How Many Times Do Thai Girls Eat In One Day

The title poses a big question and one you might burn off a few calories thinking about. Most Thai ladies in their late teens to early thirties have the kind of bodies men lust after and western women long for, but how do they do it on an apparently high intake of food.

In my experience Thai girls do consume meals regularly throughout the day but here in the UK we have been raised to believe that eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and a light supper will give us the needed calories to  get us through the most energetic days. So do Thai girls exceed the four times rule that has served generations of British folk?

‘ They’re either eating or sleeping’ is a jibe I’ve heard aimed at Pattaya bar girls over the years, but one which is a little unjust. The lifestyle of a bar girl is juggled between working irregular hours, snatched sleep and catching up with friends. Her food supply is regular but the pattern of eating times patchy at best and for the luckier ones their free meals will be regulated and paid for by the whims and wishes of falang.

A more regular routine girl would seem to offer the better hope of solving a question, which has been debated in many bars by many falang. Weighing in at around 50 kilos Wonderful Wi certainly fits the bill. Wilai is a country girl with a stable lifestyle and a staple diet, until I show up of course.

What do Thai’s eat for breakfast (ahaan chao) is another highly discussed question that has been kicked around the Thai blog scene for a long time. In the villages of Isaan the answer appears to be the pickings of the previous evening meal, be them spicy, sweet or sour.

The amount of half eaten dishes you  see when you visit a Thai restaurant are put to one side in many of the village homes for the first meal of the next day. What was a hot, delicately prepared meal the night before is often eaten cold and is lacking in its former delish qualities come breakfast time. Isaan’s famous sticky rice often compliments the ahaan chao meal.

Sticky rice and its glutinous properties once more slides onto the bamboo woven floor mat and the mid afternoon som tum (spicy salad ) feast begins. Wilai and her mother will eat together or sometimes be joined by an aunt, uncle or friend and the village gossip, TV soaps and the latest big Thai news story will be discussed in earnest. Chicken, fish or seafood will often partner the red chilli powered salad.

Fruit is a principal source of vitamins, antioxidants and energy in most Thai’s diet and in the villages there are bananas, pineapple, mangosteen, oranges and many other varieties to be bought from the local markets or even better, plucked from a tree. Fruit is in ample supply and is nibbled throughout the day much in the same way as perhaps the westerner might quick snack on biscuits, chocolate and cakes. A snack attack, but in my mind not another meal on the tally.

The Thai TV soaps start around half eight evening time and by then sundown has passed and the evening meal (ahaan yen) has been prepared, cooked, digested and the best of the leftovers put to one side for the morning.  Sticky rice is once more prominent on the bamboo mat.

Forget the grasshoppers, beetles and cockroaches. Chicken, pork or beef are eaten alongside vegetables and freshly prepared dips and sauces. On special occasions a barbecue heralds a birthday or special Buddhist day and a strong family presence is sometimes in attendance for the last meal of the day. Afterwards the stereotype TV soaps take centre stage.

Young Wilai notches three meals from the menu for one day and the myth of Thai girls eating  six or seven times from sunrise to dusk, is to my mind put firmly to rest. How does your Thai partner fare in the eating ‘steaks’. My conclusion is that your average Thai girl is no different to the other damsels of this world, though perhaps with the exception that their broad effervescent smiles and demure allure mean that in restaurants they never ever have to consider the calories contained in the bill.