Good evening, guys, from the beautiful island of Koh Chang, Thailand!
Tonight, we’ve got a bit of a challenge. We’re heading over to a local night market to see how much food we can get for just $10 US for two people. Do you think we can get enough to eat without going over budget?
One of the things I really enjoy about travelling in Thailand is exploring the local food markets. There’s always something interesting to try, the food looks amazing, and you never quite know what you’re going to discover at the next stall.
So, we’re going to wander around, see what catches our eye, and try to get as much variety as we can for our $10. Let’s see how we do!
Check Out The Video Here:
Exploring the Night Market on Koh Chang
As soon as we arrived, there were plenty of food stalls to look at. There was everything from grilled meats and sausages to seafood, snacks, drinks and desserts. The hardest part was deciding what to try first!
We started looking around to see what was available and how much everything cost. With only $10 US to spend between the two of us, we had to keep an eye on the prices. It’s easy to get carried away when everything looks so good!
We decided to try a variety of different foods rather than spend all our money on just one meal. That way, we could sample a few different things and see just how far our money would go.
Trying the Street Food
Our first stop was for some pork gyoza. These are little dumplings, and they looked pretty good. The dough was really soft, and they had pork and some vegetables inside. They were delicious, and a great way to get our challenge started.
Next, we tried some sausages and grilled chicken. There were a few different things on offer, including chicken hearts and what looked like other chicken offal. Some of the items were a little different from what you might normally order back home, but that’s part of the fun of trying street food in another country.
The grilled chicken was incredibly tender. We also picked up some pork with hot sauce and soy sauce, which made for a tasty little snack.
That’s one of the things I like about these markets. You don’t have to order a huge meal at one restaurant. You can walk around, buy a little bit here and there, and try several different things along the way.
Of course, every time we stopped at another stall, we had to think about our budget. We still had a lot of food to try, and I didn’t want to run out of money before we got to dessert!
Corn on the Cob and a Mango Shake
We spotted some corn on the cob and decided to give that a try as well. It came with butter and salt, and was really good once it had cooled down a little.
By this point, we were adding up what we had spent. The corn and our earlier food brought the total to 115 baht, so we still had money left to spend.
Then we spotted a stall selling fruit shakes. If you’ve been to Thailand, you’ve probably seen these around. They’re a great option when you want something cold and refreshing in the warm weather.
We decided on a mango shake, and I have to say, it was fantastic. That was a 10 out of 10 for me! If you like mango, you really should try one when you’re in Thailand.
It was delicious, refreshing, and a nice change from all the grilled food we had been eating. Of course, it also meant a little more money came out of our $10 budget!
Pad See Ew - Stir Fried Noodles
We weren’t finished yet. We decided to try a some Pad See Ew – flat rice noodles with chicken and dark soy sauce.
This was a little different from the smaller snacks we’d been eating. The noodles were wide and flat, with chicken and some greens mixed in. It was a tasty dish, and a good way to add something more substantial to our meal.
By now, we had tried quite a few different things, and it was interesting to see how much variety we could get without spending a lot of money.
That’s what makes a challenge like this fun. You never really know how it’s going to turn out until you start buying the food. You might think $10 won’t go very far, but when you choose a few smaller portions from different stalls, you can try quite a bit.
We checked our spending again and found that we were at 260 baht, with 50 baht left over.
That meant we had just enough room for one more treat. And what better way to finish a Thai food challenge than with a dessert?
Finishing With Mango Sticky Rice
We decided to use the rest of our money to get some mango sticky rice.
If you’ve never tried this Thai dessert, put it on your list for your next trip to Thailand. It’s made with sticky rice and sweet mango, with a coconut sauce poured over the top. It’s a simple combination, but it works really well. There was plenty of coconut milk to pour over the rice, and it looked delicious.
We grabbed a couple of spoons and gave it a try. I love mango sticky rice, so this was a great way to finish off our night-market adventure.
The best part was that we had enough to share, and we had managed to squeeze dessert into our budget. Not bad for a $10 challenge!
Did We Manage to Feed Two People for $10?
So, did we succeed?
We managed to try pork gyoza, sausages, grilled chicken, other grilled bites, corn on the cob, a mango shake, Pad See Ew with chicken, and mango sticky rice.
That’s quite a variety of food for $10 US!
Was it quite enough for two people? Well, I’m not completely sure. It was a bit of a challenge, and we might have needed a little more food to call it a full meal for two. But was it worth doing? Absolutely!
For me, that’s part of the fun of travelling. You get out and explore, try things you might not normally eat, and have a bit of an adventure along the way. And you don’t always have to spend a lot of money to enjoy yourself.
Try the $10 Night-Market Challenge Yourself!
If you’re planning a trip to Koh Chang, I’d definitely recommend visiting a night market and checking out the food stalls. Take your time, have a look at what’s available, and don’t be afraid to try something new.
You could even make it a challenge of your own. Set yourself a budget of $10 US, see how much food you can get for two people, and compare your results with ours.
You might discover a new favourite Thai dish, find a great fruit shake, or end up trying something you never expected to enjoy.
And remember, the idea isn’t just to eat as much as possible. It’s about having fun, experiencing the local food, and enjoying your time in Thailand.
Now I’d love to hear from you! Do you think we got enough food for two people for $10 US? What would you have ordered, and do you think you could beat our challenge?
Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Watch the video above to see our full $10 night-market challenge, and if you enjoy following our travels, give the video a thumbs-up and subscribe to Darrell Travels for more adventures in beautiful Thailand.
Thanks for joining us, guys, and I’ll see you in the next one!