We all love FOOD! I can hear you screaming back a loud YES! Who doesn’t love food anyway?! I am a self-confessed writer and foodie, too.
Now let me share with you my wonderful experience when I tried Thai street food for the first time ever.
Thailand is home for delicious, unique and exotic street foods. From seafoods, noodles, native delicacies and even crickets and bugs, Thai street foods will fulfill your cravings and curiosity at the same time.
When hunger strikes, even at the middle of the night, you’re sure to find something to eat. This is because Thai street foods are available day and night, may it be in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and other areas. Indeed, always a happy tummy for me.
And I’ll never forget to mention that Thai street foods are cheap! Servings here would only cost around US$1-US$2. Nice treat, yeah! Just worth your cup of coffee usually or even more.
Thai street food has its own culture and caters with sweet, sour, spicy and unique flavor offerings. Here are the street foods that I have tried, and that I also have not also tried (but I might in the future) but you would like to try too:
Desserts
Okay, say you have this sweet tooth. The food here, especially the desserts, would be a haven for you. They’re not only sweet, but delicious and attractive too. Their sweet delights come in various shapes, designs and colors. Even their sticky rice has lots of color variation such as the purple rice with your choice of toppings like mango or custard. Truly colorful and a delight to eat.
Thailand has a brutally hot climate that you really do need something to cool you down and at the same time, to tickle your taste buds! As for Thailand’s chilled delights, their coconut ice cream is unarguably the most popular. You can add it with your choice toppings: peanuts, sweet corns, red beans, syrup and more!
Noodles
If you’re a noodle lover or just felt like eating a plate or bowl of it, I’d say go ahead and try one. I myself can attest that it would be one of the great dishes you can try here. I have tried their egg noodles and it sure tastes delicious. There’s also a variety such as thin and thick rice noodles with your choice of meat, and other condiments and leafy vegetables.
Whether it’s the stir-fried pad thai or a hearty bowl of “boat noodles,” go and grab them when you’re in Thailand! All of them will be guaranteed delicious!
Grilled and roasted food
Barbecue or various kinds of grilled or roasted meat and fish are also a treat I’ve enjoyed. Its sizzling aroma is undoubtedly a stomach magnet and would really want to make you try them the soonest. It is best partnered with a sticky rice and a perfect dip or sauce of your choice.
Snacks
Thailand has an abundance of different tasty street snacks, and some of them do really have a nice presentation. The sweet ones, such as the Thai ice cream sandwich (ideam kahnom bung), fried pastry (pa tong go), bamboo sticky rice or banana crepes (roti guay) will make either a perfect ending to savories or as a treat by themselves. There are also savory snacks such as the popular satay, isaan sour sausages and fish cakes.
There are other snacks that can be either served sweet or savory, such as crispy crepes (khanom bueang), steamed buns and leaf-wrapped bites (which may contain peanuts, sliced chilies, raw ginger, toasted coconut shreds, to name a few). If you want something that perfectly represents Thai flavors — the combination of sweet, spicy, sour and salty — go for the mamuang klook prik glua which consists of sour green mangoes sliced in wedges and seasoned with salt, chili and sugar.
These are only just a few of the endless options of Thai snacks!
Edible insects
I never had the courage to go and try the crickets and bugs that are seen all throughout the streets of Thailand. But just to share a few of what I’ve seen, these are usually fried to its crispy point. The most popular one is the giant water bug. If you’re the adventurous type and would love to try exotic foods such as these, then you’re in for a treat here in the streets of Thailand.
Now it’s your turn!
Beverages
Of course, a drink will help you to go down with what you’ve eaten, as well as to quench your thirst in the midst of the extreme Thai heat. No street food experience in Thailand is complete without trying some of their most popular drinks from the local vendors such as the black iced coffee (oliang), iced cocoa, pink milk (which is flavored and colored with red rose syrup) and of course the milk teas.