Elephants, monkeys, palm trees… street food carts. That’s what Thailand is associated with for Russian tourists. And while the first few items are well-known, street food carts deserve a separate explanation.
What is a Street Food Cart
Whether you fly to Phuket, travel around Pattaya, or visit any other corner of Thailand, you will encounter these small carts selling food on every street. Delicious and cheap skewers, Thai soups, rice dishes, and everyone’s favorite pancakes with banana and sweet toppings are far from a complete list of the dishes offered.
Makashnitsa is a purely Russian name, likely derived from the word “macat” (to dip). This is related to the fact that most Thai dishes are served with sauce or chili pepper, into which you are supposed to “dip” the finished food. Thais, however, call these carts “rot khaen,” which translates to “push cart.” And indeed, there used to be many more such pushing tables on wheels. Now, you can more often see a modified motorbike with a table attached, holding the main ingredients, as well as cooking equipment — pots, grills, and frying pans.
Street food carts is the term used for any mini food preparation spot. Even small, stationary stalls are called the same. Small benches selling tea and tables with kebabs/shawarma are also referred to as such by tourists.
Types of Street Food Carts in Thailand
The most common type of street food cart is a specially modified bike. However, the way it is decorated depends on the cook’s imagination. Pattaya boasts everyone’s favorite old man selling fried insects. His cart is decorated in the Bob Marley style, and the music matches. In Patong, tourists are attracted by tables welded to bikes, where the chef quickly fries ice cream. And the huge number of soup carts appeals to absolutely all tourists.
In addition, a street food cart can be an ordinary table on wheels, equipped with devices for frying, boiling, or preparing drinks.
Small trays should be highlighted separately. Essentially, they are like our familiar stalls. But tourists also nicknamed them street food carts.
What is cooked in Street Food Carts
Each individual street food cart typically prepares only one type of food.
The basis of Thai food is rice and rice-based vermicelli. The dishes differ in their “filling,” which can be:
- seafood;
- pieces or mince of meat or chicken;
- sausages;
- vegetables;
- eggs.
And, of course, a variety of sauces, often quite spicy. When ordering food, you should pay attention to them and ask for the Europeanized version of the food – “no spicy.”
Among the most popular dishes, according to tourist reviews, are:
- Kuay Tiew – practically the familiar chicken soup with rice noodles;
- Pad Thai – fried noodles with shrimp and bean sprouts;
- Roti – everyone’s favorite banana pancakes; watching how skillfully they are prepared is a pleasure;
- Khao Pad – rice fried with egg, vegetables, and meat/seafood/chicken.
Prices and Where to Eat
Food from street food carts is traditionally inexpensive. The price depends on the purchase location and portion size:
- Chicken and meat skewers cost 10 ( 0.31 USD)–30 Baht ( 0.92 USD) per piece.
- Squid on a stick will cost you 50 ( 1.54 USD)–100 Baht ( 3.08 USD).
- A Roti pancake will cost 40 ( 1.23 USD)–80 local units ( 2.46 USD).
- A portion of Pad Thai or soup is 50 ( 1.54 USD)–80 Baht ( 2.46 USD).
Of course, people accustomed to five-star restaurants are unlikely to be attracted to this food, but it holds a piece of the country’s soul. So, everyone who wants to feel like they are in real Thailand should try food from a mobile kitchen at least once. For many, this food quickly becomes a favorite, and upon returning home, they often recall it and share the best chefs they found with friends.
Street Food
The food from street food carts is very high quality and fresh. The owner of the mobile kitchen takes exactly as many products as they can sell. In addition, locals love to snack, and street food carts travel a constant route or stand in a specific place every day, and the cook will not risk their established reputation. These carts have many customers precisely because of the freshness and excellent taste of the food.
The working hours of the street food cart owners are set by themselves. Some prefer early morning, others the day or evening. As a result, it is simply impossible to be left without food at any time of the day.
If you are unsure about the quality of the preparation, look closely: the food in the street food cart with the longest queue of locals will turn out to be the tastiest and freshest.
