Sawasdee: Thai Street Food
I was able to take a few days off and a much needed get vacay from the Manila stress to travel with my husband and brother Philippe to Bangkok. It was their first time to visit and my fourth time to see the so-called City of Smiles. One thing, I absolutely love about Bangkok is their street food. Unhygienic to some and highly questionable in terms of its safeness to others, I am still all for it. We live but once so I might as well enjoy the whole experience even if there's a fear of occasional stomach upsets! Hahaha! :)
Though intimidating to a lot of foreigners, these food stalls on the streets provide convenient, delicious and affordable meals to the locals. Wherever you go in the city, you are likely to find these stalls very often in busy areas with a lot of people traffic. The popular ones include noodle stalls, made-to-order stalls, satay or bbq stalls and those that sell packed fruits and boiled vegetables.
The hotel we stayed in (Baiyoke Suite Hotel) is situated at the bustling Pratunam area where you can find practically all kinds of street food alongside the bargain stalls of the flea market. Hip and Joel were in awe with the whole gamut of food choices...
Different kinds of Barbeque - Pork, Beef Chicken, innards... I sampled the strips of beef and it tasted very similar to our local "tapa" / cured beef often eaten at breakfast with rice!
local crepe with sausage inside
Grilled catfish served with matching freshly made fish and chili paste
More and more bbq options
Steamed Assorted greens with shrimp paste on a plastic bag!
Dessert crepe with choice of banana/egg/syrup on top. Hip really enjoyed this dessert so much.
Fruit stall : My favorite is their sliced green mangoes with salt/sugar/chili mixture! Heaven!
Grilled Sausage - more like very tasty longanissa with rice (yes rice inside!)
Fresh seafoods to put inside your made-to-order Tom Yum
Freshly made Fish Chili Paste that you can eat with grilled seafood or steamed vegetables. I closely watched the old lady as she skillfully used her wooden mortar and pestle and pounded the fish, chilies and other spices creating a chunky green paste which smelled so delightful and tasted spectacular!
We returned to our hotel room on our second night with plastic bags filled with different thai viands - creamy Tom Yum, assorted barbeque, vegetables with fish paste, grilled shrimp plus two generous portions of Pad Thai (Stir Fried Noodles with Shrimp). We sat down in front of the tv and enjoyed each of our amazing, taste and zesty street finds.
Sampling the local cuisine particularly food on the streets is I believe the best way to experience the local culture of Bangkok. I highly recommend you take time out to enjoy their delicacies when you're there... and just so you know our stomachs were fine...no upsets whatsoever :)
Life is good. Enjoy!
Comments
Thanks for the info!