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Some years ago the author left her Midlands home in England to join her husband in Thailand. This memoir is amusing, intimate, fascinating and at times shocking.
Liz Chalmers has a great sense of humour, something she really needed as she embraced a new culture. There are shocks in the nearby market, after a death defying walk along pavements like obstacle courses, and the ever present risk of maniac drivers and rabid dogs.
There is never a dull moment in this splendid record of Liz's first year in Asia and she captures a special moment in time perfectly.

! This is the story of Liz and her husbands's first year in Thailand. Although the date is not mentioned, I am guessing it was in the late 1980s. Getting to grips with buying food at the markets is balanced with the intricacies of the ex part community hierarchy. This is, at times, a laugh out loud book, so watch out where you are reading it I was left wanting to read more.

This was a fantastic book. I could tell from the very first page that I was going to love it. There was something in the authors writing style that made this so enjoyable. Even by the end I couldn't work out what it was that worked so well. Maybe it's her honesty or that I found it hilarious especially all the things that went wrong. It's probably that she is naturally funny without trying to. I was laughing so hard when she was practicing her new Thai saying without understanding tone was important. The reactions she got was so funny. She wrote this book so well that I was totally engrossed and lost track of time. I have read a lot travel writings recently and this is definitely the best so far. I loved learning about all the cultural differences. If you want a book full of funny mishaps and learn about Thai culture then this book is for you. I can't recommend it enough. My favourite part was the story about the missing khao phat? You really won't be disappointed reading this book. It was that good I would of give it a 6th star. 

Only the highest of praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing us this fantastic book about your 3 years in Thailand. It was so interesting and fun that I didn't want it to end. Now I'm having withdrawal symptoms. 
The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/khao-phat-for-lunch-by-liz-chalmers-the-book-guild-5-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

Sorry to say that I was not a fan of this book. For several reasons. One being that, nowhere in the book, does the author ever tell you the time period she is writing about. You are left wondering how to place the book in the proper context time wise. About the only clue I found was that she wanted her hair style to mimic that of the latest Princess Diana style. So....quite a while ago. Second reason...where in the country was she writing from? Other than calling it "The Pit's", you're never told. Third reason....what was she doing there? Following her husband, sure, but why was he there? Some mysterious occupation, maybe tied to the oil industry, maybe to an intelligence agency? Who knows? It was rather off-putting. Fourth reason......the author is living in Thailand, seemingly with all expenses paid, and cannot find anything that quite lives up to her standards. Nothing! I almost gave up, several times, as she droned on repeatedly about her inability to be served "brown bread". Ugh. Fifth reason......the constant consumption of alcohol. Night after night, at pubs, or functions, or at home. But constantly drinking. Sixth and final reason....the outright contempt of the local people. From the way they ate, the markets, the employees at her husband's mysterious job, the domestic help. On and on. I'm willing to bet that the Thai people were more than happy when she left.

Thanks to The Book Guild for giving me this ARC of Khao Phat for Lunch to review.
When a planned move from the UK to Thailand for her husband’s job gets pushed up, Liz is left alone to pack up their life. Once she gets their house rented and their cat shipped off to family she boards a plane bound for Bangkok. The culture shock - and jet lag - are brutal as Liz starts to settle into their apartment and new life. The book follows Liz through her first year living in a small Thai town affectionately called “The Pits” (as none of the ex-pats can pronounce the actual name.)
I wish I had known that the story took place in what I am assuming is the late 70s/early 80s. To me the references seemed out of date and more foreign than moving halfway across the world. I was looking for “Eat, Pray, Love” but it was more “Proper Englishwoman survives in Thailand without her tea set.” It was an interesting view into ex-Pat life in Thailand but make sure you have the timeframe in mind when you start reading.

This is a curious little book that I wanted to read because the expat life is always so interesting. Any reader should note that this doesn't seem to be a very recent accounting. I would have liked more clues as to when exactly the author was in Thailand and when she wrote this account. Is she looking back on this experience or did she write it and then let it sit for awhile?
Her descriptions are, nonetheless, interesting. I could never quite tell why the oil wives were so unhappy and why they were so status conscious. I did enjoy her trips to the market and would have liked even more descriptions of the food they ate. But I'd say she gave it a good go--both in writing and experiencing this.