I used to love my food as hot as possible but - in my 20s - I discovered my tummy didn't enjoy heat and spice as much as my head. Also my favourite cuisine (Thai) started catching on in Western countries and, like Indian and some Chinese, they began over spicing the food. I found the increased heat destroyed the subtle tastes I loved in my Thai cuisine - coconut milk, galanga, lemon grass, coriander and so on. These days I actually have to tell restaurants "not spicy" for my regular food. Quite recently chicken in black bean sauce was so hot I couldn't eat it (and it's not meant to be a spicy dish).

JK2006 wrote:
I used to love my food as hot as possible but - in my 20s - I discovered my tummy didn't enjoy heat and spice as much as my head. Also my favourite cuisine (Thai) started catching on in Western countries and, like Indian and some Chinese, they began over spicing the food. I found the increased heat destroyed the subtle tastes I loved in my Thai cuisine - coconut milk, galanga, lemon grass, coriander and so on. These days I actually have to tell restaurants "not spicy" for my regular food. Quite recently chicken in black bean sauce was so hot I couldn't eat it (and it's not meant to be a spicy dish).

Now I agree,never a big fan of chilli on its own.
Chilli should be part of a mix of herbs and spices that add some heat,but are really there as flavour...hence why I never enjoyed too hot curries,or Latin American food....even Asda who made up my pizza last night put chilli in their barbecue pizza sauce!

Another thing,I've been diabetic for a while and the tablets do seem to have changed my taste buds...chilli tastes worse now than it did before.

Pattaya wrote:
JK2006 wrote:
I used to love my food as hot as possible but - in my 20s - I discovered my tummy didn't enjoy heat and spice as much as my head. Also my favourite cuisine (Thai) started catching on in Western countries and, like Indian and some Chinese, they began over spicing the food. I found the increased heat destroyed the subtle tastes I loved in my Thai cuisine - coconut milk, galanga, lemon grass, coriander and so on. These days I actually have to tell restaurants "not spicy" for my regular food. Quite recently chicken in black bean sauce was so hot I couldn't eat it (and it's not meant to be a spicy dish).

Now I agree,never a big fan of chilli on its own.
Chilli should be part of a mix of herbs and spices that add some heat,but are really there as flavour...hence why I never enjoyed too hot curries,or Latin American food....even Asda who made up my pizza last night put chilli in their barbecue pizza sauce!

Another thing,I've been diabetic for a while and the tablets do seem to have changed my taste buds...chilli tastes worse now than it did before.

Why do supermarkets do funny things to pizza ?

andrew wrote:
Pattaya wrote:
JK2006 wrote:
I used to love my food as hot as possible but - in my 20s - I discovered my tummy didn't enjoy heat and spice as much as my head. Also my favourite cuisine (Thai) started catching on in Western countries and, like Indian and some Chinese, they began over spicing the food. I found the increased heat destroyed the subtle tastes I loved in my Thai cuisine - coconut milk, galanga, lemon grass, coriander and so on. These days I actually have to tell restaurants "not spicy" for my regular food. Quite recently chicken in black bean sauce was so hot I couldn't eat it (and it's not meant to be a spicy dish).

Now I agree,never a big fan of chilli on its own.
Chilli should be part of a mix of herbs and spices that add some heat,but are really there as flavour...hence why I never enjoyed too hot curries,or Latin American food....even Asda who made up my pizza last night put chilli in their barbecue pizza sauce!

Another thing,I've been diabetic for a while and the tablets do seem to have changed my taste buds...chilli tastes worse now than it did before.

Why do supermarkets do funny things to pizza ?


They have to get rid of the food factory floor sweepings somehow.

In my case I like Thai food and Indian hot hot. And I found the opposite to JK in London that the Asians toned down their food on the hot side to allow for the Western taste bids. But we all have our likes and dislikes. As to getting all those flavours JK talks about well it is a challenge to find places that can really achieve it. Even now living here now in Chiang Mai I note the best places are normally the roadside food places that are quite rudimentry, but have the most delicious food.

looking forward to my next visit to Bangkok and dinner at Nahm- just voted the best Asian restaurant in the world.

Chef is David Thompson whose restaurant in Kings Cross was a favourite (Tom Cruise loved it as well)

Thompson prepares banquets for the Thai Royal Family.

He discovered years ago there were 2 Thai style recipes- the Street Food (wonderful) and recipes handed down amongst the Thai 'upper classes" which he has perfected.

my real favourite- Vietnamese..to die for

hedda wrote:
looking forward to my next visit to Bangkok and dinner at Nahm- just voted the best Asian restaurant in the world.

Chef is David Thompson whose restaurant in Kings Cross was a favourite (Tom Cruise loved it as well)

Thompson prepares banquets for the Thai Royal Family.

He discovered years ago there were 2 Thai style recipes- the Street Food (wonderful) and recipes handed down amongst the Thai 'upper classes" which he has perfected.

my real favourite- Vietnamese..to die for

Is Australia still full of Vietnamese restaurants as it was back in the 80s?

yes suburb Cabramatte is almost entirely Vietnamese. I go there -full of great Vietnamese restaurants & like being in Ho Chi Min City (not that I've ever been there)

hedda wrote:
yes suburb Cabramatte is almost entirely Vietnamese. I go there -full of great Vietnamese restaurants & like being in Ho Chi Min City (not that I've ever been there)

I'm not mad on Thai,but prefer Vietnamese...best I ever had was back in 2002 at a big Warsaw Bazaar I used to shop at while doing business there.It was actually for the many Viets who worked out of there...but as a result was 'real' food,not adjusted for foreigners as is the case with many restaurants.