It is not a secret- I am a food lover. I love to eat, try new dishes, experience new flavours and take photos of the food I eat when traveling. Every country surprises me a lot when it comes to its cuisine and every journey is, in some way, a culinary adventure. So far, I experienced extremely spicy food in Sri Lanka, ate way too much rice every day in China or craved Vietnamese soups for my dinner.
However, Thailand is by far my favourite food destination. Why? Because…
“Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something special and unique”.
Everyone, even those who have never been to Thailand, love Thai cuisine. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively bland, harmony is the guiding principle behind each dish. Moreover, dishes can be refined and adjusted to suit all palates.
I love the taste of Thai noodles, fried vegetables and herbs with some large chunks of meat. Fresh herbs, lemon and a perfect combination of sweet chilli make each dish irresistible. Instead of serving dishes in courses like it is being done in China, a Thai meal is served all at once, permitting diners to enjoy complementary combinations of different tastes. There is always a harmony of tastes and textures within the dishes.
Are you already hungry? Great! Here are some of my favourite Thai dishes. Enjoy!
Do you have any favourite Thai food? If so, what is it?
If you are looking for more Thai food on a budget, check out out Culinary Journey in Bangkok on the cheap.
45 thoughts on “Photo Essay: Thai Food”
Naturally, this made me hungry and miss Thailand. Was just there for one month in September and already missing the variety of cheap foods. Great photos!
Thanks Kim. Thai food is by far my favourite Asian food :) and it’s so cheap! Missing it too!
A beautiful and comprehensive photo essay!
I’ve been in Thailand two weeks and have eaten Thai food exclusively since. But only yesterday did I grow just a tad weary of it. The problem is the vegetables, or lack thereof. I DID have an excellent green bean thing this morning at Hua Lamphong train station in Bangkok. But your tantalizing pics agree with me: few vegetables. My tummy needs GREENS!
Thanks Earth! That’s true. Thai food is more about noodles and meat, but you can also add some veggies ;-) I love chopped caggabe and carrot.
Gosh I miss Thailand! Octopus skewers look so yummy! Also, the first bug-dish looks tasty to me. Too bad I couldn’t force myself try them when I was there.
The octopus skewers were yummy. We always try all food no matter how bad it looks ;) Miss Thailand too, but I’m back there in January!
Some great shots there Agness. I’m not attracted to eating the fried bugs though and it looks a lot like the streets of China food vendors.
I think I heard somewhere that Bangkok has the highest ratio of eateries per capita. Little wonder they are so varied and good with food.
I have lived in China for 10 months so I know what you mean. You should try some bugs anyway. It’s a part of travel adventure :) I’ve heard the same and it’s kinda true.
The food looks amazing in these photos, apart from the insects! ;-) Makes me really miss Thailand, great post!
Thanks Becky. Insects are yummy too! :-) Missing Thailand too!
Amazing pictures! You succeeded: I’m super hungry now and already looking for flights to Thailand for lunch :) Great post!
Thanks Julika! I’m back in Thailand in January, you can go with me and have a Pad Thai ;)
I think I miss the fresh tropical fruits and the grilled meat kebabs the most from Thailand. The bugs were fine, but I can’t say I miss them. It’s the kind of thing you try once or twice, but you don’t want to eat it regularly–at least I don’t.
I’m surprised you loved the papaya salad…..I thought I remembered you writing you don’t like foods that are too spicy and I found the papaya salad to be one of the spiciest dishes in Thailand. It was good, but always REALLY spicy.
That’s right. I don’t like spicy food and I mentioned it 100 times in my posts from Sri Lanka. You have a good memory :). The papaya salad itself wasn’t spicy at all. It was served with peanuts which were very spicy though. I have recently discovered that I’m alergic to peanuts. I still can have them (a tiny bit of them from time to time), but not too much. I asked the cook not to put too much chili peanuts so I enjoyed it a lot. I also miss tropical fruits. I used to have them every day in the morning and during the day. Easy to grab and cheap :)
I remember because you wrote many times that you don’t like spicy food, but then you had many pictures of yourself eating spicy curry.
All the papaya salads I had were really spicy. In fact, I think the top 5 spiciest dishes I had in Thailand were all papaya salads, so I didn’t really enjoy them that much. I actually like spicy foods, but I don’t like it when my fruit is spicy.
That’s true. Despite the fact I don’t like spicy food at all, I try spicy dishes very often as a part of my travel experience. Fortunately, Cez is a big fan of spicy food so he always finishes off the leftovers. Spicy fruits are often served with spicy powder and sauce.
All these photos look great. I could go a Pad Thai and Papaya salad right now.
Papaya salad is yummy indeed :)
I had mango salad the other day (in Ayutthaya). It was prepared like papaya salad. I didn’t like it as much.
It must have been sweet. It’d love to try it anyway
Great choices! Have you thought about taking a Thai cooking class? I took one and even though it might cost slightly more than $25, you’ll be in a for a great treat and a lot of food!
I tried the salty bugs and they were surprisingly good. Kinda tasted like scrambled eggs.
New visitor to the page. I like it! I see we share similar theme taste lol.
Hi Fidel. Thanks for stopping by. I have never thought of taking the Thai cooking classes, but I’ve seen the advertisement inside all travel agencies. I would prefer to go Couchsurfing in Bangkok and ask my host to cook Thai food with me. Would be more fun and much cheaper :).
I agree. Salty bugs and they were surprisingly good ;-). I loved them. Don’t know why people are so scared of tasting them :P!
Sausage pancakes. We still don’t know what the green thing is ;-(
I’m Asian, it’s probably pandan :)
https://www.thespruceeats.com/cooking-with-pandan-3217067
Never heard of pandan, but thanks for letting us know. I’m back in Bangkok in January and I’m planning to visit the same place and ask the lady in Thai language :)
I miss Thailand sooo much!! I actually ate the maggots and a locust! Figured I had to try if I was there. Great pics! ;)
Thanks Koren. I can’t wait to get back to Thailand after Christmas :) and have some maggots and a locust as well :)
The variety of food in Thailand is astonishing. Sometimes, I had no idea what I was eating (they have so many veggies) but I just knew it tasted good. Want to go back to eat all around the country.
It was the same with me when I had different kinds of fruits. They tasted so good but I couldn’t remember the name of them ;)
All that looks so delicious! Although, I’d be too scared to try the bugs!
You shouldn’t be. Just take it as another travel experience and just do it! Bugs are very delicious, believe me!
The last one is my all time favorite! It’s called ‘Kanom Krok’
Btw, I’m Thai and it’s nice to see people out there love Thai food :)
Thanks for stopping by :) Thai food is by far my favourite one :):)
My goodness that looks yummy! Maybe the green stuff in the sausage pancake is cocopandan extract, which is usually that green?
I think I will have to travel to Thailand just to eat!
People always ask me what the green extract is and what it is made of, but I have no idea. The Thai lady who was selling these pancakes did not speak any English. She shouted some words in Thai, but I didn’t understand. You have to come to Thailand to discover the real taste of food :), it will be a great culinary journey for you. I can recommend some restaurants to you. x
I intend to do just that,and I’ll be asking your advice Agness :D
Of course Aggy. Ask me any questions. I would be happy to answer them all.
Agness… i’m craving for food right now !! great taste of Asia… ;)
Thanks mate! Will bring you some Thai food when I visit you in Malaysia, promise!
This is why I love Thailand Agness!!! The food in Thailand is amazing! Discovering that Papaya Salad is one of the most popular and tasty dishes here was my favourite foodie experience. Plus, where else in the world can you get such fresh and amazing food for the day and accommodation for less than $10 if you’re really budgeting :)
That’s so true. Plus I miss all of these fresh fruits for $1 a bag!
Would you come to Indonesia?
Hey. I have not been to Indonesia yet, but of course I will come, maybe next year. Hard to say when exactly.
I came across to your website. Seemed like u really enjoyed Thai food. I am Thai and I am so proud of our food. Did you have a chance to try Thai soups like Tom Yum Koong? It is one of my favorite dishes.
Yes, I did try it so delicious! I love Thai cuisine! Feel free to write a guest post for us about your favourite Thai dishes :)!! x
I lived in Thailand for 3 years and got addicted to the food. So good and cheap!