After now ca 6 weeks of traveling, we have seen and tried already a big variety of thai- and non-thai food. From beginning on in Bangkok we sticked to the thai food and also now we are still eating 95% thai throughout the weeks. For us it’s the perfect food here with those temperatures. Thai food mostly light food and normally does not come in too big portions.
In the following sections I want to show you some example-dishes we have here regularly and give you some extra information what the culinary here looks like:
Breakfast
Thai people here don’t really know European breakfast. Because we started leaving the room not before 1pm, we arent really in the need for a real breakfast. Normally we start into the day with lunch, so propper rice dishes with meat. But in the touristic areas you will find cafes that serve baked goods and things like avocado toasts and even Müesli or porridge.
But you will also see people eat rice dishes for breakfast before midday, especially local people.
Also a fruit shake is a good way to start into the day, they are somewhat filling and always fresh, without milk and cheap. Mango, passion fruit and watermelon are some of the available flavours.
Opening times
For me personally it’s too hot over here to eat around midday or earlier. Luckily here in Thailand you do not really have fixed times to eat or real prime times at restaurants. Restaurants are open normally from 10 am-ish until 10-11 pm. in most places you will also find some sort of night market / food markets that sell really cheap food (0.50 -1.50 Franks) till midnight or later.
Popular dishes and personal favorites
Dosen’t matter which thai food restaurant you will enter, some dishes you will always find on the menu:
Pad thai
Pad thai is next to fried rice one of the most popular dishes here. It is made of weet-savoury-sour sauce scattered with crushed peanuts. main ingredients are flat rice noodles, and almost always has bean sprouts, garlic chives, scrambled egg. You can have it with chicken, pork or seafood, which is my favourite type of pad thai. Its always a solid option if you don’t dislike the chewy thick glass noodles.
Fried Rice
Fried rice is another everywhere known dish and also a simple one: fried rice with scrambled egg, peas and onions. you can have it with chicken, pork, shrimp / other seafood. Both dishes are never spicy and you can be sure to get a big enough portion.
Personal favourites
If you are a fan of seafood like me, you are in heaven here in Thailand. you are likely to find dishes like whole fried fish, fried prawns or several stir fried rice dishes with seafood.
Another category would be the currys and soups.
Timon and Joel are big fans of the yellow and red curry or the famous massaman curry, a curry with potatoes and meat.
I also really like the coconut soup, a soup out of coconut milk with vegies and meat or seafood.
Anotther basic dish is stir-fried holy basil (thai basil) with pork and rice. A basic local meal, always really cheap.
Apatizers
most menus also feature a big list of small bites, optimal to share and make a tapas like experience.
Popular dishes here would be spring rolls, gyozas, fried prawns, onion rings muscles etc.
Tipps when going for food
When ordering make sure if the dish is normally spicy or not. Most dishes are available with less or without chilly.
When you are in a bigger city or touristic place, the chance is high that “grab” is available. On this app you can order food, taxis and much more. Food delivery functions mostly well, sometimes takes some time but its always the same price as in the restaurant and delivery costs are only around 1 frank.
Also don’t be afraid of going into restaurants with mixed foods like Thai food and European food. Not like in Europe, big menus are not a hint for bad quality food. Especially Thai food is almost always solid and delicious, doesn’t matter if it is cheap or more expensive.
Also don’t be afraid of shady local food stands, the food is as good as in regular restaurants.
When going for burgers, pizza or pasta do not expect the same standards in taste but we also had good food from this cuisine.
All in all food in Thailand is always a highlight of the day. Just try and figure out 🙂
