This shit is like me. If I’m going to a Thai place I’m not a regular at, it’s pretty much impossible for them to serve some white guy the hot stuff. Even actual “Southern Thai hot” isn’t hot enough for my screwed up tastes to catch a real heat buzz, so normally what I get served seems heatless to me.
What usually gets the point home is telling the waitress its good tasting, but bland, and asking if I could have some birds eye pepper to put extra on it. For all the talk about how hot Thai food is, all they actually use are birds eye peppers (fresh, or dried and ground), which are around as hot as a Serrano pepper, or about half to a third as hot as a habanero. So for someone who can just eat a habanero, them going weak on the birds eye means I’m really not getting the kick I crave. Asking specifically for the hottest thing they put in their food (just me knowing what peppers they are) usually takes care of it.
“The only way I will send this back is if it isn’t spicy enough. Tell the chef he has a weak little Denmark pallette who thinks a bell pepper will burn his lips off.”
This shit is like me. If I’m going to a Thai place I’m not a regular at, it’s pretty much impossible for them to serve some white guy the hot stuff. Even actual “Southern Thai hot” isn’t hot enough for my screwed up tastes to catch a real heat buzz, so normally what I get served seems heatless to me.
What usually gets the point home is telling the waitress its good tasting, but bland, and asking if I could have some birds eye pepper to put extra on it. For all the talk about how hot Thai food is, all they actually use are birds eye peppers (fresh, or dried and ground), which are around as hot as a Serrano pepper, or about half to a third as hot as a habanero. So for someone who can just eat a habanero, them going weak on the birds eye means I’m really not getting the kick I crave. Asking specifically for the hottest thing they put in their food (just me knowing what peppers they are) usually takes care of it.
I enjoy eating habanero peppers! Good flavor! Makes good salsa too.
We have a lot of tourists and “Thai hot” still doesn’t get you anywhere. You have to make (good natured) threats to get the real deal.
“The only way I will send this back is if it isn’t spicy enough. Tell the chef he has a weak little Denmark pallette who thinks a bell pepper will burn his lips off.”