All you can eat BBQ meat for only 99 Baht each. Who could say no to that? We certainly couldn't. After all, 99 Baht is only around $3 and it is all you can eat meat!
Thailand's version of a barbeque can not be missed. It is a social event. Massive open air areas filled with tables are set up to cater for Thai barbecue lovers with enough fans to keep the smoke at bay. People of all ages meet up to dine at one of these establishments. Multi generational families, groups of teenage boys, teenage girls, office workers, everyone. The more people the merrier.
Choosing a Thai BBQ restaurant is important. To ensure the quality of the raw meat – chicken, beef, pork, various seafood, offal – it is best to go to a restaurant that has a lot of people eating there already. This means that the meat is being turned over quickly. Most of the time the meats are just sitting outside. Maybe the meat will be sitting on top of ice but usually not. So, make sure there are already lots of hungry people eating so that new meats (and vegetables) are being brought out often.
Once you have chosen the Thai BBQ Restaurant, walk in, and someone will seat you. Depending on how many people are in your group will depend on how many BBQ hotplates you will receive. As a general rule of thumb, up to five people in a group will have one BBQ hot plate. More than that, and you will have two to cook on.
Someone will bring out the very hot coal Thai barbque and place it on your table, right in the middle of you all. On top of that goes the bbq cooking tray with soup section. A big chunk of pork fat will be on the peak of the bbq and soup stock will be added to the soup moat.
One, sometimes two, dipping sauce bowls will be put in front of each person as well as an empty rice sized bowl for your food once its cooked.
It is now time to go and select all your meats and vegetables. There will be a lot to choose from. Different cuts of thinly sliced pork, beef, chicken, the innards of these animals, some seafood, tofu, and lots of different vegetables. Pile up a lot of plates and then try and fit them on your table. Good luck.
By now, the bbq tray should be nice and toasty. With the tongs provided, move the chunk of pork fat all over the top of the bbq area. Mmmmm, pork fat. Start adding the slivers of meat to barbecue.
Into the soup moat area of the bbq tray, add all your vegetables and noodles. Don't be shy. Add a lot. The cabbage will wilt down.
Now you barbeque the meats, give the vege soup a stir every now and then, and wait. You will soon get in a rhythym of adding raw meat to one side of the bbq, seperating it from the cooked meat side.
Using your chopsticks, either transfer cooked food to your little bowl or just eat straight from the BBQ plate. Dip the pieces of meats into your dipping sauces and enjoy. With the vegetable soup area, use the spoons provided to scoop some out into your bowls.
So delicious. All the juices from the barbequing will mix into the soup. Every now and then, add some more soup stock, add more noodles and veges and just wait. Wait till it has cooked again, then devour it.
Sitting around and eating like this is really pleasant. The big bottles of pepsi or beer go really well with this meal. As it is all you can eat, you can go up and get more food to cook as many times as you like. The drinks cost extra of course.
We love the Thai version of a barbeque. The flavours are delicious, it is fun and very social. Groups of people will often stay for hours enjoying the atmosphere. For 99 Baht you can't go wrong. Or 129 Baht or 199 Baht in some places of Thailand.
Eat responsibly and enjoy!
Hi Tanya and Andrew,
I have really enjoyed reading your blog. I am a public relations student in Perth and we are researching travel blogs. Yours was by far the most extensive, informative and professional blog i have come across. Your blog is so personal, it really presents your real voice. From reading over the last few days i already feel like I’m on this trip of a life time alongside you guys. Its such an exciting thing to do and i envy you for it, i would love to do something like this in the future! I wish you all the best in all your future travels! Steph
Hi Steph,
Wow! Thanks so much for your positive input! Sometimes we feel as though we are just writing to our future selves (and our parents).
Our trip so far has been very rewarding both on a travel and a personal level. We have learnt so much about other countries, people, and ourselves.
We hope that you do follow your dreams and do something similar soon! It is not that expensive 🙂
Thanks again, Tanya and Andrew 🙂
Tanya and Andrew,
My husband and I spent last summer in Thailand, and we loved it so much! I came across your blog looking for a good khao soi recipe (which I found, thanks!), and I love all your posts. We ate Thai barbecue often! Thanks for the thorough account of your Thailand experience, it’s been really fun reminiscing back here in the US!
Hi Laura, Thanks so much for taking time out to write to us 🙂 How did your Khao Soi turn out? Mmm Khao Soi for breakfast! Yum! Have a great day and start planning your next Asian Odyssey trip… perhaps we will be in the same place at the same time! Keep smiling 🙂
My girlfriend loves Thai BBQ but I hate having to cook my own food. When I go out, I just want to kick back and relax, not work. So we decided that we could go to Thai BBQ as often as she wants, so long as she cooks all my food too. I know it sounds rather lazy, but it’s a win-win situation.
I like how you get your girlfriend to cook your bbq for you. I may be a little jealous. Perhaps we need to find ourselves a girlfriend just for Thai BBQ nights!
Hi,
I so happy to see your blog about the BBQ meat for 99Baht. May i know where you have it? Thanks!
Hi! Hmmm, not sure what the place is called but it was on the west side of the Old City of Chiang Mai on the inside of the moat, towards the north west corner… we hope you can find it!