Prime Minister Srettha defends ‘worst-rated’ dish Kaeng Tai Pla
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin posted a message via X (Twitter) onSaturday morning that before travelling to Koh Samui, Surat Thani province, and then Nakhon Si Thammarat between April 6 and 8, he asked for recommendations on the best places to review the Thai dish Kaeng Tai Pla (fish entrails in sour curry).
Srettha posted, "Could you recommend any great Kaeng Tai Pla restaurants in Koh Samui and Nakhon Si Thammarat? Tomorrow, I'll be following up on water shortages and garbage issues on Koh Samui, followed by agricultural products and rubber in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
“I'd love to find delicious Kaeng Tai Pla restaurants to dine at and help review for TasteAtlas to show that Kaeng Tai Pla and southern Thai cuisine are popular and excellent choices in our country #SaveKaengTaiPla."
The prime minister was commenting on Thai social networkers’ reactions to the latest ranking by the website TasteAtlas, which last month ranked Kaeng Tai Pla No 1 on its list of “100 Worst Rated Foods in the World”.
On Thursday he said the taste of Kaeng Tai Pla might be too strong for foreigners. “They are probably not used to it. But if Kaeng Tai Pla is not hot, it won’t be Kaeng Tai Pla.”
The prime minister said his government had been promoting Thai dishes as soft power, but it could not be denied that certain dishes could be disliked by foreigners.
Srettha said different people have different tastes for foods and foreigners have the right to like or dislike Thai dishes.
"In fact, many Thai dishes, whether it's Massaman curry, Khanom Krok (coconut pancakes), Tom Yum Goong (spicy shrimp soup), Pad Thai, or Kaprao (Thai basil stir-fry), are favourites," he added.
