10 Best Local Dishes from Thailand

Eating Thai food plays a hugely important part of any vacation in Bangkok. With its fresh ingredients, exotic flavors, and dreamy aromatics, Thai cuisine is popular worldwide. A walk through the city’s alleyways often results in a stop at a food stall, where you can enjoy skewered meats, fried rice, noodles, and spicy soups at rather affordable prices.

If you prefer dining in a more comfortable setting, Bangkok has plenty of restaurants offering an extensive menu of classic Thai dishes. Sample the very best of the city’s offerings by referring to our guide on the best Thai food.

What are the best local dishes from Thailand?

Bangkok Hotels

1. Spicy Shrimp Soup

Tom yum goong

Good for: Food

Tom yum goong is a bold, refreshing blend of fragrant lemongrass, chilli, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, lime juice, and fish sauce. Containing succulent river shrimps and straw mushrooms, this spicy and sour soup is an icon of Thailand.

You can sample spicy shrimp soup from cheap and cheerful street food vendors located along Khao San Road and from popular eateries like Mit Ko Yuan Restaurant in the city’s Phra Nakhon district.

2. Spicy Green Papaya Salad

Som tum

Good for: Food

Som tum, or spicy green papaya salad, comes from Thailand’s north-eastern state of Isaan. Garlic, chillies, green beans, cherry tomatoes, and shredded raw papaya are pounded using a pestle and mortar, which release a sweet-sour-spicy flavor that’s quite distinctive.

Regional variations introduce peanuts, dry shrimp, or salted crab into the mix. This dish can be polarizing! Some can’t get enough of its taste, while others detest the spice factor. Grab a seat on the terrace at Somtum Der restaurant in Bangkok’s Silom district to try this famed delicacy.

3. Chicken in Coconut Soup

Tom kha gai

Good for: Food

A mild, tamer twist on tom yum, tom kha gai combines fiery chillies, thinly sliced young galangal, crushed shallots, stalks of lemongrass, and tender strips of chicken. The dish utilizes coconut milk to help reduce the spiciness and is topped off with fresh lime leaves.

Like most Thai soups, you can pair your bowl of creamy tom kha gai with steamed white rice. City restaurants that include this classic on their menu include Myth Bangkok Street Food in Phra Nakhon, Thanying on Si Lom Road, and Nalin Kitchen in Bang Rak.

4. Red Curry

Gaeng daeng

Good for: Food

Gaeng daeng is an aromatic red curry made with chicken or beef, aromatic red curry paste, and smooth coconut milk. It’s often garnished with sliced kaffir lime leaves. Despite its striking color, gaeng daeng is quite mild, though you can request fresh chilli if you’re in the mood for heat.

Vegetarians and vegans can still enjoy this curry by asking the chef to replace the meat with tofu. For the best Thai red curry in Bangkok, head to restaurants like Suda, The Island, and Panda Thai which are located in the city center.

5. Thai Fried Noodles

Pad Thai

Good for: Food

Pad Thai is one of Thailand’s most recognized dishes. Fistfuls of noodles, along with crunchy beansprouts, onion, and egg are stir-fried in a searing hot wok. The dish is elevated with fish sauce, dried shrimp, garlic, shallots, red chilli, and palm sugar.

Pad Thai usually contains seafood – especially fresh shrimp, crab, or squid – but some places serve it with chicken, beef, or pork. The stir-fried noodles are often plated with a zesty lime wedge, crushed roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, and fresh herbs. For the best Pad Thai in Bangkok, head to Thipsamai Padthai Pratoopee restaurant.

6. Fried Rice

Khao pad

Good for: Food

Fried rice, or khao pad, is often enjoyed for lunch in Bangkok. You can easily bulk up this simple dish of rice, egg, and onion with any number of ingredients like prawns, crab, chicken, tofu, basil, and leftover vegetables.

The hugely popular Kajohn Authentic Southern Thai Cuisine eatery serves khao pad in its stylish modern dining room in the Pom Prap Sattru Phai district. Alternatively, find this renowned dish at one of the city’s many street food vendors who operate out of Pratunam Market and Chatuchak Weekend Market.

7. Stir-Fried Basil and Pork

Pad krapow moo

Good for: Food

Pad krapow moo is a one-plate Thai dish that you can enjoy for lunch or dinner. Minced pork, holy basil leaves, fresh chilli, pork, green beans, soy sauce, and sugar are stir-fried in a wok. The cooked mixture is then piled onto a mountain of steamed white rice and topped with a fried egg (kai dao).

Order Pad krapow moo at beloved Bangkok restaurants like Original Pad Kra Pao 1993 (they specialize in the stuff), as well as Sit and Wonder, Puk’s Kitchen, and Tong Heng Li.

8. Green Chicken Curry

Gaeng keow wan kai

Good for: Food

Gaeng keow wan kai gets its unique color from green chillies, though the ingredients used are similar to most Thai curries. The nation’s famous green chicken curry contains coconut milk, cherry-sized eggplants, bamboo shoots, galangal, lemongrass, coriander, and sweet basil. It tastes richer and sweeter than classic tom yum and pairs well with flatbread or steamed rice.

You can enjoy gaeng keow wan kai at hundreds of food stops across Bangkok but joints that come highly recommended include: The Family, All Meals Sawasdee, Tossakan Thai Curry House (Khaosan), and Suraya Bangkok Hostel & Kitchen.

9. Spicy Beef Salad

Yum nua

Good for: Food

Yum nua is a refreshing Thai salad topped with strips of tender beef. It’s finished with a zesty dressing made of lime juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and palm sugar. You can enjoy yum nua on its own, but pairing it with rice helps negate its intense sour-sweet flavor.

Yum nua is hugely popular in Bangkok, especially when the summer temperatures soar and hot curries go on the back burner. Grab a plate of this staple cuisine at Jim Thompson, A Thai Restaurant, which has been featured in the Michelin Guide.

10. Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts

Kai pad med ma muang

Good for: Food

Kai pad med ma muang is stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts. This dish also contains soy sauce, honey, onions, chillies, and pepper, as well as a variety of vegetables (usually chopped bell peppers and carrots). There’s dried chilli mixed in but it’s hardly spicy. This dish is suitable for children or those who can’t handle very hot foods.

You can pick up a plate of kai pad med ma muang almost anywhere in Bangkok including street food carts, night markets, Michelin star restaurants, and back alley eateries. We love The Sixth, Home Cafe Tha Tien, Baan Ajarn, and The Never Ending Summer Restaurant. They’ve simply aced this iconic dish.

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