the pros and cons of thai food

This was not a topic I ever thought I'd think about, let alone address publicly.  But it seems the time has come.

Sydneysiders, as I've mentioned, are crazy about Thai food.  This adoration is particularly rampant on the Lower North Shore, where you can find more Thai restaurants than you can shake a stick at.  Not that anyone in the Lower North Shore shakes sticks at anything, but should you try, you'd most certainly fail.

And then give up and go have Thai food.

Now let me just say right out:

(PRO)

I like Thai food.  I really do.  I never had it growing up, except when my friend's mother (who was Thai) cooked for me.  I really don't remember what she cooked (said friend's brother making pancakes for breakfast seems to stick out more in my mind), but it was delicious.  And it's delicious here, too.  It's just that

(CON)

it's so very filling.  It's great for lunch, but everyone always wants to have it for dinner, and it is just so heavy it leaves me feeling very overly stuffed.  I enjoy the stuffing, but not the rest of the evening.  However, on the plus side,

(PRO)

it is reasonably priced.  Which is very good when you're very broke and all your friends are continually engaging in food-related activities wherein you're expected to eat a full meal and looked at sideways every time you try to just order an appetizer because, at $7, it's the cheapest thing you can find on the menu.  At least you get your money's worth -- and quite possibly lunch tomorrow -- at a Thai place.  The problem just comes in when

(CON)

your friends want to share.  Thai food is the sharing food.  Everyone orders something different and passes it all around and you, having ordered the cheapest dish on the menu thinking it's what you'd be paying for, are suddenly sharing all manner of dishes and forking out for the average price, plus the alcohol everyone else is drinking.  And not getting to eat any of the dish you ordered because you liked it because taking too much of it is rude.  Thankfully

(PRO)

the food does almost always come quite quickly.  Wherever you are, you rarely have to wait for long.  Unfortunately,

(CON)

the plethora of pros of Thai food mean that everyone else loves it and is continually eating it and socially forcing you to do the same.  As I said, I like it, just not at every social occasion.  It's really just done a bit too much.  The frequency of visits, though, does mean that

(PRO)

you generally have a pretty good idea of what it's going to be like.  There aren't too many surprises, except as regards what you actually ordered

(CON)

because most of the wait staff are not exactly fluent and often misinterpret your requests entirely.  However,

(PRO)

there are Thai restaurants nearly everywhere so if you are in the mood for Thai, you shouldn't have to go more than 50 yards to whet your appetite.  They might have

(CON)

dimmed lighting, but at least there's usually a

(PRO)

great pun in their name.

And really, what more do you want from a restaurant?