Bangkok has some of the best street food breakfast in the world, with local vendors selling traditional Thai breakfast from food carts day and night. All of you must want to discover where the locals eat and get the authentic taste of Thai cuisine when you are in Bangkok, but where to begin? With breakfast obviously! You might be able to travel your way through the night markets but to experience the local life and immerse yourself in the vibrant street food culture, do not miss on starting your day Thai style! To help you out, here are some popular breakfast dishes in Bangkok.
Bangkok is the most popular destination for street food. If you are in Bangkok, you must try these incredible Thai street foods without a miss! Most of the visitors think that street food in Bangkok is only available during the evenings, but you will be surprised to know that you can get street food breakfast in the morning too. So, here we bring for you some traditional Thai breakfast items that you must have when in Bangkok.
Popular Breakfast Dishes in Bangkok To Try
Moo-ping – Grilled pork skewers and steamed sticky rice
It is one of the popular breakfast dishes in Bangkok. It is made of grilled pork skewers served with steamed sticky rice. You will find this breakfast everywhere in Bangkok on pushcarts, pop-up food stands that move along the streets in the morning. The pork is juicy, salty, and sweet. It will taste great if you leave some hot steamed rice to dip into the pork sauce that is left in the bag for the last bite. It tastes great.
Gai Yang – Grilled chicken skewers
So, now when you know about Moo Ping, do not miss Gai Yang. These are grilled chicken skewers. In this dish, every part of the chicken is utilized, marinated in soy sauce, skewered, and then grilled. This dish is salty, juicy, and often served with sticky rice. The specialty is when it is served with a sour and spicy sauce.
Nam Tao Hoo – Soy milk
For people who love vegetarian and healthy cuisine, Nam Tao Hoo is a must-try. It is Thai Soybean milk that is available on pushcarts in the streets of Bangkok in the early morning. When you place an order, they will mix the milk with sugar. You can add different kinds of toppings like beans, basil seeds, grains, and jelly.
Patongo – A Thai style donut
One of the popular breakfast dishes in Bangkok, you cannot drink Nam Tao Hoo without Patongo, a Thai style donut. The dough of this donut is fried in a large pan until it turns golden yellow in color and the soft donuts turn slightly salty. You can enjoy it with coffee as the locals do, or if you like something sweet, then you can dip the donut in Thai green custard or condensed milk.
Jok
It is another variant of rice congee which has a thick consistency. It is like the Chinese style of congee. In Thailand, if you feel that cold is coming, you might receive a large order of Jok as comfort food. After a base of rice porridge, you will have the choice to add ginger, garlic, sauce, and your choice of meat. It can be anything like beef, pork, chicken, etc. It is served piping hot with a partly cooked egg cracked on the top. Jok can be regarded as the Thai substitute for milk and Western cornflakes!
Pa-Tong-Go
It is a Thai version of a doughnut that is generally dipped in Pandan custard or condensed milk. They come in different shapes and are generally sold along with soy milk.
Tom luad moo
While many of the foods on this list are also eaten throughout the day, this dish remains only the breakfast option. It is a Thai breakfast soup made of different pork parts, including liver, intestines, lungs, most significantly the chunks of thickened pig’s blood from where it gets its name. Generally, it is served with a bowl of rice.
If you like some pastry to start off our day, these traditional Thai breakfasts with Chinese influence will do the trick.
Salapao
Also known as dim-sum, it is a great to-go meal that is neither too heavy nor too light to start your day. These come with different options. Salapao alone has nearly three fillings available for you to select from Moodaeng Poo, cream Pao, and Moosub Pao.
Kanomkrok
One among the popular breakfast dishes in Bangkok, Kanomkrok is a sweet tasty hot coconut pancake. It is a delight to serve as breakfast. Thai people love to drink several cups of Kanomkrok along with hot drinks in the morning. Usually, this lovely hot pancake is served in Banana leave vessels. The strong smell of the banana leaves makes the dish tastier.
Kao Tom
If you like a fancy breakfast that is more filling, then you must try Kao tom. In this dish, first, the rice is cooked on its own and then in a soup with other broth and ingredients. You can mix it with fish, pork, shrimp, or squid, and is sprinkled with celery leaves before serving. But, people of Thailand also use Kao Tom as a plain rice soup that can be enjoyed with different dishes, so it is not just meant for breakfast, but one can have it for dinner too.
Kanom Krok
Have you ever tried a dessert for breakfast? When in Thailand, you must not miss this dessert for breakfast. Kanom Krok is a coconut pudding made from concentrated coconut milk and rice flour. The coconut milk is poured into a half-moon hole pan and cooked till it turns golden. This traditional Thai breakfast is sprinkled with a few veggies like corn, taro, pumpkin, and spring onion. Soft inside and crispy outside, Kanon Krok tastes sweet and bit salty. You will find this Thai breakfast in all the local markets. It is sold on pushcarts in the early morning.
Thai style American Breakfast
Before you get excited, let us make it clear that we are talking about an Asian version. Fried eggs with processed bacon and sausages, jam, and toast, served with orange juice and coffee. Along with Khao Tom, this is what is served mostly in a local Thai restaurant for breakfast. You can try this dish at the 80-year old restaurant in Bangkok known as On Luk Yun, but if you are looking for a quality breakfast, then you may be disappointed.
Khai Krata
It is a typical breakfast from Southern Thailand. “Khai” means an egg and “Krata” is a kind of tin pan in which the eggs are cooked and served. So, basically, the dish consists of fried eggs often served with Chinese sausages or ham and a few extra toppings.
Khao Rad Gaeng
Literally, this means curry on top of the rice. Designed to keep you full for the whole day, this is as same as the English breakfast, yet with some spice added to it. Vendors will set up a shop with varieties of pre-cooked curries for you to select from and serve it on top of a plate of rice and generally served with a fried egg.
Some Popular Thai Breakfast Drinks
- Nam Tao Hoo (Soy Milk)- Usually, it is served hot. Whist you can drink it plain, it is common to mix it with a wide range of “random” ingredients including corn, Ginko, Pumpkin, and Jobs tear.
- Coffee- Coffee culture in Bangkok has boomed since the last few years and it is surprising to see the rising number of hipsters or cool coffee shops being inaugurated every month. However, for the majority, a local coffee shop is still the best. Traditional Americano, Kafe Boran, Cappuccino, Expresso are some of the popular drinks.