Thailand Guide

Thai noodles

Thai noodles go far beyond pad thai. There are tiny spiced boat-noodle bowls at Victory Monument, tamarind-glazed wok noodles, and pink yen ta fo coloured by fermented bean curd, and at lunch one bowl is the whole meal.

Boat noodlesPad thaiYen ta fo Thai food hub
Thai noodles

Photo: Flickr user Alpha (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Boat noodles15 to 20 THB a small bowl
Pad thaiOften 60 to 150 THB
Yen ta foPink fermented-tofu broth
Rad naGravy over wide rice noodles

Boat noodles at Victory Monument are 15 to 20 THB a bowl. The order is on the boat noodle page. Pad thai is the tamarind wok, often 60 to 150 THB depending on the shop. Yen ta fo is the pink soup from fermented bean curd. Rad na is wide noodles in gravy. Ba mee is egg noodle, often with roast pork or duck.

Say the noodle: sen lek (small), sen yai (wide), or ba mee (egg). Say nam for soup or haeng for dry. A Kanchanaburi pink bowl is on the yen ta fo page. First-trip context is on dishes to order.

What to say

  • Sen lek nam for small noodles in soup.
  • Haeng if you want them dry, with broth on the side.
  • Five boat-noodle bowls is a lunch. One pad thai plate is also a lunch. Do not order both unless you are sharing.

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Common questions

Is pad thai the local default?
It is one dish. Locals eat many more noodle soups at lunch.
Soup or dry?
Dry keeps the noodle firm. Soup is the meal in a bowl. Say which.