Roadside restaurants, street food. Best of the best

[lola]

I love street food in Thailand, and try to eat everything, that i see) In Hua Hin many good places with good chefs, but all of them have some individuality. For example, after 50+ noodles soups, i have allocated a few, that i like more.
Of course i understood, that it's subjective.
I can't visit all places in town, but i can visit places and try some dishes, what you think are best in town.

I start:
best noodle soup with pork and yellow noodle - 2/225 Nongplub Rd, near "G House Hotel" - open at 5pm; near car with crab logo.
best Phat Thai with pork (best PT at all, but exactly with pork it's heavenly, dont forget use lime and green onion) - soi 112, near 7/11 - work every day.

U? Fish, Steaks, Roti?

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[Takiap]

If heading towards Cha-Am, turn left into Soi 6 (just after PTT) and you will see a roadside restaurant on your right just after the Toyota place. I think noodles are their specialty but they also serve a nice cup of coffee and a variety of Thai desserts. I only mention this place because Thais will even travel from Bangkok to eat there, and it's the only suck place I have ever seen where it's not uncommon to see people lining up outside waiting for a table.

When I asked a Thai friend about this, they said it's because the food there is made the same way as it was made in the old days. They are not open all day though, and seems to be more of a brunch/lunch time place.


Further up the road in the evenings, there are a feel stalls set up with a few tables on your left. I would recommend trying the Khao Kha Moo which is a dark brown type of pork dish, ultra tender and slightly sweet.


Continue up the road, cross the klong road and take a right. Drive past the temple and there's a place called Isaan Hut on your left. Limited menu and seating, but nice setting and very tasty food, especially on days when they have a pot of Tom Sep which is a soup made with pork ribs.

[europtimiste]

I am delighted to read that some farang appreciate real Thai street food, which is tasty, authentic and cheap. I live here since 18 years and avoid those expensive farang restaurants where you are stolen. It happens that I eat western food, but I always check the price.

[Spitfire]

Street food can be good but it's not what it used to be with much dodgy stuff being sold now. It a complete lottery as to whether it's OK or not and there is simply no guarantee of what you are getting (despite what they try to pass it off as) or what it's been cooked/fried in (oil is usually the cheap unhealthy stuff or scarily re-filtered)....just don't know now and no-one gives two hoots about what they are selling as long as people pay.

Furthermore, the meat is....well....truely a mystery in most cases. I just don't want to even think what your average Thai sausage/mince meat company uses to pump stuff/meat balls out for the lower end of the market as there is little enforcement of food hygiene laws anywhere here that I've noticed. LOL.....don't even get me started on the dog meat balls that your averge taxi, bus, tuk-tuk driver likes etc. that are commonly available or passed off as something else.

Luckily, my Mrs is an ex chef at some decent restaurants so with Thai food I buy the ingredients myself/with her and then she cooks it all up but I eat a mix of Thai and western food. It's just after living here almost 15 years now I just don't trust your average street food stall and everything is so fatty, drenched in oil and basically most of it is what I call 'heart attack' food imo. I will go to Thai restaurants but usually the ones that are busy and popular with the locals.

[dtaai-maai]

I am delighted to read that some farang appreciate real Thai street food, which is tasty, authentic and cheap. I live here since 18 years and avoid those expensive farang restaurants where you are stolen. It happens that I eat western food, but I always check the price.

Breaking News - western food in a decent farang restaurant is more expensive than a plastic bag from a Thai street stall!
There is no comparison, no matter how long you live here.
Enjoy both for what they are.

[GLCQuantum]

'L(r)at Naa', is really the only street food I'll eat nowadays. Seafood and pork and veg, served in a nice thick gravy with a snot-like texture. Best with crispy noodles.

[lola]

GLCQuantum, and where u try a best one?

[Winkie]

Street food can be good but it's not what it used to be with much dodgy stuff being sold now. It a complete lottery as to whether it's OK or not and there is simply no guarantee of what you are getting (despite what they try to pass it off as) or what it's been cooked/fried in (oil is usually the cheap unhealthy stuff or scarily re-filtered)....just don't know now and no-one gives two hoots about what they are selling as long as people pay.

Furthermore, the meat is....well....truely a mystery in most cases. I just don't want to even think what your average Thai sausage/mince meat company uses to pump stuff/meat balls out for the lower end of the market as there is little enforcement of food hygiene laws anywhere here that I've noticed. LOL.....don't even get me started on the dog meat balls that your averge taxi, bus, tuk-tuk driver likes etc. that are commonly available or passed off as something else.

Luckily, my Mrs is an ex chef at some decent restaurants so with Thai food I buy the ingredients myself/with her and then she cooks it all up but I eat a mix of Thai and western food. It's just after living here almost 15 years now I just don't trust your average street food stall and everything is so fatty, drenched in oil and basically most of it is what I call 'heart attack' food imo. I will go to Thai restaurants but usually the ones that are busy and popular with the locals.

Agree with you completely Spitfire. I too love street food, and of course still eat fairly frequently. However, it is very hard to judge the quality. Bad/old oil you can smell, but for other ingredients, its not so easy. I don't eat Luk Chin, because I'm sure I can imagine exactly how they are made. I always ask for no MSG and no Sugar. Both of which are major ingredients in street food.

Its a shame. Economic pressures, and official directives dictating street food prices, means that quality becomes the lowest consideration, and often not a consideration at all.

Even busy ones, can often indicate good prices/good portions or good taste (lots of MSG), therefore even popularity cannot be considered a reliable indicator of quality.

[Takiap]

Winkie, I think prices are determined more by competition than anything else. Sure, quality does suffer as a result, but your average working Thai is not overly concerned so long as the taste is right, and taste can and is manipulated with stuff like oyster sauce; soy sauce; msg and etc. additionally, add in a load of chilli and everything tastes pretty much the same anyway, regardless of whether they are using good quality ingredients or not.


Even many very busy places will be willing to use poor quality ingredients if it means they can save a few extra baht. I think it has a lot to do with the "every baht counts" sort of culture.

As for the processed sausages that are sold next to the road..........well, if you can keep sausages baking in the sun the whole day with any problems, then my common sense tells me that I need to stay well clear. The amount of chemicals/preservatives in them must be beyond belief.

I have also noticed that these days most street vendors use the cheapest rice they can find, and it really is bloody awful.


With all that having been said, a lot of street food is still good, and also great value for money if that's what you are keen on. Personally though, I've pretty much drifted away from Thai food after having eaten it exclusively for ten years or more.

[Arlo]

As for the processed sausages that are sold next to the road..........well, if you can keep sausages baking in the sun the whole day with any problems, then my common sense tells me that I need to stay well clear. The amount of chemicals/preservatives in them must be beyond belief.

I can't tell you what roadside places do but I do know that my wife and I make sausage at home. When she makes Isaan sausage she doesn't add any chemicals or preservatives. She puts the sausage in the sun all day and I have eaten it many times and have never been sick. Yes it goes against what most of us are taught back home but putting it in the sun is what's done here and it seems to work for whatever reason.

[Sparky]

Sai Krok (Isaan sausages) are fermented which is why they don't spoil. You mix rice, pork, garlic and salt and then wait for the magic to happen in a warm place. I don't know all the science but lactic acid builds up and along with the salt this kills nasties and gives the sausages their sour taste. Sadly I am uk based for now but I make these in the airing cupboard with a tiny heater. Best beer food ever in my humble opinion. I'd be interested to see your wife's recipe if it's not secret Arlo

[Arlo]

Sai Krok (Isaan sausages) are fermented which is why they don't spoil. You mix rice, pork, garlic and salt and then wait for the magic to happen in a warm place. I don't know all the science but lactic acid builds up and along with the salt this kills nasties and gives the sausages their sour taste. Sadly I am uk based for now but I make these in the airing cupboard with a tiny heater. Best beer food ever in my humble opinion. I'd be interested to see your wife's recipe if it's not secret Arlo

I think you nailed it on the head. The ingredients you listed is what she uses. I dont think she has anything written down. When we make sausage I do a batch or 2 of something I am more familiar with and then she takes over and makes the Isaan sausage. She makes a beef sausage also that people seem to like. I never paid much attention to that one.

[margaretcarnes]

'L(r)at Naa', is really the only street food I'll eat nowadays. Seafood and pork and veg, served in a nice thick gravy with a snot-like texture. Best with crispy noodles.

Now that looks flippin good. But in HH I used to always go for the Pad Thai sold on the corner of Naebkerhardt and Chomsin. Probably long gone now - but at lunchtimes you could also get deep fried fish bits there - brilliant. And then the fried rice from a stall outside of G supermarket at night. And the duck and noodle soup at the end of the Night Market - also long gone.
The thing to remember about Thai street food is that every Thai cook has their own recipe, and it's a case of trying stuff until you find what you really like. Then when you finally find it it will be gone - or have moved on. Many on here will remember the Gee Restauarant for example - and that wonderful place outside the Hilton where you had a kind of pick and mix stir fry.
Things change. You just have to keep trying new places as they pop up. On the plus side it's all affordable and nearly always good value.

[moater]

@Winkie - consider revising your "no MSG" policy. The safety myths around MSG are more of an urban legend than fact. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium ... ate#Safety for some analysis, as well as plenty of other reputable resources on the web.

Quick quote: A controlled, double-blind, multi-location clinical trial failed to demonstrate a relationship between the MSG symptom complex and actual MSG consumption. No statistical association has been demonstrated, and the few responses were inconsistent. No symptoms were observed when MSG was administered with food.

Don't give up on better flavor for the sake of an old urban legend.

[STEVE G]

If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn't everyone in Asia have a headache?
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... .features3