Hua Hin Night Market Food

Hua Hin is a picturesque seaside city nestled along the Gulf of Thailand 200 kilometres or 3 hours south of Bangkok. This charming city boasts a long stretch of powdery sandy beach, upscale hotels and a laid-back atmosphere that has historically drawn Thai royalty and well heeled locals. Hua Hin showcases its history through its elegant colonial architecture. One of the biggest attractions are the night markets held every evening in the city centre. Find out why people flock to these night markets and what you just HAVE to try when you're there!

Mr NQN had one request while in Thailand and that was to find a place where he could kite surf and that's pretty much we decided to stick a pin in the map and stay at Hua Hin. I have been there previously quite a few years ago and loved the food and laid back way of life. One of my fondest memories was of the night markets. There are two night markets in Hua Hin: the Hua Hin Night Markets which is a food and trinket market held daily. There's also the Cicada Markets on from Friday to Sunday that are more about clothing and souvenirs. This story is about the Hua Hin Night Markets.

The Hua Hin night markets are located at Hua Hin 72 and Sa Song Road in the centre of Hua Hin. Around 5pm vendors are still setting up and by 6-7pm the night markets are in full swing. The markets are split in two divided by Phet Kasem Road and there's a traffic warden helping people cross the road. On the Western side there are seafood restaurants and bars catering to Western customers. There are still gems to be found here at the street stalls.

1. Longan Juice

It's hot and humid and the first thing we look for is a drink. There are a couple of stands selling longan juice and we went to the busier along Phet Kasem Road. Look for the dry ice tendrils calling your attention. The longans used here are organic and there's a huge pot of longan juice that they ladle into cups of crushed ice and pile atop with fresh, peeled longans for 50THB/$2.16AUD. Honestly it's the best drink at the market and probably my favourite find. It tastes of sweet, pure longan juice and the extra longans on top are a special treat.

Note: there are two longan juice stands at the Hua Hin markets and the other one tasted like they mixed longan juice with coconut water and the longans themselves on top weren't as tasty as the one with organic longans. The one with the longer line and dry ice is definitely the best one.

2. Green Mango or Nam Pla Wan

Another item that I loved at Hua Hin's Night Market is a Hua Hin specialty. It is green mango slices with dipping sauce or mamuang nam pla wan (mango with sweet fish sauce). Mr NQN found this by himself as he arrived the night before I did. The green mango are sliced seed and all and served with this wonderfully spicy sweet dipping sauce made with fish sauce, palm sugar, shallots, chili peppers, shrimp paste and dried shrimp. It's so moreish I can't even start to explain how good it was. We ended up taking this back to our hotel room and snacking on this during the day. The mango meat just near the seed can be a bit bitter but it's so crunchy, moreish and balanced - promise me you'll give this a try!

3. Ice Cream Rolls

If you're looking for something sweet, try the ice cream rolls. These are made of fresh fruit (of your choice) with a bit of condensed milk to sweeten it up and make it creamy. There's a bit of a show when they make it on their frozen metal platter where they bash the fruit up with their metal spatulas and then spread it out and roll it up. The sellers are a bit more brusque compared to the other friendlier vendors at the market but the rolls are absolutely delicious and come with a complimentary sauce. We ordered a dragon fruit and mango ice cream roll with mango sauce and it tasted of perfectly sweet fresh fruit and was utterly delicious!

4. Sai Krok Esan

I remember eating these Sai Krok Esan or Thai sausage balls in the foodies paradise Chiang Mai and I was so excited to see them here. They're 25THB/$1.1AUD per skewer and made with pork and rice and shaped into balls and grilled. They serve them with birds eye chillies and cabbage and they're beautifully succulent and delicious. Alas the seller wasn't at the market every night but whenever he was, I'd buy some as they're so good!

5. Durian Soft Serve

Durian lovers will absolutely love the durian soft serve but dare I say that even as a non Durian lover I really enjoyed it?! It had just the right amount of durian flavour to it (bearing in mind that Thai durian is milder than Malaysian) in a creamy soft serve that you can get in a cone for just 35THB/$1.54AUD or a cup.

6. Char Siu

I love the way they cook pork in Thailand and we walked past this char siu stand a couple of times before trying it. The char siu here has two types of char siu, one with bones and one without. We try a small serve of the boneless one on the seller's recommendation (70THB/$3AUD) and it comes with a pot of spicy tamarind caramel dipping sauce that really elevates it. It's best with a packet of sticky rice for a deliciously simple dinner.

7. Kanom Krok

Another little treat are the little coconut cakes or kanom krok. These come in a variety of filling from plain to corn. We ask for a mixed box and they come straight fresh off the grill. Eat these fresh (although give it a minute to cool as they're extremely hot at first). When they're fresh they have a lovely crispy edge to them while being soft, jellied and melting in the centre. Once they cool they lose their crispiness and become more uniformly soft in texture.

8. Chiang Rai Phu Lae Pineapple

There are a few fresh fruit stands at the Hua Hin Night Market and if you see pineapples there, look specifically for the Chiang Rai Phu Lae pineapple. These tiny pineapples are ridiculously sweet like candy and once you've had one of these, no other pineapple compares. The Phulae pineapples are tiny and each whole pineapple could fit in the palm of your hand. They're also pricier than other pineapples at 80THB/$3.54AUD for a bag compared to regular pineapples at 30THB/$1.33AUD but trust me, they're worth it. The sellers also peel and package the pineapples perfectly so that they're ready to eat.

9. Young Coconut Mochi

There are a couple of mochi stands including a type of mochi made with black sticky rice and young coconut meat. The black sticky rice is actually what gives the mochi its purple colour. We watch as the seller scoops out a batter that looks a bit like purple or taro ice cream and places it on a griddle. She then flattens it out and cuts it into little cubes and hands us a box of them. The mochi rice cakes are delicious and not too sweet with little chunks of fresh young coconut in them.

10. Chicken Skewers

Mr NQN loved these chicken, pineapple and tomato kebab skewers with a sweet and sour type of sauce. I wasn't as taken with them as he was and preferred other things. They were 30THB/$1.32AUD each or 4 for 100THB$4.43AUD.

11. Hua Hin Fish Balls

There are also Hua Hin fish balls with a similar sweet and sour sauce and for 10THB/$0.44AUD each. They are quite a tasty bargain although I wasn't really that much into that sauce which is similar to the sauce on the chicken skewer above.

12. Squid Cracker

We also tried a giant squid cracker that I had seen in Taiwan. At 150THB/$6.56AUD it's a bit more expensive than the other items here and comes with three sauces: original, mala and spicy. We ordered the spicy one and it comes out as an enormous cracker with two dried shrimp imprinted on it. It's not bad although I remember enjoying the one in Taiwan more.

13. Mango Sticky Rice

What is a visit to Thailand without trying some mango sticky rice? There are a couple of street stalls at Hua Hin's night market that sell this popular Thai dessert. At this one, the mango sticky rice came with perfectly ripe pre-cut Thai mango and sticky rice coloured green, a little packet of crunchy toasted mung beans for a textural contrast as well as a little pot of sweetened salty coconut milk. All for 50THB or $2.16AUD!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like eating at night markets? Which item/s would you choose?

All of the food in this post was independently paid for.