Experience culture and cuisine this summer at the Buddhist Temple of Dallas! Every Sunday the temple hosts a Thai Food Market from 10:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. We grabbed a couple of our friends and spent a lovely Sunday afternoon exploring the market. Here’s everything we loved, and some tips to know before you go!

 

The Buddhist Temple of Dallas

The Buddhist Temple of Dallas is located at 8484 Stults Rd. Thai Buddhists raised money to build the temple in the 1980s, and it was largely constructed by artists from Thailand. The grounds include several different temples and meditation structures, plus a lovely garden with koi pond. It’s a beautiful, peaceful place and we really enjoyed exploring. 

 

The Thai Food Market

For the past 15 years, temple members who range from experienced restaurateurs to talented home cooks have set up a Sunday Thai Food Street Market in the temple parking lot. The vendors only accept cash and some of the booths are manned by children helping out their parents as they pass out bottles of water and thai tea. 

The food is amazing – and it’s more authentic than what you’ll probably find at your local Thai restaurant. The flavors and cooking styles are not Americanized for western tastebuds, but instead fully embrace Thai heritage. 

We tried sweet and sour crispy noodles, curry pocket pastries, egg rolls, chicken satay, and Thai tea. Everything was so delicious that I’ve been daydreaming about the flavors all week! My favorites were the curry pockets and egg rolls found at the first two booths on the far left side of the lot.

 

Tips for Visiting the Dallas Thai Food Market

1. Come early for the most popular snacks.

Vendors sell out every week, so arrive before noon if you want the largest selection of flavors.

2. Bring plenty of cash.

The food stalls only accept cash, so make a trip to the ATM before you go. Prices range from $1 – $10.

3. Stake out a spot in the shade.

If you’re visiting during the peak of summer like we were, you might want to send at least one member of your party to stake out a snacking spot in the shade. The rays of sun coupled with the steamy grills make for one toasty parking lot. But thankfully, there are lots of little benches and stones in the garden that are shaded by big, beautiful trees.

 

If you’re looking for more fun things to do in the Dallas area, check out this page or follow along with my adventures on Instagram.