Where to Eat Street Food in Bangkok.

Street food in Bangkok is a melting pot of culture. It brings people together, it celebrates history and is part of showcasing some of the tastiest food each respective country has to offer. There is something magical about walking down a narrow street.

Smelling a rich broth cooked by a converted bicycle and being served a heart-warming noodle soup whilst sitting on a tiny chair, watching the world go by. You could live in a city like Bangkok for years and still be surprised by a tiny woman cooking Thai food on a corner you have never seen before.

Street food in Bangkok is such a big part of why so many flock to the city every year. And our way to celebrate it is to highlight our top picks. We spent a long time going to every soi, district, and corner house to bring you our top picks for 2020. With special mention to Gary Butler, the Roaming Cook who helped us create this list and took much of the photography.

The city of Bangkok and its street food chefs are spread out wide across the Thai capital. Because of this we have only focussed on a few select areas. Alongside a few profiles we will also give advice on how to get to each place and what to order.

The fact the street food is so versatile and robust as a category meant it was hard to pick and choose our favourites! We chose our venues for their role in the community, popularity and also the way the food has impacted on culture.

Bangkok is certainly one of those cities you could live in all your life and still discover new hidden gems. We spent a long time wandering every Soi, exploring every corner and also asking the locals about the best street food in bustling Bangkok.

- Pe Aor Lobster Tom Yum

One of the main reasons to visit Petchaburi Soi 5 is to eat at P’Aor for a delicious bowl of Tom Yum Goong. A thick, creamy broth with sweet and sour notes, rolled rice noodles and giant prawns.

Pe Aor is famous for its giant rock lobster Tom Yum soup. This is by no means a typical cheap street food spot with dishes going for 1200 THB but the sheer size of the bowl and quality of ingredients is worth the price tag.

This is a dish made for sharing as its piled high with fresh squid, mussels and prawns in a rich and fragrant soup. The creamy broth is served alongside a mountain of rice noodles. If you are a solo foodie then don’t worry about the high price. The Tom Yum Kong Sod with two large fresh river prawns and the same creamy broth is 60 THB. A fraction of the price but the same mouth-watering experience! This is definitely the best tom yum in Bangkok by far.

- Jay Fai

Chef Jay Fai is a household legend in Bangkok’s culinary scene. The 70-year-old lady has been serving up outstanding street food behind her large wok for some 30 years. People from all over the world come to see her wearing her iconic ski goggles as she shows off her wok skills over the charcoal brazier.

Jay Fai’s little shophouse is in the Old Town district. The cues are crazy long here but there is usually a little book outside for you to place your name. Jay Fai has made a name for herself for her twists on classic Thai dishes. Her dry Tom Yum with and Khao Jiew poo (crab omelette) went as far as to be featured on Netflix’s Chef table spin-off about street food.

As you can imagine, all dishes are stir-fried with super-fresh seafood like tiger prawns and giant pieces of crab elevating the meals. And all the portions are extremely generous so you could do with bringing a crew of food lovers to help polish off each plate.

- Ann Guay Teow

Ann Guay Teow takes fried noodles to another level. The food is cooked over a high heat charcoal stove and then served on their small air-con shop-house. You have many options to choose from such as chicken, seafood, ham or a mix of everything. On top of this, you can choose to have your eggs scrambled or cracked over the top so the steam cooks it slowly.

The chicken used is of the thigh to which is usually kept tender compared to breast, and the pieces are marinated in soy and peeper sauce before being charred over the wok. There is always a large slice of lettuce holding the noodles with spring onions around however as most know. Guay Teow is made to the individual taste so each table is adorned with Chilli vinegar, dried chilli flakes, white pepper, sugar soy sauce and Thai Sriracha chilli sauce.  Enjoy!

- Elvis Suki

Elvis Suki has a bit of a cult following amongst the foodies of Bangkok. Even many of the cabbies around the city will praise this as a worthing spot to get some grub. The restaurant covers a large outdoor area taking over much of the Soi. There is a second floor Air con area but we prefer to sit in the buzz of the street.

Suki is a big-time Thai dish that many people love. Suki is fried ‘woon sen noodles’ which can be served dry or with soup alongside crunchy cabbage and chopped green onions. Suki sauce is served on the side and is a red spicy and slightly tart dip. Elvis Suki have a secret recipe for the sauce which may be the reason it gets so busy!

Another reason for their popularity is their large selection of seafood to choose from. Grilled seabass in banana leaf, herbal steam mussels, boiled cockles and grilled scallops are all very good choices. 

- Yarowat/ China Town

No trip to Bangkok is complete without visiting the foodie hotspot of Chinatown or as the locals call it Yaowarat. The cultural melting pot of this district has led to it being one of the most concentrated street food destinations in the city. At nighttime Yaowarat road is lit up by heavy traffic and neon signs, with street food vendors parked up along the curb. Some of the most famous foodie highlights include bamboo stick grilled chicken satay, with peanut sauce alongside crunchy cucumber, shallots, and chilli from Jay Eng (105 Charoen KrungRoad).

Pa Tong Go (fried crispy doughnuts) is a sweet irresistible treat when dipped in Thai pandan custard or condensed milk. You will find the best crispy golden dough balls at Pa Tong Go Savoey. And you will find many stalls serving toasted chestnuts. Some other highlights include duck noodle soup and plenty of tasty Dim Sum restaurants.

Many locals will recommend Guay Jub (rolled rice noodles with pork offal). It’s a signature dish in the area with some of the best vendors being Haa Bai Tao on the corner of Charoen Nakhon soi 20 and Guay Jub Song Wat on soi Song Wat, in the little alleyway across from soi Pao Prasit.

Guay Jub is a nutritious bowl of peppery pork bone broth with rolled-up rice noodles, eggs, and various pork innards packed with vitamins.

Just a short distance from Yoawarat is the community of Pahurat, known as Bangkok’s very Little India, and home to some great Indian street food restaurants like Toney Restaurant. Chinatown is easy to get to by taxi, or alternatively, you can take the MRT to Hua Lamphong station, and then walk around 10 mins or take a tuk-tuk/motorbike.

- Odean Crab Noodle

This tiny little shophouse is famous for its crab wonton noodle soup. Run by its family for many generations in Bangkok’s Chinatown we think Odean deserves a mention in our street food list. Do you want crab noodles with wontons? Then this is where you go.

To start, the egg noodles and prawn wonton are handmade everyday day and the rich soup broth has no stock powder, just crab shells and pork bones which are then simmered all day. Then it comes down to choosing the crab, by claw size! 

The fresh claws start at 150 THB for a small claw up to 550 THB but for a giant one. But if the claw isn’t for you than the standard bowl starts at 65 THB with a little bit of flakey crab meat and wontons.

Odean noodles can also be served with the smokey roast barbecue pork and we really recommend the sweet delicious deep-fried prawn wontons!

- Khao Gaeng Jake Puey

Another popular corner shop to feature on the popular Netflix Street Food series is Khao Gaeng Jake Puey. This backstreet curry stall in China Town is a firm favourite of the neighbourhood for their central Thai curries made here. Khao Gaeng, meaning ‘Rice curry’ can be found all over Bangkok but there is a reason the locals keep coming back here.  

One of the most loved Thai dishes at Khao Gaeng Jake Puey is their kaeng kari moo. Creamy pork-based curry using yellow paste and coconut milk.

You will definitely want to try the glazed pork ribs are known as Seekong Moo Ob. And make sure to eat the Chinese sausage if offered.  Also known as Lap Cheong is a dried, hard sausage made from pork and pork fat. The sweet, fatty bites are smoked, sweetened, and seasoned with rose water, rice wine, and also soy sauce.

The curries here are worth the queuing. They are bold, rich, creamy, and pack a punch of southern Thai spices

- Chee Cheung Wo Braised Duck Noodle

Oh, there is something so mouth-watering when we hear the words Braised Duck Noodle!  Chee Chung Wo is a 100-year-old Chinatown house serving the best duck noodle in Bangkok. The 90-year-old Thai-Chinese chef is now a local legend for making the egg noodles and wontons by hand even today.

His son Yai has now taken the helm of cooking each Chinese spice soup dish. Alongside juicy pork wontons, you will be treated to a large tender duck drumstick and a pile of egg noodles. You will be surprised at how absolutely delicious this place is!

- Padthai Narok

Pad Thai is, without a doubt, the most well known and most eaten Thai dish in the world outside of Thailand. Even in Bangkok, it’s hard not to find this popular dish in most Thai restaurants and shophouses. However, that doesn’t always mean they taste good! Unfortunately, it’s common to add lots of sugar to dishes for westerners but not at Pad Thai Narok.

Narok Taek is on the other side of the river in Khlong San. The sauce is heavy on the tamarind making it a little bit more sour than average. But it works well with the roasted chilli paste!  The classic pad Thai is served with the usual suspects like extra bean sprouts, fresh lime wedges, garlic and chives.

Even the small dried prawns are fried with shallots, dried red chillies and lime leaves to create add extra texture and a salty, savoury flavour to the noodles. Chef Aom chose one thing to be good at and he has become the master of Pad Thai with his high heat wok cooking.

- Boon Tong Kiat Chicken Rice

Having lived in Thonglor for a long time, we frequent this Singaporean chicken rice shop often. Singapore chicken rice is different from the Thai version but this once again comes down to the spicy sauce served. There is so much fragrance in the cooking here, from the chilli and vinegar of the sauces to the garlic and ginger cooked in the stock.

The inside area has an air-con with each table having three different sauce jars for chilli, vinegar and ginger. Boon Tong Kiat is a simple place right in the centre of the trendy Thonglor area, but its chicken rice is, without doubt, one of the best around. And you will be wanting a second portion for sure.

- Prachak Roast Duck

Many of Bangkok’s street food experts will tell you if you want a roast duck, you head to Charoen Krung road and find Prachak.

Prachak Pet Yang is the king of duck dishes. Choose the Pet Yang which is a decent-sized duck plate with bite-sized portions, dripping in duck juice and sweet dark sauce. Pink pickled ginger and rice are perfect companions.

However, the fresh egg noodles tossed with chilli flakes, and a splash of soy vinegar is also a tasty treat. Look for the hanging ducks outside for the entrance and you will also find plenty of seating inside.

- Go-Ang Pratunam Chicken Rice

For over 50 years this humble chicken rice stall has been feeding the masses with their Khao Man Gai. A Thai version of Hainan Chicken Rice. It really all comes down to the sauce, which is much spicier but still delicious. The rice is still cooked with the chicken oil for fragrance but Thai style tends to leave the rice less oily in taste.

This corner shop-house always has a line so we recommend coming just before lunch time and grab yourself a serving before a day of shopping at the mega malls nearby.

- Lungpratunam Boat Noodle

This is a bit of a hidden gem and we aren’t lying about the hidden part. Head for Sio 30 passing the street food vendors until you reach a corner hairdressers. Turn left for 20 metres and you should be there, but remember it is down in the alley and not on the street level.

The family run boat noodle shop has been going for around 35 years. Mr. Lung has now retired leaving the legacy to his daughter Ya, who serves the dark rich soup to the many workers in the area. Boat noodle is a strange dish which is loved by many and hated by a few. This may come down to the Nam Tok (cow or pigs blood) often used. You see, boat noodle is a concentrated strong stock of pickled bean curd, dark soy sauce and pork and beef.

It is one of those dishes which is flavoured to your personal taste by the condiments on the table and most people use chili flakes. Fish sauce and sugar.

The small bowls of broth come with your choice of noodles, minced meat, meatballs and pig’s liver. For around 30 THB it’s very reasonably priced and it’s often while you will see some customers with 12 bowls stacked up next to them!

Once again, this isn’t for everyone. But if you want to get the full experience of a well-made boat noodle, this is the place to go.