soup noodles in thailand

Soup noodles are the ultimate comfort food for most Asians and I am no exception. They are so easy to make and you can prepare the broth and the ingredients in advance. Most versions are quite healthy and relatively low in calorie.

Here is a compilation of soup noodles I had in my recent trip to Thailand.

This place near Khaosan Road in Bangkok specialize in beef noodles. You rarely see Westerner tourists there though. I have ate at it many times 2 years ago. It was my favorite. I gather the lady behind the counter is the owner as she always have the say.

In my trip this year I stop by it once. Unfortunately the beef and the broth that day is not like it used to.

this party looks like tourist from other Southeast Asian country

this stall in Khao Lak sells a small menu of authentic Thai food. It is right on the main tourist strip of Khao Lak

My Thai friend turned me to this place. It is at the end of the main strip smack on Khao Lak where all the eateries are cater to tourist. Just went I was resigning that there is no restaurant here worth eating I was so surprised how good this place is. It has a noodle cart in addition to a small kitchen where the owner cook up a small menu of authentic Thai dishes. I came here a number of time after my friend told me about it. Surprisingly given such good food the prices is one of the lowest I seen in Thailand.

this one has pork meat balls and few slices of braised beef - as with most Thai soup noodles most locals choose rice noodle; they have the best stir fried morning glory (40 baht) I had in Thailand; their tom yum goong is also very good and cheap

it is very clean; the service and condiments; I regret not bringing back a container for chopsticks and flatware like this one in the photo

 this day I came bright and early in my shining scooter at 11am when they just open

just ask this cute little girl and she can tell you how good the soup noodle is here; note the thoughtful use of stackable plastic chairs for the little girl

this one has minced pork and pork meat balls, and fish cake; if I remember right the soup noodles are 30 baht!

one thing that bother me a bit about this place is they always give the locals priority no matter how busy it is

this place a few steps away from my guest house in Chiang Mai specialized in fish ball, fish cake, and fish noodles, as well as porridge with slices of fish; I eat here a number of times

 a very simple menu

 fish balls and sliced fish cake with rice noodle

everything in this bowl is made of fish - fish balls, fish dumplings, and noodles made of fish; the fish noodle always sold out first

normally I don't drink soda; this night I broke my rule because I wanted to try this orange soda that reminded me of my childhood favorite

2 bowls of noodles and a bottle of soda - my first soda in perhaps 5 years

I jazzed it up with fish sauce and some chili peppers; I found fish balls and fish cakes in Thailand tend to have a heavy musty taste likely due to the use of farmed fish

I had this beef soup noodle in Chiang Mai; it is way too sweet to my palate; the braised beef is far from stellar

I came across this restaurant one morning in Chiang Mai looking for breakfast away from the tourist and expat infested area.
these are LPG tanks that fuel the nation's kitchens

They have an extensive menu in both Thai and English. The fish noodle is quite good. They also serves Chinese dimsum.
this bowl of fish noodle is quite good - yes the noodle is made of fish too

 the condiment set

normally dimsum looks disgusting in Thailand; the ones here are actually quite decent and very cheap

 a bowl of rice noodle and two servings of dimsum and I was stuffed

 this is my favorite noodle joint in Chiang Mai; I discovered it by accident and came back for the second time; it has the most artistic decor of all restaurants I visited in Thailand; the young owner also has excellent taste in music

 a very simple menu

minimalist decor design and built by the young owner

 it is tidy and clean

 creative and out of the box use of material

 I have no idea what the noodle is called. It does not look like khao soi. It is very spicy and hot.

 most customers also order the pork rings

 the most unusual condiment set

this is the worst noodle I had in Thailand; a bowl of ramen in Chiang Mai; in fact I would rate it as the worst bowl of noodle I'd ever have in my entire life; it was a ramen shop ran by a Japanese expat couple next to a coffee shop I like

This is the best fish noodle shop I found in Chiang Mai. It has a lot of regular Thai customers. They have a very small menu.

fish ball and fish cake with rice noodle, and a side of fried fish skins; Snoopy insisted on the photo op

the shop have a few complete collection of Snoopy from McDonalds; I believe they now worth a fortune; this is one of the few Snoopy World Tour sets they have

 very clean and tidy condiment set

a street stall of noodles next to a construction site in Bangkok - I didn't eat here for the sanitary reasons

 this noodle stall is near the Chinatown in Bangkok and you have to wait for a seat

 

the noodle has everything imaginable in it; it is a fusion of Chinese soup noodle; it is good but not great; I was glad that I experienced it notwithstanding; and yes that is crab meat on top of this 40 baht bowl

 

these two guys could use a bowl or two of soup noodles - this was 8 am in the morning and they were pissing drunk from binge drinking all night

Some Thai have rather big waistlines - Thailand's per capita sugar consumption is nearly on par with the United State's - at just under 80 lb per annum

Yet according to some statistic sites I found US does not even make it into the top ten list.
top 10 sugar consumption countries (in Kg)

Like most statistics found on the web you have to take these numbers with a grain of salt. There is no information as to what is included and what is not. For example, does sugar includes high-fructose corn syrup?
When in Thailand I could not help but notice how often people accompany their meal in a restaurant with a bottle of soda. Coca Cola is doing very well there and same is 7-Eleven. Pepsi - not so well of late. I read that Pepsi broke up with the country's bottler who has the distribution channels because Pepsi wants too much of a cut. Now the bottler has launched it's own brand of cola.
I have long subscribe to the believe that the most damaging food to human health is a diet of high sugar and carbohydrate. Seeing the sugar consumption statistic is sorely an incomplete picture to explain for a nation's obesity epidemic. The old wisdom stands. Eat everything in moderation.

this noodle shops is jam packed with customers; it sells a very small menu of Vietnamese soup noodles right in the tourist area near Khaosan Road; yet you would be hard pressed to find a Western customer there even when the whole street is turned into night market

I ate here twice and always order the bowl with everything - that is a piece of slice cake made of pork

 no-nonsense condiment set

 it is one of the better soup noodles I had in Thailand, they put fried shallot onion on top

I finally experienced khao soi so famous in Northern Thailand in this restaurant popular with locals in Chiang Mai; is has chicken curry in it and they give you a chicken drumstick; it is too sweet to my palate however

yes, you can add more sugar if it is not sweet enough

So which is the winner? My vote is the joint in the main strip of Khao Lak. It is the cheapest and yet is the best. The bowls of noodles is full of good toppings despite the low cost. The broth is tasty and not (sugar) sweet. It is also clean.