What Is The Most Delicious Food I Have To Try In My Vacation In Thailand?

[just_Elaine]

Pla ___ manow (fish, type of fish, lime) - steam fish with lime

Yam makua yow (eggplant salad) - usually grilled eggplant, skinned and with ground pork and shrimp in a nice sauce with a hard boiled egg as garnish.

Yam tua pbuu (wingbean salad) - kind of the same as the eggplant, but have had it also with squid.

Laab moo - minced ground pork "salad" although some versions I like and others I do not. Also some places have laab gai (chicken instead of pork).

If you happen to a Northern place then gaeng Khea (moo/gai pork or chicken if you want; this curry has lots of different vegetables that are not available elsewhere) would be good.

Also, have the fruits. There is a wonderful variety of fruits here. Usually the pineapple is excellent. My favorites are papaya, bananas, mangos and mangosteen (which will not be season while you are here).

I forgot to mention som tom (green papaya salad) and the som o (pomelo salad) which can be really delicious.

Hope you have a good and delicious time...

Edited December 23, 2008 by just_Elaine

[Naam]

Hi, I love travel, I am going to have a trip in Bangkok, Thailand on the New Year holidays, I love exploring new food, Could any one tell me what the food in Thailand you would be most suggest me to try? I mean the food which is tasty, delicious, and maybe traditional ?

Vegemite and Marmite.

[Chung noi]

Hi,

Hope you enjoy you trip. I always like to have jok moo (rice porage with pork) in the mornings. You may or may not want that with an salt egg in it.

When walking around, keep an eye out for Thai doughnuts. You'll see a guy on the street frying them in a big wok. They look like a big "X" and are usally made right where the ol'boy is standing there cooking.

Those fried bananas are also good. But my favorite is a kalum, sticky rice and coconut milk, roasted in a bamboo stick.

Don't forget to try the sweet corn icecream........Have fun.

*j*

[Spee]

Hi, I love travel, I am going to have a trip in Bangkok, Thailand on the New Year holidays, I love exploring new food, Could any one tell me what the food in Thailand you would be most suggest me to try?

I mean the food which is tasty, delicious, and maybe traditional ?

There is a book available called "The Thai Food Hawker's Guide." It is a fairly comprehensive guide to all of the various street food one is likely to encounter. It is a small-ish paperback and only about 75 pages long. My suggestion would be to get a copy of it, take it with you, and try as many different things as you can.

[dotcom]

Foodland serve a very tasty Paad Thai.

Tom Ka Khai for sure is a nice soup.

[mmushr00m]

A must try "Goong Dten" dancing shrimp.

Its a shrimp salad; tiny shrimp mixed with very spicy, garlicky, and limy sauce and fresh herbs.

Its called "dancing" as the shrimp is alive when you eat them.

Quite good actually, had some recently for the 1st time and no belly problems at all.

[Mosha]

Humble but filling; Fried Rice. my wife makes a great fried rice with tender chicken and broccoli. In Thai "Cow Pat" + (Chicken=Guy/Gai, Pork=Moo, Crab=Pooh, Prawn=Goon). Some places serve American Fried Rice, this means it has a fried egg on top.

Explaining what Cow Pat means in the UK certainly gets them laughing

[Mosha]

Hi, I love travel, I am going to have a trip in Bangkok, Thailand on the New Year holidays, I love exploring new food, Could any one tell me what the food in Thailand you would be most suggest me to try? I mean the food which is tasty, delicious, and maybe traditional ?

Vegemite and Marmite.

I want Kaeng Bovril

[MJP]

Chicken and cashew with vegetable - all stir fried. I love it.

[samuisavedme]

massaman chicken!

[blondiewonder]

Yum kai dao

fried agg salad, so simple, very delicious!!

[blondiewonder]

Yum kai dao

fried agg salad, so simple, very delicious!!

[Goshawk]

Salak Palm fruit..

[Hadrian1]

The two dishes I salivate over when thinking of my time in Thailand are:

Som Tam (the salad already mentioned her) and a Chicken Massaman Curry I used to eat every Sunday afternoon because that's the only time this particular street vendor near to my home made it.

A nice Thai Green curry is also one to be eaten.

There are of course many more.....

[Blinq]

Durian

You'll either love it or hate it. But you'll never forget it.

I had some Durian ice cream at Singapore Changi airport on the way home and wow! What a flavour! Luckily, my flight was due to be called in about 15 mins otherwise I would have eaten all they had! Fantastic stuff! I'll definitely look out for the fruit on the next trip.

[gk10002000]

Fruitwise, the Jackfruit, aka "ka non". Firm yellow outer shell of the seedpod. Whole fruit kind of looks like a durian but is more round. Someone already posted the Dragon fruit. It gets nominated just because of the red shape and outer covering. One cool fruit.

Late night hotdog at 7-11! Come on! Walk in off the street and grab one and a bag of chips. For 22 baht or so, these and the burger pork or buger chicken are tough to beat! All stores have lettuce, tomato, onion for toppings too.

In Pattaya there are several really good Tom Yun Kung soup places. I don't know Bangkok well enough to recommend a specific shop though.

The freshly steamed fish with lemongrass is really good to. The lemongrass just permeates the whole fish.

I find USA Thai Curries to be superb and they tend to use vegetables like potatoes that I like better. Sometimes the Thai restaurants don't use much vegetables except that little hard green thing. Tastes fine, but not as good as I would like. You will get plenty of chicken or pork though, no doubt about it. With a side of white rice it is good.

Find a Thai barbecue place where the griddle is in the center of the table and you order meat or shrimp and veggies to put on it. The Thai barbecue dipping sauce is fantastical! As the meat cooks, the juice runs into the side of the griddle where they constantly add water and you put the veggies and some noodles. When the meat is finished you have a fine soup. The malls typically have an MK or barbecue plaza. I don't know where to find other barbecue shops in BKK. Pattaya has some spread around that I can find, and even to order take out and delivery for.

Do have a good time. I just came back after 53 days and of course miss it already. Do hit the Dusit zoo. A great great deal for the price. Quiet and large and well shaded with a huge lake in it. Nice to spend a day wandering.

Oh the red pork or "moo dan". Plain and simple, but go into the grocery store such as Carre-four and grab a pack and take it with you.

[onnut]

The OP also wants to try traditional Thai food.

Poo Phat Pong Garee isn't traditional Thai. Actually, curry powder holds no place in tradtional Thai cuisine.

Someone mentioned Khao Man Kai - that's a rip off of Yunnanese Chicken on Rice.

Another says 'Bah Mee', again another import from China. Actually, noodles aren't traditionally Thai food at all.

oh arn't you a clever boy! why do you not suggest some Thai food then instead of making silly remarks?

to the OP, My favorite Thai food is Tom Yam Goong and Larb Gai.

if you can stomach it, try the fried bugs, they do not taste special, maybe of old cooking oil, but at least you have tried them.

[Zilfo]

Mee Krob and the Eggplant dish at Chote Chitr. Shrimp Mee Krob because the som saa balances the sticky sweetness of the dish. Others are grilled eggplant salad with lemongrass, lime and mint, gaeng som, Khao soi, plaa tod kratiem phrik Thai, red curry with prawns, pan-cooked noodles with prawns.

[MiG16]

When walking around, keep an eye out for Thai doughnuts. You'll see a guy on the street frying them in a big wok. They look like a big "X" and are usally made right where the ol'boy is standing there cooking.

this is called 'pa thong koh' in thai

Those fried bananas are also good. But my favorite is a kalum, sticky rice and coconut milk, roasted in a bamboo stick.

not doing this to be pedantic...but thought you might want the close thai word/ pronunciation in case someone is trying to find it:

"khao lham" - or something to that effect (I agree with you...I love this sweet snack. usually with the kidney bean (?) cooked in the sweet sticky rice)

[Groongthep]

When walking around, keep an eye out for Thai doughnuts. You'll see a guy on the street frying them in a big wok. They look like a big "X" and are usally made right where the ol'boy is standing there cooking.

this is called 'pa thing koh' in thai

bpaa tawng(falling) go(rising) ปาท่องโก๋

[MiG16]

mis-spelled

'pa thong koh' - but i dont think its really 'thai' the words that is. might be adapted from chinese?

the fact that I didnt know 'koh' = rising makes me suspect more that its chinese?

[dave_boo]

When walking around, keep an eye out for Thai doughnuts. You'll see a guy on the street frying them in a big wok. They look like a big "X" and are usally made right where the ol'boy is standing there cooking.

this is called 'pa thong koh' in thai

Those fried bananas are also good. But my favorite is a kalum, sticky rice and coconut milk, roasted in a bamboo stick.

not doing this to be pedantic...but thought you might want the close thai word/ pronunciation in case someone is trying to find it:

"khao lham" - or something to that effect (I agree with you...I love this sweet snack. usually with the kidney bean (?) cooked in the sweet sticky rice)

I believe it is actually the Mung Bean, specifically the red variety.

None the less, I usually like to eat Pat Grapow Gai, the more chilis, royal basil, and tu fuke yaow (spelling?--it's the super long green bean thingy that I even eat raw) the better. Also love the spicy beef salad, once again with maximum vegetables. Getting khao meang gai or pbed is a quick and cheap meal.

Don't know if it's a traditional Thai dish, but the wife makes a mouth watering onion soup that uses chicken drums for the stock....

[Spee]

Also love the spicy beef salad, once again with maximum vegetables.

Aka yam neua ยำเนื้อ, one of my faves as well.

[NaiGreg]

If you make it up to Chiang Mai don't forget to try Khao Soi (because it would be a serious crime to overlook this simple masterpiece in Thai cooking!)

Its a Chicken noodle curry with crisps on top and pickles and onions on the side. Heavenly.

[mojigirl]

My favorites are ---kow mun gai, yum -pladook-<deleted>, gaeng-kiew-whan, durian..lots of food i loveeee

check out ThailandsBestRestaurants.com and go to Bangkok-Type-Thai

I'm hungry now, i'm going to have SOM TUM.

[yenyen]

Pad thai

pad see-yew

pad kee mao

dont forget to try nam prik!

sukiyaki soup

kow-lao

Edited February 3, 2009 by yenyen

[SamuiJens]

Is there MSG in most Thai foods?

[Khom77]

One of my favourite Thai dishes, but harder and harder to find, used to be pretty standard fare all over Central Thailand: Pla Tu Nam Prik Gapi - pan-fried Thai mackerel (Pla Tu) with fresh vegetables and a dipping sauce made of chilies, baby eggplants, palm sugar, lime and shrimp paste. With good hot jasmine rice it's delicious. (Apparently the mackerel is being fished out so it's a lot more expensive these days.)

Have to say though the dish I miss the most whenever I leave Thailand is a good pad grapow gai (chicken fried with Thai basil) with a fried egg, over rice. With enough chilies, it's a great lunch - even breakfast, especially if you're a little hung over (ok, maybe I've been in Thailand a little too long).

Another one that's hard to find outside of Thailand: yum makue yao (long eggplant salad) - grilled green eggplants mixed with lime, egg, pork, palm sugar, other vegetables and assorted fresh herbs.

MSG is used in many restaurants and almost as a matter of course in street food. If you don't want MSG in your food, say mai sai pong chu rot.

Oh - and pomelo. Eat lots of pomelo while you're here!

[meadish_sweetball]

It's mangosteen season right now - one of the greatest tasting fruits on this planet.

In Thai they're called มังคุด 'mangkhud' or 'mungkood'.

[IKONEast]

If you are serious about experiancing something different then you should travel with an open mind and not have a brick wall attitude to 'trying' something totally new. Don't limit your holiday experiance to being able to say that McDonald's fries aren't as good as back home.

Rural Thai folk will eat fried insects and frogs - these bugs are bred in sterile plastic boxes and not collected from under trash cans - you will not die if you try some. Try the things that look like 3cm smooth catapillers - they are bamboo larva - they taste of chicken egg yolk.

Seasonal Fruits - useful chart. You are out of season for Durian (August) any you see will be imported and expensive. Try Jack fruit - avoid touching the whole fruit you will see being cut in the market - the white juice is like latex and will stick to your skin.

Shampoo: Well pronouced more like Chompoo is a crisp apple type fruit, very nice. They come in green or red - the red ones are not simply ripe green ones.

Grapefruit: Or Pomelo - often sold ready peeled, availible in pink or yellow - I consider the yellow much sweeter.

Most fruits are best eaten on day of purchase, in particular with Jack fruit after a day or so the texture is lost and it is best discarded.

Generally you will encounter two types of rice (kaow), Kaow Sway ('normal' rice you are familiar with in the west - spearate grains - nice and fluffy) and Kaow Naow or 'Sticky Rice'. Generally served in a small lump in a plastic bag for 6-7 Baht. Take a small lump of the sticky rice - roll to a rough ball and dip in the sauce of whatever you are eating. Sometimes a tourist eating sticky rice is a 'suprise' to some market traders that seldom encounter the average tourist, you will encounter smiles and the thumbs up for eating it. It's really no big deal but there is a class understanding that the urban elite (Bangkok residents etc.) will eat Kaow Sway where as the rual folk will eat Kaow Naow. Also an implication that sticky rice makes people slow and a bit stupid. If you are watching your weight or sugar load of food sticky rice has a higher GI factor.

Sticky rice is also used to make a nice toasted (on mobile BBQs) snack - painted with a butter type fat - very nice - not slimmer's food.

Thai Tea - is nice - huge amounts of sugar. In fact most Thai drinks have 20% sugar content. Check the lables - although written in Thai you will be able to work out 'sugar' so as to avoid feeling sick every time you drink.

Thai tea or coffee, BBQ chicken and a lump of sticky rice = typical breakfast.

When people talk about Thai food - they mention Pad Thai, fishcakes etc. If there is a national food apart from rice - I would say it is 'Noodle Soup'. Sold at semi-mobile corner stalls and from shop-houses for 20-35 Baht depending on what you have in the soup. A staple food for the nation, based on a clear stock with a hand ful of rice noodles (I prefer the thin yellow - egg ones), add a few pork flavoured rice balls and a few slices of red pork or chicken or duck. Personally I add way too much powdered peanut but it tastes brilliant. many Thais add a few spoons of dried chilli - but this you control from the set of four glasses on the table at which you eat. 4-Glasses: Peanuts, sugar, dried chilli, vinegar. Normaly you also get a small bottle of Fish Sauce, use this instead of salt - dry salt sticks in the bottle due to the high humidity.

If you consume the 'soup' part to the bottom of the bowl - watch out for small stones and grit - they use crushed roots as part of the flavoring and it's not always washed as well as it could be.

BBQ fish is nice "Pla Bin" - 60 Baht. Again nice with sticky rice.

Some of the spicy salads made to order are good if you like chilli hot spicy food - the bowl is not washed between portions being made so if you ask for no chillis to be used - make sure they wash it out. For a typical "Som Tom" they will use 3-5 whole chillis, add either salted or raw crab and a strong smelling grey-brown liquid with lumps in called "Pla - Rar", I suggest that you avoid this - it is naturally fermented fish sauce. Untill it is aged 18 months or longer it can be a means of getting liver flukes, this issue is covered in more detail in the Thai food and Issan forums.

Thai generally eat out more often than dining at home, the "Lao Buffet" is a popular option. Typically you will pay 150 baht per head plus drinks, avoid farang tourist traps and ask the locals where they go. A small charcoal burning pot is put on you table covered by a convex dish with a channel around the edge for a mild stock. You collect raw meats and vegatables etc. then cook yourself at the table, waiting staff do the drinks. Similar to the likes of MK mentioned above but much better value for money and fun too. If you do go to MK aim to be eating your meal at 7pm - the staff do a little dance - seriously!

The mobile BBQ is central to Thai food - you will see many in use with many types of food being sold, from dried squid to nice looking plump sausages - but generally they are mostly rice and pork fat, ok if you are a bit drunk.

If you find yourself near a large supermarket, Tesco or Big C etc. explore the Food Court area. There will be a counter nearby where you exchange money for coupons or a stored value card. Then use the coupons to buy food from the different food outlets dotted around the court-yard, unused coupons or the stored value card can be converted back into real money when you are finished. It's an anti-theft system. Most dishes are 20-40 Baht useful place to experiment with what you might like without wasting time in a restaurant. I like the "Pork Leg over Rice" (khao ka moo = Rice Leg Pig), have a bit ofthe skin - it's nicely cooked and pay an extra 5 Baht for the boiled egg.

Street food is generally safe - places with high turn over are good choices, IMHO better than hotel buffets.

Thais are not great on the subect of deserts and I would suggest anything that looks like it might be a cake is avoided. There are many forms of sweet jellys with various flavors, some candied dry fruit peels. Market stall are the place to look for small round yellow sweets - I forget the name but made with egg yolk and very nice.

There are a few variations on sweet rice in a banana leaf found of sale on the mobile BBQ (again) - the Thai word for sweet is "Wan or Nam Tan" - inside you will find a bed of sweetened sticky rice (sometimes black or dark red rice) with a honey soaked banana or sweet fried chicken's egg (they use condensed milk so it's like a sweet omlette - not as bad as it sounds) 20 baht for 3 or 4 - disgard the banana leaf wrapper and enjoy, very nice.

Well writting this has been a nice way to finish my day - I should have grapefruit and something to do with a pig waiting for me at home tonight.

In the mean time as you prepare for your trip - I suggest printing this link out - very useful while in Thailand.

HTH.

Very nice, thank you. MA degrees have been awarded for less thoughtful and useful texts! I printed it.