1. Hua Hin: 3.5-Hour Eat Like a Local Small-Group Food Tour
On this 3.5-hour tour, go off the beaten track with a friendly guide. Eat with the locals, reinforcing the age-old adage that "locals always know where to find the best food in town." Experience venues that have a high standard for food hygiene, are family-run with family recipes, and offer truly five-star flavors without a five-star appearance. Your tour begins in a traditional, two-story Thai house where three generations work. There is a steady stream of hungry customers dropping by for takeout, or sitting at the tables slurping freshly made noodles, always with fresh Nam Prik Pao chili jam. It's in no way fancy, but there's a reason for its popularity: super tasty food with fast and friendly service. At the next stop, taste dishes from the Isaan region in the Northeast. These dishes are designed to challenge the taste buds a little. The depth of flavor exhibited by this region's cuisine is astonishing. Next is finding some street food, whether something sweet like Sap-Bpa-Rot Thot (fried pineapple and Gluay thot) or fried banana, or something savory like a Yum Naem Khao Tord (rice ball salad with pork). Continue to a local eatery located just opposite Glai Kangwon Palace. This restaurant exclusively serves Northern Thai cuisine and there is no menu in English. True to the palace's translated name, Far From Worries, let your worries slip away as you sample two of the North's most famous dishes, Khao Soi (Chiang Mai noodles) and Sai Ua (Chiang Mai sausage). It's not so easy to find great Northern food south of Thailand, but here, the owner has been serving up amazing Northern dishes for over 20 years, and it's easy to taste why she has kept it up so long. Your final destination is another restaurant in the back streets of Hua Hin, where excellent Thai food is served in a serene garden setting. Here, your tour guide will select dishes from the Central region that you may not have tasted before.