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Home » Reader question » Reader question: To eat or not to eat on the street in Thailand?
Reader question: To eat or not to eat on the street in Thailand?
Dear readers,
We are going backpacking in Thailand. According to many, you can eat well on the street at a stall, others say that you should not do that because of hygiene. Of course I don't want to get sick during my vacation that I saved for a long time.
What is the opinion of the Thailand connoisseurs, to do or not? I don't have a budget to eat in an (expensive) restaurant every day.
Greetings,
Jolanda
First, most basic Thai restaurants are only slightly more expensive than the roadside stalls. 40 baht for a noodle soup instead of 30, in that order.
Second: you can also have bad luck in restaurants:
My experiences:
1. Hours of diarrhea after eating a fried egg in a roadside stall in BKK. So always have your egg fried properly, this also applies to restaurants.
2. Chicken meal on Koh Samet in a cheap restaurant. That chicken was probably already prepared a day earlier ... sick to death, diarrhoea. This can happen to you in any average or cheap restaurant.
3. Eat squid in an expensive Thai fish restaurant… again bingo with food poisoning. In retrospect, this was also food from the day before.
In short: along the road, cheap or medium-priced restaurants: everything depends on the owner/chef how expertly and responsibly he handles the food.
Finally, I have eaten countless times in markets where there is a collection of food stalls, busy… no problem, because the food is freshly prepared there….
Always goes well…until that one time it goes wrong.
Just do it. See if there are more people and judge for yourself whether it is possible. Even in the most expensive restaurants you don't know what's going on in the kitchen, at least here you can see it.
You can always get sick from something, even from the heat and too many cold drinks.
Eat and enjoy 😉
Feel free to eat at the food stalls, but first check whether they have clean nails and roosters, also pay attention to the water in which they wash all cutlery in clear water and a stable covered with plastic is okay.
Ate like this for 12 years and not sick.
Enjoy your meal
Restaurant is no guarantee that it is hygienic. Norms in Thailand are different from ours anyway.
But on the street you see what they do. Is it well cooked, is it busy? So just use your common sense. But in general it shouldn't be a problem.
Incidentally, there are plenty of very simple (and therefore cheap) restaurants, which are fine.
And my experience is that the taste is usually better there than in that more luxurious restaurant.
you can eat very well on the street, see if it has a bit of a run-up or many people come, then it's good, I was amazed that everything stays well, there, often eaten, never been sick.
everything very tasty and especially phat thai, a kind of bami dish, with chicken, (kai) or fish (pla)
Eating on the street in Thailand certainly does not fall under the heading of risky business, so that should reassure you.
The fact that hygiene may be a little less good is sometimes a reality, but firstly this can also be the case in a restaurant (and you don't see it there because it happens in the back of the kitchen) and secondly it is an average picnic that we hold in the Flemish forests is not super hygienic either.
If you are a young and healthy non-fragile person then nothing will happen to you.
If you are not, you may sometimes have to deal with some mild abdominal and/or intestinal complaints.
I ALWAYS eat on the street (for 36 years) and have never noticed anything, even though I sometimes see them doing the dishes next to the stall in an unorthodox way.
You should first observe such a stall carefully. If there are a lot of Thai people, desk people type, then it's good.
Also check whether the meat is somewhat covered and not approached by flies and whether it is in full sun.
Hi Jolanda,
I always check whether it is busy (then the meat does not have time to spoil) and whether there is running water. The Thai way of cooking is very hygienic, but if they can't clean the plates properly... And then you can of course just ask the people if the food is clean and fresh. But Thailand is relatively safe, I'm actually never sick there, but if I go to a surrounding country (Cambodia or Laos) then it's always wrong… Have fun!
The experiences I have are positive. See how the preparation is done and whether hygiene is taken into account.
Of course the dishes have to be good.
So just do it and wish you a nice trip in this beautiful country.
Hello Yolanda,
I visit Thailand very regularly and mainly look for places where few tourists come. I usually eat on the street.
A few tips:
1. Start with moderately spicy food and gradually increase it.
2. You can simply drink water at the food stalls/mini restaurants and ice cubes are also safe.
3. Be careful with alcohol the first few days
4. The regular cola (so with sugar) is a great way to possibly. help prevent diarrhoea. I never drink regular coke in NL. When I'm in Thailand I occasionally have a bottle.
5. A sachet of ORS with water every day is very good for your stomach and intestines.
6. Take Imodium or something with you just to be on the safe side.
Also, especially go to the night markets. There you will find so many tasty things and for little money.
Have fun!
Henk
traveled around Thailand several times. Usually eaten on the street and markets, never had any problems. just pay attention to whether it is clean and whether there are several people eating. No ice cubes in drinks and no ice cream.
in this way we have already traveled through this great area 9 times.
enjoy your trip.
A good indication is usually:
If it's busy at the stall, it's usually good.
I myself never go to a restaurant or stall where few people sit.
Of course you can never rule anything out.
Hello, I believe you have no idea how expensive or cheap Thailand is.
Don't know what you think you will spend per day, but you can make it as expensive and cheap as you want.
We ourselves ate a lot in Bangkok Silom road in a Thai restaurant spotlessly clean, the kitchen and good food for an average of 3 to 4 euros with soft drinks per person, they even had fries if you want something else.
May I know which restaurants that is? We also sleep in this street. Gr Josh
Seen several times myself that wipes, food bowls from mobile food carts fall on the filthy street. In a reflex they pick this up to put it back.
Like the skewers, for the sake of clarity; this meat does fall into the gutter / street where the many many rats, dogs, cats and cockroaches live, so also pooping, pissing!!!
So completely cured of ever buying something from a street stall.
You can of course invent anything. In the Netherlands, too, they dare to simply sell food that has fallen. How about tinkering at the Uitmarkt in Utrecht or other cities, for example. I have been in Thailand for 12 years before that many times in Malaysia, 1 x was ill afterwards due to my own mistake. Drinking soft drinks at a stall with the wrong ice cubes. Always make sure there is a hole in the middle of the ice cubes. During the day you also see people with fresh meat on carts in the sun with flies on it, looks a bit unappetizing but once prepared and fried or grilled there is nothing to worry about. Furthermore, it can never be ruled out 100%, every body is different and reacts differently to the Thai climate. In short, common sense and lots of fun Kin xr̀xy
I have eaten at street stalls for years without any problem. Always had a price afterwards on vacation. And that after eating crab, among other things. That is the most dangerous thing you can eat in Thailand. This critter is the most polluted food!. And really sick…more than a week. And this was in a very good restaurant . Also watch what you drink, not too much ice. And luck helps too..
I have already written my story on this blog, I am Belgian and I have a deep fryer oil is brown and request it
my wife where can we put this oil. No problem will solve that so put oil in two large coca cola bottles.
The food stall where many people come to eat so I also see the lady MY BOTTLES two days later
with oil to use merrily to prepare my food as well. I have never been sick there, but with mussels in the green shel thai or new zealand there is a toxic substance in many people have no problem with it, but for me and a few more farangs a few days WC also visit the LIVE CRABES is
a little problem for many depends on how strong your stomach is
the most important thing about street food is that it is prepared while you are standing there, and that it is therefore heated sufficiently, which is normally not a problem with a wok preparation, so no dishes that are ready, you never know how long they have been there when you doubts about the quality of the food, just order a double mekong whiskey without ice and drink it, kill any bacteria present, and enjoy the street food, I've never had any problems with it
“A British study shows that 40% of all travelers experience traveler's diarrhea during the holidays ... Top 10 countries with the highest risk of traveler's diarrhea: 1. Egypt. 2. India. 3.Thailand”
So you can safely assume that more than half of the visitors to Thailand will have to deal with it.
Where you eat or how much you pay doesn't really matter. As indicated above, use your common sense, but the standards are different than we are used to. There are those BBQ carts, where the meat is pre-baked in the sun at 35 degrees all day before it is further prepared. Unthinkable in the Netherlands. Still, I've never had any trouble with it. You can avoid all fish, but that's another thing… I think the most dangerous are things you don't think about at all. Some lettuce leaves on your plate. They have not been heated, let alone been sufficiently hot to kill any bacteria. So I don't eat that, just like other raw vegetables. But a sausage of unknown origin that has been sputtering on the BBQ for ten minutes? Yes, that will go in.
Washing hands more regularly than at home might also be a tip.
Try to plan as little in advance as possible, if you are down for a few days it's not that bad.
We have been coming to Thailand for years. I have been very ill 1x after a visit to the Subway.
Avoid eating raw vegetables. Eaten everywhere else never been sick.
If you are near a large mall try one of the large food courts cheap, safe, lots of food and drink in one place.
If you are in Bangkok for a few days, you will soon see that the carts with food are not there all day.
that they have their products on ice, that they clean and scrub their wok and look in the wok and you can see if the oil is clear.
Do not forget that this is their livelihood and it is soon known if they are not hygienic.
Just look at every Thai, men and women in suits eat there for lunch.
I think it's a treat to eat with them, but I do have pills against diarrhea in the suitcase, but I take them with me for every holiday because you can get food poisoning everywhere
Enjoy your (safe) holiday in Thailand, it's a party
Just use your common sense and keep an eye out. I myself had severe diarrhea for 1 week after a restaurant visit in a 5 * star hotel. Often the food is not a direct problem, but the way in which the cutlery and the like are washed. So those Styrofoam containers outside may not be good for the environment, but they are better for your health
The most important thing is the speed of the food throughput. A busy, cheap restaurant converts a lot in a short time, while an expensive, quiet restaurant sometimes works with food from the previous day.
We like to eat at the food markets that you find in the shopping malls. It is actually always busy here, there is running water, there are refrigerators, you can see the preparation and also cheap….
Which is also a major cause of intestinal complaints when you are very hot to knock back a large glass of cold drink (water / beer / soda). Then you can really suffer from that hygienic but much too cold moisture.
Take it easy with too cold drinks, eat in busy places and then you can avoid a large part of the gastrointestinal complaints.
Have fun!
Ate at the stalls in Bangkok for over 2 weeks (afternoon, afternoon and evening), not once been sick!
However, I have Crohn's disease…
Golden tip from my Thai “sister-in-law”: eat at stalls where you regularly see different Thai people eating!
Peter already indicated, go to stables where many Thai sit / come,
the circulation is great here.
I have often eaten in the street when I was there on vacation and never got sick. Just use your common sense and don't eat at stalls where there are a lot of flies hanging over or where the food has been simmering for an hour in the full sun. I always chose stalls where a lot of people walked in and out.
If you want tips, be sure to check out Mark Wiens' videos on Youtube. That is a food blogger who lives in Bangkok and has many nice videos and tips about street food in Thailand
During all our travels through Thailand I have only gotten sick from food once…..and that was in a restaurant….for us there is nothing better than good food on the street. according to the narrow-minded Ned rules it will not look so great but let's face it the food is prepared with love on the street and above all and that is the most important on a (usually prepared on a huge hot fire ... ergo all possible bacteria are completely dead ) .... I would say enjoy all the goodies and don't be scared by the so-called "connoisseurs " who say it's not safe. During our travels through Africa I have seen meat hanging in the most bizarre places … never got sick there either.