So, 3 weeks to go and want to know what Thai dishes to try out when there. What's your favorite Thai dish or specialty to eat when in Thailand. Street food included. Thanks.

So many things to try! I love Thai curries - they come in green, red and yellow, and I like all of them. I enjoy Banana Flower Salad, green papaya salad. Many places have their own specialities, so don't hestitate to try something you've never heard of.

Fish in a chu chee sauce. Chu chee is spelled differently throughout the S.E.Asia region so you'll have to just sound it out on the menu. Happy Travels!

our favorite currently is nuea poo pad pong which is crab curry.....it is a milky curry sauce over delicious crab...we prefer it without the crab shells which you might have to ask for..

the same thing with shrimp is:
nuea kung pad pong

fried morning glories are to die for ...sort of a chard/spinach veggie with tons of garlic and then quick fried...

chicken and cashew

mango and sticky rice for dessert

YUMMY! all sounds delicious so far.

Fried banana chips on the street! I also personally like fish balls but I know a lot don't. Have fun!

Fried fish in garlic sauce. Pad-See-Euw, a noodle dish with chicken. pork, shrimp or tofu. Pomelo salad at the Jim Thompson House.

Vegetables in oyster sauce. I'm dribbling at the thought!!!

My stomach is getting soooo psyched!

Chicken, beef or shrimp satay.

Any Thai currie (glad to hear we share a favorite, Kathie.)

Mango and Sticky Rice dessert.

Chicken and Cashews.

We had an awesome sweet and sour shrimp dish served in a cut-out pineapple in Koh Samui several years ago that we have been able to reproduce at home with the help of Emeril...

Jungle Curry (Gaeng Ba) with beef
Anything pad ka-prao (Holy Basil & Garlic stir-fry)

Let's not leave out Isan:
Som Tam Thai (Green papaya salad)
Larb Gai (Minced chicken with mint)
Nua Nam Tok (grilled sliced beef 'salad')

And don't forget the drinks -
Iced coffee
Blended watermelon

Great question and great replies!! We will be in Thailand in March, our kids love Bubble Tea (aka tapioca tea), is that easy to find in Bangkok?

Bubble tea was a huge fad many years ago which has pretty much run its course. I haven't seen it in a while but I haven't been looking for it either. You can probably still get it, but you'll probably have to look in food courts in the big malls.

Great topic!

Our favorites:
- Mango Salad or Deep fried fish salad with mango
- Papaya salad
- Mieng Kham - sliced toasted coconut, fresh ginger, red onion, chili pepper, lime and peanuts wrapped in bai cha plu leaves
- fried fish cakes from the street vendor
- curried crab at Somboon Seafood
- pak boong fire dang - fried morning glory
- crab fried rice with crab roe
- raw shrimp with garlic

for dessert
- luk chub - desserts that look like miniature fruits but are very sweet
- khanom krok - coconut dessert cooked in a miniature muffin tray
- another vote for sticky rice and mango

OMG thanks everyone, everything sounds so good! Blended Watermelon, Yum! Sliced toasted coconut double yum. Looks like I'll be eating ALOT!

bkk95, Meing Kum (lots of spellings) is one of my favorites as well. I can actually get it at a couple of Thai places here in Seattle.

Kathie -- you're lucky that you can get mieng kham in your city. We live in Chgo and the restaurants have to special order the leaves -- otherwise they use a substitute like chinese broccoli leaves which I don't like.

During our annual trip to BKK, we make sure to get our fix (we like the food stalls at Old Siam).

bkk, yes, one restaurant always has the right leaves, the other usually uses small spinach leaves. The spinach is good, but not the same. When I make it at home, I have to use spinach. I'm sure there must be a source for the leaves in Seattle, but I haven't found it yet! By the way, do you know the name for the right leaves?

MichaelBKK,

Are you referring to the bubble tea with black tapioca pearls? If so, it's a Taiwanese specialty, and you can still find them in Chinatown in NY. And surely in other places--there was a takeout chain in Tokyo, and I even spotted one here in London. Still love that drink. It's like a milkshake with chewy, sweet ball you drink/eat with a big fat straw, for those of you who never tried it.