<story><title>The Political History of Pad Thai</title><url>https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3007657/history-pad-thai-how-stir-fried-noodle-dish-was-invented-thai</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>zxexz</author><text>Thailand has successfully put a lot of effort in exporting cuisine.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s no wonder that Pad Thai and other Thai cuisine is ubiquitous in many countries, with the Thai government putting so much effort into &amp;#x27;gastrodiplomacy&amp;#x27; [0][1].  I&amp;#x27;m certainly not complaining!&lt;p&gt;[0] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;web.archive.org&amp;#x2F;web&amp;#x2F;20130926085448&amp;#x2F;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;thailand.prd.go.th&amp;#x2F;view_news.php?id=5585&amp;amp;a=2&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;web.archive.org&amp;#x2F;web&amp;#x2F;20130926085448&amp;#x2F;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;thailand.p...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.vice.com&amp;#x2F;en_us&amp;#x2F;article&amp;#x2F;paxadz&amp;#x2F;the-surprising-reason-that-there-are-so-many-thai-restaurants-in-america&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.vice.com&amp;#x2F;en_us&amp;#x2F;article&amp;#x2F;paxadz&amp;#x2F;the-surprising-rea...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>The Political History of Pad Thai</title><url>https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3007657/history-pad-thai-how-stir-fried-noodle-dish-was-invented-thai</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>wenc</author><text>&amp;quot;Gastro-diplomacy&amp;quot;: the Korean government did something similar.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;qz.com&amp;#x2F;747757&amp;#x2F;your-newfound-love-of-korean-food-is-a-government-conspiracy&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;qz.com&amp;#x2F;747757&amp;#x2F;your-newfound-love-of-korean-food-is-a...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Interestingly, it turns out that competent governments &lt;i&gt;are&lt;/i&gt; able to export culture and brand in a directed, purposeful way (as opposed to organic) if they put enough money and effort behind the effort and have the right kind of staffing.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s fascinating because most government tourism boards rarely achieve success. I&amp;#x27;d never have imagined that bureaucrats would know anything about promoting the arts.</text></comment>