Originally Posted by
gfunkdave
I seem to recall that the Thai government actively paid Thai emigrants to open Thai restaurants far and wide, in order to spread the culture and get people interested in visiting Thailand.
It worked on me! I love Thai food.
That sounds like a tasty urban legend. I certainly never heard that happening in Australia. Ironically, the most famous Thai chef in Australia is a white Australian guy. His husband is Thai and he was taught by his husband's mother how to cook Thai. He ended up being the first chef to get a Michelin Star for Thai food.
Originally Posted by
gaobest
Ooh this sounds like a fun truth or urban legend. I love Thai food but primarily spicier things and curries. I’m not a thai salad type of person. That said, even though my 1988 Bangkok visit was enough, I loved The Hangover movie with Zach saying Thighland and of course “Bangkok’s got him” pretty nonstop. I love that series.
Larb is a pretty damn spicy salad. Most of the time they detune the heat.
My cousin was visiting from overseas and I took him to Thaitown here in Sydney, which is much more "real" and he couldn't deal with the heat. But he had no problem in with the spice at a local Thai place just down the road.