Originally Posted by prathetkrungthep

This has also been my experience from living here. Almost all of the shopping malls in the commercial district cater first to locals and then tourists second. While malls enjoy getting foot traffic from being de facto tourist attractions, don’t forget they make most of their money from actually selling stuff to people who keep going there every week i.e. locals.



The only part of Bangkok I’ve eaten in that has overtly tried to appeal to western palettes is around the temples in the old city (weird that those places can survive… that area is filled with many old original stalls serving legendary versions of Thai dishes) and of course that backpacking road.

Spice level is a horrible proxy to try to gauge whether the food is being catered towards locals or tourists. This has much more to do with urban-suburban/rural divide and social classes. Bangkok residents are more likely to be used to milder flavors derived from Thai haute cuisine (known in Thai as “palace people food”). These mild flavors are not from a lack of spice, but rather from carefully balancing flavors. This preference has trickled down to how people want their everyday food as well. The Thai-Chinese population is also highly represented in Bangkok and the Teocheow palette also contributes to this general urban preference for milder flavors.

Of course many working class people are also Bangkok-born and I would not be surprised if some also share the urban middle class preference for milder food, but generally speaking food vendors in more blue collar areas/malls will be more likely to serve food with stronger flavors and regional flair i.e. Isan or Southern food.