hypatia

Ok we love Thai food (american style)I even cook it. For health reasons I cannot handle the bird chilis..I know they make up the curries ahead and add that to the dish...
Is there any way we an convey the importance this or are they going to ignore the request as others have indicated.
.I know to avoid the red curry and plan on getting some bland food as well but I know I will not be able to eat it and wishing it was just milder,too young for baby food...

KimJapan

We have only had a request for not spicy food ignored once...at the Whole Earth in Chiang Mai. Other than that, we have had no trouble at all getting dishes mild for our daughter. There are also plenty of dishes that do not contain chilis which are delicious, and many that you add your own to, like Pad Thai for example. You might ask your hotel concierge to write down for you that you have a chili allergy so could dishes be made without chilis. Or carry a phrase book. Or print the phrases for mild, not spicy, no chilis, etc. off of the internet.

rhkkmk

largely it depends on the restaurant....get a hotel person to write the instructions out for you and show it to your waitperson....often they do ask but not always....it really depends on where you will eat...

quite honestly you will not have trouble getting things that are mild or with no "hot" happenings...

phad thai is one, although even with that i have had some spice in it...

veggies of all kinds often have not chilis....choose the ones in oyster sauce...

noodle dishes are often safe...

the more places that you eat that are patronized by westerners, the more bland your food will be...

at tongue thai we have never found the food to be overly spicy and for that reason were sometimes disappointed...

if something is not right send it back---provided that you had asked for no chilis, etc...

JamesA

There is a ' Please No Spicy Food' card in Thai you can print out, it does not specify chilis but might help

http://www.beachsiam.com/food.htm

If you have a Business card program on your PC you can pout in the card and print it out 12/15 times and keep with you.

shelleyk

If when you order you say what sounds like "My pet" they will know you do not want spicy food.

lskohn

When researching my trip a couple of months ago, I came across two sets of Thai language cards that address food allergies and preferences -- one set, intended for kids was at
"http://www.thailand4kids.com/web-dat...dups.pdf"
(I cannot get fodors to print the URL correctly! It is all on one line, without quotations, the hyphen IS part of the URL).

The other, including vegetarian as well, was at
"www.suk11.com\allergy.htm"

This one includes the crucial card "Can I play Table tennis with you?&quot

I have NO idea if the translations are accurate, but they are worth a try! If they are no longer on those sites, a Google search ("thai allergy cards" for example) will turn up other sources.

hypatia

yes that just what we'll do ...
I couldnt get the site and the doc would open either..
we don't want bland food.. love lots of "spice" just not the heat.. cant handle the bird chilis..actually I can hardly handle a jalepeno.... Thank you

rhkkmk

ok, i have to ask---what are bird chilis???

KimJapan

Isn't it a nickname for Thai jalepino like chilis...the small, long and thin ones?

The docuement is a pdf file that you need Adobe Acrobat reader to open. If you don't already have it, you can download it for free.

The link for suk11 must be copied and pasted because the whole link isn't blue.

Kathie

The bird chilies are small, long and thin, and come in green, yellow, orange and red and are very hot. The are often called Thai chilies in the grocery stores in Seattle.

Jalepeno peppers are traditionally used in Mexican/New Mexican foods, are fat and green, perhaps 2 inches long and are milder peppers, but still with some heat.

rhkkmk

now i know them....you see them all over bkk in the markets...

hypatia

I saw it on a show about peppers that said that Bird Chilis are the hottest in the world..I used to think scotch bonnets were...I saw the guy who loves hot peppers. take the tinist little bite and a few seconds later he was jumping up and down.. He also said most of the stong heat was in the seeds.

If I didn't have a stomach problem I still wouldn't care for my food overpowered with heat..I love the ginger,lemongrass,thai basil flavors which are stong and like to taste the other flavors.I guess I'm a supertaster.

I can make Phad Thai myself.When we eat Thai here we order it medium..We dont have Thai chilis here where I live.

My AA said it could not decrypt and the link (I did paste) said "could not find"..I will just have my concierge write a note saying "no Thai chilis"

crellston

Learning a few words of the language will add immesurably to your experience in Thai restaurnts,
The Thai for "I don't want chilli" is
"Mai ao prik" - (no want chilli).

For "I can't eat chillies" say "gin prik mai"

To tell the waiter you do not want your food too spicy just say "mai ao pet mahk na"

Remember to add "krap" or "ka" (depending upon whether you are male or female) to the end of each phase for politeness.
PS You can always add more spice to the food by adding the Naam Prik Pla (fish sauce with chillies) which will be served with virtually every Thai meal.