Thailand – Eat Like a Local

Thailand’s borders have at times included parts of Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), and Laos, and all these peoples, along with Chinese, Indians, Indonesians, ethnic Mon and Khmer, Persians, Europeans, and the Thai themselves, have added ingredients to an extraordinarily diverse cuisine.

Thailand has four regional food styles — northern, northeastern, southern, and central — and in cosmopolitan Bangkok you get a chance to try them all. The city itself is in the central region (the country’s fertile “Rice Bowl”), where many of the dishes most familiar to foreigners, such as tom yum goong (spicy shrimp soup), tom kha gai (coconut soup with chicken), and the red and green curries, originate. Central food owes much to the influence of the royal kitchens, where coconut was first added and a fondness for sweeter tones was developed.

The other famous dishes som tam (spicy green papaya salad) and laab (minced meat or fish with chili and lime) are from the northeastern region of Isan, where spicy food is served with sticky rice and raw vegetables to cool the palate. (Both are ubiquitous in Bangkok and elsewhere in the country.) Traditionally, you eat sticky rice by making a small flat disc of the rice, which you wrap around some food. Other Isan specialties are insects gathered from the rice paddies. The black water beetles (maeng da or “pimps”) are a particular favorite, with those-in-the-know choosing the females bearing tasty orange eggs.

Bangkok has a huge variety of both Western and Thai food in air-conditioned comfort, but many Thais still prefer to eat at food stalls, and not just because they’re cheap. Vendors specialize in one or two dishes, and bad ones quickly go out of business, so the food quality is astonishingly consistent. You’ll find different specialties in each neighborhood: Chinatown has kway tio and ba mee (noodles), Dusit is known for northern dishes, Phra Athit Road in Banglamphu has southern-style curries as well as the Indian staple roti. Ubiquitous are gai yang (grilled chicken), yum (spicy salads), joke (rice porridge), and pad Thai (thin noodles with shrimp, bamboo shoots, and peanuts). Food-poisoning scares are hugely exaggerated — if you see a crowd of healthy diners, join them. And remember: the super-sweet Thai iced tea should be avoided from vendors working off a block of ice — even frozen local water can make you sick.

Bangkok International Airport is OPEN, Thailand Travel Information

Utensils: Many Thais are baffled by foreigners’ repeated requests for chopsticks. Thais only use chopsticks for Chinese or noodle dishes — everything else is eaten with a fork and spoon (the fork is used to push food onto the spoon).

Tipping: Outside of posh restaurants, there is no need to leave a tip, save for any loose change left over from your bill.

Mouth on fire?: First-timers might have some difficulty with the liberal use of chili in most Thai dishes. Water won’t extinguish that fire; eat rice or something sweet instead. Give chili a chance, even if it stings at first, because it lends balance to the dishes. Once you get used to it, make sure that restaurants don’t assume you want your dish mild just because you’re farang (a foreigner).

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