Thai cuisine is renowned for its unique blend of flavours, spices, and aromas, making it one of the most popular and beloved cuisines in the world.

From the fiery heat of tom yum soup to the subtle sweetness of mango sticky rice, Thai food offers a diverse range of dishes that can tantalise any taste buds. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the most delicious and famous Thai foods.

Now, before we get stuck in, here are our top 10 things you should know when visiting a restaurant in Thailand:

1. When ordering a Thai dish your server will ask you how spicy you like your food, remember that Thai chillies are extra fiery, so be cautious and if you’re unsure ‘a little spicy’ is always a good bet.
2. A top tip for anyone who suffers from food allergies or who follows a vegetarian/vegan diet is to keep a copy of the translation on your phone, or for allergies a picture of the food, this way you can easily communicate this to your server.
3. Thai people only use a fork and spoon to eat, as most Thai food is already cut into small pieces. They will rarely use chopsticks and when they do it’s only for noodle soup.
4. At many restaurants you’ll be provided with a tray of condiments to add to your Thai food, these will usually include dried chilli flakes, chilli vinegar, sugar and our favourite ‘Prik Nam Pla’ which is a combination of fish sauce, fresh chillies, garlic and often small diced limes.
5. The high import taxes on alcohol can mean that some of your favourite wines, spirits and beers come with a high price tag, but do not worry, Thailand has many local beers and spirits which are much more reasonably priced.
6. Beer is most usually served in a bottle inside a foam holder called a ‘condom’, this holder helps to keep your drink cold and your hands warm.
7. Locals will often pour beer into a large glass filled with ice, this waters down the drink, keeps you hydrated and keeps the beer icy cold.
8. Tips are not expected but are very much appreciated. Remember that Thai and Burmese workers earn minimal wages so tips help them a great deal. However, you should always check your bill as some larger restaurants and hotels will add-on a standard service charge to the total and this will be split evenly between all of the staff.
9. You may see a VAT charge added to your bill, this is a standard government tax added to all goods and services – the standard rate of VAT is 10% but it has been reduced until September 2023 to 7%.
10. If paying by debit or credit card you’ll also notice a 3% surcharge, this is the transaction fee and is almost always passed onto the customer to pay.

OK, now we’re ready to tuck in, starting with a classic…

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1. SOM TAM

Som Tam is a spicy green papaya salad, made from shredded unripe papaya and flavoured with salty fish sauce, spicy red chillies, sour limes and sweet tomatoes. It does come with peanuts as standard so if you have an allergy make sure to let your server know. You will find this on every menu across Thailand and we highly recommend ordering it as a side to enjoy with a creamy curry.

We learned how to make this at a Thai cooking class in Ao Nang, Krabi and I have since made it at home in the UK. Although it’s tricky to find unripe papayas you can substitute the crunchy papaya for cucumbers, just peel the dark green skin and scoop out the seeds before shredding.

2. TOM YUM GOONG

A hot and sour shrimp soup, flavoured with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal (similar to ginger), lime juice, fish sauce and lots of red chillies, often served with a side of white rice. It’s a fiery and comforting dish and when it’s done right is the perfect balance of sweet, salty and spicy.

Note: This soup is served with the aromatics still in the broth and although they are edible it’s advisable to leave these to one side, eating huge chunks of lemongrass might ruin the experience.

As with Som Tam, you’ll likely find this dish on every menu around Thailand. One of our favourite lunchtime spots is Smile Bar in Kamala, Phuket. They serve this dish super spicy, so it’s the perfect excuse to enjoy a cooling Happy Hour cocktail to wash it all down.

3. KHAO PAD

Khao Pad simply translates to fried rice, this dish is served everywhere in Thailand, from small beach restaurants to five-star hotels. The most popular options are served with chicken and prawns, but it can easily be made vegetarian.

We must have eaten Khao Pad almost every day whilst we were living in Thailand, it’s super affordable and so, so delicious. It’s also highly addictive, you’ve been warned.

Our favourite beachside spot to enjoy Khao Pad was at Pico Samui in Bophut, Koh Samui – a family-owned and run bungalow resort with an authentic Thai restaurant, the food and service here was amazing, we highly recommend a visit for anyone heading to Samui.

4. PAD THAI

The ultimate fast-food dish, Pad Thai is a stir-fried noodle dish, typically made with shrimp, beansprouts, spring onion, scrambled egg and flavoured with tamarind & fish sauce. This dish is often served with a side of chilli flakes, sugar, crushed peanuts and lime so you’re able to pimp your own dish to your liking.

You may well have tried this dish before but if you’ve never eaten fried noodles for breakfast just a few feet from the sea, you’ve never really tried Pad Thai.

The noodles by the sea were from a small beachside cafe called Tosit off of Bangrak Beach Road in Koh Samui, cost £2 and were absolutely delicious.

5. THAI CURRIES

Thai curries come in many colours, with a huge variety of ingredients, some are sweet, some are spicy but all of them are absolutely delicious. The most popular varieties are:

• Red, Yellow & Green all of these curries are pretty similar, flavoured with chillies, fresh herbs, galangal, shallots and garlic and once pounded into a paste are added to a base of coconut milk. The different colours come from the ingredients for red = more spicy red chillies, yellow= extra turmeric and green = lots of freshly picked coriander
• Massaman is flavoured with a peanut sauce and includes chunks of soft potato and crunchy peanuts
• Panang is a super rich and creamy curry which is served ‘dry’ or as a ‘soup style’

Serving suggestion – a big bowl of white rice and an ice-cold beer.

We’ve tried every flavour combination possible I’m sure, and my favourite has to be a super spicy yellow curry with tofu and for Carl the spectacular duck panang which he had at Tembo Beach Club in Koh Samui.

6. FISH & SEAFOOD

This is a pretty generic one but you mustn’t miss out on the delicious fish & seafood available in Thailand. Local specialities include red snapper, mackerel, sea bass, tiger prawns, lobster, squid and blue crab.

Every good restaurant will serve local, fresh fish and many of them display the produce outside so you’re able to see the quality and variety on offer.

One of our absolute favourites was the curried blue crab at La Brisa, located in Fisherman’s Village, Koh Samui.

7. CHICKEN OR SHRIMP WITH CASHEWS

This is a popular dish with both locals & tourists, it is a sweet and flavourful dish of stir-fried chicken (or shrimp), cashew nuts, soy sauce, honey, onions and dried chillies.

It’s a quick and easy lunchtime meal, often very cheap and super tasty and is most commonly served with a side of steamed white rice.

Here’s a fun fact – cashew nuts are native to Phuket (and a few other provinces of Southern Thailand) and are used to boost the protein and creamy flavour of many Thai dishes.

8. KHAO SOI

This dish originates in northern Thailand, it is a rich and creamy, coconut curried soup, usually made with chicken and topped with a crispy noodle nest. It’s served alongside a selection of fresh and pickled veg including beansprouts, red onion, cabbage, pickles and lime – add as desired.

It’s most usually served with chicken but there’s a great little local restaurant just outside Fisherman’s Village in Koh Samui where they serve it with shrimp and it’s utterly delicious, very filling and super comforting, feels like you’re eating a big bowl of goodness.

The restaurant doesn’t have an online presence but here’s their link to Google Maps – check out those reviews!

9. LAAB MOO

A very popular dish in Isan which is located in the northeast of Thailand. This dish is usually made with minced pork, spices, fresh herbs and fish sauce and is always served with a side of rice. For anyone who doesn’t eat pork, you will often find other options which include beef and chicken.

Many hospitality workers in Phuket come from Isan and so if you’re looking for an authentic take on this dish we can highly recommend some of the smaller beachside restaurants such as The Bua in Kamala.

10. MOO HONG

Carl’s award for absolute favourite Thai dish goes to Moo Hong. A slowed-cooked pork belly dish originating from the south. It is heavily influenced by Chinese cooking, flavoured with 5-spice and then stewed down, low and slow, until the sauce becomes rich and sweet, most similar to a sticky barbecue sauce.

We found this dish on a lot of menus in Phuket, but Carl’s favourite was from The Crab House in Phuket Town.

11. THAI BASIL

This simple stir-fried dish can be found all around Thailand. It is usually made with chicken (although you can also find pork and beef versions), chillies & shallots with Thai holy basil being the overwhelming flavour. Thai basil is very perfumed and has an aniseed scent, almost giving it a liquorice taste.

This dish is available in almost every Thai restaurant, our favourite version was from Karma Sutra in Fisherman’s Village, Koh Samui.

12. MORNING GLORY

Morning Glory is one of very few vegetable dishes that feature on this list, but you will find this side dish everywhere in Thailand. It is a dark leafy green vegetable with thin stalks, most similar to chard or spinach. It is prepared by stir-frying with garlic, chilli and soy sauce and really is very delicious, I urge you to give this one a go.

You’ll find this on most Thi restaurant menus but a special shoutout goes to The Orchid Restaurant in Chaweng, Koh Samui & Pico’s in Bophut, Koh Samui. Both places it was a solid 10/10 and we could have eaten bowls of the stuff.

13. FRIED STREET FOOD SNACKS

OK, stick with me here… I know this photo has obviously been taken at a restaurant but the message still stands. TRY FRIED STREET FOOD SNACKS.

• Vegetable spring rolls
• Fried Prawns
• Chicken Satay
• Calamari
• Crab Money Bags
• Barbecued meat & fish
• No name (deep-fried veggies – onion, sweet potato, mushroom etc)
• Doughnuts & pastries

People will often worry about street food but our rule is if it’s vegetarian and deep-fried you’re probably fine. Just avoid sushi, raw fish and crispy insects.

14. MANGO STICKY RICE

This is a typical Thai dessert, although you can eat it any time, in fact, I would encourage you to eat this whenever you like. It is made with sticky rice which is cooked in coconut milk, it’s topped with freshly sliced mango and a sauce of sweetened coconut milk. Occasionally it will be served with crushed peanuts or sesame seeds for added crunch.

You can literally find this anywhere in Thailand from street vendors to small beachside restaurants to five-star hotels, just make sure you try this incredibly indulgent, super sweet, but oh-so-tasty dish when in Thailand.

15. EXOTIC FRUITS

Thailand is home to many delicious and sometimes unusual fruits and I urge you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Our favourites include sweet Thai mangoes, fresh young coconut and tangy passionfruits.

Other fruits to try are starfruits, lychees, rambutans, mangosteens, dragon eye fruit (longgong), papaya, snake fruit and the infamous durian.

The cheapest place to pick up delicious tropical fruits is from your local market or fruit vendor and we would always try to pick something new each time we visited. Passionfruits are so cheap in Thailand and so much better than the ones we buy from the supermarket in the UK and the mangoes… oh the mangoes, and there really is nothing better than a cold, fresh coconut on the beach.

16. SWEET OR SAVOURY ROTI

Most similar to a crepe you’ll find lots of street/beach vendors selling these thin and flakey pancakes. You can select from a huge range of fillings including the classic Nutella and banana or mango and honey with sprinkles on top or how about cheese and sweetcorn?

You can expect to pay around ฿‎40 (£1) for one of these delicious treats. We found these almost everywhere we visited. Pictured is at a small local stall in Kamala, Phuket but check out our video over on Instagram to see The Best Lovely Jubbly Pancakes being made in Fisherman’s Village, Koh Samui.

17. ICE CREAM ROLLS

This is another sweet treat provided by street vendors all around Thailand, we found most of these stalls in beachside resorts just as Ao Nang in Krabi or Chaweng in Koh Samui.

Pick your favourite flavour combination, everything from double chocolate cookie to strawberries and cream and watch as the vendor creates ice cream in front of your very eyes. It is then rolled and topped with sauce and sprinkles for you to enjoy.

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There are so many incredible dishes to try around Thailand but I hope this gave you a little insight into some of our favourites. How many of these famous Thai foods have you tried? Which is your favourite? Let us know in the comments.

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Until next time,

While you’re here why not check out some of our previous posts for travel tips & inspiration