Beginner's guide to Thai food: Best dishes to eat on your first trip

New Delhi: Thailand is an experience in itself, from the moment you touch the ground, each moment is a great experience for your senses. Colourful markets, fragrant spices, sizzling street food stalls and dishes with sour notes. For the first-time traveller, there is a lot that can be explored in tourist places in Thailand. Thai cuisine is not just another food, but it's an experience that captures the vibrancy of the country and makes you crave it every time.

From the bustling Bangkok streets to serene Chiang Mai cafes and Phuket's beachside shacks, each corner offers a story and new flavours that are to be explored.

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1. Pad Thai

2. Tom Yum Goong

A quintessential Thai dish that is flavourful and spicy. Tom Yum Goong is a flavourful broth with lemongrass, kaffir lime, galangal, chilli and fresh shrimp. It is spicy, sour and incredibly refreshing, making it a complete experience for those who love to try new things. The dish contains uplifting flavours and also has medicinal herbs that help fight diseases.

3. Green Thai Curry

Thai green curry, one of the most flavourful dishes from Thailand, is prepared with green chillies, coconut milk, basil, kaffir lime and tender chicken or vegetables. It's rich, creamy, flavourful and fragrant. The dish showcases traditional flavours and aroma of Thailand, making it a must-have.

4. Mango Sticky Rice

A heavenly dessert prepared with glutinous rice, ripe mangoes, and sweet coconut sauce. This dish is creamy, fruity, soft and a perfect balance of flavours that is ideal for everyone to give it a try at least once and crave for it each day. With minimal ingredients, this dish highlights perfect tropical flavours. 

5. Som Tam

A crunchy, refreshing salad prepared with green papaya, tomatoes, long beans, peanuts, fish sauce and lime. A perfect blend of mildly tangy and extremely spicy flavours, as per the choice. 

6. Thai Iced Tea

7. Khao Pad

A comforting bowl consisting of jasmine rice, eggs, vegetables and optional chicken or shrimp. It is subtle in flavour and perfect for those who do not like spicy food. A crowd-pleaser as it is safe for first timers and delicious. 

These are only some of the many items Thai cuisine has to offer and cannot be missed as a first timer or a casual traveller. Try the delicious flavours and make the most of your trip to Thailand with spicy, tangy and aromatic dishes that will make you fall in love with the cuisine.