10 essential food experiences to try in Thailand

Thailand is an understandably essential destination for culinary tourists. Famous for its inimitable melange of aromatic ingredients, rich flavors and razor-sharp spices, Thai food ranks among the top cuisines in the world.

Here, you can sit down at street-side stalls to enjoy wholesome, inexpensive dishes, savor elaborate haute cuisine at some of the world’s finest restaurants – and enjoy every kind of meal in between. Thai food checks pretty much every box on the gastronomic spec sheet, even for the most demanding and discerning gourmet.

While it’s impossible to capture the full breadth of Thai cuisine, the following are some essential experiences that any food lover plotting their way around Thailand – or even just briefly passing through the capital Bangkok – simply must try.

1. Start with pad thai, Thailand’s “national dish”

In the first half of the 20th century, Thai authorities conceptualized a dish that would represent Thailand on a plate (and which would encourage cooking without rice, at the time subject to shortages). The result, pad thai (pàt tai), is a wok-fried dish featuring flat noodles, shrimp, bean curd, bean sprouts, spring onions, peanuts, assorted spices and sauces. In short, pad thai brings together everyday ingredients consumed in Thai households across the country.

The dish is wildly popular with travelers – especially those acquainting themselves with Thai food for the first time. Indeed, don’t be surprised if you find yourself gorging on nothing but pad thai during your first 48 hours in the country. Countless others have done the same before you.

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Where to try it: Thipsamai and Baan Phadthai, both in Bangkok

2. Join Thai office workers in a lunch of pad kra pao

After the initial infatuation with pad thai has worn off, most travelers take a cue from locals and graduate to ordering their first pad kra pao (basil stir fry). This simple meal comprises of steamed rice topped with spicy, basil-laced minced meat (chicken, pork or beef) and a fried egg.

Pad kra pao is the definitive lunch for millions of Thai office workers looking for a quick and filling fix. The regulation pad kra pao comes loaded with fiery chilis, so let the chef know well in advance if you prefer it on the mild side.

Where to try it: Phed Mark, Bangkok

3. Make tasty color combinations with classic Thai curries

The hallowed trinity of Thai curries – spicy red, piquant green and aromatic yellow – is perhaps the most recognizable inclusion on any Thai restaurant menu worth its salt anywhere in world. All three can be prepared with a combination of meats, seafood or vegetables (the green curry lends itself particularly well to a vegetarian rendition).

After you’ve sampled all three, round off your curry excursion by tucking into a bowl of massaman, an iconic curry from southern Thailand featuring potatoes and meat in a star anise–flavored gravy.

Where to try it: Sanguan Sri, Paste and Krua Apsorn, all in Bangkok

4. Explore northern Thailand’s Indigenous-influenced flavors

Northern Thailand occupies a culinary galaxy of its own, thanks to traditions that derive from its resident Indigenous communities. While in the region, sample a bowl of the legendary khao soi (fried noodles in creamy soup), snack nonstop on sai oua (spicy pork sausage) and tuck into impossibly flavorful gaeng hung lay (tender pork belly simmered in aromatic red curry).

Where to try it: Kiti Panit in Khao Soi Khun Yai and Khao Soi Mae Sai in Chiang Mai

5. Tuck into southern Thailand’s seafood delicacies

Scattered within the quaint urban grid of Phuket Town, a few culinary institutions showcase the best marine delicacies of Thailand’s ocean-hemmed south, prepared according to the region’s signature recipes.

Served with rice-noodle rolls, crabmeat in yellow curry is a must-try, as are deep-fried whiting flavored with turmeric and the many versions of fried grouper, bass and snapper, all served with an assortment of sauces.

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Where to try it: Raya, One Chun and Tu Kab Khao, all in Phuket Town

6. Sip a cocktail with a view at a Bangkok rooftop bar

Rooftop watering holes are synonymous with Bangkok’s nightlife, and there’s no dearth of options when it comes to choosing a stylish bar situated on a terrace overlooking the city’s stupendous skyline. Wherever you end up, you can expect cocktails that are stiff and delicious, house beer that’s chilled to a crisp and company that’s cheerful and irreverent.

Many have a smart-casual dress code – so make sure you don't turn up in a t-shirt, shorts or flip-flops.

Where to try it: Above Eleven, Moon Bar and Octave, all in Bangkok

7. Splurge on fine dining at a stupendous Bangkok restaurant

Home to some of the world’s most renowned contemporary chefs, Bangkok is a fine-dining wonderland, where an ever-growing number of haute cuisine establishments jostle for position on best-of lists year after year.

While a single meal at any of these perpetually booked-out places can easily lighten your wallet by several hundred dollars, memories of a once-in-a-lifetime meal are priceless.

Where to try it: Gaggan, Sühring and Sorn, all in Bangkok

8. Savor riverside ambiance over dinner beside – or on –  the Chao Phraya in Bangkok

If you value a restaurant for its ambience as much as its food, book yourself a dinner table at a riverside restaurant on the banks of the Chao Phraya. You’ll enjoy a memorable meal while gazing out onto the dark waters of Bangkok’s principal waterway, which takes on a magical glow thanks to the city’s lights.

Alternatively, a dinner cruise will allow you take in this ambiance on the river, as your barge cruises its placid waters. This ever-popular experience is a must-do for many visitors to Bangkok. 

Note that most restaurants and cruises get booked out days in advance, so reserve your spot well ahead of your date.

Where to try it: Chakrabongse Villas, Steve Café & Cuisine and Asiatique, all in Bangkok

9. Lap up a serving of mango sticky rice

The brilliant combination of sticky jasmine rice, sliced ripe mango, crisp-fried lentils and coconut cream provides the perfect balance to close out a spicy Thai meal and leave on a wonderfully high, wonderfully sweet note.

Practical tip for vegetarians with a sweet tooth: this dish makes for a fantastic meal option if you find yourself in a Thai restaurant with a meat-only menu.

Where to try it: Ban Khun Mae and Eathai, both in Bangkok

10. Crunch into local insect specialties

Certain green gourmets have caught onto the environmental benefits of using insects as a protein source – yet these otherwise unappealing creatures have been part of the menu in Southeast Asia for centuries. Normally served with soy sauce and pepper, bamboo worms (rót dòo an) are an excellent beer snack and a good introduction to bug dining. Fried grasshoppers (tak kâ tan) and crickets (jîng reed) are also a popular crunchy beer snack; remove the wings and legs before consuming.

Silkworms (nhon măi) are soft and mushy in the center and are normally fried with kaffir-lime leaves. Often used in salads and omelets, red ant eggs (kài mot daeng) are white in color with a sour, lemony flavor that provides a memorable taste contrast.

Vegetarians and vegans

In spite of its robust reputation for meat and seafood, Thailand’s capital boasts an enduring vegetarian and vegan food culture. To let people know “I’m vegetarian” in Thai, you'll need to master “pŏm gin jair” (for men) or “dì chăn gin jair” (for women).

A selection of stylish Bangkok vegan eateries whips up refreshingly creative meals suitable for global palates and healthy lifestyles, while a formidable array of Indian restaurants serves up iconic vegetarian dishes. The annual Vegetarian Festival – a nine-day celebration of plant-based food, usually held in September or October – is a great time to be in the city, as Chinatown comes alive with innumerable street stalls selling a variety of vegetarian delights.

Where to try it: Veganerie, Bonita Cafe & Social Club and Saravana Bhavan, all in Bangkok

More Thai foods worth trying

A few more must-try dishes before you leave Thailand include:

Larb: This salad of boiled minced meat (chicken, pork or beef) is seasoned with lime juice, crushed rice powder, fish sauce, chili, onion, lemongrass and mint.

Pad see ew: Stir-fried soy-glazed flat noodles with leafy greens that feature beef, seafood or tofu.

Kor moo yang: These slices of charcoal-grilled pork shoulder come served with spicy sauce.

Seafood spaghetti: This unique Thai concoction combines stir-fried spaghetti with assorted seafood in a super-spicy pepper sauce, flavored with kaffir-lime leaves.

Thai coffee: Locally grown organic coffee – particularly from the Chiang Rai highlands – has a loyal fan base across Thailand. You’ll find innumerable cafes in the country’s urban centers serving the beverage in a plethora of different brewing styles and traditions.