A History Of Thai Street Food

Jan 8, 2024 | Discover

Learn more about Thailands wonderful relationship with street food and market culture.
Phuket's Naka Market Food

The Brief History Of Thai Street Food

Street food has been a part of Thai culture and history for a very long time. For over two centuries now food has been sold on boats in the rivers of Thailand on Floating Markets, the history of Thai street food spans a long way back.

Sometime around the 1960s, street food became even more popular with the locals, and even the tourists began to try out some of these delicious foods.

Thai street food is afforadable, quick, convenient and can be found quite easily no matter where you are in Thailand. Today you will find many markets dedicated to Thai Street Food, with Naka Weekend Market being the biggest and busiest in Phuket.

Our street food has been so popular with locals and tourists that we’ve opened the Naka Food Center from 7am – 9pm every day.

Thai Street Food at Naka Weekend Market

What Is Thai Street Food?

You can compare Thailand street food to the western world quite easily. Think burger vans, kebabs, chips and so on. Western street food tends to be a lot of processed fatty meats and can often be seen eaten by revellers of the night.

The street food here though is a lot more flavourful and spicy. The food ranges from handheld bites, deep-fried treats or lighter meals such as noodles or soups. It tends to be fairly quickly prepared which is perfect for the locals.

You’ll find that the street food available in Naka Weekend Market, and other markets, will have options such as stir fries, meat skewers, spring rolls, pad Thai, salad, fruits and traditional Thai sweets.

The Culture Of Street Food

When deciding to go out for dinner, you would traditionally think of a nice resturant to visit, but trying a street food stand can be a fantastic alternative. Eating is a very social affair in Thailand, with lunch and dinner being a great time to meet up with friends and discuss the day.

Each bite of the delicious street food in Thailand can be used as a talking point. Your taste buds will be assaulted and massaged by flavours from all over the country, normally followed by a tender heat that is often associated with Thai food.

Try Our Street Food

To be truly emmersed into Thai culture, you must try street food. Visit us at Naka Food Center every day, or Naka Weekend Market on Saturday and Sunday from 4pm – 11pm and enjoy the best street food in Phuket.

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