Thai Street Food & Markets
Thailand eats outdoors: at the curb, on the canal and along the railway track. Much of Thai cooking was perfected at a street stall.
A Nation That Eats Outdoors
Bangkok is often called the street-food capital of the world. Its sidewalks host thousands of vendors, each perfecting a single dish for decades.
Thai street food is not a lesser cousin of restaurant cooking. Many of Thailand's greatest dishes, including pad kra pao, boat noodles, som tam, grilled pork skewers and mango sticky rice, were refined at carts and stalls, where competition is fierce and customers know exactly how a dish should taste.
The style is fast, fiery and precise: a wok over a roaring flame, a mortar pounding papaya, a charcoal grill fanned by hand. Elephant Ear brings that energy indoors, with a jungle dining room for comfort.
Holy Basil, High Heat, Ninety Seconds
Watch a Bangkok street cook at work: oil smoking in a seasoned wok, garlic and chili pounded and thrown in, seafood seared in seconds, sauces splashed in by eye, and a fistful of holy basil folded through at the end. A fried egg with crispy, lacy edges (kai dao) sits on top.
This is the template for pad kra pao, Thailand's most-ordered dish, and the same technique our cooks use for the crispy pork belly with holy basil, Krapraw Gai and basil fried rice.
The Great Markets of Thailand
Thai markets are where cooks shop twice a day for the freshest herbs, fish and fruit, and where you can eat your way down every aisle.
Floating Markets
Before roads, Central Thailand moved by canal, and its markets floated. At Damnoen Saduak, southwest of Bangkok, vendors still paddle wooden boats piled with fruit, noodles and grilled snacks. Boat noodles, served in small bowls easy to pass from boat to shore, were born on these canals.
The Maeklong Railway Market
In Samut Songkhram, a market spreads its stalls directly across a working railway track. Several times a day, the train horn sounds, vendors fold their awnings and pull back their baskets, and the train passes inches from the produce, then the market closes back up as if nothing happened.
Street-Food Classics, and Where to Find Them on Our Menu
| Street classic | What it is | At Elephant Ear |
|---|---|---|
| Pad kra pao | Holy basil stir-fry over rice with a fried egg | Krapraw Gai · Basil Fried Rice · Crispy Pork Belly with Holy Basil |
| Som tam | Pounded green papaya salad | Papaya Salad |
| Moo / gai satay | Grilled skewers with peanut sauce | Elephant Roast Combo |
| Kor moo yang | Grilled pork jowl with jaew dip | Grilled Pork Jowl Platter |
| Pad Thai | Tamarind rice noodles | Pad Thai |
| Kuay teow | Noodle soups and stir-fried noodles | Drunken Noodles · Laksa Noodle Soup |
| Khao niao mamuang | Mango sticky rice | Thai Sweet Combo |
| Cha yen | Thai iced tea in a bag with a straw | Thai Iced Tea · Lychee Thai Iced Tea |
Where to Find Thai Street Food Flavors in NYC
New York has a lively Thai scene, from Elmhurst in Queens to the East Village. In Midtown West, Hell's Kitchen's Ninth Avenue has long been one of Manhattan's best streets for Thai food, and Elephant Ear brings street-stall dishes together with a comfortable sit-down dining room, a full bar and table service.
Read our guide: Where to Find the Tastiest Thai Street Food in Manhattan.