True Thailand Flavor – Bangkok Street Food
Bangkok Street Food Offers Up Loads of Good Taste
If you love to eat and you’re headed for Bangkok then you’re in for a treat. Seriously, I’ve eaten all over the world and the street food in Bangkok is my choice for the best anywhere (Mexico is a close second).
No matter where you go in Bangkok you’re sure to see local Thai’s sitting down on those little plastic stools by the road and enjoying some delicious dish with their friends. Everything from noodles to pork and chicken to seafood is on offer and all of it is quite delicious. Honestly my mouth is watering just thinking of it.
Thai Street Food Variety
One of the great things about street food in Bangkok and Thailand is the huge variety on offer. Regional foods from the deep south of Thailand such as spicy curries, northeastern salad dishes and Chinese roast duck and pork are just a few of the flavors to tempt you. Start with some grilled meats on a stick (satay), or a bowl of rice noodles. Fried rice in many varieties are available as well as fried chicken, grilled sausages, sticky rice, fresh fruits and even more exotic samplings like dancing shrimp or fried crickets can be had as well. If you’re hesitant about the unusual dishes try some khao man gai (chicken rice) or khao moo dang (red pork rice). Both are very standard dishes at Thai street vendors and both are extremely delicious. Finish it all off with fresh coconut ice cream or another Thai dessert, perhaps lod chong or salim.
Popular Locations for Bangkok Street Food
While you can find street food pretty much anywhere in Bangkok obviously some spots are going to be more accessible to you as a tourist. The following spots are popular with both Thai’s and tourists for the variety of foods available as well as their accessibility.
Rama IV – You’ll find street food vendors all along Rama IV, especially in the areas of Lumphini Park and Lumphini Boxing Stadium. Golf and I especially like those near the Boxing Stadium, down the small soi’s. The area really gets hopping in the late afternoon and you’ll find all kinds of great dishes here. Spicy som tam and laab from northern Thailand are popular as are desserts such as sticky rice and salim.
Silom Road – Another great place to find street vendors. Golf and I have two favorites in this area. The first are the street vendors along Soi Convent (near the Sala Daeng BTS station). You’ll find that the ones farther up the soi towards BNH hospital tend to be better. The second is a small street restaurant all the way at the end of Silom at the intersection of Silom and Charoen Krung. It is on the right side of the street across from the State Tower. Everything we’ve tried there is awesome. Finally, you’ll find quite a few vendors on Silom offering seafood, everything from fish to clams to oysters and prawns are available freshly cooked to your liking.
Khao San Road – Probably not the best quality street food, but it is cheap and usually satisfying. Plus, most Bangkok tourists seem to make it out this way at least once. The vendors on Khao San itself leave a bit to be desired, but some great dishes can be had in the surrounding areas. Cheap pad thai, grilled meats and kebabs and fruit is the top draw here.
RCA – This is one of the top nightclub areas of Bangkok so it’s not surprising to find a large variety of street vendors set up to feed the hungry party go’ers before and after their clubbing. The food is decent and available quite late at night so that’s a plus.
Chinatown – Obviously this comprises a huge area, but I’ve found that pretty much anywhere in Chinatown serves up really great street food. Yaowarat Road is a perfect start and if you don’t want to wander around Chinatown you won’t have to go any farther than that to get a great cheap street side meal. If you love food then you have to go to Chinatown for some of the best Chinese food you’ll ever get outside China and Hong Kong.
Rules For A Safe Bangkok Street Food Experience
While the streets of Bangkok may be dirty and the air filled with smog (although better than in the past), eating at a street vendor in Bangkok need not be a worrisome affair. Yes, you’ll see the food is unrefrigerated and there is typically a big wash bin of dirty plates next to the cart, but believe me when I tell you that eating from street vendors in Bangkok is quite safe.
I’ve eaten probably hundreds of meals at street vendors all over Bangkok and have only gotten sick once in 12 years. Honestly I don’t even believe that was from the street food, I think it was from Chao Phraya river water getting splashed into my face during a trip upriver to Koh Kred.
Simply follow these suggestions and you should be fine:
- Go where everyone else is eating. The locals know the good food stalls and the ones that make them sick. If you follow the locals lead you should be fine.
- Make sure the food is freshly prepared. The food should be freshly cooked and not look as if it’s been sitting around for hours.
- Thai food is notoriously spicy and hot. If you don’t want too much heat then order your food “mai ped”. This means “not hot” and the chili’s will be left out. On the other hand if you think the hotter the better then order the food “ped mak mak”. This should get you food that is extra spicy although I have had mixed results. I think that some Thai’s don’t really believe that farang can eat spicy food so even if you order it extra spicy they make it “mai ped”.
- If you do get sick get to an emergency room. The hospitals are very used to dealing with food poisoning and will sort you out quickly to get you healthy. Thai hospitals are very cheap compared with Western hospitals so don’t worry about the cost.
Bangkok street food is some of the best and cheapest food in the world and I have yet to find anyone who doesn’t like something on offer at the street vendors. The amazing variety combined with the delicious taste makes it an experienced not to be missed. So, next time you’re in Bangkok pull up a plastic stool by the side of the road and have yourself a feast!
Another place I love is around Thong Lo, day or night but more so in the evening and should include a few beers along the way.
Right after you get off the BTS, there is a nice little row of places to pig out.
Apart from other diseases (too) spicy food causes piles.
Any doctor or pharmacist can tell you, even in Thailand.
It also causes peptic ulcers as my wife can attest.
In vitro experiments have shown that spices disinfect.
It is like choosing between pestilence and cholera.
I have many times got the runs here in Thailand from eating and drinking street food until I saw a vendor wahing his dishes and utensils in water from a klong for gods sake and I have personally seen how ice blocks get delivered to these vendors,they bring these blocks to the vendors by motorcycle or pickup truck and dump them on the ground and with a steel hook drag them through sand,dog feaces or whatever and the vendors start to chip off these ice blocks what they need to put in your drink and where I live it still gets delivered this way,have a nice meal.
The street food in Thailand in general is great. There are those that have weak gastric systems from those countries that ‘over-protect’ but that is expected and it may also be noted that just the extra spiciness can cause bowel problems from those not used to it.
My philosophy on this has always been ‘if they can eat it, so can I’, and I do.
I prefer the food to the restaurants that westernize the food. The Thais know what their food is supposed to taste like. Westernized restaurants for the farang are out of my eating jurisdiction.
Interesting that you should say that hospitals are used to dealing with food poisoning. They are but it is really only in touristic areas because farang are not able to deal with the local food, whether it be from too much spice or alcohol.
I have been there. The have an injection that will relieve the ‘rejection’ immediately. I doubt that street food was the cause in my case.
Som Tam, gai yang and pla dook yang are my staples.
To Henk West:
Are you by any chance Dutch ? In correct French it is “Bon appétit”.
My Thai wife has lived in Europe and cooks European food for me and when she goes to her village I am eating in western (Swiss, Italian, …) restaurants.
If I can avoid it I do not eat Thai street (and other) food for many reasons:
the meat is full of flies in the local markets, where the vendors buy it the evening before;
the “seafood” is no seafood but freshwater fish and freshwater shrimps farmed in murky water ponds, which gives them a mud taste, that has to be hidden with lots of spices.
The only time I got a food poisoning was in a Japanese restaurant in Pattaya that I will not name, but it is in a soi named after it.
My Thai wife used to buy Thai street food for herself, but now she prepares it herself and she begins to appreciate western food more and more.
I actually find the street food to be safer. Restaurant dish-washing methods usually aren’t any better than street vendors, and at least with the street food I can see them prepare and cook the food.
Anyone who has worked in an American fast-food joint knows that an enclosed kitchen can hide a multitude of sin. Thailand is no different in that regard.
So the two standards for a good meal is that it tastes good and you do not get sick after eating it. The mere fact that you have to speak about getting sick should be enough of a warning for anyone who is concerned about not getting food poisoning. My wife is a Thai chef, having trained at the best Thai cooking school in the world. Once she took the course on food hygiene, she immediately stopped eating street food.
Do you know that the fish balls that are in Wei Theow (Not sure on the spelling) contain boric acid? Further once a hotel finds that the cooking oil it has been using is no longer fit to be used, it is then sold to street food sellers, who use it until it has the consistency of motor oil. Take a look at the used plates laying on the side of the road in a filthy plastic bucket and contemplate the fact that you will next be eating from one of them. Bonne appetite
Not my cup of tea.
I have never gotten sick from street food.
Yet, these days I seldom eat it.
Why is that?
Firstly, I do not enjoy eating food “in the weather”; listening to motor vehicles rumbling by; breathing diesel particulates while eating; being surrounded (too closely) by total strangers; having no napkins provided; etc.
Secondly, I am more than a bit concerned that NO HOT WATER is available to clean the dishes utilized by the street vendors. I have heard that that fact alone (no hot water to clean dishes) is what can spread all sorts of diseases.
Once again, I’ve never gotten sick from street food.
Yet, I’ve decided to no longer push my luck, so I very seldom eat street food (but never say never).
No disrespect meant to anyone with different opinions.
Thank you for allowing me to express my opinion.
Best wishes to all.
Can understand your reasons why you don’t eat out at Bangkok street food. You must have missed the fun and excitement eating out on Bangkok street. Try it, There are some stalls having better facilities. As for not having hot water to get rid of whatever disease, not to worry, you don’t need hot water. Your system will take care of this.
Cheers, enjoy the Bangkok street food.
1. As Socrates said: : It is not the poison but the dose/. To this can be added the sensitivities of the individual.
2. You cannot compare a foreigner to a Thai that has been eating off the street for decades. Look at their toilets – they have this hose for washing off the loose stools.
3. Most food poisoning is from anus to mouth. Look at the street food sellers. Where do they wash their hands ?
4. Ok you may be lucky. Eat hot wokked food. But where was that plate and spoon washed ???
4. Visit a restaurant. Go to the loo first off. If it is filthy leave. This is for the staff too!!!
Remember in these countries, true Typhoid is ryfe and the locals can be asymptomatic carriiers.Especially in the wet season.Everyone is terrified of malaria. usually not a problem. Their is no real successful vaccination against typhoid and cholera, and antibiotics do not work well.
Good advice.
I’ve been all over the world, but have never followed the above advice. I’ve never gotten sick, but I chalk it up to luck and also choosing my venues carefully. I’ve have many friends that have gotten sick though, so maybe my system is more hardy than most.
I also carry pepto bismol tablets wherever I go in case something gives me the runs, which in Thailand happens often. Pepto bismol clears it right up for me and I’m not stuck in the room all day.
Best rule of thumb is to give the venue the eye check as far as cleanliness and ensure whatever you order is thoroughly cooked. If you have a weak stomach stay away from raw seafood and salads.
I lived for a year in Bangkok, and I have a bit of advice: Don’t go near Khao San Road. Not for sleeping, not for eating and not for partying.
Simply put, it’s where all the other tourists go, and the Thais there have westernized everything for them. It is a Thai experience no more than Disneyland gives a real taste of America.
Too often, I heard from travelers who went to Khao San Road, hated it, then quickly left for the beaches of the south or the hill tribe treks in the north.
Please hear me: you will not have a good experience in Bangkok if you stay on KSR, and especially not if don’t at least venture into other non-touristy parts of that amazing city.
As for the street food, I wholeheartedly agree: I ate from street vendors every day and never once got sick. It’s the best food in the world.
Looks delicous. Some of the food is a little interesting but it would be fun to walk up to a table full of delicious foods and pickup what you want.
Very nice article Steve. You should have regular street food takes!
Best -
BD
Thanks Dan,
I really do love the street food in Bangkok. Funny because I can remember the first time I was in Bangkok and being sooooo worried about every single thing I ate. I’m just glad the little lady cooks so damn well, it really helps with the cravings.
Enjoyed your comments on the food poisoning issue. My friends from the area kept warning me not to eat from the street vendor stalls, to stick to the restaurants instead. I regret now that I followed that advice most of the time (most of the time) because afterwards I realized that they didn’t take that advice themselves, at least not consistently. I’ve worked at American restaurants that were scarier than anything on the street in Bangkok. Well, almost. You can be cautious or you can have fun. I think most of the food is well worth a gamble and if you live in the States you may never see it again. Thai food over here is dumbed down for the marketplace.
Sorry you followed their advice, but it just means you gotta get yourself back to Thailand as soon as possible. Honestly I’ve always found the food from street vendors to be both delicious and fresh. And I’ve worked in quite a few American restaurants as well so I know just what you mean about the scary factor. If people knew what happened in some of those kitchens…
I have lived in Thailand for 5 years. In that time I have unfortunately suffered 5 cases of food poisoning. I have NEVER had one of those cases of food poisoning from eating street eats. Each time I came down it was from food I ate in a restaurant that caters to and operated by westerners.
Enjoy the street eats but due diligence is recommended.
As long as it’s a place where lots of others are eating you are generally going to be safe. The only case of food poisoning I ever got was from a place where Golf and I were the only customers.
Hey Steve
Great article. Made my mouth water too and the pictures are great! Makes me want to go back to Thailand just for the food. I do have a great restaurant in Plymouth Mass where I get great Chicken Red Curry but I do need to get back to the land of smiles. Hope u and Golf are well and we need to catch up!
Tony
Great post apart from tipping Khao San as having good street food. It’s the only place in Thailand I have ever had a bad meal. I will never eat from the street stalls there again!
The whole of the area shouldn’t be written off though, there are some decent places in the surrounding streets.
Cheers Richard!
Thanks for kicking off the comments…I know when I write about food I can get the creative juices flowing.
I hope you didn’t think I was endorsing Khao San food. I did say that it was “not the best quality” and that it leaves a bit to be desired.
You are absolutely spot on about the surrounding area though. I think it’s quite fair to say “Don’t eat from the vendors right on Khao San Road” and I’m actually not surprised you had a bad experience there. Once you get a couple blocks off Khao San though you can find some really good street vendors.
And I had to include it because I know so many tourists end up on Khao San at least one night. Hell I usually end up on Khao San for at least one night even after over a dozen visits to Bangkok.