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Welcome to yourtravelsk’s Bangkok food guide, where we will delve upon different food options that we as a traveler have in Bangkok.

Bangkok by far is one of the topmost food destinations. It has restaurants offering high quality ethnic Thai food and International cuisines. Street vendors offering delicious and pocket-friendly food. Choices for Desserts that are going to make you come back again and a lot more.

Before we begin, let me remind you that this is part 3 of my Bangkok guide. I suggest you read part 1 covering Places to see and part 2 covering Bangkok shopping along with this guide to get the holistic view of your journey.

Thai

Different regions in Thailand have their characteristic cuisine. Roughly divided into central, northern, northeastern and southern cuisine. But we don’t have to travel to each of these regions to get a taste of these cuisines. Due to the cosmopolitan nature of Bangkok, today it is possible to enjoy each of these cuisines in Bangkok.

“Som Tam Jay So” is a good restaurant that serve Isaan food (read very spicy, literally), a specialty of northeastern Thailand. A few foods to try are Som Tam, which is a salad made from shredded and pounded raw papaya, Khao niew (sticky rice), kai yang (grilled chicken) and moo yang (grilled pork).

“Prai Raya” and “Khua Kling Pak Sod” are good for southern cuisine. Thai Southern cuisines use fresh curry pastes giving it a punchy flavor and balance of spice. A few foods to try are moo hong (sweet braised pork), Nam prik goong sieb (chili paste with roasted prawns) and Gaeng poo bai chaplu (crab curry with piper leaves). Many Southern cuisine restaurants have congregated around Wang Lang in Thonburi. Do try massaman curry in one of the restaurants in Thonburi, they are all equally good.

khao soi (noodles in Northern-style curry) and Gaeng hang lay (spicy pork belly curry) are must try in northern cuisine. One of the best restaurants to have one is Dara Dalay and Eats Payao.

Street food

Khao San Road is the place to be to get the best of street food in Bangkok. If you are on a budget, street stalls in abundance are going to bring a smile to your face. The food not only is cheap (you can get most Thai dishes at around 30 baht) but extremely delicious. Also if you are staying on Khao San Road you are in luck as there are plenty of budget restaurants there.

Satay with hot sauce is sold by almost all the street vendors and is very delicious. The famous pad Thai is also sold by almost all the street vendors on Khao San Road. However, the pad Thai on street stalls is not authentic as it is changed to taste buds of foreigners. If you are in for authentic pad Thai try any of the many restaurants on Khao San.

A couple of other dishes to try at the street stalls are tom yam kund (a bowl of spicy and sour soup with prawns) and Khao man kai (chicken soup with rice topped with chicken pieces and cucumber).

A few of the street stalls offer Roti sai mai, wherein a cotton candy is wrapped in a version of roti (read roti from the Indian subcontinent). It’s very sweet and is a good option after eating lots of spicy food on the streets.

If you are thinking that I have missed something here. You are correct. We haven’t talked about insects. Street stalls on Khan Sao Road are famous for selling deep-fried, highly nutritious and tasty insects. You can choose from scorpions, grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms, bamboo larvae, and much more variety. If it’s your first time, It is a good practice to inquire from stall owner on how to eat the insects. This will help you enjoy your food to the max.

Dinner Cruises

When I was planning my first trip to Bangkok, Dinner cruises were the first thing that caught my attention. Imagine yourself chowing down on seafood and watching Thai cultural dancers all along the floodlit sky and temples along the Chao Phraya River. No doubt Dinner cruises are a hit among tourists and there are many operators running them.

Most of the cruises offer buffet-style with all you can eat policy. However, the food is pretty average. The setup is very romantic and best for couples. However, with the water being a little dirty and smelly, it might not be best for people with a sensitive nose. Although you are not required to reserve your tickets before reaching the pier, it is advisable. A few operators you can try are Chao Phraya Princess (it is one of the best) and Loy Nava.

International cuisine

You can find a wide selection of international cuisines in Bangkok. However, expect to pay a bit higher for these as compared to the authentic Thai dishes. Do remember you can end up paying much more if you go on exploring these cuisines in your hotel.

Head over to Soi Ton Son near Siam Square to try Bangkok’s best Italian food. Gianni offers the best authentic Italian food in Thailand.

Yaowarat is great for Chinese food. It has many street shops selling delicious Chinese food at reasonable prices. Jek Pui Curry is a great option there.

Phahurat, often called as Bangkok’s little India is a great option for Indians and vegetarians alike. Do look for restaurants that have the most crowd as they tend to server high quality and fresh food. Head over to Soi Phadung Dao to try some of the best seafood in Bangkok.

Vegetarian

Most restaurants in Bangkok have a vegetarian option on their menu. If you don’t find any or have difficulty understanding the menu. Ask for “jay” food. Jay means vegetarian food with no animal products. Trying one of the Indian restaurants in Phahurat is also a great option for vegetarians as all of the Indian restaurants serve vegetarian food as most Indians are vegetarians.

A lot of street vendors on Khao San Road also have vegetarian options. However, its best to avoid their soups as all of them use animal broth for the soups.

Desserts

Thailand is hot and If you have been on a shopping spree in Chatuchak you will understand it better than anyone. Try one of the coconut icecreams that most of the street vendors sell in Chatuchak. It is one of the unique specialties of Thailand and very delicious.

Khanom Thai Baan Khanom Suay sells the best quality, Tong Yip. A sweet made from Egg yolk. Of course, the sweet doesn’t smell like egg yolk and is very sweet and tasty.

Khanom Whan Mae Kwa is the best store to buy Khanom Chan or Thai jelly. Made from sugar and coconut, this sweet is one of my favorites after the coconut ice cream.

Coconut water sold on almost all of the street shops is cold and extremely sweet. It is very different from what you will get in the Indian subcontinent or other parts of the world and is one of the specialties of Thailand.

Thanks for reading this far. Bangkok is a great city not only for temples and shopping. It offers many different and delicious cuisines. Trying all of these options might not be possible for each one of us visiting Bangkok. However, I suggest you try as many as you can as they are all great options.

Do tell me how you liked my post on Bangkok food guide. I would love to hear from my readers your feedback and any other suggestions.

Do check out my Paris travel guide, which is a combination of Paris shopping, places to see and Paris food guide. Also if you are looking to book flight tickets to Bangkok, check out my guide on How to book the best flight in your budget.