Global Cuisine and Conversation: Thailand

Our monthly event, Global Cuisine and Convo., is about exploring the Bay Area's culinary diversity and talking about that culture by sharing personal experiences, books/articles we've read, art/film we've seen, music, heritage, current events, etc.! We'll start with going around the table so you can introduce yourself and share your experience/knowledge of the culture (just 2-3 minutes each). Then the rest of the time we will open it up to casual discussion. By the way, you are welcome to bring up to one guest with you!

Restaurant info for Thai Bangkok: https://www.yelp.com/biz/thai-bangkok-cuisine-cupertino-2 ;

If you plan to attend, please read the three sections written below in order to understand our group's policy on Guest behavior, Splitting the Check, and the RSVP policy for this event series.

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Guest behavior:

Please text me at 408-307-6721 if you are running 10 or more minutes late.

If you have zero experiences with the culture, you can just find out some random trivia to share during the intro with a quick google search. Afterwards, you can simply sit back and relax if you like. There is no pressure to talk.

This is meant to be a fun, casual discussion, so this is not the place to lecture/teach/diatribe. Allow a free-flow of conversation by keeping your time friendly-brief and engaging with others (i.e. do not dominate the conversation with constant and/or long periods of talking - share the time!). "Deep" meaningful conversations are encouraged as long as they ARE conversations (not just waiting for your "turn" to speak).

Restaurants can get loud. Big groups often split into multiple discussions. Occasionally people interrupt to seek clarification on what you just said. Great Yelp reviews may not always pan out. These are some basic facts to accept in order to enjoy the experience.

If someone upsets you by a different opinion/view on a topic or issue then handle it like a well-mannered adult. No snide comments or tearing down will be tolerated. Don't like Trump? Don't like Obama? (ETC.?) Keep it civil and focus on issues rather than berating someone for their personal opinions. If you engage in hate-speech towards anyone for their beliefs or way of life I will shut you down in front of everyone (politely and respectfully) and will potentially ban you from the group.

You can text me, private message me via MeetUp afterwards, or pull me aside privately during/after the event if you feel someone is not following etiquette or is bothering you. Please do not gossip about fellow members. I will contact that person individually and privately while keeping you completely anonymous.

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Splitting the check is easy as 1-2-3:

If they don't do separate checks (I'll note it beforehand in the Comments), the following applies:

1. Each person will be responsible for their own food, drink. The tax and 20%* gratuity will be split by dividing the grand total (the entire bill) by the # of attendees (rounded up to the nearest dollar). Therefore, be sure to bring enough cash and small bills to cover your own stuff and to share the tax and gratuity. *Often there is a pre-established amount of gratuity for large groups that is lower than 20%, but I will tack on the difference if we receive good service overall. If you didn't like your food, you still need to pitch in for tip.

2. If you are sharing an appetizer or entree, agree beforehand who will pitch in $ for it. Be sure you have enough cash to contribute to its cost. If you offer a friend some, then you are still expected to cover your portion. If you see a crazy delicious appetizer and want to share, ask first before you have some and offer to pitch in.

3. To avoid utter chaos, I will, with your confirmation, calculate your total + tax and gratuity and collect what is owed individually, one at a time, rather than pass the bill around the table). PRO-TIP on making this easy & fast: Bring $1s,$5s, & $10s!

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The RSVP Policy for this event series is also as easy as 1-2-3:

This is the only type of event I am STRICT on because I have to limit the number of attendees.

1. If you've had two or more no-shows with the group, you will not be able to attend unless you send me a message to talk about it. If you RSVP yes without talking to me about it first, I will send you a message regarding our policy and offer to talk with you about it. If I don't hear back from you within 48 hours, I will change your RSVP to Not Going.

2. If you drop out within 24 hours of the event more than two times, you will only be allowed to attend if there is available room after the waitlist has been processed. I will be processing the waitlist up until 24 hours before the event, so please check your status or message me about it. I will manually update your RSVP to Going or Not Going when I edit the waitlist.

3. It is okay if you're running late!!! I have lost count of the times I've gotten lost due to my dumb map app leading me through some obscure route! Just please update the Event Comments section or text/call me at 408-307-6721. The reservation will always be under my name, so show up when you can. Our lunches/dinners are approximately 1.5-2 hours. If you need to leave early, let me know ahead of time so I can ask for the check in order to calculate your portion.