Travel a little within the Central Region and you will find some real local specialties. At Nakhon Pathom, to the west of Bangkok, you will find sticky rice and coconut steamed in a length of bamboo. This is known as khao lam. You will also find it at Nong Mon Market in Chon Buri Province, near Pattaya, a roadside market about kilometer in length that is also famed for its dried fish. Chanthaburi, close to the Cambodian border, has its own noodles fried with crab meat. A distinctively flavored leaf, chamuang, grows in the forests here, and is used in curries. There is a chili paste dip from the coastal areas of the eastern Central Region, made from crab, egg, and yellow chili.
Travel southwest of Bangkok to the town of Phetchaburi and you will find khanom maw kaeng, a baked custard. There are many varieties but they are all based on mung bean, egg and coconut milk. Slightly further south, along the coast, Cha-am and Hua Hin are renowned for their seafood. Cha-am has a picturesque harbor where oysters are brought in fresh by the tremendous variety of curries created by the Mon ethnic grouping