Thai Food Guide: What to Eat, Where to Find It, and How to Order

Where to Start

Thai cuisine is one of the world's great food cultures — layered, complex, and deeply regional. The pad thai you eat in Bangkok is not the same dish you'll find in Chiang Mai, and the southern Thai food from Phuket will feel almost like a different cuisine compared to the central Thai dishes most Westerners know. This guide cuts through the tourist-menu basics to tell you what's actually worth eating and where.

Essential Dishes Every Visitor Should Try

Pad Thai (ผัดไทย)

Stir-fried rice noodles with egg, tofu, dried shrimp, bean sprouts, and peanuts, finished with lime and fish sauce. The international Thai ambassador dish. At a street cart: 60–80 THB. At restaurants: 80–180 THB. Quality varies wildly — the best pad thai comes from dedicated carts with woks that have been seasoned for years. Ask locals where they actually eat it; avoid the tourist-area carts charging 200 THB.

Order it: "Pad Thai sai goong" (with shrimp) or "sai gai" (with chicken). "Sai taohu" is the tofu version for vegetarians.

Som Tam (ส้มตำ)

Green papaya salad — shredded unripe papaya pounded in a mortar with tomatoes, green beans, dried shrimp, peanuts, chili, lime, and fish sauce. Crunchy, sour, salty, sweet, and very spicy. Originally an Isaan (northeastern) dish now found everywhere. A street cart som tam: 50–70 THB.

Order it: "Mai pet" (not spicy) or "pet nit noi" (a little spicy). "Pet mak" means very spicy — the Thai definition of this is serious. Vegetarian? Ask for "mai sai nam pla, mai sai goong haeng" (no fish sauce, no dried shrimp).

Khao Soi (ข้าวซอย)

The signature dish of northern Thailand. Egg noodles in a rich, creamy coconut curry broth, topped with crispy fried noodles, chicken or beef on the bone, and served with fermented cabbage, shallots, lime, and chili paste on the side. Nowhere near as spicy as most Thai dishes. Available everywhere in Chiang Mai; in Bangkok it's harder to find and usually not as good. Price: 70–120 THB.

Chiang Mai recommendation: Khao Soi Khun Yai (near Nimman), Khao Soi Lamduon Faham (the local institution on Charoen Rat Road). Arrive before noon — they sell out.

Tom Yum (ต้มยำ)

The iconic hot and sour Thai soup. Made with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, chili, and usually shrimp (goong) or chicken (gai). Tom yum nam khon is the richer, creamier version with coconut milk; tom yum nam sai is the clear broth. Restaurant price: 120–250 THB depending on the protein and venue.

The version to order: Tom yum goong nam sai — clear shrimp tom yum. More complex and less heavy than the coconut version.

Massaman Curry (แกงมัสมั่น)

A rich, slow-cooked curry of southern Thai origin, influenced by Muslim Malay and Persian cooking. Coconut milk, potatoes, peanuts, and meat (usually beef or chicken) simmered with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. Milder than most Thai curries. CNN Travel voted it the world's best food in 2011 — it's genuinely extraordinary when done well. Restaurant price: 120–200 THB.

Where to find it: Southern Thailand restaurants and good curry restaurants nationwide. Avoid the instant-paste versions at tourist cafes — the real thing takes hours to make.

Pad Krapao (ผัดกะเพรา)

The Thai worker's lunch dish — the thing millions of Thais eat for midday meals. Minced pork, chicken, or beef stir-fried with Thai holy basil, garlic, and chili in oyster sauce, served over rice with a crispy fried egg on top. Fast, satisfying, cheap: 60–100 THB at local restaurants.

This is Thai comfort food at its most honest. If you want to eat like a local, order khao pad krapao moo sab khai dao (minced pork basil rice with fried egg). The street food version is usually better than the tourist restaurant version.

Mango Sticky Rice (ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง)

Thailand's greatest dessert. Sweet glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, topped with fresh sliced mango and drizzled with salted coconut cream. Only really good when Thai mangoes are in season (April–June peak, but available most of the year). Market stalls: 60–100 THB. Tourist restaurants: 150–250 THB.

Buy it from: Market stalls and street vendors rather than restaurants — it's the same product at half the price and usually fresher.

Regional Cuisines

Northern Thai (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai)

Milder and earthier than central Thai food. Distinctive dishes: khao soi, khao niao (sticky rice served as the staple instead of jasmine rice), sai oua (northern pork sausage seasoned with lemongrass and galangal), nam prik noom (green chili dip served with vegetables and pork rinds), kaeng hang lay (Burmese-influenced pork belly curry with ginger). The influences of neighboring Myanmar and Yunnan province are clear in the flavors.

Find it: Talad Warorot (the main Chiang Mai market), the Saturday and Sunday Walking Streets, any restaurant with "Chiang Mai food" in the description.

Isaan (Northeast Thailand)

Isaan food is fiery, funky (in the fermented sense), and not for the faint of heart. This is Thailand's largest region — 20+ provinces — and its food is wildly popular nationwide despite being the country's poorest area. Larb (minced meat salad with herbs and toasted rice powder), som tam (the original), grilled chicken (gai yang), sausage (sai krok Isaan, fermented and sour), and pla ra (fermented fish paste used in many dishes instead of fish sauce).

Spice level: Genuinely high. Isaan cooks do not moderate spice for tourists. Order carefully.

Find it in Bangkok: The Isaan food area around Don Mueang airport, Chatuchak Market food section, and any restaurant labeled "Ahaan Isaan" or "Isaan food."

Central Thai

What most people think of as "Thai food" internationally — pad thai, green curry, red curry, tom yum, massaman, pad see ew. The cuisine of Bangkok and the central plains. Jasmine rice is the staple. Coconut milk features prominently in curries. Fish sauce and palm sugar balance sour and sweet.

Southern Thai

The boldest and most complex of Thailand's regional cuisines. Heavy on seafood, coconut, and extremely hot chilies. Dishes: massaman (the mildest), gaeng tai pla (fermented fish kidney curry — intense and funky), khao yum (rice salad with toasted coconut, herbs, and bean sprouts), roti (Muslim-influenced fried flatbread served with curry or sweetened condensed milk for dessert).

Phuket Town and Hatyai are the places to eat southern food seriously. The Muslim-Thai communities of southern Thailand produce some of the most distinct cooking in the country.

Street Food Etiquette and Navigation

Night markets: Every Thai town of any size has a night market. Bangkok's Chinatown (Yaowarat) is the premier experience. Chiang Mai has the Saturday Walking Street (Wua Lai Road) and Sunday Walking Street (Tha Phae Gate area). Eat your way through — buy one or two items per vendor and keep moving.

Food courts: Often overlooked by tourists, but food courts in Thai malls are excellent. Air-conditioned, clean, huge variety, good prices (80–150 THB). MBK Food Court in Bangkok, Nimman Hall in Chiang Mai, and Central Festival food courts nationwide.

Ordering: Point at the display or food if there's no English menu. Have Google Translate's camera mode ready. Use fingers to indicate quantity. Always specify spice level (mai pet = not spicy, pet nit noi = a little spicy). Say "khob khun" (thank you) when you receive food.

Hygiene: Thai street food is generally safe. Look for vendors with high turnover (the food isn't sitting around), properly cooked proteins, and visible cleanliness. Stomach issues happen occasionally — oral rehydration salts and 24–48 hours of rest usually resolves it. Avoid raw shellfish from street carts.

Vegetarian: Say "kin je" (eat vegetarian) or "mai sai neua, mai sai pla" (no meat, no fish). During the Vegetarian Festival (October, Phuket and some Chinese-Thai areas), yellow flag restaurants serve 100% vegan food. You can also look for the yellow-flag symbol year-round in Chinese-Thai neighborhoods.

Recommended Markets and Night Markets

• Bangkok: Yaowarat (Chinatown) — go hungry on Friday or Saturday night
• Bangkok: Thong Lor area on Sukhumvit 38 has an excellent night food market
• Chiang Mai: Talad Warorot (daily, local market), Sunday Walking Street (Tha Phae), Muang Mai wholesale market (4am, extraordinary produce market for early risers)
• Phuket: Phuket Town Walking Street (Sunday evenings on Thalang Road), Chillva Market
• Koh Samui: Fisherman's Village walking street (Bophut, Friday evenings)

Quick Ordering Guide

• "Khob khun" — Thank you
• "Aroy mak" — Very delicious (Thais love hearing this)
• "Mai pet" — Not spicy
• "Pet nit noi" — A little spicy
• "Mai sai phak chii" — No coriander/cilantro
• "Ao aroi" — Give me the delicious one (useful at markets when asking what to order)
• "Gep tang duay" — Bill please
• "Aroi mai?" — Is it delicious? (a good conversation starter with vendors)