Dining in Bangkok

Dining Thai Fashion

Diners in Bangkok, Thailand, are treated to a complete range of international cuisine, but on your first few nights in the city, you will probably want to try Thai food to see if the original compares with local restaurants in your home city.  But understand that Thai food can be unbelievably spicy.  Until you develop sufficient resistance to Thai chili-hot flavors (which may never happen), you might feel more comfortable staying with dishes specifically prepared for Western palettes.  Pad Thai, papaya salad, and mango with sticky rice are fairly safe options for those who want to sample the wild side without gambling too much.

Dining in Bangkok: A Typical Thai Meal

The typical Thai meal includes a curry (perhaps red curry with pork and pumpkin), a soup (hot and sour fish is always a good choice), a vegetable dish (fried lopmoea with shrimp and soy bean paste), a fried and/or steamed dish (like stir-fried pork with eggplant), and finally a salad made of 1,000-year-old eggs, cashews, green chili, sugar, lemon, and spices.  Rice and a spicy dipping sauce complement most every meal.  Each dish might cost only 25-40 baht (about 80 cents to a dollar), so it’s easy to try a wide variety of dishes on the cheap. 

Some describe Thai cuisine as a unique blend of Indian curries, Szechuan noodles, Vietnamese fruits, and Laotian vegetables.  It also manages to incorporate the sweet, creamy fruitiness of Malaysia and the aromatic seasonings of the Middle East.  Since there will be an abundance of food at your table, you can easily sample the hottest dishes while filling up on the Malay-inspired, creamed fruits or more familiar dishes like beef strips with green pepper, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and sugar.  Whatever you choose, be advised that the best and most authentic Thai dining is found in small, out-of-the way restaurants.  If you want a floor show with your dinner, you can have that, too, but authenticity suffers.   

Bangkok Dining With an International Flair

After your initial foray into Thai food, you might want to venture further afield.  In Bangkok, you can sample cuisine from almost every corner of the globe.  Despite Thailand’s laudatory resistance to colonial expansion, it has managed to incorporate styles and flavors from around the world.  Thailand’s New York steak, Creole snails, Cajun crabs, foie gras, bruschetta, and chicken Marsala will rival anything you may have tried back home.  Never mind your diet or your waistline; that’s what Bangkok’s spas are for.  Besides, Thailand is hot enough that you’ll likely sweat out the excess and be hungry enough for additional helpings even before you know it. 

For the Non-Adventurous Eaters

Most hotels offer standard American fare (including burgers and pizza) for those lacking any sense of dining adventure.  And for better or worse, familiar chains like McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell, Burger King, Sizzler, Subway, Starbucks, and Pizza Hut are quite common in high traffic areas.  But Thai cuisine is varied, fresh, and delicious enough that you should never have to order fast food during your visit.