We mean that in the best possible way.
Street Food is found all over the world and is especially prevalent throughout Southeast Asia; however in Thailand it is a way of life. Around every corner, at every market, and at all hours of the day and night, you’ll find vendors selling all kinds of food.
Depending on what’s being sold, the setup of a street food vendor can range from a single person with a cooler and cutting board to a multiple-burner, multi-person operation. Some locations/vendors are setup in a semi-permanent fashion and even have small storefronts, but most operations are either carried or are on wheels. Regardless of the size/permanence, all street vendors have stalls effectively tailored to what’s being sold. They also generally specialize in just one or a small number of items.
As a result, the “menu” experience with street food consists of “walking up and down the street” to decide on (a) what you want, and (b) which stop looks the best. Once ordered, you’ll get your food in a takeaway container – the next step is either finding someplace nearby to eat, walking and eating, or carrying your food back to the hotel for later.
In retrospect, we didn’t take too many photos of all the street food we ate throughout Thailand – partially because we were typically getting it in crowded/busy areas, and partially because we just ate most of it immediately. But trust us, street food is the way to do cuisine in Thailand – all told, we probably got over 50% of our food from street vendors during our visit – you should too!
