Bangkok: The Land of Sour, Salty, Sweet, and Spicy 🌶

Welcome to the first issue of Fork in the Road!

To start, we’re in Thailand, specifically Bangkok, a vibrant metropolis where the ancient and modern, the East and the West, seamlessly coexist.

The Land of the Free 🇹🇭

Thailand, formerly known as Siam for over 600 years, gained its name in 1939, translating to "Land of the Free" in Thai.

Thailand is also one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that a Western power has never colonised, giving it a unique history that has allowed it to develop a rich and vibrant cultural heritage unlike any other in Southeast Asia.

Sour, Salty, Sweet and Spicy 🌶

The absence of colonial influence has allowed Thai cuisine, deeply rooted in traditional practices and local ingredients, to preserve its authenticity.

Thai cuisine combines four essential flavours to create complex dishes.

1. Sour: Often achieved through lime juice, tamarind, or sour fruits like green mango. Sourness helps to cut through the richness of other flavours in a dish.

2. Salty: Often achieved through fish sauce, soy sauce, or salt. Saltiness helps to bring out the flavours of other ingredients in a dish.

3. Sweet: Often achieved through palm sugar, coconut sugar, or fruits like mango or pineapple. Sweetness helps to balance out the spiciness of a dish.

4. Spicy: Often used to balance out the sweetness of other ingredients and adds depth and complexity.

Thai food also incorporates other flavours, such as umami from ingredients like soy sauce, pungency from a durian (🤐) or fermented fish, or creaminess from coconut milk. All of the above combine to provide an explosive combination of flavours.

A Food Lover’s Paradise 🤩

Stepping out onto the street in Bangkok for the first time is an assault on your senses. The smell of something fragrant frying in a wok, the noise of a million scooters, and the year-round heat and humidity all make for a fascinating and lively arrival.

There are two main reasons why this city is one of the best food destinations on earth. Firstly, Bangkok’s food scene has strength and depth at all price levels. You will find amazing food while sitting on a plastic stool down a local Soi (side street) and from the comfort of fine dining surroundings. The convenience of everything is so hard to beat; at any time of day, you’re never more than a few moments walk from what you’re looking for.

Bangkok is also a melting pot of gastronomy and displays an incredible variety of cuisines and dishes. Perhaps the standard of local Thai food being so high raises the bar for international cuisines; I rank Bangkok as my favourite place for several different cuisines (e.g. Italian) outside their native countries. There is something for everyone here.

3 Things to Do 🗺

Historic City of Ayutthaya

The first major kingdom to rule over what is now Thailand was the Ayutthaya Kingdom, founded in 1351 by King Ramathibodi I, and it was the capital of Thailand for over 400 years. The Ayutthaya Kingdom was powerful, prosperous, and a major centre of trade and culture in Southeast Asia.

To do: Ayutthaya is now an archaeological site, with the remains of tall prangs (reliquary towers) and monumental Buddhist monasteries giving a sense of the city's former size and architectural splendour. It’s definitely worth taking a day trip from Bangkok to see the historical city.

Chinatown (Yaowarat)

Dating back to 1782, when the first Chinese immigrants settled in the city, Bangkok Chinatown is a historical, crazy, and congested haven for shoppers and foodies. The area is also home to some wonderful temples, such as Wat Trainmit and Wat Mangkok Kamalawat, showcasing the Chinese-Buddhist heritage of the area.

To do: Visit the area of Chinatown at night to best experience the variety of food on offer.

Food Tour

If you want to go further than the recommendations listed in this issue, then A Chef's Tour, ranked as the top food and drink experience in Bangkok on TripAdvisor, is a great bet, offering the chance to explore the streets of Bangkok while indulging in the best street food. A Chef’s Tour offers two options:

1. Bangkok Backstreets highlights include mopping up rich peanut satay with coconut-milk marinated chicken skewers and tangy ajat relish, to scooping up the city's creamiest curry with cured sausage at a backstreet stall made famous by Netflix's series Street Food.

2. Old Siam embarks on a thrilling klong boat ride to a hidden old town district rarely seen by Westerners. Explore a peaceful neighbourhood untouched by tourists and savour century-old delicacies at a local food market. Indulge in mouthwatering dishes, including silky udon noodles, fragrant fish curry, and grilled Thai sausages.

5 Must-Try Staple Dishes 🖐🏻

1. Massaman curry is a mild, sweet, and unusual Thai curry made with coconut milk, meat, potatoes, and a curry paste made with roasted spices. Issaya Siamese Club do a fantastic version of this dish.

2. Tom Yum is a popular and versatile Thai soup known for its sour, salty, and spicy flavours. It is made with a variety of ingredients, including shrimp, lemongrass, galangal, chilli peppers, kaffir lime leaves, and fish sauce. The dish is widely believed to have originated in Central Thailand, where there is an abundance of fresh shrimp in the Chao Praya River. Pee Aor is a legendary spot for it in BKK.

3. Polo Fried Chicken is a famous restaurant serving incredible food from the Isan region of Thailand. The fried chicken is the star of the show at this restaurant. It's made with a secret southern-style recipe and topped with deep-fried garlic. Other dishes worth trying include Som Tam, minced pork salad, and grilled beef. This just might be my favourite style of fried chicken in the world.

4. Phanaeng curry is a Thai curry known for its thick, salty-sweet peanut flavour. The meat used in phanaeng curry is usually beef, chicken, duck, or pork. Traditionally, the dish does not include any vegetables. Charmgang is a trendy Thai restaurant serving up amazing phanaeng curry, amongst other incredible dishes.

5. Phat kaphrao (also known as pad kra pao) is my favourite of the Thai staple dishes. This beloved street food consists of meat (ideally minced pork) stir-fried with Thai holy basil, garlic, chillies and flavourful spices, served alongside rice and a fried egg. A classic. The dish can be found everywhere but Ung Jia Huad is an extra special choice, a modest local spot that’s been serving the dish for over 50 years.

60 Seconds: Bangkok ⏳

This week, we’re with Chawadee Nualkhair, author of Thailand’s Best Street Food and Real Thai Cooking, for a local’s insight into Bangkok’s culinary scene.

Favourite place to eat

This changes all the time, but right now, it's Nakorn Pochana in Sam Yan on Chula Soi 11, where they do great Thai-Chinese seafood dishes like crab stir-fried in yellow curry in a neighbourhood that used to be famous for that kind of thing.

Favourite bar

This also changes a lot because I'm old, but I like quiet places like the bar in the old Russian embassy next to W Hotel and probably still J Boroski as long as he isn't there.

An overrated spot

I don't like places that are popular on Instagram, and don't like places where they hire models to sit at the bar.

Favourite neighbourhood

I love the old Rattanakosin neighbourhood, especially in the daytime, where I can get nice warm roti at Roti-Mataba, good rice stir-fried in shrimp paste at the cart in front of Baan Phra Arthit, good beef noodles at Nai Soi, and good satay at Aisa Rot Dee.

Hidden gem

I love Kudi Chin and don't understand why more people don't go there.

Bangkok, in one word

Changeable

Favourite Thai dish

This also changes all the time, but right now it's a good larb of local river fish, preferably from the Mekong like soldier river barb or sheatfish.