Are you like most of our LB team, Thai addicts?
Admittedly, Thai food may not appeal to everyone, but to be honest, I don't know anyone in my circle who isn't a fan!

A recent CNN poll places Thailand 4th favorite world destination for its food, it seems to me quite fair, this poll represents mostly the taste of Americans since it was to the readers of the CNN website, which may explain why France is not part of this top list (CNN "Best food destination worldwide" Taiwan (8. 242 votes) / The Philippines (1,528 votes) / Italy (810 votes) / Thailand (470 votes) / Japan (443 votes) / Malaysia (265 votes) / Hong Kong ( 236 votes) / India (205 votes) / Greece (167 votes) / Vietnam (162 votes)).



Thai cuisine is pure creativity, it is rich, varied and like all national gastronomies, it is one of the pillars of Thai culture.
The main characteristic of Thai food is that each meal should comprise of four fundamental taste areas: spicy, sweet, sour and salty. The spice comes from chillies, the sweetness from cane or palm sugar. Tamarind or lime juice provides the acidity while the saltiness comes from a variety of ingredients such as soy sauce, fish sauce or shrimp paste.
So, here is a sidenote for vegetarians as they need to be aware that some dishes may contain fish sauce or shrimp paste in other words, they are non-vegetarian. And no doubts, Thai gastronomy is diverse regionally with each of the kingdom's four regions having distinct cuisines, and in some cases small areas and even individual towns within an area being known for their specialty.



Thailand is a big country with a diverse geography, and over the years this has led to the development of regional differences in its style of cuisines. Currently there are 4 distinct styles of cooking in Thailand.
Northern region :
The cooking in northern Thailand is generally milder than in the rest of the country, sticky rice is preferred, traditionally it is kneaded into small balls with the fingers. There is a strong influence from neighbouring Burma with popular dishes like Kaeng Hang Le, a pork curry flavored with ginger, turmeric, and tamarind.
North-eastern region:
The food in the north east is influenced by Laos; as a general rule the food is highly spiced, and sticky glutinous rice is the preferred staple for north-eastern dishes. Although there are plenty of meat dishes, historically meat was scarce in the villages, and the main source of protein were shrimp and freshwater fish. These were often fermented to increase their shelf life.
Central region :
The central region offers cuisine that is midway between the north and south, although fragrant Jasmine rice is preferred to the sticky variety. What makes the central region cuisine special is that it is home to royal cuisine. This type of cooking which originated in the royal palace involves much more elaborate meals, put together with complex techniques. It is more of an art form than just regular cooking.
Southern region :
Southern Thai cooking is the most popular outside of Thailand since that is the main tourist region of the country. In southern cuisine there is much more use of coconut milk in many dishes. Coconut replaces Ghee for frying and there is a heavy use of seafood in the dishes. Appetizers in the south use a lot of cashews from local plantations, and coconut flesh as a standard condiment.

So, now that we know a lot more about this fabulous cuisine, and even if Brussels has an incredible offer of tasting places, we have a few restaurants to recommend to you, a thousand apologies for those that are not mentioned and if you are the chef of one of these forgotten restaurants here, write us and we will come and test!
LB Thai cuisine addict (so great) spots: Le SOM TAM / Les Larmes du Tigre / Le Bois Savane / Le Manola / Le SAO Thai / Chez Fleur...
Bon appetit!