Food in Udon Thani
Obviously the most readily food available is Thai but there is western food in Udon Thani. The likes of KFC, McDonalds have been selling their fast food for some time and the Thai's, perhaps out of curiosity, are happy to try out the ferang food (and seem to love it) although in comparison to their food it is rather bland. There is a nationwide Pizza chain here too with delivery service (The Pizza Company), and they are pretty decent as well, not quite up to Pizza Hut standard but certainly not too far from it.
As you drive or walk around a village, town or city you will see street vendors selling food. BBQ chicken, pork and fish are everywhere as is sticky rice and papaya (Som Tam), a salad of papaya, tomato, bean sprouts, peppers, onion and a mountain of red hot chili in a fish sauce. The contents however can be different from vendor to vendor the the one constant is the chili, which I personally find is too much. You will also see a number of very unusual foods for sale such as fried crickets, fried mealworms, frogs (& tadpoles) and just about anything else that once moved on it's own.
A lot of the food here tends to be on the sour side and if you like sour food you will love most of the Thai cuisine. Other than rice there is an array of different noodles available ranging for small clear rice noodles to much longer and thicker white (still not sure what they are made from) but they are all delicious. You will sometimes see green egg noodles, do not be scared to try them as it is just a colouring, they taste the same.
As you drive or walk around a village, town or city you will see street vendors selling food. BBQ chicken, pork and fish are everywhere as is sticky rice and papaya (Som Tam), a salad of papaya, tomato, bean sprouts, peppers, onion and a mountain of red hot chili in a fish sauce. The contents however can be different from vendor to vendor the the one constant is the chili, which I personally find is too much. You will also see a number of very unusual foods for sale such as fried crickets, fried mealworms, frogs (& tadpoles) and just about anything else that once moved on it's own.
A lot of the food here tends to be on the sour side and if you like sour food you will love most of the Thai cuisine. Other than rice there is an array of different noodles available ranging for small clear rice noodles to much longer and thicker white (still not sure what they are made from) but they are all delicious. You will sometimes see green egg noodles, do not be scared to try them as it is just a colouring, they taste the same.
Restaurants in Udon Thani
Eating out in Udon Thani is hugely popular, perhaps because so many people are too lazy to cook for themselves, perhaps for another reason but either way, you will always see lots of locals eating out on the streets.
Dining out in Udon Thani is quite a tricky topic to cover as there are so many of them available, with an overwhelming number of them little more than a a few tables scattered on the footpath, and a small portable cooking/food preparation area.
You can see Thai's at just about any time of the day eating at one of these 'restaurants' but just the cheap tables and chairs make me not want to use them. In the UK, if we go out for a meal, it normally means more than just simply eating, and we appreciate a comfortable and relaxing experience, but that does not appear to be the case here. More a case of someone wanting to eat because they cannot be bothered to cook.
There are a good number of 'proper' restaurants though, and I will normally visit one of these, even if I can't read the menu. I would love to be able to give you some restaurant names, but as they are written in Thai, I have no idea what they are called.
Some restaurants are called 'barbecue restaurant' by my wife, where you go in and eat as much as you like (having cooked it yourself at your table) for about 199 Baht. I like these places, and they are highly popular with the Thai's too. Soft drinks are free and you serve yourself with these all night long if your bladder and stomach can cope, then comes the eating ice cream round until you are sick of it, to follow! It's a real bargain night out. You can get beer and spirits at most of these places but sadly not for free. To identify these types of eateries in Udon Thani, look out for a fairly large area full of tables, with a large roof over and open sides. Somewhere near the middle, you should see a line or two of unit where the raw food is placed, where you go to get it to cook at your table.
Dining out in Udon Thani is quite a tricky topic to cover as there are so many of them available, with an overwhelming number of them little more than a a few tables scattered on the footpath, and a small portable cooking/food preparation area.
You can see Thai's at just about any time of the day eating at one of these 'restaurants' but just the cheap tables and chairs make me not want to use them. In the UK, if we go out for a meal, it normally means more than just simply eating, and we appreciate a comfortable and relaxing experience, but that does not appear to be the case here. More a case of someone wanting to eat because they cannot be bothered to cook.
There are a good number of 'proper' restaurants though, and I will normally visit one of these, even if I can't read the menu. I would love to be able to give you some restaurant names, but as they are written in Thai, I have no idea what they are called.
Some restaurants are called 'barbecue restaurant' by my wife, where you go in and eat as much as you like (having cooked it yourself at your table) for about 199 Baht. I like these places, and they are highly popular with the Thai's too. Soft drinks are free and you serve yourself with these all night long if your bladder and stomach can cope, then comes the eating ice cream round until you are sick of it, to follow! It's a real bargain night out. You can get beer and spirits at most of these places but sadly not for free. To identify these types of eateries in Udon Thani, look out for a fairly large area full of tables, with a large roof over and open sides. Somewhere near the middle, you should see a line or two of unit where the raw food is placed, where you go to get it to cook at your table.
There are of course a respectable number of ferang restaurants in Udon Thani, with most of them located in and around the main nightlife areas of the Day and Night bars, and Nutty Park complex. The Irish Clock serves Thai and European food too, and you can find Italian, German, Australian and a few other 'styled' restaurants in and around this central area.
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