Thai restaurants—how to read the menu

Basil: Thai basil is sweeter than the Italian variety. It's often called holy basil on a Thai restaurant menu.

Gai: A Thai curry, this is traditionally described on menus in Thai restaurants in terms of colour, typically green, red or yellow. It's a common misconception that the colour denotes heat, with the red the hottest, when actually they can all be hot. The colour just refers to the chilli used. These curries are based on coconut milk.

Jungle curry: Another popular curry in Thai restaurants, it's made with water or stock instead of coconut milk.

Kai: Chicken—a popular meat on the Thai restaurant menu.

Muu or moo: Pork—another popular Thai restaurant staple.

Neua: Beef—less common in Thai restaurants than chicken, pork or fish, but the traditional choice in a massaman (potato and peanut) curry.

Neung: Steamed. Rice, fish and coconut puddings are often steamed in Thai restaurants.

Phad Thai: The Thai equivalent of a sandwich, this one-plate meal of stir-fried noodles in a dry peanut sauce is a popular Thai restaurant lunch dish.

Plaa: Fish. As well as using fish sauce (nam plaa) as a seasoning, Thai restaurants offer a lot of fish and seafood dishes.

Satay: A peanut dipping sauce usually served in Thai restaurants with skewered chicken.

Sticky rice: Thai restaurants sometimes offer sticky rice, served in a block. This is a traditional street food usually eaten with your hands as an accompaniment to a main meal.

Stir-fry: Dry dishes made in a hot wok. Popular flavour combinations in a Thai restaurant include: ginger and spring onion, chilli and basil, and garlic and pepper.

Thawt: Deep fried—belly of pork and fish are both regularly served in this way in Thai restaurants.

Thom: It's traditional to serve a soup or "thom" in a Thai restaurant as part of the main meal.

Thom yum: A popular spicy and sour soup.

Thom Kaa: A sweeter coconut milk based soup.

Tod man pla: Mini spiced fish cakes are popular in Thai restaurants as a starter, served with a sweet chilli dipping sauce.

Toong-thong: Meaning "beggar's pouch", this is a popular starter-sized dumpling stuffed with shrimp or chicken and aromatic Thai herbs, symbolising "good fortune".

Yam: Thai for salad, yam is a staple of Thai restaurants.

Useful Thai restaurant phrases

A roy = delicious

Kap khun (followed by krup if you're male and kaa if you're female) = thank you