Street food in Bangkok is so good, so cheap and so plentiful that it’s not unusual to find residents who never, ever cook. Some apartments don’t even have kitchens.
From fried Chinese doughnuts or rice soup in the morning to a snack at “Seven” (7-Eleven), to late-night bowls of noodles after clubbing, the Thai tend to eat a lot, sometimes five small meals a day.
Why not, when the food is this tasty and available?
Food is sold on streets in most neighborhoods, and near most workplaces, schools and shopping areas. I generally look for the stalls that are most crowded and eat whatever seems most popular.
If you don’t want to eat while sitting on tiny plastic chairs on the sidewalk, go to the mall. Food courts in all major malls are air-conditioned (important for comfort), and the food is just as good, although slightly more expensive.
My favorite places are the food court at Siam Paragon mall and the night street market near the Huai Khwang subway station in the Ratchadaphisek, also known as Ratchada, neighborhood.
What to order? Here are my suggestions:
Yellow curry crab
Look for seafood stalls displaying crab, shrimp and fish on ice. Pick out your crab and the vendor will stir-fry it in a yellow curry sauce. It’s good on the street, but splurge at Somboon Seafood restaurant, which is justifiably famous for its fried curry crab. Five branches are scattered throughout Bangkok, and there’s always a line around dinnertime. It’s expensive but many say it’s the best, and its other seafood dishes are good, too.
Fresh fruit
Produce stands abound in Bangkok with fresh pineapple, guava, rambutan, mango, melons and other fruits in season. They’ll cut the fruit for you and serve it in a plastic bag.
If the mangos are green and sour, they’re served with a chili and salt dip. If you see the spiky durian for sale, ignore the smell. Order it and find out why it’s called the king of fruits.
Pad Thai
A friend took me to Thip Samai for what he said was the best pad Thai in all of Thailand. His friend had brought him there years ago, with the same recommendation. With that kind of word of mouth, you can imagine the line.
When my friend started coming here, it was a small shop with just a few cramped seats and tables, patronized mostly by locals. The restaurant has expanded, customers number as many tourists as locals and there’s even a room with air conditioning.
But the main dish hasn’t changed.
Pad Thai is still cooked in woks over blazing-hot charcoal, with a secret sauce. It’s a two-step cooking process. After the pad Thai is cooked in one wok, it goes to a second wok station, where it is wrapped in egg.
When it comes to your table, you can customize it by adding chili, vinegar, fish sauce and/or sugar. Toss, eat and enjoy.
Make sure you also get the equally famous naum som, orange juice, with huge chunks of pulp.
The restaurant has been open for 50 years in the Old City area near Chinatown and Wat Saket, the Temple of the Golden Mount. Look for the line of people out front.
Thai desserts
Thais love sweets, called kanom, which means snack. Dessert stands serve a variety of these treats. Many feature sweetened sticky rice filled with sweet beans or other goodies.
There’s also a Thai version of halohalo. Served over ice, it’s especially refreshing in hot weather.
Crepes are also common. A dessert wafer, khanom buang, is cooked on a hot, flat grill and folded over, resembling a sweet Thai taco.
But my favorite, when in season, is khao niao mamuang, fresh, ripe mango over sticky rice with a sweet coconut sauce.
Gai yang
Think of it as a Thai version of Huli-Huli chicken. Instead of teriyaki sauce, pieces of young chicken are marinated in fish sauce, garlic, palm sugar, pepper, lemongrass and cilantro, then grilled on sticks over charcoal. It looks good and smells better as it sizzles on the grill. Eat it with khao niao — sticky rice — and a spicy dipping sauce.
