunk marmoset.
1. Re:A "robatic" taste tester? by idontgno · 2014-09-30 06:19 · Score: 1
  
  Meanwhile, typos and poor editing still done by a drunk marmoset.
  No, wait. A drunk marmoset would actually be a significant upgrade. Give it a chance!.
  
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Skynet by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 01:42 · Score: 0

Everybody thought Skynet would try to destroy humanity with our nuclear arsenals. Nobody foresaw our downfall coming from the robotic voice, saying "This is really good. You should eat this."
Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by OzPeter · 2014-09-30 01:43 · Score: 3, Insightful

Asian restaurants in the US cater to what they the think the US public wants to consume and not what is "authentic" to their cuisine. While which probably makes for good economic sense, doesn't make for the best food experience. (As an extreme, Imagine how the local asian family restaurant in the US having a plate of fried chicken heads on its menu would fare).
But these restaurants are so ingrained with this practice that even if you go into a Thai restaurant and ask for the dish to be "Thai-hot", they'll ask if "you are sure about that?" and still dial it back to something that is only middling spicy.
So while I can agree with the sentiment of the TFA, it win;t going to happen. If anything its really just the new heads of Thailand flexing their muscles to show that their coup d'etat is the best thing for the country.

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1. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Intrepid+imaginaut · 2014-09-30 01:58 · Score: 1
  
  I don't really see the percentage in making something too spicy, I mean why not just eat the spices alone, you'll get the same flavour. On a related note I know a Thai woman who does exactly that, even keeps a box of antacids on hand while doing so.
2. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:02 · Score: 0
  
  But these restaurants are so ingrained with this practice that even if you go into a Thai restaurant and ask for the dish to be "Thai-hot", they'll ask if "you are sure about that?" and still dial it back to something that is only middling spicy.
  Try asking in Thai. They'll season it right, even if you're a farang.
3. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:08 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Asian restaurants in the US cater to what they the think the US public wants to consume and not what is "authentic" to their cuisine. While which probably makes for good economic sense, doesn't make for the best food experience. (As an extreme, Imagine how the local asian family restaurant in the US having a plate of fried chicken heads on its menu would fare).
  I don't think you realize what is available in restaurants in the US. I live within walking distance from the "Chinatown" of one of the largest metro areas in the US and I assure you that there are plenty of restaurants with dead animals hanging in the windows, menus that don't have a single word of English on them and a staff of workers that don't speak a word of English either. They have plenty of customers that from visual and auditory clues you might describe as "immigrants" but also plenty of "Americans" too. A smartphone can give you a fairly good translation of things on the menu, after all. I can hop on the train and go over to areas of the city with similarly large concentrations of Vietnamese, Indian, Somolian, Thai, etc restaurants. You'll see "immigrants" and "Americans" sitting next to each other at those places too.
  But - does the Prime Minister of Thailand go to these neighborhoods? Does the average American suburbanite? No. Not a chance. They go to restaurants where someone spent six figures on the decor and the chef is implementing a "concept" and sheltered children aren't going to cry when they see something unusual on their plate. You get what you pay for, and it's not "authenticity."
4. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Translation+Error · 2014-09-30 02:18 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The offerings of ethnic restaurants in foreign countries are often adapted to better suit the tastes of the local people. Look at Chinese food in the US--it's quite different from what you'd get in China. Then look at Chinese food in Japan--it's different from both of the above. Or just look at pizza in Italy, multiple regions of the US, and Japan.
  
  --
  When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
5. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by oodaloop · 2014-09-30 02:23 · Score: 1
  
  If anything its really just the new heads of Thailand flexing their muscles to show that their coup d'etat is the best thing for the country.
  I guess you didn't make it all the way through the first sentence where it says this is the FORMER prime minister.
  
  --
  Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
6. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:23 · Score: 0
  
  So, basically you're telling me that:
  1) authentic asian food is shit,
  2) Thai food is especially shit and has to be over-spiced just to be palatable, and
  3) you didn't read TFS, much less TFA, because it clearly says that the overthrown PM is the one pushing this, not the new military leaders.
  I love how you equate fried chicken heads, which are basically poor-man's food, with "the best food experience". No, I'm sorry, the best food experience is the good stuff, not the shitty scraps. It's like chicken feet, pig ears/feet, cow tongue/brains, haggis, sausage, and hot dogs. Those are things people prepare to make complete use of the animal. It's not a bad thing, but you don't call it "gourmet" unless you're a total twit.
  The over-use of spices is how poor people make those scraps of meat edible. Meat is expensive. Spices are cheap (local ones, anyway). If you're going to eat low-quality meat for economic reasons, you might as well make it taste good. Meanwhile, here in the USA, we have a ridiculous amount of rich food (both in price and in quality), so there's absolutely no need to blast away the flavor with excessive spices. Asking for something to be "Thai-hot" is the equivalent of asking for something to be "hot enough to cover the flavor of cat food".
7. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:46 · Score: 0
  
  Yep, overuse of spices is a poor-man's way to hide the poor quality of the meat. Quality meat requires as little spicing up as possible.
8. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:58 · Score: 0
  
  You are right.
  I like the Oriental food much better.
9. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by king+neckbeard · 2014-09-30 03:01 · Score: 2
  
  I think you are generalizing far too much. Food is bizarre. Cheese, for example, is arguably weirder than haggis if you don't come from either culture. That doesn't stop it from being fine cuisine though.
  
  --
  This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
10. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 04:49 · Score: 0
  
  Most places, and not just asian dishes. Some areas are lucky enough to have good sized local communities -- one has a better chance of getting it spicy in those places. If you look distinctly un-Thai, be sure to ask for extra hot sauce or that little dish of crushed chillis...yum. Its even worse north of the border. If you want Thai dishes with an authentic zing, better learn to cook.
11. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 05:30 · Score: 0
  
  Actually, look at "American" food as eaten in other countries if you really want to feel the changes...
12. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Kielistic · 2014-09-30 05:31 · Score: 1
  
  Meat does not have to be the corner-stone of your diet. Nor does everybody like the same bland food that you like. You sound like you are ashamed of your inability to handle spicy food like others so you feel the need to compensate by calling it "shit".
13. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by hendrips · 2014-09-30 05:48 · Score: 1
  
  Not only that, but keep in mind that some immigrant cultures have been in the U.S. for a long time, and their cooking styles may drift over time. Chinese-American cuisine has been around for over 150 years, and allegedly is much more similar to native Chinese cooking from 150 years ago that to today's native Chinese cooking.
  Anecdotally, I have found that Vietnamese-American food, which is a much more recent cuisine style than Chinese-American, is relatively similar to native Vietnamese, with decreased spicyness being the main difference.
14. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 06:00 · Score: 0
  
  That's funny because most Chinese people will tell you to go the the US if you want the best Chinese food.
15. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 07:22 · Score: 0
  
  The question is, what is "American" food? Except for burgers with french fries and Apple tart nothing comes to my mind.
  Industrial microwave food from the deep freezer perhaps?
16. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by aaaaaaargh! · 2014-09-30 07:24 · Score: 1
  
  Every country has good food - except for Finland, of course. ;)
17. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by laie_techie · 2014-09-30 08:07 · Score: 1
  
  Every country has good food - except for Finland, of course. ;)
  I LOVE pula!
18. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by HornWumpus · 2014-09-30 08:30 · Score: 1
  
  Your supposed to use Vodka like Americans use Katsup/Japanese use soy.
  
  --
  John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
19. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by R3d+M3rcury · 2014-09-30 11:48 · Score: 1
  
  My roomate is Vietnamese. Her friend's husband once remarked about having an "American Breakfast"--bread and cheese. That's what he understood we eat for breakfast here in the states. We were chuckling because, of course, an "American Breakfast" is bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast or biscuits, ham, pancakes, sausage, steak, etc. There's lots of options and some are regional, but bread and cheese, for the most part, aren't on that list.
  For lunch, I'd maintain that the "submarine sandwich" is probably sufficiently American. Dinner, I'd probably go with simply prepared meat. I can't think of much for sauces for meat in "traditional" American cuisine except for barbecue.
20. Re:Well .. most asian food in the US is crap by painandgreed · 2014-10-01 04:55 · Score: 1
  
  The question is, what is "American" food? Except for burgers with french fries and Apple tart nothing comes to my mind.
  Industrial microwave food from the deep freezer perhaps?
  In Japan, it was apparently a beef patty covered in a grey, salt sauce with a side salad and side of pasta. While I Japan, we went to an "American restaurant" to see and this is what we ended up ordering. We could tell it was an American dish because it came with plain pasta rather than rice.
How to judge "real" Thai food by HnT · 2014-09-30 02:03 · Score: 4, Insightful

It's a given that Thai food is amongst the most delicious cuisines in the world so you only need to find the right place to eat! These two simple points should help:
1. Are you in Thailand? Many places around the world come close but it's never quite the same.
2. Is it packed full with locals with just enough space to squeeze in? If the place is packed full you can be sure it is great and this goes for small food stalls just as much as for nice restaurants! Thai people are passionate about food and eat out a lot so the good places will be very full; better stay away from the empty ones.
This is all you really need and you can be 98% certain before even having tried the food! chok dee krub!

--
"Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." - Mark Twain
1. Re:How to judge "real" Thai food by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:42 · Score: 0
  s/Thai/<country>/
  You basically described how to check any restaurant from any specific cuisine. Apart from very famous cuisines like Italian, for instance, which everyone likes and will be full of people eating it, even if they're not authentic, many national restaurants follow that same principle:
  - Check the local Ethiopian restaurant. Is it full of Americans/Europeans/Australians? Or does it have genuine Ethiopians in it?
  - Is this Sichuanese restaurant packed with Chinese people eating the spicy food?
  - Are there any Japanese in this sushi joint?
  The list goes on and on. It's not just the Thai people that like their food. Many countries have amazing food (e.g. the seafood on southern European countries) and their locals will prefer to eat the good stuff, so they'll also flock to the good restaurants.
2. Re:How to judge "real" Thai food by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:59 · Score: 0
  
  For those who are in Chicago or traveling there; I've been to Thailand and tried just about as much food as a human can in two weeks. There's a great restaurant in Chicago called Rainbow Thai near Lawrence and Western. It's pretty damn authentic. There are also other Thai restaurants in that general area that vary in degrees of authenticity, but Rainbow most closely approximates what I had in Bangkok.
3. Re:How to judge "real" Thai food by Whorhay · 2014-09-30 03:09 · Score: 1
  
  Most everybody loves food, regardless of what culture they come form. And just because someone is genetically linked to one culture doesn't mean that they are predisposed to favor that cultures foods over another. I can't tell you how many times I've met people who were the first generation of their family raised in the US, and when asked about their favorite foods it was all generic American stuff. Whatever their Mother cooked for them growing up, no matter how amazing to someone else, was just the norm for them and by default boring.
I've seen this episode before by Daetrin · 2014-09-30 02:08 · Score: 1

A robot programmed to eliminate "unpure" food based on the standards set by a bunch of critics. In their arrogance the critics will have provided standards of purity that no food can match, and the robot will go wild, destroying all food everywhere.

Of course given that the end is inevitable, i for one welcome our new robotic food tasting overlords.

--
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Say what? by s.petry · 2014-09-30 02:28 · Score: 1

Gordon Ramsey is not a culinary genius. I think you miss the whole point of the shows if you get that idea. He's a business chef and his goal is to make money, not to make food necessarily taste great. Often times a chef has to cut quality to make a profit, so good and great are two very different things.
It does not take pounds of pepper (implying black pepper) to make something hot. If you would have said "peppers" I'd agree with the you, since the best heat in food comes from various chili peppers. Vegetable heat also seems to be much easier on the stomach. You personally may not like hot food, but many people do. There is no real "normal" when it comes to taste.
I disagree more with the name of the device than the purpose. Consistently measuring heat and acidity is surely something science can do very well. Taste is always subjective, so the machine can not know "delicious". I could surely measure "warm" and "wholly FU$* that is hot!", which I think is a good thing to know.

--
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
1. Re:Say what? by gstoddart · 2014-09-30 08:16 · Score: 1
  
  Gordon Ramsey is not a culinary genius. I think you miss the whole point of the shows if you get that idea. He's a business chef and his goal is to make money, not to make food necessarily taste great.
  Except, you don't get Michelin stars just for nothing. He trained under Michelin star chefs.
  He's turned that into a lot of restaurants, a lot of money, and a lot of fame.
  You may or may not like Ramsey (not everybody does, and that's fair), but if you think he's "just a business chef" out to make money, you're woefully unaware of the fact that he's a real chef, who worked in, and now owns, restaurants with Michelin stars. Which is about the snootiest rating for a restaurant you can get, given out by hard core foodies.
  By the time you're there, you have some pretty mad skills, and a pretty refined palate. In fact, far better than most.
  He probably knows more about food, and what it's supposed to taste like, than most professional chefs ever will.
  Is he the greatest chef ever? Probably not. Is he one of the better chefs around today? He's certainly up in the lists.
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
2. Re:Say what? by s.petry · 2014-09-30 09:37 · Score: 1
  
  Whether I like him or not does not make any difference to my point. His fame is due primarily to being a very savvy business person, not because any dish he touches tastes like gold (sorry, I can't come up with a universally acceptable flavor analogy for "awesome").
  You mistakenly took my comment as an attack, and that is far from the truth. Chefs are certainly in two categories, and finding pairs working together yields 5 Star dining establishments. The first kind of Chef is the artist, that is the guy that makes food that wins awards. The Artist want's the best of everything all the time, even if he would lose money using the best of everything all the time. The second kind is the business kind, and they get awards for salvaging failing restaurants and making businesses very profitable. Ramsey is the latter kind, and he's very good at it.
  And to be sure there is no confusion, I never said his goal was to make money for himself. He has at least one TV series where he is turning financially failing businesses into very profitable ones for other people. He understands the business side of Culinary arts very well, and that is his strength. That does not imply he's not also a competent cook, more that the old saying is correct. A jack of all trades is a master of none.
  
  --
  -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Maybe Anthony Bourdain by Gim+Tom · 2014-09-30 02:48 · Score: 4, Interesting

I lived in North Eastern Thailand for a year decades ago and had some wonderful food while I was there, but it was almost never EXACTLY what the Thais in the area ate. Most westerners could not, or would not, eat the "REAL" Thai food. It wasn't just the spices, although they were far too hot for most people. The types of food and the way they were stored and prepared was just an entirely different culture and what is and is not food is to some extent determined by culture.

I saw a giant Mekong catfish lay on the side of the road for at least three or four days before it was considered "ripe" enough to use in food. When I was there refrigeration was rare and most food sat out in heat and humidity for extended periods. The climate was even a bit more that I was used to -- and I was born and raised in the deep south before air conditioning was common. The aroma of a Thai open air market is to say the least unique. Thailand is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and the people are the friendliest and most open anywhere, but eating "real" Thai food is something I was never able to really appreciate.

There are places I have eaten in the US that have excellent Thai food, but it is not what you find the Thai's eating in Thailand. Maybe Anthony Bourdain can eat real Thai food, but on a recent episode of his show it appeared that even he was having a bit of trouble with some of it.
1. Re:Maybe Anthony Bourdain by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 03:18 · Score: 0
  
  I lived in North Eastern Thailand for a year decades ago and had some wonderful food while I was there, but it was almost never EXACTLY what the Thais in the area ate. Most westerners could not, or would not, eat the "REAL" Thai food. It wasn't just the spices, although they were far too hot for most people. The types of food and the way they were stored and prepared was just an entirely different culture and what is and is not food is to some extent determined by culture.
  I saw a giant Mekong catfish lay on the side of the road for at least three or four days before it was considered "ripe" enough to use in food. When I was there refrigeration was rare and most food sat out in heat and humidity for extended periods. The climate was even a bit more that I was used to -- and I was born and raised in the deep south before air conditioning was common. The aroma of a Thai open air market is to say the least unique. Thailand is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and the people are the friendliest and most open anywhere, but eating "real" Thai food is something I was never able to really appreciate.
  There are places I have eaten in the US that have excellent Thai food, but it is not what you find the Thai's eating in Thailand. Maybe Anthony Bourdain can eat real Thai food, but on a recent episode of his show it appeared that even he was having a bit of trouble with some of it.
  This... the history of spices and sauces is largely based on the lack of refrigeration and the necessity to hide the taste of rotting or rotten food. Most of us do not want the actual experience of eating real traditional foods. What we want is the same dish with fresh ingredients and similar spices.
  However, restaurants need to be able to appeal to a larger audience than the guy or girl who can handle the spice level of traditional dishes. So, they tone it down. In my opinion, how much they tone it down has a large correlation with how large the city is and what the locals consider "too spicy". Restaurants that don't cater to the local tastes end up going out of business.
2. Re:Maybe Anthony Bourdain by jrumney · 2014-09-30 03:41 · Score: 1
  
  You do realise that Thailand may have developed over the past decades, and that North-East Thailand may not be representative of the rest of the country, don't you?
  Personally I think you're more likely to pick up diseases eating in "clean" hotels and chain restaurants staffed by poorly trained teenagers than a roadside stall run by an elderly couple whose livelihoods have depended on not poisoning their customers for decades. If you're spending a year in a country, you're going to have to get used to the local germs anyway, so take the plunge and live life.
3. Re:Maybe Anthony Bourdain by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 05:43 · Score: 0
  
  I lived in North Eastern Thailand for a year decades ago and had some wonderful food while I was there, but it was almost never EXACTLY what the Thais in the area ate. Most westerners could not, or would not, eat the "REAL" Thai food. It wasn't just the spices, although they were far too hot for most people. The types of food and the way they were stored and prepared was just an entirely different culture and what is and is not food is to some extent determined by culture.
  I saw a giant Mekong catfish lay on the side of the road for at least three or four days before it was considered "ripe" enough to use in food. When I was there refrigeration was rare and most food sat out in heat and humidity for extended periods. The climate was even a bit more that I was used to -- and I was born and raised in the deep south before air conditioning was common. The aroma of a Thai open air market is to say the least unique. Thailand is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and the people are the friendliest and most open anywhere, but eating "real" Thai food is something I was never able to really appreciate.
  There are places I have eaten in the US that have excellent Thai food, but it is not what you find the Thai's eating in Thailand. Maybe Anthony Bourdain can eat real Thai food, but on a recent episode of his show it appeared that even he was having a bit of trouble with some of it.
  It shows that you haven't been to Thailand recently (i.e. in the past 20 years). They have a lot of programs in place to ensure food is safe like the "Clean Food Good Taste" campaign:
  http://www.fao.org/docrep/MEETING/004/AB523E.HTM
  http://www.joysthaifood.com/thai-food-information/clean-food-good-taste-symbol-of-thai-food-excellence/
  Thailand is probably one of the safest vacation countries when it comes to food. China on the other hand...
4. Re:Maybe Anthony Bourdain by Gim+Tom · 2014-09-30 12:06 · Score: 1
  
  Point Taken, and I do love independent non-chain eateries. Everything has become too generic and "safe" anyway.
  
  Yes, I know that everything has changed in 40+ years. I was there in 1971 and 1972 and it was a different world and a different place then. Also I was aware even then that the foods used and preparation varied widely around the country. Where I was was right on the border with Laos and there was much overlap between the Thai and Laotian foods. Even the ubiquitous Khao Phat fried rice varies widely around the country.
  
  I did eat as much of the local food where I was as my taste buds, and system could handle and only got amoebic dysentery once, and that was from some ice in a drink I think. By the way, eating the local food was one of the LEAST risky things I was involved in while I was there.
5. Re:Maybe Anthony Bourdain by HnT · 2014-10-01 01:27 · Score: 1
  
  I hate to spell this out like that but you have to realize that North Eastern Thailand is the hottest, most rural, poorest and generally most "backwards" part in the whole country... it is not mere coincidence that an overwhelming number of Thai-farang marriages are with Isaan girls and yes, they have some rather strange customs and ways there but this does not apply to all of Thailand. Real NorthEastern food is not for the faint of heart but there are so many different really real Thai dishes from different regions, you shouldn't find it difficult to find something you can enjoy. Being "weird" doesn't make it somehow "more real" Thai food, that is just a Western middle class well-off white kids fallacy and way of dick-measuring who had the more "real" experience on their parents' money.
  Thai cuisine has even adapted some very Western dishes and given them a unique twist, I would still consider many of those Thai dishes.
  
  --
  "Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." - Mark Twain
That's no real Thai! by morgauxo · 2014-09-30 02:53 · Score: 1

That's no real Thai! It's a robot.
Meanwhile, in Thailand by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 02:54 · Score: 0

What is really needed is a robotic tester to judge the condition of "if is real woman".
That's the much greater need.
"Cheesoid" from "That Mitchell and Webb Look" by pacanniff · 2014-09-30 03:17 · Score: 1

The trials of another tasting robot: http://youtu.be/B_m17HK97M8
Good idea by SpaghettiPattern · 2014-09-30 03:17 · Score: 2

What bugs me most about Thai food imitations is bad taste and cheap surrogates. The wost offenders IMHO are Chinese cooks pretending to. Corn starch with water an coconut flavour DOES NOT replace coconut milk. Never, ever!

--

I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
1. Re:Good idea by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 10:10 · Score: 0
  
  What bugs me most about Thai food imitations is bad taste and cheap surrogates. The wost offenders IMHO are Chinese cooks pretending to. Corn starch with water an coconut flavour DOES NOT replace coconut milk. Never, ever!
  Same, Same...but different!
They do take their cuisine seriously... by kristianbrigman · 2014-09-30 03:26 · Score: 1

There's actually a restaurant in my town which reportedly is run, or subsidized somehow, by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. So I guess I'm not too surprised they focus this much on something cuisine-related...
There is no such thing as Authentic Thai by Botched · 2014-09-30 03:42 · Score: 1

There is a meme tied up with Thai food, that there is OneTrue way of doing it, and all other ways are wrong. All my life I've heard Thai food, good or bad, insulted by being called inauthentic. It's done by people all over the world, all you have to do is take a single trip to Thailand, or even meet someone who once went, and you too can be the judge of what is and what is not Authentic. I eat at restaurants with thai chefs, cooking thai recipes, that are delicious. If someone thinks that the ratio of lime to salt to sugar is off, or they did not cook the coconut milk until it cracked, or the lime leaves were added to early, great, you don't like the food. But say you don't like it, don't say it's Not Authentic, that's silly. If there were OneTrue way of cooking it, it might even make sense. But you seriously think you are going to go to Thailand and have every bowl of curry taste exactly the same?
1. Re:There is no such thing as Authentic Thai by SocialEngineer · 2014-09-30 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  This.
  My mother makes an awesome Mac n' Cheese. She doesn't do anything fancy that I know of, but it tastes better than any other Mac n' Cheese I've had.
  That's not to say that nobody else makes authentic Mac n' Cheese, but I just prefer my mother's. .. I should call my mother and have her make me some Mac n' Cheese next time she visits.
  
  --
  "Better to be vulgar than non-existent" -Bev Henson
How to judge by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 04:11 · Score: 0

I don't know about counting locals... that could just be another of the "americanized" places that just happens to be popular. Chipotle isn't anywhere near authentic Mexican or even New Mexican food... yet is always filled to the brim.
I think the amount of pain my toilet feels after eating what I think is good Thai food is a good enough guage for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for as authentic as you can get... I'm just not terribly interested in cooked crickets and chicken heads.
Drone warfare by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 07:21 · Score: 0

Thai drone weaponry so accurate, it just targets your butthole.
As an aside by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-30 07:31 · Score: 0

Cheesecake was invented a good 4000 years before gelatin, and yet people think I am crazy when I say "REAL cheesecake doesn't have gelatin."
Oh well.
As long as their priorities are straight by BadPirate · 2014-09-30 09:35 · Score: 1

Nevermind the military coup, the rampant government sanctioned underaged sex trade, the sky high rate of AIDS in the country...
Let's spend $100,000 on a machine to help settle a food authenticity debate.

--
- Holy crap, I've got MOD points! Who thought that was a good idea.