Thai Desserts and Drinks
A traveller’s guide to Thai fruit, desserts, tea, coffee, beer, spirits, energy drinks and drinking water.
Thailand is easy country for cold drinks, fresh fruit, sweet desserts and a beer at sunset. This page covers the basics, from mango sticky rice and fresh coconut water to Thai iced tea, local beer and Thai spirits.
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Thai Desserts and Fruit
Thai desserts often use coconut milk, sticky rice, palm sugar, pandan, banana, mung beans, rice flour and egg yolk. They can be very sweet, but usually in a good way.
| Thai Sweet | What It Is | Good to Know |
|---|---|---|
| Khao Niao Mamuang | Mango sticky rice with coconut milk. | Best when mangoes are in season. |
| Khanom Krok | Small coconut rice pancakes cooked in round moulds. | Common street dessert. |
| Roti | Fried flatbread, often served with banana and condensed milk. | Not exactly health food, sadly. |
| Tako | Small coconut pudding, often in pandan leaf cups. | Soft, sweet and coconut-heavy. |
| Kluay Buat Chi | Banana cooked in coconut milk. | Simple and very Thai. |
| Thong Yip / Foi Thong | Sweet egg-yolk desserts. | Rich, golden and very sweet. |
| Coconut Ice Cream | Ice cream made with coconut milk or coconut flavour. | Often served with peanuts, sticky rice or sweet toppings. |
Thailand also has excellent fruit. Mango, pineapple, watermelon, dragon fruit, rambutan, mangosteen, longan, lychee, papaya, jackfruit and durian all turn up in markets depending on the season.
Water and Ice
- Do not drink tap water in Thailand unless you know it has been properly filtered.
- Bottled water is cheap and easy to find.
- Factory-made ice is widely used and is generally fine in normal restaurants, cafes and bars.
- Be more careful with rough hand-cut ice in very basic places.
In Thai, plain drinking water is nam plao. Ice is nam khaeng. If you want no ice, say mai sai nam khaeng.
Cold Drinks and Fruit Shakes
Fresh coconut water, fruit shakes and iced drinks are everywhere in Thailand. A cold coconut on a hot day is one of the better ideas humans have had.
| Drink | Thai Name | Good to Know |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut water | Nam ma-phrao | Usually served from a fresh coconut. |
| Orange juice | Nam som | Freshly squeezed juice is common at markets. |
| Watermelon shake | Nam taeng mo pan | Cold, sweet and dangerous to white shirts. |
| Lime soda | Nam manao soda | Good when you want something less milky. |
| Fruit shake | Nam ponlamai pan | You can usually choose mango, banana, pineapple or mixed fruit. |
Tea and Coffee
Thai iced tea and iced coffee are usually strong, sweet and served with condensed milk or evaporated milk. They are not shy drinks.
| Drink | Thai Name | Good to Know |
|---|---|---|
| Thai iced tea | Cha yen | Sweet orange-coloured iced tea with milk. |
| Black iced tea | Cha dam yen | Thai iced tea without milk. |
| Hot tea | Cha rawn | Usually simple hot tea. |
| Thai iced coffee | Oliang / kafae yen | Strong, sweet and often milky. |
| Traditional filtered coffee | Kafae boran | Old-style coffee, often made through a cloth filter. |
If you do not want sugar, say mai sai nam tan. If you do not want milk, say mai sai nom. Whether that message survives the drink stall is another question.
Thai Beer
Thai beer is usually lager-style, cold and fairly strong compared with some lighter beers visitors may be used to. The big names you will see most often are Singha, Chang and Leo.
Beer is more expensive in bars and beach restaurants than in local shops, which should surprise exactly nobody. In many Thai restaurants, large bottles are shared at the table with ice in the glass.
Thai Spirits and Local Alcohol
Many visitors call SangSom and Mekhong “Thai whisky”, but they are not really whisky in the Scottish sense. SangSom is closer to rum, and Mekhong is a Thai spirit. Both are commonly mixed with soda water, cola, ice or energy drinks.
Local white spirit is called lao khao. It is strong, cheap and not exactly subtle. Out in rural areas you may also come across homemade spirits. Take care with those unless you enjoy mystery and regret in the same glass.
Tourist areas also sell buckets — usually alcohol, ice and mixer in a small bucket with straws. They are stronger than they look. Drink sensibly, especially in hot weather.
Energy Drinks
Thailand has a big energy drink culture. The original Thai Krating Daeng helped inspire the international Red Bull brand, but the Thai version is usually still, syrupy and sold in small glass bottles.
Other common brands include M-150, Shark and Carabao Daeng. You will see them in convenience stores, petrol stations and small shops all over the country.
Energy drinks are often mixed with alcohol by some drinkers, but that can catch up with you quickly. Thailand is hot enough without giving your heart a small project.
Thailand has plenty to drink besides beer and sweet iced tea. Fresh coconut water, fruit shakes and plain cold water are usually better choices during the hottest part of the day.