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Thai cuisine is characterized by balance and strong flavours, especially lime juice, lemon
grass and fresh coriander, the combination of which gives Thai food its distinctive taste.
In addition, Thai food has a deserved reputation for being spicy, with hot little torpedo-shaped
chillies called phrik khii nuu making their way into many a dish. Thais are well aware
that these can be more than Westerners can handle and will often ask if you like it hot.
The food alone is really reason enough for a trip to Thailand. Curries, fruit shakes,
stir fries, fresh fish made a zillion ways - and that's just the beginning. Food in Thailand
can be as cheap and easy as a 25 baht fried noodles cooked at a street stall or as expensive
and complicated as a USD100 ten-course meal by a royal chef served in one of Bangkok's
luxury hotels.
Although popularly considered a single cuisine, Thai cuisine is more accurately described
as four regional cuisines corresponding to the four main regions of the country: Northern,
Northeastern (or Isan), Central, and Southern, each cuisine sharing similar foods or foods
derived from those of neighboring countries and regions.
Since most backpackers will be sticking closer to the first than the second, one of the great
things about Thailand is that food from stalls and tiny sidewalk restaurants is usually quite
safe. Unlike some Asian countries, travellers should worry more about overeating or too
much curry spice than about unclean kitchens and bad food. In fact, street restaurants,
where you can see what you'll get and everything is cooked on the spot can be
a safe option.