Bangkok

Third Stop: Bangkok

Thai food and street stalls go hand in hand and some of the best street food around can be found in Bangkok. Khao San Road and its surrounding alleys are littered with small street vendors, dotted between over-priced restaurants that are no match for the street guys on taste or value!

For a filling meal at a great price then look no further than the classic Pad Thai. It's dirt cheap (especially if you choose the veggie option) and is a vast improvement on the similarly priced toasties from 7-Eleven. If the humidity is getting the better of you, by all means take your box of Pad Thai into a 7-Eleven for a blast of air con.... just don't be tempted by the carbonara toasty that promises so much and delivers so little. (see full image)

If egg and peanut doesn't quite satisfy your protein needs, then you can grab a bag of diced pork or chicken wegs (a term we coined for the leg size chicken wings) for 30 Baht a piece. The teriyaki like dressing is sticky and sweet, ensuring a perfect accompaniment to a box of soft noodles.

Not all of the street food in Bangkok is as safe as Pad Thai. You can earn man points by gobbling down a char grilled tarantula or a bag of crickets. We settled for a scorpion and a sorry looking frog that tasted like charcoal and made me gag, but it was a good photo op and story to tell my 4 year old nieces.They still believe that my burps have turned into "ribbits"! (see full image)

On a serious note, the floating markets in Bangkok are a foodie haven and another great opportunity to sample street food and restaurant quality meals alike. We did the obligatory trip to Damnoen Saduak, which is the biggest and most popular of the floating markets. If you can cope with being pestered/ harassed by all of the vendors, there are some great little treats in between the stalls selling tourist tat. Kanoom Krock are a traditional Thai dessert. They look like mini pancakes but have a mousse like texture in the centre. I tried the 3 flavours on offer: sweet corn, spring onion and sweet red bean. Once again, the mixture of sweet and savoury was confusing to my palette, but all in all it provided a very satisfying breakfast. They can be found all over Thailand, in a variety of different flavours and are well worth a try.

Don't get them confused with the banana pancake though; a must try for anyone following the Banana Pancake Trail. These oil laden 'Roti's' are delicious when smothered in Nutella and stuffed with banana and the salty tang coming from the butter makes them incredibly moreish.(see full image)

If you're a fan of floating markets and you find yourself in Bangkok on a Sunday, I'd highly recommend a trip on the local bus to Taling Chan. The market here is more of a riverside than floating market, as most things are prepared and sold from longboats whilst you walk along floating platforms.
 However, it's full of locals and the food here, all be it slightly more expensive, is fresh and delicious. We started our visit here with morning coffee on the riverside. We watched on, whilst feeding the giant catfish in the river, as ladies effortlessly prepared candied coconut in a molten orange syrup, before parcelling it up into bags and carting it over to their nearby stall.It filled the air with a sickly sweet smell.(see full image)

Over the bridge, longboats stuffed with fresh fruit and veggies cruise downstream looking for custom and small kitchen boats donning BBQ's and sizzling pans are anchored to the banks. The frantic river catfish splashed competitively for the fish pellets, splashing murky river water onto the chef's work space. It wasn't enough to put us off and we ordered scallops stuffed with both crispy and spring onions and a tilapia cooked in banana leaf, flavoured with lemon grass. It was stunning. (see full image)

Finally, it's hard to avoid a Chang, Leo, Tiger, Singha or any other Thai beer that tickles your fancy in the backpacker hub of Kho San Road. Ladies wearing flamboyant hats are everywhere, with a display of bracelets (donning some rather graphic messages) in one hand and a beer cooler in the other. A word of warning; Chang is unregulated, meaning it’s a lottery as to the percentage alcohol content that you’ll get. It’s the cheapest beer available but is likely to leave you with a nasty changover.

Southern Thailand

Second stop: Southern Thailand

Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan, Koh Tao

After enjoying the culinary surprises that Indonesia provided, we made the journey from Bali to the South Eastern Thai Islands. It is at this point that I confess: for the majority of our time here, we were more focused on the local beers and spirits than the food. It was New Year and we met a group of our friends here to celebrate at the full moon party in Koh Pha-Ngan, so the meals mainly functioned as hangover cures. That being said, Thai food is the perfect way to blow away the cobwebs, and there were 3 stand out dishes well worth a mention

Panang Curry

If you're talking about Thai curry, red and green are the first words that come to mind. However, this dry dish, medium in spice, really packs a flavour punch. Kafir lime leaf is the prominent flavour and although coriander root is ground into the paste, it's one of the few Thai dishes that coriander haters like me are safe with. Veggies don't make much of an appearance in a Panang and the sauce is thickened with fried coconut cream. If you're looking for the healthy choice, this probably isn't the dish for you but if it's comforting hangover food you're after then look no further.

Massaman Curry

As a carb lover, this has to be my favourite of all the Thai curries. The combination of spices such a cardamom, cinnamon and clove make for a mild and aromatic sauce, which the cubed potatoes in the dish absorb beautifully. Rice probably isn't necessary as an accompaniment but if you're nursing a New Year's Day hangover and need some energy, then a bowl of this starch filled stodge with steamed rice will set you up for the day. It certainly sorted me out. (see full image)

Coconut Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

You've probably grasped by now that mild dishes are more up my street. Tom Kha Gai is the mildest of them all and traditionally is served as a chicken dish. This gentle fare is crammed with oyster or shiitake mushrooms and brought back fond memories of my childhood, when my mum would give me chicken and mushroom soup from a can on the days that I felt unwell. This 5* version of the Heinz classic is perfect for settling the stomach of a tired, fragile backpacker.

Krabi,Koh Phi Phi, Phuket

I apologise in advance that some of our South Western Thailand food highlights came in the form of international or fusion food. But, when it's this good, it deserves a mention and I have future blog posts in the pipeline dedicated to spicy Thai food...

Krabi

Looking out over the banks of Krabi River doesn't exactly get the taste buds tingling. The sludgy mounds were cluttered with alien looking mud skippers and thousands of tiny crabs, so when we saw some local fisherman casting lines, we weren't confident that their catch would appeal to us. Catfish is available in abundance from this river and it's ugly looks are probably the reason it isn't found on the fish counter in Morrisons.

As the sun came down over the river, the town came to life. Chao Fah riverside market is a foodies dream and it was a personal highlight from my time in Southern Thailand. Every night the locals set up shop, selling fresh produce and delicious street food. Having seen the catfish being reeled in, we had to try it so we tucked into a garlic marinated catfish skewer for a mere 60 Thai Baht (approx £1.20).
It was seriously tasty and gave us the feel good factor to know we were supporting local trade and sustainable fishing.
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The market spoiled us with other delicious treats; sticky BBQ pork, chicken satay skewers and grilled red snapper. After the meat and fish mains, it was time to look for pudding. I fell in love with an elderly Thai man who was busying himself over a griddle, flipping mini pancakes. We came to discover that the dish he made was Khanom Buang: a savoury pancake batter stuffed with orange zest, coconut and marshmallow. I've found that many Thai desserts have a savoury element, making it impossible to guess what a dish may taste like and therefore giving me a valid excuse to try them all! (see full image)

Koh Phi Phi

We made our way to Koh Phi Phi from Krabi. We were expecting to discover miles of idyllic beach and a relaxing atmosphere and so were initially surprised when we landed on this party island! Having spent a long day traveling we had worked up quite an appetite and so 'Matt's Grill' was exactly the type of place we were looking for. Our friends had recommended it from their time in Phi Phi and we weren't disappointed.

Ladies and lady-boys eat for a discounted price at this all you can eat BBQ. I must admit, buffets aren't usually my thing but at Matt's there is something for everyone as the salad bar is delicious and the griddled meats are endless in variety. The mini burgers went like hot cakes and it made for entertaining people watching as diners sprung from their seats to grab a plate full before they disappeared!
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Phuket

We only had a couple of nights in Phuket town and the majority of our meals here were much the same as the aforementioned. However, there was one standout restaurant which took fusion food to a new level and satisfied four hungry backpackers who were looking for a filling, reasonably priced meal. 

"The Cook" is run by a Thai Chef who gained much of his experience in an Italian resort. This man takes his food seriously; for the forty minutes that we dined in his cafe he popped his head out of the kitchen at least 5 times to check that his customers were happy. For me, happy is an understatement as I tucked in to a coconut curry pizza with glee. My dining companions were smiling too, with their seafood Tom Yan, Massaman curry and Thai green curry pizza's. It's hard to describe how and why it worked so well, so if you find yourself in Phuket town, make sure you try it for yourself.
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