Eating in Thailand

I think Thailand may soon become my favorite country for eating. The only reason I'm still partial to Turkey is that Muslim countries don't have pork, so I can eat everything I see. Not the case in Thailand.

The food is delicious, everywhere, and SO cheap -- I have yet to pay more than 50 baht ($1.25) for a meal. Including soda.

Here are the 4 main Thailand dining options:

1) The farang (Westerner) tourist cafe. English menus, nice decor and lots of fans are standard. These are found in most tourist hotels and near tourist attractions.

This one had American movies and music. And a pool table. Great place to meet other travellers.

2) The restaurant. Simple menu, usually posted on the walls. Depending on where the restaurant is, there might be an English menu. Food cooked in front of you, served by the owner or a member of his or her family. Chairs are plastic, tables usually are too.

3) The outdoor cafe. A "restaurant" in perhaps the loosest sense of the word. There are no walls, just portable cooking devices and temporary tables with stools put right on the sidewalk. English is spoken only rarely. These are my favorite places to eat -- can't beat the atmosphere, though it's usually extremely hot. If there's no English menu, I say the Thai words for "rice" and "chicken" and I'm always pleasantly surprised by what they bring.

4) Food Stalls -- aka "grazing." Every street seems to be filled with vendors selling anything and everything -- candy, fruit, fried fish, bread, various meats on sticks, various concoctions in plastic bags. For a max of 25-50 cents each. If you don't see what you're in the mood for, walk another block and you'll probably see it.

More food pictures.