The Top 5 Food Experiences You Should Have In Thailand

Below you will find what are, in my opinion, the top five food experiences you should have while you’re in Thailand.

1 - Street Food, But Also Thai Food Courts

Bangkok has been consistently ranked as one of the top street food cities for good reason - food is EVERYWHERE at all hours. Street food is an integral part of Thai culture. So many great dishes come from street stalls - all sorts of noodle dishes, soups topped with sliced red pork or duck, perfectly sweet mango sticky rice, pad kraprow or gaeng kiaw waan (green curry) cooked up in a wok right in front of you, plus tons of other dishes to tantalize the taste buds.  I’ve tried so many new-to-me dishes just from eating street food! If you’re in Thailand, don't pass on the chance to try some delicious street food. 

Street food in Thailand gets a lot of publicity, but you don't hear much about the wonderful Thai food courts which are simply overflowing with mouth-watering choices.

If you are tired of the heat and humidity, Thai food courts in malls can be a great option with air conditioning. You might not have that iconic street atmosphere, but you will have delicious food without breaking a sweat. Going to any of these food courts is like having a bunch of street stalls next to each other. There are also plenty of outdoor and covered food courts to visit as well.

My favorite food court in Bangkok resides in the Gaysorn Amarin (formerly Amarin Plaza*). It has around 50 stalls and is packed with office workers for lunch. I'll let you in on a little secret - some stalls here are actually branches of famous street food stalls. Sometimes a successful stall will open a branch in a mall food court. Look for the stalls with the long lines of office workers during lunch.

My second favorite food court is the “Pier 21” food court on the 5th floor of Terminal 21. This one gets written up in a lot of guide books for good reason. It’s super cheap, always packed, and has lots of yummy options. You can find stalls for all different types of Thai food. There is even one vegetarian stall. Don't pass up the coconut ice cream for dessert.

If you love Thai food, there are endless options to explore not only with street food, but with food courts as well. And you can beat the heat in one of the many mall food courts

Note to foodies: In Bangkok, street food is technically prohibited on Mondays (not sure about other cities), so if you’re visiting for the street food, don’t plan your eating on a Monday. You may find some vendors open, but most will respect the rules and stay closed. 

2 - Eat Authentic International Food

If you came to Thailand thinking about eating all Thai food all the time, I would encourage you to rethink your plans. Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and all the major tourist/expat areas of Thailand have an amazing amount of diverse and authentic international cuisine. You’ll be missing out on world-class dining if you only focus on Thai food while you’re in Thailand.

For instance, Japanese food, loved by Thai’s and foreigners alike, is plentiful and authentic thanks to the large Japanese community here. From tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurants to beloved Japanese chains, you can find it in Thailand. If you want middle eastern food, you can take a stroll down Sukhumvit Soi 3 in Bangkok, which is lined with different restaurants. Like Indian food? There are endless options from all different regions of India. A lot of international restaurants are run by chefs who come from those countries, which helps ensure the food is authentic. For example, there are American, Ethiopian, Italian, French, German, and Peruvian restaurants all with chefs of those nationalities.

There are plenty of countries I've visited with the intention to only eat local food. But I believe it's well worth branching out to international cuisine in Thailand.

3 - The Vegetarian “Tesagan Gin Jay” Festival

Thailand’s vegetarian festival happens for 9 days each year, usually in October. It’s based on the Chinese Taoist “Nine Emperor Gods Festival” and happens on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. During this time, people ritually cleanse themselves by eating only vegan non-pungent foods (no garlic or onions).  It tastes better than it sounds, as many parts of the country turn into a vegan’s dream come true.

You can recognize "jay" vegan food sellers by the yellow and red symbol which is the phonetic spelling of "jay" in Thai (เจ), often in a stylized font:

My favorite part is all the foods made with fake meat products. I’m far from a vegetarian but I do enjoy meat substitutes. Fake pork, shrimp, chicken, you name it, they’ll add it to a dish, and it will taste delicious. I don't like offal, so the Jay festival is a great time to try certain dishes that normally contain a lot of offal. For example, kway chap is a soup made with rolled rice noodle sheets and lots of pork offal. I really enjoy the jay version because I don't have to worry about ordering it without all the innards.

If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this is truly the best time to come to Thailand, because you can try so many traditional dishes that are specially made to be vegan.

The festival is also famous for the Phuket procession of devotees who practice self mutilation, piercing their cheeks and tongues as they have invited the spirits to possess their bodies. If you want to see this procession, make sure you're in Phuket at the right time.

In Bangkok, the festivities take over Chinatown, where stalls of vendors stretch for what seems like a kilometer, and crowds gather every night. Some stalls have a long wait just to sit down and be served. The Siam Paragon food hall and other food halls around Bangkok often participate in the festival as well.

4 - Instagrammable Restaurants and Cafes

Thailand takes the theming and visual appeal of restaurants and cafes to another level. It’s very common to go somewhere for the style and atmosphere. People will pose for their best Instagram shots while enjoying fancy beverages and nice food. You might find yourself in a lovely garden cafe with a European flair, a random British themed cafe in the middle of nowhere serving afternoon tea and scones, a unicorn cafe with a whimsical menu, or a Hello Kitty cafe. While many places focus on specific themes, others attract patrons with stunning scenery. You might also find yourself perched on a cliff with sweeping mountain views or maybe enjoying a meal while looking out at rice paddies.

The visual appeal isn’t only reserved for a quick meal and a coffee or tea. Some of Bangkok’s high end restaurants, like Issaya Siamese Club and Suhring, reside in old houses on beautifully kept grounds with lots of greenery.

Some of the beautifully designed restaurants and cafes are very popular with Thai’s but not with foreigners. I’ve found some really wonderful spots by either walking around and exploring or by looking at random places on Google Maps. It may not be easy to find the popular Thai spots by an English language search, unless you follow Thai influencers, or continue reading my blog. My best advice is just take the time to explore, and you never know what you might find.

5 - Waterside Thai Seafood Restaurants

There always seem to be seafood restaurants next to any body of water in Thailand. Ocean, river, lake, or dam, there is bound to be at least one serving fresh tasty seafood. I like to find the restaurants that are popular with the locals or with Thai tourists. They may or may not have a menu in English, but there are probably pictures you can point to. These restaurants are usually large, no-frills, covered open air spaces, and the food is almost guaranteed to be excellent. If you don't like seafood, they probably have other dishes on the menu, and the views are usually very nice.

I love to order fried or steamed whole fish, goong pao (grilled shrimp), tom yum goong (tom yum soup with shrimp), tod mun goong (fried shrimp cakes), and more. In order to find a good restaurant, I will search for seafood restaurants, see which ones are by the water, scroll through the reviews, and then see which ones have high ratings written in Thai. If locals and Thai tourists are happy with it, I probably will be too.

While there are all kinds of wonderful food experiences to be had in Thailand, these are my top five must-try categories.

All photos were taken by me and are copyright Food And Adventures