Gently Spiced Thai Dishes

Heat 2/5 · 15–25 THB per bowl

Boat Noodles (Guay Teow Reua) are intensely flavoured small bowls of noodle soup with a dark broth enriched with pork blood, five-spice, and herbs. Historically sold from boats along Bangkok's canals, they're served in tiny portions — order four or five bowls.

Heat 2/5 · 80–160 THB

Gaeng Hung Lay is a Northern Thai pork curry with Burmese origins — slowly braised pork belly with ginger, garlic, shallots, and turmeric in a deeply aromatic, slightly sweet sauce with no coconut milk.

Heat 2/5 · 60–120 THB

Gaeng Liang is a light, vegetable-packed Thai soup-curry made with black pepper, shrimp paste, and lemongrass — often called the most nutritious dish in Thai cuisine.

Heat 2/5 · 50–150 THB per half-chicken

Gai Yang is Thai grilled chicken — whole chickens or halves marinated in lemongrass, coriander root, garlic, and fish sauce, then slow-grilled over charcoal until deeply golden.

Heat 2/5 · 120–250 THB

Goong Ob Woon Sen is a clay pot dish of prawns baked on a bed of glass noodles with ginger, celery, crispy garlic, and a savoury soy-oyster sauce — the noodles absorb the prawn juices and sauce as everything steams together.

Heat 2/5 · vegetarian option · 30–60 THB

Kanom Jeen are thin, slightly fermented rice noodles served at room temperature with your choice of curries and toppings from a spread of condiments. A communal, flexible dish particularly associated with central and southern Thailand.

Heat 2/5 · 60–120 THB

Khao Kluk Kapi is shrimp paste fried rice — rice stir-fried with intense, aromatic shrimp paste and served with a colourful array of sweet pork, mango, dried shrimp, and omelette strips.

Heat 2/5 · 50–100 THB

Khao Mok Gai is Thai chicken biryani — fragrant spiced rice cooked with bone-in chicken and served with a yellow-green cucumber dipping sauce and crispy shallots.

Heat 2/5 · vegetarian option · 50–90 THB

Khao Soi is northern Thailand's signature dish — egg noodles in a rich, curried coconut milk broth, topped with crispy fried noodles, pickled mustard greens, and shallots. It's a Burmese-influenced dish unique to Chiang Mai and the north.

Heat 2/5 · 50–100 THB

Kuay Jab is a Thai-Chinese noodle soup made with rolled rice noodle sheets in a dark, five-spice pork broth — topped with braised pork belly, offal, and boiled egg.

Heat 2/5 · 60–110 THB

Kuay Teow Kua Gai is a dry-fried noodle dish — wide rice noodles fried without water or stock with chicken and egg until deeply charred, creating an intensely smoky, almost caramelised flavour.

Heat 2/5 · vegetarian option · 40–80 THB

Pad Thai is Thailand's most iconic stir-fried noodle dish, tossed with eggs, bean sprouts, and a tangy tamarind-based sauce. Found at virtually every street food stall, it's the perfect introduction to Thai cuisine.

Heat 2/5 · vegetarian option · 50–90 THB

Pad Thai Jay is the fully vegan version of Thailand's iconic stir-fried noodle dish — made without eggs, fish sauce, or shrimp, substituting tofu and soy sauce while keeping the essential tamarind-based sauce.

Heat 2/5 · 90–180 THB

Panaeng Neua is the beef version of Panang curry — slow-simmered until the beef is tender in a thick, peanut-enriched red coconut sauce, topped with kaffir lime leaf chiffonade.

Heat 2/5 · vegetarian option · 80–160 THB

Panang Curry is a thick, dry-style Thai curry with a nutty richness from ground roasted peanuts in the paste. Less soupy than other curries, it clings to the meat with a concentrated, slightly sweet and deeply savoury sauce.

Heat 2/5 · 80–200 THB per fish

Pla Pao is Thai salt-crusted grilled fish — a whole fish packed in rock salt and lemongrass, grilled slowly over charcoal until the flesh is steamed inside its salt shell and served with a spicy green herb dipping sauce (nam jim seafood).

Heat 2/5 · vegetarian option · 40–80 THB

Mataba is a Thai-Muslim stuffed flatbread — a flaky roti folded around a filling of spiced minced meat and egg, pan-fried until golden and served with a sweet cucumber relish.

Heat 2/5 · 10–30 THB per sausage

Sai Krok Isan is a fermented pork sausage from northeastern Thailand — soured naturally over several days, then grilled until the skin blisters, developing a delightfully tangy, porky flavour.

Heat 2/5 · 40–80 THB

Sukhothai noodles are a regional specialty — thin rice noodles in a sweet-savoury pork broth with ground pork, snake beans, and dried shrimp, distinct from Bangkok-style noodle soups.

Heat 2/5 · 40–80 THB for a portion

Tod Man Pla are Thai fish cakes — made from blended fish paste, red curry paste, kaffir lime leaves, and long bean slices, deep-fried until golden and served with sweet chilli sauce and a cucumber relish. Crispy outside, springy inside.

Heat 2/5 · vegetarian option · 70–150 THB

Tom Kha Gai is a creamy coconut milk soup with chicken, galangal, and lemongrass — milder and more aromatic than Tom Yum. The galangal gives it a distinctive earthy, citrusy warmth that is instantly comforting.

Heat 2/5 · 50–90 THB

Yen Ta Fo is Bangkok's most distinctive noodle soup — instantly recognisable by its shocking pink-red broth, flavoured with fermented red tofu, topped with fish balls, morning glory, and crispy wontons.