braslvr

Background: I've been in Bangkok for 6 weeks now, living on Suk Soi 11. Most all the restaurants here, even Thai restaurants, serve some western food. Especially hamburgers. It is amazing to me the sheer quantity that they sell, considering how amazing Thai food is, but that's another subject.

OK, since I've been here I've seen at least 25 Brits order burgers, and every single one of them ate them the exact same way. Remove top bun and discard. Attack remainder of burger with knife and fork. What's up with this? Until this trip I think I may have seen 4 or 5 people eat a burger this way in my entire life.

ft101

British here but never heard of discarding the top of the roll.

I often use a knife and fork as the size of many of these makes it impossible to eat hand to mouth like a Macdonalds, without making a mess or looking like a pig.

Tchiowa

Maybe they've been here too long. My wife is Thai and that's how she eats burgers. Thai aren't big fans of bread. She considers the bottom half of the bun to be a plate to hold the burger and the top half to just be in the way. I've see a lot of Thai eat that way. Maybe your friends have learned.

braslvr

A good point. It is ridiculous how tall many 'gourmet' burgers have become. I prefer larger diameter and manageable height. Nevertheless, the burgers I'm referring to here are large but can be lightly smashed into easily hand edible.

Maybe, LOL.

aBroadAbroad

Not all that uncommon IME. I've seen it done in France for years, and have even seen food writers poke fun at the French for insisting on using silverware to eat everything, and failing to grasp that burgers are meant to be eaten with the hands (their words, not mine).

Also, I and many people I know who get full easily and/or try to keep starches and/or grain consumption to a minimum, will frequently remove half the bun from a burger. I might still eat it with my hands, but if it's big and messy, a fork is the only sensible option.


Mod note: Since this does not apply strictly to "UK folks" and is only marginally a Thailand-specific topic, at best, I've changed the post title and added it to the lounge thread.

ETA: thread moved to DiningBuzz per OP request/intent. ~Moderator, Thailand Forum

braslvr

Sorry, I messed the whole thing up. I actually wanted it to be in DiningBuzz. I spend most of my FT time these days between there and the Thailand forum and must have gotten confused between the two. My question was directed to the Brits specifically though. Of course all replies are welcome.

EuropeanPete

You see done (by, er, me) in central London by people watching their carbs. They're generally not the kind of people you bump into eating hamburgers in Bangkok though.

stut

I'd only remove the top half if they've covered the top of the burger in all sorts of gloop that I'd specifically asked them not to. Otherwise, I have a big mouth, so it all goes in.

uk1

Some of us hate buns that turn into squidgy mush as soon as you hold the burger ... I guess that might be one reason. Also with some mixed feelings I discovered that carbs have a greater influence over my weight than alcohol ... a double edge sword ... and so I'm more aware of carb avoidance when they add no real enjoyment value.

If having a bun or bread at home with a burger I make mine using toasted ciabatta bread now so that there is a touch more texture than squidge and there's less carb because there's more holes ......

Badenoch

Me too. I'd much rather have another pint than a piece of bread on top of my burger.

lhrsfo

I remember going to the first (I believe) McDonalds in London many, many years ago, in The Strand, I believe. It was a curiosity then because people had heard the advance publicity. I was sitting behind an elderly couple who had never been to one before, who complained vociferously about the lack of cutlery and pronounced that it would never catch on. How Britain has fallen.....

Mandolin

To each his own I guess. I thought I was the only one dipping my hamburger in ketchup until I saw Warhol doing it on film.

uk1

To those that saw Macdonalds as a novelty, us old un's had Wimpy Bars before. You knew where you were with a Wimpy. You simply had a choice. One or two. And chips or not. Tea or coffee. All these other new fangled complications were and still are unwelcome.

braslvr

I totally get the low carb thing. They are my enemy too, but from all appearances, that was not the reason here.

AFAIK, the whole reason the hamburger was invented was so that it could be eaten without utensils. I've seen plenty of people cut them in half, but they are/were just plain designed to be eaten by hand. Like pizza. And spareribs. And fried chicken.

uk1

Quite right. The burger is a sandwich. But people were thin then. Now they are fat. Carbs makes people fat. So more people discard the carbs. It certainly is a reason but obviously not the only one.