The care and feeding of your average Thai money boy

[StevieWonders]

The Twitter feed @BKK_community is asking for donations for the Klong Toey community which has many COVID cases. The interesting statistic they quote is that 19 baht will feed one person, presumably for a day. I’m guessing that’s “cook-at-home” prices rather than “street food” but I’ve long thought that 100 baht a day will provide sufficient sustenance (but not the “fine dining” so beloved of some posters).

[cdnmatt]

I wonder why kind of food they get for 19 baht?

They must have corporate / government sponsors who match contributions or something, no?

[StevieWonders]

I wonder why kind of food they get for 19 baht?Heavens Matt you claim to have lived in Thailand. I can get a serve of chopped (ie. retail) fruit on the street for 20 baht or less. Access to a street market would probably give me two servings of uncut fruit for the same price. Thailand is not that expensive where only basic food is required.

[cdnmatt]

Heavens Matt you claim to have lived in Thailand. I can get a serve of chopped (ie. retail) fruit on the street for 20 baht or less. Access to a street market would probably give me two servings of uncut fruit for the same price. Thailand is not that expensive where only basic food is required.


What are you talking about? A small bit of mango is 15 baht, a bowl of "gwai-tee-aow" is anywhere from 25 - 40 baht all depending on what you get in it, a cheap plate of krawpow-moo-sap is 30 baht or 35 baht if you add a fried egg to it. I can't remember, but I think a bag of mama noodles is about 10 baht.

You can't eat for 19 baht per-day in Thailand.

[StevieWonders]

What are you talking about? A small bit of mango is 15 baht, a bowl of "gwai-tee-aow" is anywhere from 25 - 40 baht all depending on what you get in it, a cheap plate of krawpow-moo-sap is 30 baht or 35 baht if you add a fried egg to it. I can't remember, but I think a bag of mama noodles is about 10 baht.

You can't eat for 19 baht per-day in Thailand.You’re talking retail. In the area where I live up Sathorn I buy in-season chopped fruit every day on the street for lunch - generally papaya or canteloupe, rarely mango, sometimes watermelon. It costs me 20 baht and the little man who chops it up is making a profit. There are days when I can live happily on 100 baht a day and I’m buying food others have prepared and therefore added in their costs. A kilo of rice costs about 30 baht and lasts several meals.

[pong]

The cheapest ´meals´ (ahum) Ive seen in my last visit (just before covid collapse-march ´20) in BKK, were the usual rice+omlet (1 egg though only) for 15 bt, 5 bt extra buys you the 2nd egg added. NO seats, only takeaway.
Kl Toey is among common BKkians very well known and always quoted as ´very o soh cheap´-though half of this is probably the usual Thai parrotting without checking. There are several other areas in BKK probably just as cheap, like DinDaeng and the outer reaches of Bangkapi. In thisd case though I assume they mean the Kl Toey slums-about the only area of the whole of BKK where I would not venture alone.
In this case I simply assume its a translate/understanding error: they mean 1 meal and not 3 meals/day.
Yes, 100 is commonly used as needed for fairly healthy sustainable food for an average Thai, not even the deepest poor. Partly bought whereever/street, partly self made.
My favourite fruitseller has differentiated prices for types of fruit and/or size of portion.

[christianpfc]

The interesting statistic they quote is that 19 baht will feed one person, presumably for a day. I’m guessing that’s “cook-at-home” prices rather than “street food” ...
Probably ingredients bought wholesale and food prepared in large quantities. I can imagine feeding someone for 19 THB per day, but that will be mainly rice, some vegetables or noodles, but not much, if any, meat or fish.

Here in Cambodia, mangoes are currently for free if you pick them up from the ground under the tree.

In thisd case though I assume they mean the Kl Toey slums-about the only area of the whole of BKK where I would not venture alone.
I went many times, entertaining and completely safe by my standards.