Eat & Drink Like a Local

Backpacker Food Austin Bush

It all began with an order of Hat Yao fried rice, a bizarre concoction of rice fried with ketchup and chicken breast, enveloped in a thin omelette. Now, I’ve eaten lots of Thai dishes in nearly every region of Thailand and have never come across anything quite like Hat Yao fried rice. I’d also never seen a green curry the way it was served the next night: soupy and impotent, and laden with carrots, cauliflower and potatoes. In fact, once I sought it out, I discovered an entire repertoire of food on Ko Pha-Ngan’s Hat Yao that I’d never encountered previously. This genre of cuisine, characterised by unrecognisable interpretations of local and foreign dishes, dull flavours, a strong vegetarian bias, facsimile menus, mystery ingredients and even more mysterious origins, I called Backpacker Food.

The simple fact that Backpacker Food exists begs the question: why does one need comfort food when on the road? Isn’t the point of travelling to try new things? Admittedly, there are times when a tender tummy might require familiar flavours, and perhaps this is when a queasy Italian would order the spaghetti carbonara, or when a nauseous native of the islands would choose the pork chop Hawaiian. (I’m still not exactly sure who would order Contigi prawn, fried chicken mayonnaise, no name falafel-style chicken or cauliflower cheese.) But the ubiquity of such menu items on Hat Yao suggested that they were the norm rather than the exception.

Backpacker breakfasts in particular seemed to have the least in common with the local cuisine. The English, with their ‘Full English Breakfast’ seemed to dominate this area, while the Swiss, with their muesli (often little more than oatmeal with a few cornflakes thrown in), have also had a palpable, though unpalatable, impact. And the ubiquitous ‘American Breakfast’ of instant coffee, lighter-than-air white bread, warm hotdogs and oily fried eggs isn’t doing much to promote the image of American food abroad, and certainly isn’t a good way to start the day.

Even if you do make an effort to go ‘local’, Thai-style Backpacker Food is often just as bizarre as, if not more so, the quasi-Western food. Authentic southern Thai cooking is a vibrant seafood-based cuisine that is among the most full-flavoured in the country, if not the world. But the guest-house kitchens of Hat Yao put out consistently weak Thai-style salads, limp tasteless stir-fries, barely there curries and oddly enough, despite being on an island, very few seafood dishes.

Luckily, if the lack of authentic Thai food on Ko Yao is getting to you, you could always order kôw pàt à·me·rí·gan, ‘American fried rice’ – rice fried with ketchup, sliced hotdogs and sweet raisins, topped with a fried egg. Despite the name, the dish is found throughout Thailand and is particularly popular among Thai children and university students. It was, as far as I could tell, the only authentically Thai dish on the restaurant menus of Hat Yao.

Can I Drink The Ice?

Among the most common concerns we hear from first-time visitors to Thailand is about the safety of the country’s ice. At the risk of sounding fatalistic, if it’s your first time in Thailand, the ice is probably the least of your concerns – you’re most likely going to get sick at some point. Considering that you’re exposing yourself to a different cuisine and a new and unfamiliar family of bacteria and other bugs, it’s virtually inevitable that your body will have a hard time adjusting.

In most cases this will mean little more than an upset tummy that might set you back a couple hours. You can avoid more serious setbacks, at least initially, by trying to frequent popular restaurants and vendors where dishes are prepared to order and only drinking bottled water.

And the ice? We’ve been lacing our drinks with it for years and have yet to trace it back to any specific discomfort.

Beyond The Street Stall

Read any magazine or newspaper article about eating in Thailand and you will inevitably find gushing references to the glories of the country’s street food. While much of the food sold from mobile carts and streetside stalls is indeed very tasty, it certainly isn’t the case that only street food is good. In fact, in our research, we’ve found that the best places to eat are anything but mobile. Rather, we recommend the long-standing, family-owned restaurants typically found in aged Sino-Portuguese shophouses. The cooks at such places have likely been serving the same dish – or limited repertoire of dishes – for several decades, and really know what they’re doing. The food may cost slightly more than on the street, but the setting is usually more comfortable and hygienic, plus you’re eating a piece of history. While such restaurants rarely have English-language menus, you can usually point to a picture or dish. If that fails, turn to Click here and practise your Thai.

So do indulge in a street cart or two as they’re an essential part of the Thailand experience, but be sure to try a few old-school restaurants as well.

Coffee, Southern Style

In virtually every town or city in southern Thailand you’ll find numerous old-world cafes known locally as ráhn goh·Ъée. The shops are almost exclusively owned by Thais of Chinese origin, and often seem suspended in time, typically sporting the same decor and menu for decades. Characteristics of ráhn goh·Ъée include marble-topped tables, antique mugs and dishes, and an almost exclusively male clientele that also seems not to have budged since opening day. Some of the most atmospheric ráhn goh·Ъée in Thailand can be found in the town of Trang (Click here).

The beans used at ráhn goh·Ъée are sometimes grown abroad, but are roasted domestically. Although the beans are as black as the night, the drink typically tends to lack body. This may be due to the brewing method, which involves pouring hot water through a wind-sock-like piece of cloth that holds the loose grounds. Typically, goh·Ъée is served over a dollop of sweetened condensed milk and a tablespoon (or more) of sugar in small, handleless glasses. For those lacking a sweet tooth, try goh·Ъée or (black coffee), or just ask them to hold the sugar. All hot coffee drinks are served with a ‘chaser’ of weak green tea.

Ráhn goh·Ъée are also a great place for a quick bite. Upon arriving at the more traditional ones, you’ll be greeted by a tray of steamed Chinese buns, sweet snacks, such as sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf, or baked goods.