"Special" order meal

(Side note: I let the blog stagnate for nearly a month, and I don't even have a child to show for it this time. I have a backlog of unblogged ideas and semi-written posts, so I'm going to ease back into things. I've also added a new feature: pop-up IPA when you hover over Thai words. If this isn't your preferred romanization scheme, feel free to continue using thai2english or thai-language.)

The next time you're feeling somewhat more than peckish, there's an easy way to get a heaping helping. Order your meal พิเศษ. In addition to its usual meaning of "special", พิเศษ is the secret code for a bigger portion.

You can order พิเศษ at most Thai restaurants (in Thailand, at least--anyone know if this works abroad?). Of course, it only applies to things that can be portioned. You wouldn't ask for a "special" piece of chicken--you'd just buy two pieces. But this applies to all the อาหารตามสั่่ง "made-to-order" restaurants and food stalls that are so common, among other types of vendors. Typically, พิเศษ will run you an extra 5-10 baht, depending on the regular price. Shouldn't break the bank, anyhow.

The opposite of พิเศษ is ธรรมดา "regular". So if you wanted two plates of fried rice, one regular and one special, you could order ข้าวผัดสองจาน ธรรมดาหนึ่ง พิเศษหนึ่ง.

Now go unleash that appetite!