What to Actually Eat in Thailand (From Someone Who Eats Here Too Much)

Thai food abroad is a lie

The pad thai at your local Thai restaurant is fine. The pad thai in Thailand is something else entirely — fresh, complex, properly wok-charred over a flame hotter than any restaurant back home uses. I’ve been eating Thai food for years and still find it more interesting here than anywhere else.

Here’s what I’d prioritize, in the order I’d eat it on a first trip.

Khao man gai before anything else

Poached chicken on rice, served with a clear soup and a ginger dipping sauce. This is what Thais eat for breakfast and lunch, and it’s profound in its simplicity. ฿50–60 at any place with a queue of office workers. The best I’ve had was at a street cart outside Chatuchak market — no name, just a woman with a pot and a line of regulars.

Som tam: the salad that isn’t really a salad

Green papaya pounded in a mortar with chili, lime, fish sauce, peanuts, and dried shrimp. Sour, spicy, crunchy, fresh. Tell them your spice level honestly — Thai-medium is eye-watering for most Westerners. ฿40–60, everywhere.

Boat noodles in Bangkok

Small intense bowls of pork or beef noodles in a dark, spiced broth, originally served from boats on Bangkok’s canals. The Ratchadaphisek area (near Lat Phrao MRT) has several excellent boat noodle shops. You order 5–6 small bowls for ฿100–150 total.

Mango sticky rice

Sweet, warm sticky rice with coconut cream and fresh mango. A dessert so good I’ve eaten it for breakfast. ฿50–80. Only order it when mangoes are in season (roughly March–June) — out of season the mango is stringy and disappointing.

The thing tourists consistently miss

Khanom jeen — fermented rice noodles served cold with various curry-based sauces. Eaten for breakfast throughout Thailand, rarely seen in tourist restaurants. Find it at morning markets. It’s the Thai dish I think about most when I’m not in Thailand.