Guay Teow (Noodle Soup)
Guay teow is arguably one of the most popular Thai dishes and can be found almost everywhere. Guay teow describes any type of noodle soup. It can be made with chicken, pork, or beef (rarely vegetarian-friendly) as well as either rice noodles or egg noodles. Most of the time, vendors also add wontons or meatballs to the broth. The dish is best topped with a selection of condiments including, sugar, dried chilli peppers, lime juice, and fish sauce. Guay teow can be eaten at any time of day and is particularly good as a late night snack.

Tom Yum Goong (Spicy Shrimp Soup)
This iconic bowl of steaming goodness is bold, aromatic and comes with a fairly strong spicy kick. Tom yum goong is created with quintessential Thai ingredients like lemongrass, chilli, galangal, kaffier lime leaves, shallots, fresh lime juice and plenty of fish sauce. Fresh prawns and mushrooms are added and coconut cream if you want the creamy version.

Tom Kha Gai (Chicken in Coconut Soup)
Tom kha gai is related to tom yum and offers people with a lower tolerance to spice the opportunity to taste the same beautiful flavours. Besides the spice scale, Tom kha gai is also unique in that it typically comes with lots of creamy coconut milk creating a rich sweet soup. Like most Thai foods, vegetarian options are easily adaptable by substituting a few ingredients.

Som Tam (Spicy Green Papaya Salad)
Som tam hails from Isaan in Northeastern Thailand and is one of the most popular dishes in Thailand. Som tam comes in a variety of styles, however, the classic som tam consists of shredded green papaya, tomatoes, carrots, peanuts, dried shrimp, runner beans, palm sugar, tamarind pulp, fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and plenty of chillies. The ingredients are mixed together using a mortar and pestle, which amplifies the flavours into a super moreish dish.

Yam Pla Dook Foo (Fried Catfish with Green Mango Salad)
‘Fluffy’ and ‘crispy’ might be the best words to describe this dish. Catfish is fried in teeny tiny pieces (read “blown up”) creating an airy, fluffy and scrumptious fish salad. The secret to this dish is the pairing of the crispy fish with sweet, sour and spicy green mango salad. This dish is best enjoyed as an appetizer with a group of friends or as a beer snack.

Yam Talay (Spicy Seafood Salad)
This mixed seafood salad is not only delicious but is also a healthy meal option. Depending on where you are, this salad can have any combination of squid, shrimp, mussels, scallops or crabmeat in it. Added to the seafood medley are tomatoes, onions and rice glass noodles for good measure.

Laab (Spicy Salad)
Laab is a northeastern-style salad with meat or mushroom and mint which originates in the northeastern province of Isan. Laab comes in a variety of styles including chicken, pork, and mushroom. It is not recommended for those who can’t handle spice as it tends to come with a hefty kick.