You may notice Thais seem to eat constantly: snacking on fruit, nibbling a piece of grilled chicken bought from a street vendor. So there's ample opportunity to satisfy hunger cravings throughout the day until late in the evening. In general, Thais eat lunch 11:30 am-1 pm (you'll notice the mass evacuations from office buildings) and dinner sometime between 6 and 9 pm.

You'll be missing out if you don't taste the local specialties such as the famous tom yam kung, a hot-and-sour prawn soup, and pad thai (Thai fried noodles). Aficionados have been known to dedicate their entire holiday to hunting for the tastiest versions of these dishes. There's also the full range of Thai curries (gaeng)—red, green and yellow—and stir-fried dishes of pork, chicken or shrimp with basil and garlic. And that's for beginners.

Stay long enough and you'll find yourself savoring dishes such as laap (chopped meat with herbs and spices) and som tam (green papaya salad with chilies, garlic, tomatoes, dried shrimps, palm sugar and lime juice).

Many Thai dishes make use of the phrik (a chili) and even the explosively hot pepper phrik khii nuu. But have no fear: Thais have become so used to the average foreigner's suspicion of chili that they tend to reduce the chili content automatically. In the better restaurants, you can ask for your dish mai phet (not spicy), and they'll reduce the spice for you.

But don't dismiss the entire cuisine if you bite into a hot chili. There are plenty of Thai dishes that don't use lots of chili and rely on aromatic herbs and grasses such as fresh coriander, lemongrass, Kaffir lime and tamarind for flavor.