Thai Food - Warning !
Lets talk about Thai food for a moment. Remember, Thai food is generally very hot and spicy! Liberal amounts of Chilli is used in the cooking and as a condiment. This isn't true for all Thai dishes but most of them ! So BEWARE if such food is not your idea of a great meal. However, when ordering you can ask that they don't use normal amounts of Chilli. If you want your food to be only slightly hot just say 'Pet Nit Noy' to the waiter. The phrase means words to the effect of 'hot/spicy a little bit'
Rice is a staple component of Thai cuisine, as it is of most Asian cuisines. The highly-prized, sweet-smelling jasmine rice is indigenous to Thailand. Rice dishes are accompanied by highly aromatic curries, stir-fries and other dishes, incorporating sometimes large quantities of chillies, lime juice and lemon grass. Noodles are popular as well. Noodles usually come as a single dish, like Pad Thai.
Some Ideas
As well as having many, many Thai restaurants, there are a large number of Japanese,Chinese, Indian and Korean ones as well. McDonalds is very well represented as is KFC, and to a lesser extent Burger King. Subway is also available if you want ! Pizza Hut and similar places are in abundance.
Restaurants catering for Muslims and people from the Middle East are also available, especially around the Sukhumvit Soi 3 and 5 areas.
There are also a few traditional British and American bars and restaurants that serve up tasty Western food - but prices tend to be on the higher side. Traditional German, Danish, Italian and Swiss restaurants also exist but are priced in a similar fashion.
If you come to the Sukhumvit tourist area you must visit 'Cabbages and Condoms' in Sukhumvit Soi 12. Fantastic Thai food at a reasonable price and a freebie when you pay the bill ! An excellent establishment with a sideline promoting sexual health and birth control.
There is also an English Fish and Chip Shop situated on Sukhumvit Soi 23 near the Soi Cowboy entertainment area. They serve up traditional fish and chips and has been around for a long time. A very popular place for ex pats and tourists ! This is one of the writers favourite places !!
Bangkok Hotel Restaurants
As you would expect, the 5 star hotels in Bangkok have 5 star restaurants too. They normally have lovely surroundings, and excellent staff. However, beware - the food in some of them is overpriced and no better than what you can get elsewhere. If you want convenience, then of course they are an excellent choice.
Most big hotels have more than one restaurant for you to choose from, serving a wide range of international and Thai dishes. If you have a large budget and prefer staying in your hotel then perhaps this is for you.
The lower priced hotels have also got their own restaurants and coffee shops, but do not expect them to be like the 5 star premises.
Bangkok Street Food Vendors
At the other end of the scale the Bangkok street vendors are an excellent choice for those on a low budget or for those who just want to try the great food they dish out! There are so many of them, everywhere, it is hard to ignore them.
Just use commonsense when using them. Watch where they are located - if they are positioned over or close to a drain cover or pile of rubbish leave them alone. If there are a few in a row but one has no customers, leave the quiet one alone.
Do not expect the vendor to speak more than pigeon English.
Sea Food Restaurants
There are a few restaurants specialising in sea food dotted around the main tourist areas. If you like fresh sea food these are the places to go. You can select your own fish and have it cooked the way you like. I have eaten so many barbequed tiger prawns I have lost count. Prices vary depending on weight of the fish and the season.
Shopping Centres
There are many places to eat within the many large shopping centres located in Bangkok. Restaurants of all types can be found and more often than not an inexpensive food court. So you can easily spend most of the day in one shopping centre !
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