What mneek calls a fish cake here I would include instead in the category of dreaded fish balls. (Dreaded by me, but popular with others.) The fish ball or cake is made, as my esteemed colleague says, from some kind of finely ground fish, and it smells fishy and has an unpleasant rubbery texture. Nevertheless, in Thailand these doughy little marvels are popular in soups or skewered, dipped in sauce, and grilled. It's the mouth feel of fish balls I object to.
There is, however, another kind of fish cake that is more like a patty, and is also popular Thai street food. It's made from ground fish mixed with red curry paste, finely chopped yard long green beans, a chiffonade of lime leaves, all bound together with egg, cornstarch, and flour. These too tend to have a rubbery texture, but are tasty enough not to put me off. The fish cakes are deep fried by street vendors and served with cucumber salad or sweet chilli sauce. Cheap, fattening, and delicious. What more could a peckish farang want?