2. Price
There’s no surprise at this one. Living expenses are naturally more expensive in America than in Thailand.
While in Thailand a normal plate of rice topped with a single dish and possibly a fried egg costs 30 – 40 THB ($1 – $1.30) and in America the same dish would probably run $7 – $10. However (as mentioned above) the portion size is 2 to 3 times larger.
Maybe I should have done a weight to price comparison?
3. Spring Rolls as Thai Food
Thai restaurants in America serve lots and lots of spring rolls – just like everyone in America must eat an egg roll with Chinese food, so Thai food is always served with a deep fried spring roll.
I think it’s because Americans like deep fried things (and Thai restaurant owners have figured this out).
Thailand does have deep fried spring rolls, but I could easily spend months in Thailand eating at only local street stall restaurants without ever touching spring rolls. In fact, I only know one food cart in Bangkok that even serves por pia tod on a regular basis.