A Brief Discussion about Overseas Thai Restaurants in the US and China

Thai cuisine, like Japanese and Chinese cuisine, is one of the most popular cuisines in the world. Until 2018, there are over 5,000 Thai restaurants in the US [1]. In the past 10 to 20 years, Thai restaurants proliferate. The overseas Thai restaurants increase from 6,875 in 2013[2], to 20,000 in 2017[3]. Interestingly, over half of the overseas restaurants are in the US and Canada. Thai cuisine is widely accepted by people all over the world. In 2003, the report from Export-Import bank in Thailand showed that 49% of overseas restaurants are in the US and Canada; 20% in Europe; 14% in Asia. People enjoy the balance of sweet and spicy in dishes, with delicate appearance and smell.

Thai Restaurants in China

In China, Thai restaurants usually offer curry, steamed fish, seasonal soup, staple food, and dessert. Curry is a watery dish, provided with rice. The common ingredients of curry are shrimp paste, chilies, onion, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, and coriander root [4].  Restaurants usually offer yellow curry, and some provide green curry or red curry.

Instead of curry, dessert is another favorite dishes in Thai restaurants. My favorite dessert is Khao niao mamuang. Khao niao mamuang contains sticky glutinous rice, coconut milk, and sliced mango. Mango makes the taste of rice better, while coconut milk stabilizes sweet level in mango.

Thai Restaurants in the US

In the US, Thai restaurants offer noodles, curry, grill and wok-fry, salad, and soup. From my experience, the serving deserts usually don’t contain fruit, but more meat and vegetable. I didn’t see any desserts in the US is made by glutinous rice, coconut milk, or fruit.

Why Thai Restaurants so popular

People like Thai food, it’s a healthy and delicious alternative for high-calorie food. In the CNN report, Thai cuisine is ranked 10th in healthiest diets[7]. Thai food is made by fresh herb and spices, such as lemongrass, garlic, coriander, etc. Some herbs have antioxidants, which inhibit the growth of cancerous tumor. In Thailand, people based on season and weather to adjust ingredients of soup. Herbs and spices also create an intricacy texture in Thai food.

Another reason for Thai food’s popularity is the official support from Thailand government. In 2002, “Global Thai” diplomacy program began, aiming to “win hearts and minds through the stomach.” Thailand government earmarks funds for overseas Thai restaurants. There are three types of restaurants for investors, with different price levels. The dishes are adjusted to meet local people’s taste better. With the help of official support, Thai restaurants keep increasing all over the world.

Thai restaurants in Pittsburgh

• Oakland
  • Spice Island Tea house: 53 Atwood St
  • Thai Hana Restaurant: 3608 Fifth Ave
• Shadyside
  • Senyai Thai Kitchen: 5865 Ellsworth Ave
  • Noodlehead: 242 S Highland Ave
  • Thai Gourmet: 4505 Liberty Ave
  • Thai Cuisine: 4627 Liberty Ave
  • Asiatique Thai Bistro: 120 Bakery Square Blvd
• Squirrel Hill
  • Silk Elephant: 1712 Murray Ave
  • Thai & Noodle Outlet: 5813 Forbes Ave
  • Bangkok Balcony: 5846 Forbes Ave
  • Curry on Murray: 2121 Murray Ave

Reference:

[1] “The Surprising Reason That There Are So Many Thai Restaurants In America”. 2018. Munchies. Accessed October 20, 2018. https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/paxadz/the-surprising-reason-that-there-are-so-many-thai-restaurants-in-america.

[2] “The Globalization of Thai Cuisine”.2018. Citeseerx.Ist.Psu.Edu. Accessed October 20, 2018. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.404.1934&rep=rep1&type=pdf

[3] ” » Fifty Percent Of Thai Restaurants Are In The US And Canada”. 2018. Thaiembdc.Org. Accessed October 20, 2018. http://thaiembdc.org/2017/10/24/fifty-percent-of-thai-restaurants-are-in-the-us-and-canada/.

[4] “Thai Curry”. 2018. En.Wikipedia.Org. Accessed October 20, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_curry.

[5] Phichet, U. 2017. “Are Red Curry And Green Curry The Same? | Thaifoodz”. Thaifoodz.Com. Accessed October 20, 2018. http://www.thaifoodz.com/2017/01/are-red-curry-and-green-curry-the-same/.

[6] “Khao Niao : The Sticky-Rice Tale | Tourism Thailand”. 2018. Tourismthailand.In. Accessed October 20, 2018. http://tourismthailand.in/2017/09/22/khao-niao-the-sticky-rice-tale/.

[7] “The 10 Healthiest Ethnic Cuisines – CNN.Com”. 2018. Cnn.Com. Accessed October 20, 2018. http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/25/healthiest.ethnic.cuisines/index.html.