Ticking off 92 global cities (and counting), Shan has lived in Southeast Asia for six years, including Vietnam and Thailand. She has previously called New York and Durban home. A traveling creative soul, Shan has a serious penchant for delicious words.
Bangkok is a food paradise on earth! Even trying to narrow down my favorite Bangkok street food into one list seems an impossible task.
Unlike a lot of cities where there are, like, the super obvious street foods which everyone has to try, Bangkok has so many different street foods, and a lot of which are made famous because of the actual street food vendor.
So unlike some of my other street food lists, this one is a collaboration of the best Bangkok street food which always doubles as a quintessential Bangkok-original Thai food. But there are also a few selections that have made it onto this list because a particular dish has wooed the socks off visitors, but you can only taste it like it is from a specific hawker stall or streetside restaurant!
Most of the dishes on this list are not vegetarian. For the veggies among us, don’t miss our guide to being vegetarian in Bangkok.
Are you ready to eat, eat, eat?Let’s jump in to 10 Bangkok street foods you absolutely must try.
The iconic Train Market is one of the best places for Bangkok street food (Credit: Shan Osztonits)(Source: jayfaibangkok)
If you’ve been following the Michelin Guide for years and love to stay up to date with its latest lists, then Jay Fai’s crab omelette should come as no surprise whatsoever.
The first time that this goggle-wearing, spunky lady made it onto my radar was back in 2017/2018. This is when she received her first Michelin star accolade. Living in Southeast Asia for six years, traveling the continent to new destinations every three months was part of my life. And Thailand was my playground. I’d often hop over to Bangkok for a food-filled weekend. Yes, I fly to eat.
(Source: jayfaibangkok)
Jay Fai made food waves with her famous crab omelette. Sure, it’s probably the most you’ll ever spend on street food anywhere in Thailand. But with the only one Michelin Star award in Bangkok (and for a street food no less), the cooking star has to be doing something right! To this day, Queen Jay Fai is still the one wokking things up behind the flame. What an icon.
Eating here is like ticking off a street food bucket list item. I mean, even Dua Lipa has eaten here…
Best place to try crab omelette in Bangkok: Jay Fai
2. Pad Thai
I don’t care what anyone says or how “common” pad Thai is; it’s literally my ultimate Thai dish. Sure, it’s been so overdone at every Thai restaurant outside of Thailand, but once you’ve eaten a proper pad Thai in the Land of Smiles, there is no turning back.
Thai cuisine is my favorite, and this dish defines everything there is to love about Thai food. It’s fragrant, lemongrass-induced, a little tangy, noodle-based, and oh so moreish. You get different variations: chicken, prawns, a combo of both (my fave), or vegetarian.
Long, flat noodles are used for pad Thai (Source: ย์สมัย ผัดไทยประตูผี – Thipsamai Restaurant)An example of a classic-looking Bangkok street food spot (Source: padthaimaeam)
Also, if I could give you a few tips. A real pad Thai has to come with bean sprouts, a lime wedge (or two), firm tofu (not silken), and a handful of crushed peanuts. Certain vendors serve it with an egg nest over the noodles.
Not only is it Thailand’s national dish, but it’s the celebrity of dishes in Bangkok. Internationally-winning Thipsamai is often visited by celebs, from Gordon Ramsay to Ed Sheeran!
Does anyone else suffer from a dim sum weakness? While you can find dim sum in most Asian countries, there are a few particular cities where the dim sum game is renowned and on a next level, like Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and, you guessed it, Bangkok.
It’s so popular that you’ll also find this Bangkok street food in most 7-Elevens!
(Source: ขนมจีบแป๊ะเซี้ย เยาวราช)Steamed Thai dim sum with green wrapper and prawns (Source: jongdimsum)
These Thai dim sum are called siu mai, and are usually with a yellow or green wrapper, and more rounded than the crescent kind. They’re filled with minced pork, or minced pork and shrimp, and are steamed.
In my opinion, the best Thai-style dim sum are found at Bangkok’s night markets.
No matter how many times I have tried recreating mango sticky rice at home — and yes, I do own a rice cooker and yes, I use Thai rice — I cannot seem to mimic the OG Thai dessert.
Seemingly so simple: rice, coconut milk, and mango (and garnished with toasted sesame seeds for extra umami), I can never nail it how the Thai do.
It’s the first thing I eat whenever touching down in Thailand, and it is, without a doubt, one of the best Bangkok street food dishes you can try.
You’ll find it everywhere, from street stalls to markets to restaurants. Perfectly balanced between sweet, salty, and toasty, I love that I never feel guilty afterward — not that I do when eating dessert anyway. Because life’s too short to worry to not be eating the things that bring you joy.
I cannot tell you enough how much I love Thailand’s soups. Ticking all my ultimate food boxes, I could live off soup seven days a week. I’ll never forget the first time I arrived in the country, and was blown away by the number of soup selections. I don’t usually enjoy eating similar dishes every day (not that Thai soup-based ones are the same, but you get what I mean). However, I think I ate one variation of a Thai soup every day for three months. No word of a lie.
The capital city’s most famous soup-y star is tom yum goong. Every region has its must-try, and this is the one among the Bangkok street food vibes.
(Source: ALL MEALS Sawasdee)
It’s spicy (like, really spicy), sour, delicious, and with base notes of lemongrass, kaffir (I love sucking on these leaves whilst eating tom yum goong), and galangal (from the ginger family). Some spots add coconut milk — which I prefer as it chills out spice levels.
How the Thais manage to take a few simple ingredients and create food magic, I do not know. If you’re looking for this Bangkok street food, all you have to do is walk the side alleys.
I’ll never forget driving down a backstreet in the capital on a motorbike, and an old Thai lady was selling them from a small setup. It was around 3 pm, just in time for when kids finish school. Myself and the school children were lining up for these scrumptious, one-bite treats.
(Source: Siam Sunset Kenmore)
These crispy “pancakes” are miniature (literally bite-size, and smaller than my palm). The base is crispy in texture, made from rice flour. This is topped with whipped egg white (exactly as you’d make for a meringue pre-cook). It’s finished with fresh orange-soaked desiccated coconut, and then savory parts like pepper or coriander.
Originating from central Thailand, pad kra pao is a spicy rice-based stir fry that’s done with minced meat — so not meat slices — and is finished off with fried egg on top. In a way, it reminds me of nasi goreng.
The meat can be either pork (the most common), beef, or chicken, and it’s loaded with chilis, holy Thai basil, and garlic. It packs an umami punch thanks to the combination of base sauces, including soy, oyster, and fish sauce.
(Source: phedmarkbkk)
This Bangkok street food is way too spicy for me, though. Beware if you are a baby like me when it comes to chili spice levels. The first time I tasted it, it blew my head off. But then again, I’m not a good heat gauge as I cannot handle hot things.
Bold and aromatic, Thai boat noodles (kuay teow rua) boast an interesting history behind the dish. Back in the day, they were served straight off the boats cruising down Bangkok’s canals, hence the name. I always think of the dish as a celebration of the country’s floating markets.
Apart from the dish’s intriguing history, an even more interesting facet is one of its main ingredients: pig’s blood! That’s why the broth is so thick…Not all Bangkok street vendors make it the traditional way, but most do. Hey, the Brits eat black pudding, so it shouldn’t be such a turn off…
(Source: eatatmythaikitchen)
Thin noodles are used for this wet dish, along with beef, meatballs, and pig’s liver. So there is also some offal in there. But again, if you eat chicken livers, it shouldn’t faze you much.
I never realized how popular pork was in Southeast Asia…until I moved here. From Thailand to Vietnam, them little piggies definitely go to the market.
Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating a piece of fatty, delicious crispy pork belly when it’s swimming in a noodle soup, but olala, is it amazing! All of the soup’s juices get soaked up by the fatty piece between the crackling rind, and it almost explodes in your mouth.
(Source: Mr. Joe ก๋วยจั๊บมิสเตอร์โจ)
Mu krop (crispy pork belly) is extremely popular in Bangkok. You’ll see the cuts hanging on strings at street food vendors. The Bangkok street food is eaten in soups or even as a side dish, served with rice and soy dipping sauce!
The first thing that drew me to khanom khai nok kratha, i.e., colorful and crispy deep-fried sweet potato balls, was their purple-ness. Never before had I seen a purple…donut (?) in this hue before. Soon after eating for the first time, I realized it wasn’t a donut, but a sweet Thai treat.
Made from sweet potatoes, they are extremely treacly. But the trippiest part for me was biting into one of the miniature balls, only to realize they are pretty much hollow. I had this whole donut idea in mind, and it’s far from that!
(Source: ตลาดนัดรถไฟ – Train Night Market)
Find them at the markets or random street vendors. Apart from the purple type, you also get golden khanom khai nok kratha, which are made from the orange sweet potato.
Based in Bangkok for a few days but craving a bit of TLSea? Pattaya is a popular day trip with locals, as it’s only two hours away. Check out Pattaya’s best beaches here.
Or, if you’ve yet to explore the North of Thailand, drop everything you’re doing and book flights to Chiang Mai, like yesterday! As you arrive in Chiang Mai, capital of the northern region, refuel with food and drinks from these 10 cafes.
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