Thai breakfast
Thai breakfast is a meal of rice soup and fried dough, eaten early. Jok porridge, clear khao tom and pa tong go dunked in coffee or soy milk fill the stalls from around 06:00, and most have packed up by 10:00, long before the hotel buffet closes.
Photo: Phoebus 28 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Jok is soft rice porridge, often with pork or chicken, at 40 to 80 THB. Khao tom is the clearer rice soup. Pa tong go is the fried dough stick, eaten with condensed milk, coffee, or soy milk. The serious stalls open around 06:00 and fade by 10:00.
If you sleep later, khao man gai still works as a late breakfast. The Pratunam plate is on the chicken rice page. A Bangkok jok counter is on the jok page. Coffee at a cafe is the coffee guide, not this stall cup.
What to order
- Jok if you want something soft. Add ginger and chili yourself.
- Pa tong go and a hot drink if you want to walk with breakfast.
- Fruit from the same market if the porridge is enough.
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Read Saigon Food Guide →Common questions
- Is pad thai breakfast?
- Rarely. Locals eat rice soup, dough, or a rice plate. Pad thai is later.
- Hotel buffet?
- Fine if you want eggs. It is not the Thai breakfast this page is about.