plao น้ําเปลาFresh water/drinking water
Nam saowarot น้ําเสาวรส
Passionfruit juice
Nam som น้ําสม
Orange juice
Nam takrai น้ําตะไคร
Lemongrass juice
Olieng โอเลี้ยง
Chinese-style black iced coffee
Bangkok
Chinatown • Banglamphu • Hualamphong Silom/Sathorn • Sukhumvit • Other Areas
The Thai capital is the center of the country’s street food world and is the point from which the country’s culinary trends flow. From char-grilled Isaan-style meat to fried noodles bathed in seafood gravy, Thailand’s best street food dishes can be found in this metropolis, and for the most part with minimal effort. The trick lies in determining which of the city’s numerous food stalls are worth patronizing.
Over time, Bangkok has served as the setting for most of Thailand’s major culinary developments, be it the growth of the industry on the backs of Thai-Chinese vendors during the reign of King Rama IV, the street food boom after the widespread incorporation of women into the workplace or the recent inclusion of “foreign” street foods in the culinary lexicon. As a result, there are an estimated 500,000 street food stalls set up at 683 points in 50 districts of the city.
How the food stalls in this book were selected
A good number of the stands offer the standard fare consumed by Thais: juices, sliced fruit and soft drinks/carbonated beverages. Basic dishes, such as grilled bananas, omelets and pickled fruits, are also hawked daily. These types of stalls are not included in this book because one could conceivably pass for another. Because of the massive number of establishments in Bangkok, only well-known locations for street food are included, with some exceptions made for food stalls in areas not particularly known for their outstanding food.
Sukhothai noodles at Somsong Pochana, Banglamphu
Bangkok’s Best Street Food Districts
These are the best street food areas in the city to explore
CHINATOWN (YAOWARAJ)
This is Bangkok’s best-known street food area. Holding fast to its identity as the originator of Bangkok street food, Yaowaraj (also spelt Yaowarat) offers a dizzying array of specialties, most of which are Chinese or Thai-Chinese. Go at night-time to see the street food scene come alive. Adjacent to Chinatown is “Little India” or Pahurat.
BANGLAMPHU
Sometimes regarded as a tourist zone because of its proximity to Khao Sarn Road, this part of town offers many Thai, Thai-Chinese and Thai-Muslim specialties with a dash of “old city” atmosphere. For diners eager to witness this charm together with seriously delicious food, Banglamphu can’t be beaten.
HUALAMPHONG (SAM YAN)
One of the older street food areas in Bangkok, this collection of street corners, which includes a well-known wet market that was recently renovated, offers great diversity for the adventurous gourmet.
SILOM/SATHORN
Bangkok’s Central Business District is chock-a-block with lunchtime streetside spots catering to the voracious and varied appetites of the typical Thai office worker. Night-time draws a different, more eclectic, crowd.
SUKHUMVIT
Bangkok’s monied residential district encompasses a mix of wealthy Thais and expats. Although dominated by upscale European restaurants and fast food joints, this major thoroughfare also is home to food stalls that hawk some delectable Thai and Thai-Chinese specialties.
OTHER AREAS
You might consider yourself in the middle of nowhere, but you can be certain there is a delicious reason as to why you are trekking there.
Bangkok Chinatown’s Yaowaraj Road at night
Chinatown (YAOWARAJ)
Bangkok’s Chinatown—or what the locals call “Yaowaraj”—epitomizes the hustle and bustle, fun and chaos and smells, sights and sounds of Thai street food 24 hours a day. From early in the morning when the curry rice vendors start hawking their wares and the market vendors begin to set up shop, until late in the evening when the rice porridge shops and streetside seafood restaurants rule the roost, Chinatown is a simmering cauldron of culinary activity.
Despite the widespread assimilation of the ethnic Chinese in Thailand, Chinatown has retained a strong Chinese identity. Made up largely of Hokkien and Teochew, the Thai-Chinese population has grown by leaps and bounds since the 1700s when the seeds of Bangkok’s Chinatown were first sown. Yaowaraj (or Yaowarat) Road, Chinatown’s main thoroughfare, was built in 1891 during the reign of King Rama V, who also gave the neighborhood the name Yaowaraj, which means “young king”.
Today, Chinatown is still known as a major center of commerce for food items and Chinese goods. Tuk-tuk still ply the roads that wind through the area, Chinese opera can still be heard some evenings and local residents continue to line up for their favorite street food snacks after work or school. For lovers of Thai street food, a visit to this part of town is a must.
Guaythiew Lod
กวยเตี๋ยวหลอด, ถนนเยาวราช หนารานนาฬิกาไซโกที่อยูขางรานหูฉลามสกาลา
STREETSIDE CART, YAOWARAJ ROAD, CHINATOWN
Despite its humble appearance, this stall serves among the best stuffed flat noodles in the city: rice noodles smothered under a blanket of bean sprouts, pork, calamari and shiitake mushrooms, soaked in a delicious soy-based sauce.
GETTING THERE
In front of the Seiko watch shop and next to Hu Chalaam Scala
Tel 02-225-3558, 081-559-8339
Open 18.30–1.00 except Monday
SPECIALTY
Flat noodles stuffed with pork (guaythiew lod), 35 baht
กวยเตี๋ยวหลอดกับหมู
OPTIONS
With egg (sai kai), without egg (mai kai), extra pork (moo piset)
NOTABLE
