Trying Thai food for the first time

In CNN Facebook poll, Thailand ranked as the 4th world destination with the best food. Like Filipino cuisine, Thai food is also a hodgepodge of culinary cultures, and one dish is often a perfect marriage of the different tastes – sweet, salty, sour, and spicy.

Although Thai food has become more popular worldwide, my first authentic Thai food experience was rather an unconventional one. Here are the dishes I’ve sampled during my first two days in Bangkok:

Thai Food: Fish Ball Noodle Soup

Our first foray into authentic Thai food wasn’t something out of a fine dining gourmet restaurant. Rather it was at a nondescript hole-in-the-wall noodle place near Central Pier where our taxi driver left us. Due to a bit of a language barrier, he dropped us at the intersection when we were saying we wanted him to drop us off at the Central Pier station.

We were starving and decided to try our luck at this local noodle place where the picture menu showed variations of fish ball noodle soup. After a few minutes of waiting, our steaming bowls arrived. The dish was simple enough, with egg noodles, fish balls, kikiam, fried dumpling, bean sprouts, scallions, cilantro and, of course, that flavorful broth. A light meal even by Asian standards but still gave us the energy for a full afternoon of frolicking in Bangkok’s tourist spots.

Of course, the world-famous Pad Thai is on the list. We just didn’t expect that we’ll be eating it at the infamous Khao San Road instead of the recommended one at Pad Thai Thip Samai. Hungry from temple hopping and a lot of walking, we decided to end the night by passing through the just as famous backpacker street. Taking in the sights and smell of the very lively street, this Pad Thai and barbecue vendor caught our fancy because of the people queueing up so we decided to give their dishes a try.

The food is cooked upon ordering and you can choose which of the ingredients will be included in your Pad Thai. They also offer grilled beef, pork, chicken, hot dogs, mushrooms, and corn on skewers. Sadly, all of our batteries were emptied out even before our Pad Thai got cooked. But it sure filled our tummy and left us clamoring for more even if we just ate it standing on the sidewalk. Haha!

See also: Thailand’s legendary Pad Thai

Bangkok is street food heaven and Silom Soi 20 is definitely not one you should miss especially if you’re staying in the Silom Area. This did not come up in my research and only stumbled upon it by accident when we were looking for a local place to eat early breakfast on our second day in Bangkok. We were staying across the street, in Mile Map Hostel which is just behind the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. Silom Soi 20 would be on your right side if you cross the street from the temple.

The street is surely a foodie heaven, enticing you with the different sights and smells, and offering almost everything from Thai curries, Moo Ping (grilled pork skewers), fresh fruits and vegetables, freshly pressed juices, an assortment of breakfast fare, snacks, and sweets, and everything in between. My friend even got to buy a vacuum-packed Thai black and brown rice. Best to come here from 6 am to 9 am.




Undeterred by the signages in Thai and vendors with limited English, we ate to our tummy and heart’s content along the street. We sampled Thai donuts also called Patongo, which are small blobs of light and fluffy dough deep fried in oil and turned with long chopsticks. They are best eaten with a hot cup of coffee.

We also bought a fresh salad for takeaway which had boiled an egg, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red cabbage, lettuce, corn, beans, carrots, squash and a creamy dressing.

Also decided to try a savory Khanom Bueang, Thai’s version of a taco. The crispy crepe or shell is made rice flour batter cooked on a hot plate and then filled with different toppings such as shredded coconut, egg threads boiled in sugar syrup, raisins, apricots, and candied fruits. It left me with this aftertaste that I didn’t much like so I guess I’ll have to try the sweeter version next time with coconut cream.

What I also love about Bangkok is the fact that you can buy freshly squeezed juice in almost every corner. Vendors have an assortment of fruits and vegetables you can choose from and then squeezes them all on a manual presser and a very handy plastic bottle. The only ingredient I can remember in our juice was the small bitter gourd. Haha!