Title Nghe 1.pdf ✅

Todd: So, Natalie, you were saying that you are a foodie. Natalie: I'm a huge foodie. Todd: And you are now in Bangkok, and Bangkok is famous for its street stall food, but that's changing. Natalie: It is, so this is probably 70% of the reason why I moved to Bangkok because of the street food. So, yeah, the street food scene is changing. It seems like they're trying to take the model that's similar to the hawker centers in Singapore, so the hawker centers is basically where all of the street food carts that used to be on the corner of a street - what we call in Thai a soi - they've been moved into one big center, so almost like a deli center. I think it's in an effort to keep things clean, and to just have a hub where you get all of your food. It's easier for tourists. So that's happening a lot. There are pockets of areas in Bangkok where you can still get amazing street food on the street. Particularly in the business districts, like Silom. I think they will struggle to get their street food vendors off the streets because it is so convenient for people. When they leave work, it's right near the elevated sky train that we talked about earlier. People can just grab some noodles ... it's under a dollar ... get their dinner. Or perhaps they get their food to take away and then they go home. And these places are always really busy. There's usually a line to get in one of these street food places. They have little seats, little plastic chairs outside, and little metal tables, so you can eat there, but it is on the street, so there are areas now where you can get amazing street food, but it's not on the street anymore. It's in one of these small hawker- like centers. Todd: Yeah, that's too bad because I ate street food going way back to 25 years ago, when I first moved here, and it's just the best. I never got sick eating street food for all my years. It's always clean and safe, and one of the things I really like about the street stall vendors that people don't talk about is that they're always really nice, and I have a theory about this. The people that own the street stalls, often, that's their own small little business, so they're the one that's in control of it, and I think mentally, they're just happier people. Rather than if you go in some restaurant, the service can be quite poor because that person is kind of in servitude. They're not really in control of their little economic endeavor. So I love the street stall people, because they're just so positive. Natalie: Yeah, it does feel more entrepreneurial. And these guys ... something that I love about the street food as well, just while we're on the topic, is you walk down the street in Bangkok and there are all kinds of noises and there's color everywhere ... all the cars, the taxis, are super colorful; they're really famous for that ... but then you'll smell something. You will smell something being grilled, or you'll smell som tum ... this is where they have the pestle and mortar and they're mixing up papaya and salad and garlic, and ... the smell of fried garlic ... if you wanna sell something, just blast the smell of fried garlic out. You will get people in. And that's one of the things that I love about the street food here. And as you say, it is really cheap. And the thing is is these people have most likely

have cleaned it before. I've never had any issue. But if you're not sure, just wipe it down with a napkin. There are always napkins. Todd: Yeah, it's so clever.