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THAILAND
Thailand is a cultural paradise and a notable part of their culture is wrapped up in their Thai cuisine. From stir fried rice, to fragrant curries to pad thai, there is something for everyone - gluten free too!
BANGKOK
Thipsamai Padthai
Thipsamai Padthai is a very highly regarded pad thai restaurant in Bangkok. Oftentimes there will a queue, fear not the line moves quickly. Menu is small with a variety of different pad thai options and allergen symbols on the menu. Tasty, fresh and affordable pad thai in central Bangkok. Highly recommend. ​
Padthai Fai Ta Lu
Padthai Fai Ta Lu is a hidden gem. This place has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand for 7 years. Small restaurant with seating upstairs overlooking the street. A bit of back and forth with the staff regarding gluten free, in the end they said the pork belly one was GF and it was absolutely delicious. We went back a couple of days later!
Ros Krung Esarn Café
Small café next to our hostel. The staff were lovely albeit they didn't speak much English. We ate garlic fried rice, chicken padthai and mango sticky rice for dessert.
CHIANG MAI
Thai Cottage Home Cookery School
Thai Cottage Home Cookery School was a fantastic experience. They pick you up from your accomodation, take you to a local market and explain the fresh ingredients that they use, then they take you to the cooking class and you learn how to make four different dishes - three of which you can choose from a menu. They had no issues with dietaries, the instructor had GF sauces and was very helpful. All for about £20 p/p. I made Thai soup, padthai, panang curry and mango sticky rice.
Garden to Table
Garden to Table was one of the highlights of our Thailand trip. The whole menu was gluten free, fresh locally sourced ingredients, brilliant service. The owner herself was very helpful and was fully aware of coeliac disease and being gluten free. A small restaurant with only 10 tables, be sure to get there early! We ate suki soup, beef khao soi and veggie dumplings. All so flavourful and ridiculously good value - we paid £10 (USD 13) for everything, including two iced-teas!
PHUKET (RAWAI)
Selina Resort
Selina Resort was the place we were staying for a few nights. I was initially drawn to the place because their restaurant menu had 'GF' markings on it. However, when I arrived I lost confidence in whether they fully knew what gluten was as a heap of items on the menu that definitely were GF were not marked as so (such as mango sticky rice, ice cream, some of the curries). I had the tuna ceviche with corn chips.
Sala Mexicali
A lovely Mexican place with a range of tacos, tostadas, nachos. They list clearly on the menu whether the items are corn or wheat based and the server was very helpful regarding gluten free. A must visit if you want a break from Thai food!
Big Boys Burger Club
A (rather expensive) burger joint for those craving a western meal. The burgers were smaller than expected, but really tasty and well made and the GF bun was a nice touch. Marcel's normal burger on the left and my GF one on the right.
KOH PHI PHI
Patcharee French Bakery
A French cafe with breakfast and brunch options and a gluten free haven on the island. From açai bowls, overnight oats, pancakes, breakfast - they have a whole range of gluten free options. We went three times in total. I had buckwheat pancakes with Nutella, a GF granola açai bowl with banana and strawberries (below) and also overnight oats with yoghurt and fresh fruit.
Acqua Restaurant
This place is probably the busiest restaurant in Phi Phi, so be prepared to book in advance! They have a whole gluten free menu - including Thai dishes, burgers, pastas. We ate scallops in white whine sauce and pad thai. The service felt quite rushed actually, we were in and out within 40 minutes. The food was nice (although the scallops were overdone). The GF bread with the starter was a nice touch though.
Italiano Bar & Restaurant
As the name suggests, an Italian place with a large menu and GF spaghetti and lots of pasta optipons. We ordered squid ink pasta with seafood and a carbonara, super tasty but the starters were rather average.