GROCERIES | Expat Eyes

Niina
May 31, 2023
7 min read

Updated: Feb 11, 2024

Grocery shopping in Thailand is unique. I've lived in-country for 9 years thus far and there are still various dynamics that surprise me. Things I assumed were normal protocols, common sense, or necessities for living, simply were not so in Thailand. What exactly does that mean?

Here's a few fun facts about grocery shopping in Hatyai ...

1. Grocery shopping in the Deep South Provinces comes with security checkpoints. This region is known for b0mbings, so the normal is for grocery stores, malls, hospitals, and airports to have security checkpoint stations set up before entering parking lots. There are ground mirrors to examine the underside of each vehicle to make sure there are no suspicious devices. The driver is required to unlock all vehicle doors and show picture ID to a security camera. The security guard may or may not open the trunk or ask you to roll down all the windows to examine all the people/ contents inside the vehicle. Once you've been given the "all clear," you are handed a parking pass that must be returned at the exit security checkpoint. I would say this is the most shocking aspect of our grocery runs, even for visitors from other regions of Thailand. It's certainly not something you would expect as "the norm".

2. Seasonal produce is interesting to navigate because I didn't grow up in the tropics. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, my family had a garden. If we didn't plant it, we went somewhere else to pick it. The summers were full of prepping, cooking, canning, and/ or freezing all the fresh produce for the winter months, so I have a pretty good idea the seasonal harvest times in the PNW. But in Thailand, I am essentially lost. With only two season, it's hard to pin point what is year-round or seasonal produce. Furthermore, supply and demand still remains a mystery. Since we don't have a vast amount of imported fresh produce, I've noticed a lot of gaps. For example, I may need cucumbers, but if they are not at the first store, I can guarantee all other stores will also be sold out. I may have to wait a week or two for the next shipment of cucumbers to come in. This often has me scrambling in my meal planning rhythms, and keeps me constantly creative.

3. One of the most daunting aspect of grocery shopping is purchasing raw meats. I'll be honest, the massive raw meat sections freaks me out and I try to avoid it whenever possible. It's open air, so everyone is breathing on it, or rummaging through the raw meats to find the best pieces. Just getting these pictures made me queasy. Plus, how on earth do you cook and eat chicken feet? I honestly have zero clue. The last time I was served chicken feet, I got so sick and haven't been able to venture into that pool again. In fact, we got sick a LOT last term while living in Bangkok, and now I primarily stick with frozen meats for home cooked meals that are available from Makro (which is the Costco of Thailand). Shifting to frozen meats has kept our family healthy since moving to Hatyai.

4. When bagging your own produce, you must visit a weighing station for barcodes and prices before heading to checkout, which is located in the middle of the produce section. Often times, I fill up my cart with all my bagged fresh produce and get in line to weigh everything all at once. In my expat mind, it seems time efficient, but I've also noticed that perhaps it annoys locals, who seem to weigh produce immediately after choosing it. Getting all your produced priced prior to checkout is one of the more difficult things to remember here because America does not have this system. When I forget to visit the weighing station, more often than not, the cashier will send me back because they do not have the ability to weigh and price produce at checkout. If I have the littles with me and have forgotten (which still happens occasionally), sometimes the cashier will have compassion and run to the weigh station for me. I am certainly grateful for every act of mercy this expat mama receives.

5. Since moving to Thailand, the Kitchen Dial app is an absolute gift from Jesus! I use it all.the.time. for both shopping and baking. Americans grow up learning the imperial system, but the rest of the world uses the metric system. For example, my brain is trained to think of sticks of butter in half cups, but all butter here is measured grams. So I use this app to convert all my recipes accordingly and figure out what size of products to buy at the grocery store. Truthfully, technology has been the biggest blessing in the area of groceries and cooking. Google helps me convert my oven temps from Fahrenheit to Celsius, as well as find easy substitutes for ingredients that aren't readily available in Hatyai. These dynamics used to overwhelm me (especially while grocery shopping), but now this dynamic feels like a natural and normal part of my life.

6. I am often confused by product placements and locations in the grocery stores. There are times when products I believed were inaccessible, actually resided in sections I never thought to look. For example, I would never thought to look in the Wine & Liquor section for Gatorades, sports drinks, or sparkling water. I assumed sports drinks were located with soft drinks. Location placement for eggs also surprises me because they are not refrigerated, which means eggs are often relocated throughout the store on a whim. Several times I found myself scrambling to find eggs (pun intended). After nearly 4 years in Hatyai, I am still surprised by the treasure trove of products I am constantly discovering that were simply located random sections or the store.

7. Part of the grocery shopping experience is slowing down to look at all packaging and reading expiration dates. Rule of thumb? If the product looks strange or discolored, and you can't see the inside contents very well, just don't buy it. Cheese is the biggest culprit, so if you cannot examine it properly, avoid buying it altogether. If the contents of a jar or frozen foods look odd or discolored, don't risk it. This is the tropics and things have the ability to go bad fast. Food safety first! Another fun fact, expiration dates in Thailand are read with the day before the month (DD/MM/YY), not like in America with month/ day/ year. Training your brain to read expiration dates differently has been a challenge, but incredibly valuable and money-saving endeavor, particularly with dairy products.

8. One of the more challenging aspects of shopping is when you find something you absolutely LOVE, but it is not marked properly with a barcode and the store refuses to sell it to you. This always seems to happen with imported goods, which is particularly frustrating when you cannot always find these products. In America, if something doesn't have a proper barcode, the cashier rings for a price check. Here, they just won't sell it to you. Whomp, whomp. I have walked to the cashier multiple times praying all my barcodes work because I really want to make a batch of brownies or am craving the good pasta sauce. Or perhaps there is a sale. I only want to buy 1 bag of sugar, but the special only applies when you buy 5 bags. Will they sell me only 1 bag? Unfortunately no, and my noble goal of avoiding diabetes is punish when I'm forced to go to another store for sugar instead. My expat mind still can't fathom the why's.

Ellie loves riding the troller escalator!

9. Checkout is always an adventure for a few reasons. First, you are responsible for not only bringing your own bags, but bagging all the groceries yourself. This gets tricky when you have little kids. I don't seem to be the fastest bagger when it comes to groceries. It's like I have a mini panic attack because everyone is observing/ judging the ways this expat mom manages her every day life. Second, Thais loves free things. I am constantly surprised when I purchase a product, get to the register, and I receive some sort of freebie, anything from laundry soap to tissues or snacks to containers. Freebies are great when you want them, and cluttering when you are more particular. Thankfully, we know lots of Thai friends, who gladly welcome our freebies with open arms.

There you have it, all the little quirks, challenges, and joys of grocery shopping in Hatyai, Thailand. I'm still learning and making discoveries. Yes, I'm still under everyone's microscope when I'm out and about, trying to do "normal" life. After all, my rhythms are so foreign here, and have changed so much since moving in order to "blend in". There are times I'm sure I look like I'm running a one woman circus with my little crew. At the same time, it's empowering. I can shop successfully in Thailand, even when I cannot successfully purchase my items or get everything on my list. I choose to show up every day, even when shopping days feel overwhelming and exhausting. I take breaths, take breaks, and embrace coffee. Conquer my fears and be victorious, I'm learning, has nothing to do with the big brazen glorious acts, but by showing up every day to steward the little moments in my life. In the end, that's all any of us can really do.