Retirement Thailand

 

Soups are also popular, such as tom yam, which is hot and sour shrimp soup, and tom kha kai, chicken soup with coconut milk.  Yam-like salads are eaten hot, and there are sour salads containing lime juice, chili and fresh herbs, plus seafood or vegetables, roast beef or pork. 

Other specialties from central Thailand are khao laam nakhon pathom - sticky rice with coconut milk that is steamed in short bamboo tubes, and kuay-thiao-ruea – (boat noodles).  This noodle soup was originally sold out of a boat in the floating markets of Rangsit, but is now also available in all markets.  Its distinguishing feature is the image of the cook and his cooking pot sitting in a jacked up boat.

Since southern Thailand borders the sea in the west and east, there are many dishes with fish.  Kaeng tai pla, fish stomach soup, is a very spicy dish made from fish stomachs, green beans, pickled bamboo and potatoes. 

Also very popular in the south are roti, a Thai variation of the chapati, the Indian pita bread.  For breakfast, a popular dish is roti kaeng, which is roti with any curry sauce.  Mataba is a roti stuffed with spiced, minced meat.  Tourists like to eat roti -kluay, which is roti filled with banana slices.

 
The farther south one goes, the more one will find the traditional coffee shops, which are often run by Hokkien Chinese.  Characteristic features are the round table of white marble, which the Chinese manufactured in the conventional manner, and filtered kopi (Malay for coffee) in small, thick glasses.  Pathong-ko, unsweetened fat-cakes, are also served.

Northeast Thailand:

The kitchen in the northeast, the Isaan territory, is strongly influenced by Laos and Cambodia.  The best known is also a "triumvirate": kai yang - grilled chicken, som tam - a spicy and sour salad of green papaya, and khao niao - sticky rice.  They are often mentioned in one breath, as they represent perhaps the essence of the kitchen of Aharn-Phak-Isan, in northeast Thailand.  Fermented fish, raa pla, is a popular condiment

Another major contribution to Isaan cuisine is provided by laab, a type of salad consisting of chopped pork, chicken or fish, seasoned with lime juice, fish sauce, chili, fresh mint leaves, and khao khua-pon (uncooked, roasted and pounded rice). 

Southern Thailand: 

In the southern provinces, Malaysia's influence makes itself felt.  There are many Muslims in the provinces, and many Chinese, so that in Aharn-Phak Tai southern cooking mixes several cooking styles. 

For example, khanom chiin nam ya are thin Chinese rice noodles with a spicy fish curry sauce.  Another popular dish that is often offered in Muslim restaurants is khao mok kai, the southern Thai style of a biryani cooked together with the rice and chicken, spiced with cloves, cinnamon and fresh turmeric roots.  This is always served with a mild chicken broth and a bowl of cucumber slices and pickled chili slices.

There are very popular dishes here that are along the lines of Indian curries, such as the kaeng masaman, or gaeng matsaman - Muslim soup.  This dish has become the standard in many small restaurants, it can - depending on the amount of the added chili - be felt sharply from mild to fiery.  It is so popular that King Phuttaloetla (Rama II) even wrote a little poem about it.

 

Thai Regional Food

 

Thai cuisine can be divided into four regional cuisines that have distinguished themselves, more or less, from each other with their own typical dishes.  Bangkok, as its capital, occupies a special position. 

Northern Thailand: 

The north of the country borders Myanmar and Laos, and therefore aharn nuea phak from the kitchens of those countries can be found.  The region’s preference for kao niau (sticky rice) was taken from Laos.  The influence of Myanmar makes itself noticeable in the regional specialty kaeng hang leh, a kind of spicy stew with pork.  Here, the meals are traditionally eaten sitting at a table that is flat on the floor.  This form of entertainment is called thok khan, and it has become a tourist attraction.

Specialties here include various chili pastes, which are served with blanched vegetables, such as nam phrik ong - dried red chili and minced meat in a spicy tomato sauce.  The result of the crossroads of trade routes from China, there are many pasta dishes, such as khao soi - flat egg noodles in a spicy sauce, topped with crispy fried noodles, sour pickled cabbage, shallot and lemon slices.  Another popular dish is muu phat bai kaphrao- fried pork with basil.

Central Thailand: 

Just as the dialect of central Thailand is regarded as the "default" Thai in schools and offices, and carries the aharn phak sound, dishes of central Thailand are regarded as the "traditional" Thai cuisine.  The courses with coconut milk and many spices, which are known in the West as “curries,” characterize it, for example.  This is perhaps most famously seen with the "triumvirate" of kaeng khiao wan and kaeng phet and kaeng phanaeng.

 
Many dishes are cooked in a wok.  Examples are kratiam-phrik-phat-thai - fried with garlic and pepper, Phat's Bay kaphrao  - fried with basil, phak bung-fai - daeng - fried water spinach with chili, garlic and black beans, and khai chiao – a Thai omelet.  The latter is often served with nam-phrik Si Racha, an orange-colored, salty-sweet chili sauce with garlic, which is named after the coastal town of Si Racha.

Bangkok: 

In Bangkok, there are restaurants to suit virtually every taste.  All major European, Near Eastern and Far Eastern flavors are represented in many gourmet restaurants.  Probably the highest densities of restaurants are found in the areas where the tourists mainly stay, especially Sukhumvit Road and its numerous side streets.  Guides say that in these areas you are never more than fifty meters from the nearest restaurant. 

Numerous food stalls and street stalls are seen on practically every street corner in Bangkok.  One may eat rather cheaply at these in comparison to the local restaurants.  The food from these outdoor kitchens, in the English language "street food" or "hawker food," is part of the daily lives of many Thais in the big cities.  Experienced cookshop eaters can see the dishes in a booklet that is produced listing the ingredients.  The cooks use earthen utensils, such as mortars and shallow pans.

Food courts offer, more or less, a large number of food stalls in a hygienic environment.  These can usually be found in the basements or on the top floors of large department stores.  Each food stall produces its own specialty.  Payment here is not made with cash, but with coupons in various denominations, which can be purchased in advance at the entrance. 

Many long-established restaurants in Bangkok are located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River.  Some terraces are situated on the banks, while others are built on stilts in the river itself.  The food is traditional Thai cuisine.

The major hotels in town are regularly trying to outdo each other with specials, or offering food from all-you-can-eat buffets.  In the pages of daily newspapers, there are references to specific events in the hotels’ restaurants or special awards the restaurants have received. 

Some hotels, especially the renovated Author's Wing in the Oriental Hotel, also offer English afternoon tea.  Several hotels and restaurants offer cruises on the Chao Phraya River with restaurant service.  The trip takes about two to three hours, and it leads down a stretch of the river and then back to the starting point.