The Land of Smiles has one of the most exotic and diverse cuisines in the whole world.
It is famous for its colorful and tasty dishes, each one being a small art piece. Thailand cuisine reflects the diversity of this country that stretches from spectacular mountains of the north to calm paradise islands on the south with hundreds of buzzing cities in the middle that are shaping Thai’s culture and cuisine for the future times to come.
Picturesque North
Northern part of Thailand is the world for itself, with picturesque mountains, hospitable people and vast greenery. Like all highlanders, Northern Thai people are very hospitable and welcoming. This area borders Myanmar and Laos and it is a big culture and food melting pot. People will welcome you in their house and offer you food you’ve never imagined to try in Southeast Asia. You will eat big chunks of roasted pork and chicken, sai ua sausages, all combined with fluffy rice, big variety of local vegetables and different chili sauces like: namprik ong, Namprik dang and namprik noom. People here are resilient and straight to the point, and their food is the same. They survived Marxist guerrillas and opium smugglers, and they are proud of their region which is the birthplace of Thai nation.
Colorful Isaan
Like the northern part of the country Isaan is also a melting pot and the place where Lao, Khmer and Thai cultures meet. Its food is the best proof of this region’s complicated history. Here people also eat a lot of meat, but also some more exotic looking dishes like som tak papaya salad which also very popular in Laos. This is not the only popular salad from this region. There’s also the refreshing larb, salad made out of mint and lemon juice. Isaan residents like to fish and that’s why crabs and mudfish is very important part of their everyday diet. This combined with some sticky rice and spicy vegetable curries makes Isaan’s cuisine extremely diverse and colorful.
The Buzz of Central Thailand
Central plains are dominated with Bangkok megalopolis. Outside Bangkok this region is famous for its agriculture and food production with endless rice fields and shrimp farms. In the Central part of the country smooth and long-lasting tastes prevail. Rice is the most common ingredient of every dish and before serving it with gang phed red curry or phad ped (chilli fried meat dish), you will probably be served with gang som or tom yam, two spicy vegetable soups that will definitely rock your world. Central part of Thailand is the place where you have the best chances to eat your food with spoon and fork, and even get a napkin on the side, which is the proof of it being the most cosmopolitan region in the country. If you would like to enjoy this kind of life on a daily basis, you can consider living in Bangkok and starting fresh in this beautiful city.
Southern Thailand, From Untouched Rainforest to Huge Tourist Hubs
This is the most famous and the most visited part of the country. Phuket is a beautiful paradise island that turned into one of the biggest tourist hubs in South East Asia. Accept tourism this regions also has some of the most unspoiled nature sights that range from Similian Islands National Park to caves, waterfalls and interesting rock formations of Krabi province. Similar to Central Thailand this part of the country is very cosmopolitan and its traditional food is one big mix of all South-East Asia tastes from Malaysian influenced Panaeng to Masaman that’s similar to curries you can find in India. Curry is the most popular dish here, and it comes as exotic as possible with a lot of sea food and coconut milk which makes it very mild. South is the right place to finish your Thai andventure, and enjoy its diverse food before running into a crystal clean blue sea.
