Travel Interview: Mark Wiens of Eating Thai Food Website

Mark Wiens – Migrationology – Eating Thai Food

Travel Interview: Mark Wiens of Eating Thai Food Website

Recently I interviewed American Mark Wiens of Migrationology about his very interesting childhood living in Africa, his success selling on Ebay, and his travel life. During that time, I discovered Mark’s huge passion for eating food, especially Thai food, and his second website dedicated exclusively to Thai food,. aptly named Eating Thai Food.

Mark has also written two great guides to help other people order, eat and enjoy the huge variety of Thai foods available in Bangkok and around the country.

So I decided to invite Mark back for a second interview to delve into his favorite topic: Thai food.

Let’s see what Mark has to say about this delicious cuisine…

Q1. How long has your website, Eating Thai Food, been online?

It’s been just over 2 years now, I think we officially launched the site in October 2010.

Q2. You’re running this site with another American guy, Dwight Turner, who apparently is as fanatical about Thai food as you are. How / when did you two Thai food lovers meet and become friends?

Yes. I actually briefly met Dwight in the US before coming to Thailand. He mentioned that he was teaching English in Bangkok. I didn’t know at the time what my travel plans were, but eventually I ended up in Bangkok, contacted Dwight (http://www.insearchofsanuk.com/), and we soon realized that we shared an eating passion. From there we just went around and ate for years while taking photos of everything.

som-tam – thailand’s fresh papaya salad

Q3. Why do you love Thai food so much?

Thai food is balanced – there are so many different flavors jumbled into every single dish and even every single bite. Sour, salty, sweet, and spicy are all represented to perfection. I also love fresh vegetables, tropical fruit, pungent flavors, and seafood, and Thai food incorporates it all. Another reason I love Thai food so much is simply because it’s so readily available everywhere you go – it would be virtually impossible to go hungry in Thailand.

Mark Wiens with durian fruit

Q4. Like me, you love the tropical fruit durian. Yum! But, most westerners can’t even stand the smell of durian, let alone try to eat it. Do you encourage people to try it?

Great to hear you also love durian! I have a lot of thoughts and ideas as to why many westerners dislike durian, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s mostly psychological. Durian often receives an exaggerated negative hype, so when first time durian samplers give it a try, they already are thinking they won’t like it due to the many stories they’ve heard. Then it’s the texture that gets them, which is unlike any other fruit on earth – it’s creamy and pudding like.

So if one can overcome all the mental stories and handle the texture (which is very similar to other desserts and western foods), I think it’s impossible not to love.

All that goes to say, I by all means encourage everyone in the world to sample durian. It’s incredibly unique, very healthy, and one of the best tasting natural things on the planet.

tom yum goong – Thailand’s famous spicy soup with shriimp

Q5. Since I’ve also spent many years in Thailand, I know that there are several different regional Thai cuisines, all quite different from each other. Could you tell us briefly about a few of those regional cuisines?

Isaan cuisine originates in the large northeastern province. Sticky rice is the staple which is complemented with lots of fresh salads and a variety of grilled meats (among many other things of course). Som tam, the famous green papaya salad, is one of the most famous dishes from Isaan.

Bangkok is a giant melting pot of food from around the entire country as well as plenty of culinary influences from other parts of Asia and the world. Roasted duck, fried noodles, and many other Thai Chinese specialities are prevalent throughout Bangkok. Isaan food, southern Thai food, northern Thai food, and every other genre of Thai cuisine can be found in Bangkok.

Southern Thai food, which is my favorite cuisine in Thailand if not the entire world, is very similar to Malay food. Common dishes include coconut milk based curries, sour and spicy soups, and lots of fried and curried seafood.

Thai market

Q6. Many western travelers might be afraid to eat at Thai food stalls because of sanitation worries, a worry mostly unfounded in my experiences. Could you please tell us about cleanliness and potential of getting sick from eating on the streets there.

It’s really up to the individual. If you do have a history of stomach problems, it’s best to know yourself and play it safe. Avoid food that looks like it has been sitting for too long and try to stick with fresh hot food. Also, choose stalls that look active and get plenty of customers.

That being said, the tap water is normally alright in Thailand, not to drink in large amounts as it contains a high level of metal, but it’s fine for washing vegetables or other things like that. Ice that is served at street food restaurants is made from filtered water, so it shouldn’t be a problem either.

Overall, the culture of street food in Thailand is quite sanitary and vendors keep things pretty clean. I’ve never had a problem!

a huge selection of vegetarian Thai food

Q7. Thailand is a super easy place for vegetarians to eat. Could you please tell us a bit about that.

Thailand, and all of Southeast Asia, is blessed with a great diversity of fresh vegetables and natural produce. This makes it a fantastic place to eat vegetarian.

You can order all sorts of fresh salads, stir fried vegetables, and then grab bags of delicious tropical fruit too.

The biggest problem, depending on how strict of a vegetarian you are, is knowing how to order. It’s possible to order a vegetarian dish from a normal non-vegetarian restaurant, but you just need to know how to tell them to omit all meat, meat broth, fish sauce, or any other common meat or seafood based ingredients they normally use.

Since Thai food is often cooked or prepared after you order it, you can get meals exactly to your liking.

Eating Thai Food Guide

Q8. You’ve written 2 excellent and thorough guide books on Thai Cuisine, namely, Eating Thai Food Guide and Vegetarian Thai Food Guide Congratulations, Mark.

Could you please tell us briefly what people will learn in the guidebooks.

Like I mentioned before, Thai food is all about balance and diversity of flavors, so the first part of the Eating Thai Food Guide includes specific meals plans – combinations of Thai dishes that go really well together, and restaurants to eat them at.

Vegetarian Thai Food Guide

The guide also includes some Thai food background information like Thai dining etiquette, overview of the genres of Thai food, and a useful food phrase guide written in both Thai and English.

The largest section of the Eating Thai Food Guide is a giant Thai food encyclopedia that includes over 140 Thai dishes to eat, each with a description, photo, and ordering information.

My main objective when writing the Vegetarian Thai Food Guide was to show that it’s possible to eat amazing food as a vegetarian in Thailand.

Not only does the guide highlight some of finest pure vegetarian local restaurants, but it also explains exactly what vegetarian dishes to order and how to order them.

Within the guide you’ll also find an explanation about the cultural differences of eating vegetarian in Thailand as opposed to western countries, and an overview of religious Thai veganism (known as Jay)

Thailand is full of fresh produce and if you’re a vegetarian you’ll be able to try some Thai dishes that are both healthy and bursting with flavor.

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Thanks so much Mark for taking time to tell us all about Thai food. Hope to meet you some day soon in Bangkok. cheers, Lash

Follow Mark and his Thai food passion:

First interview with Mark

Eating Thai Food

Migrationology

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