Best Bangkok street foods
Bangkok has become almost like a second home to many Singaporeans, because we simply can’t get enough of everything there – from the night markets to the shopping, and of course, the food. In fact, we could probably navigate some parts of BKK with our eyes closed!
But just when we think we’ve delved into all the tastiest nosh, Bangkok surprises us with new finds and treasures. So, skip the ol’ grilled fish outside Pratunam or coconut ice-cream at Chatuchak – these 10 taste-tastic street stalls will show you where the locals’ foodie scene is at:
1. Baan Pad Thai
It’s a crime to come to Bangkok and not have pad thai at least once. So we were adamant that our first such dish was to be the best one we’d ever tasted – and we found the most scrumptious one at Baan Pad Thai.
Baan Pad Thai is on the 2018 Bib Gourmand list, which is the more affordable cousin of the Michelin award
We got the signature Phad Thai Phoo (280 Baht, ~S$11.50), which is stir-fried noodles with egg, peanuts, bean sprouts, tofu, garlic chive, dried shrimp and blue crab meat.
The noodles were sweet and sour, and packed together a complex medley of flavours, making it hands down the best pad thai I’ve had!
The bright blue exterior, complete with the wooden furniture, made for a quaint setting
Address: 21-23 Charoenkrung Soi 44 Road, Sathorn Nua, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Opening Hours: 11AM-10PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 2 60 5553
Website
2. Doy Kuay Teow Reua
Boat noodle stalls are a dime a dozen in Bangkok, and with each one of them tasting super good, it’s hard to suss out a favourite. Well, we dug around and found Doy Kuay Teow Reua – one of the relatively obscure stalls near Victory Monument.
We ordered beef boat noodles (15 Baht, ~S$0.60), and they have a pork version too if you prefer. The beef slices and al dente noodles topped with rich sauce was heavenly, and we practically inhaled the entire bowl.
Good things come in small sizes, and fans of boat noodles will know that each portion is purposefully small so you can order more. So fill up your stomach further with bowls of crispy wonton skins (10 Baht, ~S$0.40 per bowl), or order a refreshing bottle of chilled sugarcane juice (40 Baht, ~S$1.60) to wash it all down.
Note: You can tell the staff how spicy you want your boat noodles to be.
The stall looks just like a Singapore coffee shop, which instantly made me feel at home
The stall is along a winding path that leads to Wat Apai Tharam Temple, and cars aren’t able to drive through here. So what we did was we got off the taxi at Soi Ratchawithi 18 and took a 10-minute walk to this boat noodle paradise.
You can’t miss this huge marquee-covered coffee shop as you round the corner near the back entrance of the temple
Address: Ratchawithi Soi 18 (Wat Makok), Thanon Ratchawithi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Opening Hours: 8AM-6PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 81 619 1925
3. Nhong Rim Klong
Nhong Rim Klong was our first street food stop in Bangkok and the food here definitely made an impression; the dishes still lingered in our minds even after our trip.
This place serves up dishes with crab as its main ingredient, and the number of creative, delicious variations they’re able to come up with for this one food are a-maze-ing.
Pad Kee Mao Crab
Pad Kee Mao (300 Baht, ~S$13) literally means ‘drunken stir-fry’, and this dish is a stir-fry with chunks of crab, onions, garlic, chilli, eggplant, with some basil leaves tossed in. All the flavours complemented each other nicely and I found myself scraping my plate clean and licking my lips for more.
Kai Kon Pu
For a dose of comfort food, try their Kai Kon Pu (200 Baht, ~S$9), which has pieces of crab meat cooked in a super creamy omelette. A plate of rice costs 10 Baht (~S$0.40), and they also have Thai milk teas in different colours and flavours.
Tip: Be prepared to wait up to an hour for your food. Get here as early as possible, because even if the place doesn’t seem full, they actually have lots of calls for delivery and takeaway that will add to your waiting time.
Don’t miss this stall situated along the canal! Tip: keep an eye out for locals queueing up.
Address: 30 Ekkamai Soi 21, Khwaeng Khlong Tan Nuea, Khet Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 8.30AM-4.30PM
Telephone: +66 86 449478
4. Odean Noodle
In between a slew of Chinese restaurants and stalls is Odean Noodle, one of the more reputable places to grab some good ol’ wonton noodles and soup, served Hong Kong-style.
The dish of the day here is their Noodle with Claws of Crab, and we can see why – the crab flesh was sweet and meaty, and the noodles were immensely springy.
You can choose if you’d like your noodles dry or in broth, as well as the size of the crab claw, with prices starting from 150 Baht (~S$6.20) and going all the way to 550 Baht (~S$23). We went for a medium size at 350 Baht (~S$14.50), and it’s just the right serving for one person.
But if you’ve slurped the entire bowl and still aren’t satisfied, try their other wonton noodles dishes like Noodle with Roasted Pork (40 Baht, ~S$1.60). The menu is in both Thai and English, so you’ll have no trouble browsing the menu!
The place is air-conditioned, so you can enjoy your meal without sitting under the hot sun!
Address: 724 Charoenkrung Road, Khwaeng Samphanthawong, Khet Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100, Thailand
Opening Hours: 8.30AM-8PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 86 888 2341
Website
5. Pe Aor
Pe Aor has a distinctly different Tom Yum Kung (tom yum soup) recipe from many, which is one of the reasons why many locals are drawn to this place. Instead of the usual thin, light broth, the Tom Yum Kung (60 Baht, ~S$2.50) here is thick and unabashedly creamy.
The Tom Yum Kung comes with a giant shrimp along with a choice of 7 types of noodles – we chose rice noodles. The soup broth was extremely milky and this meshed well with the noodles and prawn.
This resto is along the Soi Petchaburi 5 stretch, which has many other superb street food stalls too!
Address: 68/51 Soi Petchaburi 5 (between Soi 5 – 7), Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Opening Hours: Tue – Sun: 10AM-9PM
Telephone: +66 2 612 9013
6. Nai Ouan Yen Ta Fo
We’ve heard of all kinds of noodle dishes here, but Nai Ouan Yen Ta Fo clearly takes the cake because their noodles are pink.
For the uninitiated, ‘yen ta fo’ is the Thai version of our yong tau foo. And this YTF comes laden with braised beef, fish balls, crispy wonton, vegetables, squid, tofu, and fried shrimp balls.
The pink comes from the pickled red tofu that is added to the bowl
We ordered the Small (50 Baht, ~S$2) signature Noodle Soup with Yen Ta Fo Sauce, but those with larger appetites can go for the Large (60 Baht, ~S$2.50) option too.
Give all the ingredients a good toss to mix in the sweet sauce!
Note: You’ll only get the pink noodles if you order the spicy version.
When there isn’t sufficient seating space, customers can sit at the coffee shop opposite the stall. There are drinks stall there too, so you can order a drink or two while waiting for your meal.
All the action happens right here in the open, so watch them put your bowl of yen ta fo together.
Address: 41 Soi Nava Tanon Road, Saochingcha Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri: 9AM-9PM, Sat – Sun: 9AM-4PM
Telephone: +66 2 622 0701
Website
7. Prachak Roasted Duck
Prachak Roasted Duck is famous in Charoenkrung for their roasted duck dishes, and dozens of awards littering their walls is proof of their quality.
You’ll feel like you stepped into a Chinese restaurant, sitting at their wooden round tables and red plastic stools with waiters running up and down yelling in Chinese.
The star of the show is the Prachak Ped Yang – Roasted Duck – and it’s priced at 100, 130 or 250 Baht, depending on the size. We got the 100 Baht (~S$4.20) plate, and the hoisin sauce – a kind of Chinese BBQ sauce – really came through in each bite.
Due to its narrow entrance, it’s entirely possible to walk past this famous duck resto in the middle of Charoenkrung.
Look out for this lady chopping meats at the front of the place – just like a Chinese restaurant!
But unlike what it looks like from the outside, the interior is actually spacious, and they even have another 2 floors of dining space – it’s as if they cast a Harry Potter ‘Undetectable Extension Charm’ over the place.
Address: 1415 Charoenkrung Road, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Opening Hours: 8AM-8.30PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 2 234 3755
8. Krua Apsorn
Thanon Dinso – or Dinso Road – is known for being filled with good street food, and Krua Apsorn is one of the pioneers of that rep. It’s been open for quite a long time, and the founders supposedly used to cook for the Royal Family!
This Fluffy Crab Meat Omelet (100 Baht, ~S$4.15) is their special: a mound of crab meat expertly wrapped in an egg omelette. When broken apart, it reveals chunks of crab meat, and we couldn’t wait to gorge ourselves on this.
The rice always arrives in this heart shape – how cute!
We also tried the Yellow Curry with Young Lotus Roots (130 Baht, ~S$5.30), which was recommended by their staff. The curry had a surprisingly sweet and light taste and wasn’t too spicy. Pieces of shrimp in the curry also gave it some extra kick.
Address: 169 Thanon Dinso, Bowon Niwet, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 10AM-8PM
Telephone: +66 2 685 4531
9. Krua Porn Lamai
If you’re looking for a place to immerse yourself in Bangkok’s food scene at night, pop by the bustling Yaowarat area – Bangkok’s Chinatown. Pockets of great food stalls can be found here, and one such stall is Krua Porn Lamai.
We wondered if we ordered the right dish because of the lack of noodles upon first sight
The stall cooks up a mean noodle dish, and the best in the house is their rad na phu khao fai – noodles in gravy on a volcanic hotplate (70 Baht, ~S$2.90). If you want the pork and chicken combo, it’s 60 Baht (~S$2.50). The food here is so popular amongst the locals that even English celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has popped by here for a meal!
A sizzling plate of squid, vegetables, prawn, and egg is served on a hotplate, and it’ll take you a few pulls of your fork and spoon before you realise that the noodles are actually inside the egg and buried underneath the mound of food.
All food is cooked at this stall, and customers eat on tables placed on the other side of the street. Because many other stalls line the street, seating is limited, and you might have to wait quite a while for just one dish.
The stall is along the street, with cars zooming past as waiters cross the road to serve you
Address: 64 Plaeng Nam Road, Bangkok 10100, Thailand
Opening Hours: Tue – Sun: 6PM-2AM
Telephone: +66 99 249 5414
10. Thip Samai
If you’re not a fan of queuing, you might miss out on one of the most famed pad thai places in Bangkok – Thip Samai.
The crowds are for the Superb Padthai (90 Baht, ~S$3.70), which is essentially pad thai wrapped in an egg omelette. Here, the egg breaks the monotony of the glass noodle dish, while a tinge of lime adds a refreshing zing to the dish. You can go for a version without egg at all for 60 Baht (~S$2.50), but where’s the fun in that?
Food prep takes place right next to the queue-up line, so watch them whip up tons of dishes at top speed while waiting for a table!
The dining area is air-conditioned, and you have to pay 20 Baht (~S$0.80) for that!
Address: 313 Maha Chai Road, Samran Rat, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Opening Hours: 5.30PM-1.30AM, Daily
Telephone: +66 2 221 6280
Embrace authentic Thai street food
Thailand is known for a whole slew of great dishes, and we Singaporeans are no strangers to her cuisine. But yet, we find ourselves seeking out the same ol’ cafes, night markets, and street stalls, due to lack of planning or out of sheer habit.
Instead, the next time you head to Bangkok, brave unfamiliar streets and get a taste of the most authentic and unadulterated local fare. You definitely won’t regret the trip out.
This post was brought to you by Amazing Thailand.