In tourist areas. In this country the food tends to be quite expensive there and to be honest with you, it isn't very good either. I am not an expert in Thai dining but the food seems inauthentic or even made incorrectly at these places as well. This is likely true in most (if not all) other countries in the world.
But let's focus on the positive, because this article is not about the tourist areas.
One of the best things about visiting / living in Thailand is the food. Combine this with the fact that if you know where to look it is also extremely cheap, and it's easy to stay happy in a dining sense.
this is not overpriced tourist-area food, it's just a picture
A good rule of thumb in Thailand is that if you are looking at a restaurant from the outside and there are a bunch of Thai people in there, it's probably a good restaurant. Obviously this doesn't apply to foreign food like Italian, Mexican, and Indian restaurants in Thailand as these sorts of places are mostly visited by foreigners. However for all things Thai, the rule applies.
During the time that I have lived here I have treated visitors, both friends and people who were staying in the various businesses i owned, to a visit to a restaurant that they almost certainly wouldn't have found on their own. Some of these places were in out-of-the-way locations, the staff spoke no English, and the menu was only in Thai.
I can speak / read Thai so they had a good guide but that is not what I am going to focus on here because it would be completely unreasonable otherwise.
right, so just learn all of these and then we'll go get some food!
One of the hardest parts about finding these places is that Thailand restaurants, outside of major areas like Bangkok, don't generally have much in the way of a web presence nor do they care about a good (or bad) review on Trip Advisor. Most popular places around where I live become popular by good ol' fashioned word-of-mouth and just having a good reputation locally. I guess what I am trying to say is that your smartphone isn't likely going to be of much help as far as this is concerned.
There is one thing you can count on though that will exist in really any community in this country: Markets. Market food is kept good (and cheap) because a vast majority of their customers are local. If someone is making bad or overpriced food word travels quickly and they are phased out. It really is as simple as that. Basic economics at their rawest!
It is possible to have good food, all day long, for less than $5 US per day. Here is a video explaining exactly how to do that (I am not the person in the video, but I do know him and I obtained his permission to share it before posting here.)
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Some of my favorite take away places are street stalls where I can get a near mountain of rice with crispy pork, fried chicken, boiled chicken, or all three for 50 Baht (about $1.35.) You also get free water and a bowl of pretty tasty soup. this is extremely common and is almost always sold at an outside stall surrounded by folding tables and plastic chairs.
So basically if you are a stingy-pants but still want to eat good food over here it is very very possible in Thailand.
What do you think? Do you like Thai food? do you have similar markets around where you live? I would love to hear about it if you do. As always thanks for reading and I welcome your comments.