[ Travel ] Foodie Report: Thailand

Thailand was our first stop during our IndoChina backpacking trip and  we were there for only a couple of days so we didn’t really had a chance to eat as much Thai food as we wanted to. But here are some we were able to sample.

Khao Man Gai  We found this Thai version of Chicken Hainanese just outside our hostel in Phra-artid Road although of course after post-reading, it turned out this dish is practically everywhere in Thailand. So anyway, this place we went to just basically serves three dishes: Khao Man Gai (40 Baht), Fried Khao Man Gai (40 Baht) and fried spring rolls with rice (25 Baht). Sodas and water cost 10 Baht. Pretty economical right? and delicious too! The dishes really looked unassuming and plain but wait til you dip it in the sauce. Ours came accompanied by chicken broth soup with winter gourd and cilantro and two kinds of dips: sweet chili sauce and a soybean paste based sauce with ginger, garlic, and pepper. Mind you I’m not a good cook so I just got that last part from somewhere. But man, do they taste good! Even the rice is phenomenal, at first I thought they were sticky rice as it had this sort of sheen but then I found out they were cooked in chicken broth and fat and it really complimented the succulent chicken slices.

Pork Pad Thai w/ Egg and Fried Kala Leaves on Rice  We initially wanted to have dinner in Yaowarat but since we were already hungry we decided to eat along Khao San Road instead. We sat down in one of the many food stalls lining the road and ordered stir fried noodles or pork pad Thai for 50 Baht and fried kala leaves with rice for 45 Baht. It was my first time trying these two dishes and I surprisingly loved the stir fried noodles. It was to be the first of many.. The kala leaves however, not so much. Maybe because I’m not really into veggies. I downed my dinner with a soda for 15 Baht while my friend tried the famous Singha beer for 60 Baht. For dessert, we didn’t really have to give it much thought. We each had two servings of sticky rice with mango for 30 Baht per order.

Pork Tom Yam  and Spicy Thai Chicken Basil  Breakfast the following day was uneventful. I had Pork Tom Yam (50 Baht) which I instantly regretted not only because of the mediocre taste but also because it was piping hot and I had to try and eat it in a hurry since we’re due for Hua LamPhong train station that morning. To be fair, my Tom Yam tasted good but there was just too much soup and it wasn’t fun eating in a rush. My friend’s breakfast was even more ordinary, he had egg omelette with rice (30 Baht). He scrimped on his breakfast so he can have a banana shake for 25 Baht instead of just plain water  xD We were already on our last day in Thailand and we realized we haven’t tried the famous spicy chicken with basil yet. Under no circumstances are we going to leave Thailand without tasting it hahaha. Fortunately, we found just the place across a convenience store near Ayutthaya train station. Because of language barrier, we had to call the cook and his boys out front to point at the photo of what looked like the spicy Thai chicken basil (50 Baht). Ahhh it was the most delicious spicy chicken dish I’ve had in my life. It was so spicy that my friend finally had to tell me to stop trying to cool it down by blowing air since it wasn’t hot anymore, just  too spicy. And I love spicy foods so, my mouth waters just thinking about that place now.

So that’s basically it for our Thai gastronomic experience.