Managing meals in Thailand

Cheryl Moderator

Member since 15 October 2018

CherylModerator21 November 2025 09:28:56

14965

Hello everyone,

Managing meals day-to-day can sometimes be a real mental challenge, even more so when you land in a new environment, with different schedules, habits or ingredients. How do you manage your meal routine as an expat in Thailand? We invite you to share your experience in order to help fellow expats and soon-to-be expats.

What are the main changes you have made to your meal routine since settling in Thailand?

Did you face any challenges to adapt to new meal habits?

Do you cook fresh meals everyday or do you meal prep? Why?

If you live with your family, do you prepare meals for everyone for school or work? Are canteens available?

Do you usually eat out for lunch or dinner or do you prefer eating at home?

What surprised you the most about meals in Thailand, either in terms of habits, timing, portions, meal composition, food culture, etc.?

Share your insights, experience and meal routines!

Thank you for your contribution.

Cheryl
大咖福利影院 Team

California4me Contributor

Member since 10 March 2016

California4meContributor04 December 2025 04:56:54

137

When I first arrived in Thailand in 2013 from the US I ate a lot of different kinds of food mostly Thai but. In different parts of Thailand. I ate big portions and I ended up gaining weight so I started eating smaller portions and stayed away from deep fried foods and white rice and I lost the weight. But during Covid the food changed in Thailand the fresh food, made when you ordered it was all deep friend with sauces the were made up ah of time.聽 All the traditional cooks move away went back to there families.聽 Even now days it鈥檚 hard to find tasty healthy food in most places in Thailand. And using palm oil to cook is the number 1 choice of most restaurants even though it causes Cancer and pollutes the environment.聽 But Thailand is still the best place to live because there are so many choices of food and you can live very healthy lifestyle if that鈥檚 what you want.

bkk tea blog Serial expat

Member since 20 August 2014

bkk tea blogSerial expat08 December 2025 02:34:42

428

I eat two completely different diets when my family is in Bangkok or when they are living back in the US (we move between the two places, related to our kids going to school back in Hawaii).

When they are "here" (I'm in Honolulu just now) I eat mostly Thai food, mostly in inexpensive local restaurants.聽 When they aren't I cook for myself, and eat Western food, or plain food that's not really origin specific, like a pan fried chicken breast with rice and vegetables.

The cost doesn't vary that much.聽 It's inexpensive to eat out, if you go to lower cost / more local places.聽 And it's inexpensive to cook, if you eat basic foods from a grocery store or local market.聽 I eat a lot of fruit either way, and often start the day with fried eggs and cereal.

The main thing I didn't see coming when I moved to Thailand is that food texture covers a different or broader range.聽 It helps to adjust to some things seeming mushy.聽 You only adapt to new food experiences gradually, for example being ok with eating boat noodles thickened with blood.聽 I've eaten pig brains with a soup before, but I'll never have that often enough to adjust.聽 I had liked seafood before becoming a vegetarian, which I was for about 15 years before moving abroad, then it was strange that I didn't pick up that preference again after going back to eating meat.聽 I can eat shrimp or a flavor neutral version of fish, but never re-adapted to most types of fish.

It wasn't really a surprise that lots of foods are too spicy for me to eat.