While most westerners might not like the thought of eating fish maw (stomach or bladder organ), not to mention that it appears a bit slimy, the Thai Chinese savor it, and this Teochew Chinese dish is actually a winner, served up in a claypot along with shitake mushrooms, cilantro, and a great mixture of sweet and tangy together, especially good on cooler evenings. Several of the best stalls selling fish maw are to be found here, one next to the Seiko watch dealer and this spot across the street from the Hua Seng Hong Restaurant, always crowded with patrons buying takeout or occupying the few streetside tables available for eating right away on.
Recommended for Street Food because: for fish maw fans, the soup served at this street stall rises above the competition.
Dave's expert tip: The street vendors here usually don't come on Mondays, so plan accordingly.
Aisa Rot Dee is a hard to find gem, and the perfect example of good Thai street food. There is just a simple Thai sign out front, leading into a narrow alley, but once inside this opens up into a rather large open space where a bunch of tables and chairs have been slung together in the courtyard. The fare here is almost all Thai Muslim, with the standout being khao mok gai, known to some as chicken biryani. and Aisa's also does the biryani with beef. All portions are served with a wonderful green minty/vinegary sauce that just adds to the biryani spices already in the dish. Also on the menu is kuay tiaow gaeng, which is a hearty bowl of thick curry and noodles. English really isn't spoken in here, but there are picture signs and the food is displayed.
Recommended for Street Food because: For some great biryani hidden away near Khao San Road, Aisa Rot Dee is a winner.
Dave's expert tip: Use the photo here to find the shop front. It's just steps away from the corner intersection with Rambutri Road, but the only sign outside is in Thai. Best to ask locals to point the way.
Khao niaow mamuang, Thai for mangoes and sticky rice, is one of the most popular dishes in the kingdom. Fresh mangoes combined with coconut milk and sticky rice make for both a fantastic dessert as well as a full meal due to the heavy sticky rice. Korpanich is considered to be one of the best purveyors of this lovely dish, and the proprietors claim that their recipe comes from the Royal Palace kitchen, which is where the grandmother of the clan that owns this establishment once worked. Royalty aside, Korpanich has been in business for over 80 years, they use the finest mangoes, combined with coconuts from Chumphon Province and everyone who walks in here gets pretty bowled over by just how good the dish is.
Recommended for Street Food because: For the top mango and sticky rice dish in Bangkok, you won't be disappointed at Korpanich.
Dave's expert tip: Easiest way to find this spot as a tourist, from Khao San Road's west end, which is Tanao Road, head south and cross busy Ratchadamnoen Klang, continuing on Tanao Road, headed south towards the Giant Swing, the small shop will be on your left several blocks down.
Every day around noon, the small sois (alleyways) that lead east off of Lang Suan Road become a frenzied hubbub of activity. Hundreds of hawkers, of both food and all sorts of shopping items, set up their stalls, and at noon, thousands of office workers spill out from the surrounding office towers to eat lunch and shop. The food selections in here are dazzling, with just about every rice and noodle dish to be found in the kingdom on display, along with a very extensive collection of desserts and sweets. The rice and curry stalls, known as khao raat gaeng, are your best bet, as you can sample and fill up on some of the best Thai street food here for a pittance. Additionally, popular Thai dessert sweets such as pumpkin custard, along with traditional sweet dark coffee flavored with condensed milk can be found in abundance.
Recommended for Street Food because: for great street food with lots of choice, the Lang Suan Market is worth a visit.
Dave's expert tip: If you find the Sindhorn Building across from the US Embassy on Wireless Road, you can walk in behind here to access the market area. It is better to avoid the area from 12-1 during the massive lunch hour crush.
Nuttaporn is Thai old school at its very best. Located in the super atmospheric Phraeng Phuton Square, which looks more like an Italian piazza than something in Bangkok, this homemade ice cream shop has been going strong for over 70 years now, dishing out superb mango, coconut, and other flavors like coffee, and even durian. The mangoes they use for the ice cream here are the best in the country, and they don't put an excess of sugar in, letting the fresh fruit flavors do all the work. While the ice cream itself is the main draw, now made by the third generation of the family that started this place, it is also worth coming here just to stroll around the neighborhood, which is full of gaily painted row houses, an old antique car garage, tables spilling out onto the street, and a collection of outstanding long running restaurants and shops, all of which are now marked by plaques telling a bit about what each place is famous for.
Recommended for Street Food because: For Bangkok's best and oldest homemade ice cream, Nuttaporn is tops!
Dave's expert tip: The easiest way to get here is to take the river ferry as if you are going to the Grand Palace, and continue up behind the palace and Ministry of Defense building, across the canal, where you can find Phraeng Phuton. Alternatively, if coming from the Khao San Road area, cross Ratchadamnoen Klaeng and walk down Tanao Road for 500 meters or so, and you'll find Phraeng Phuton on your right.
If you like oysters this little hole in the wall serves up some of the best street fare to be found anywhere in Bangkok. Winner of the prestigious Shell Shuan Shim star award and recently given a Michelin , the lady running this joint whips up divine plates of fried oyster or mussel crepes that have fans of the small shop lining up to get their fix. You have a choice here of ordering regular or super crispy, and the super crispy oyster plates seem to be the winner in popularity. There are only mussels and oysters made into crepe/omelets here, so don't expect anything else, and English is not spoken, although there is now an English menu to help deal with all the foreign foodies who make the pilgrimage here. The oysters are served up fresh off a hot griddle and a dipping sauce made of sweet chilies is served up alongside each portion.
Recommended for Street Food because: For the best oyster omelets in all Asia. 'Nuff said!
Dave's expert tip: it can be a challenge to find this place. From Yaowarat Road and Pleng Nam, head up Pleng Nam, cross Charoen Krung, and look for the small shop about 50 meters ahead on the right, hidden under an awning.
Or Tor Kor (Marketing Organisation for Farmers) Produce Market is popular for its colorful and top notch produce, with all of the high end restaurants in town coming here to stock up on what is arguably the town's best fruit and veggie selection. However, many overlook the food courts in the back, several of which serve up some of the most excellent selections of Thai curries and other local street food or khao raat gaeng (curry over rice) dishes that you'll find anywhere in Bangkok. You'll pay at least double what you'd pay on the sidewalk elsewhere in Bangkok (around 70-80 baht for 2 toppings with rice), but the quality again is probably at least twice that of most places, and the various curries, ranging from Massaman to gaeng kiaow waan green curry are just outstanding.
Recommended for Street Food because: For supremely delicious street food, Or Tor Kor is one of the best options in town.
Dave's expert tip: To get here take the MRT subway to Kamphaeng Phet station and go out Exit 3, the market will be right there.
While the food here is quite tasty, the main reason to come is to enjoy one of Bangkok's most original outdoor food venues with an outstanding show. Other than attending a Chinese opera performance, the most theatrical show you can see in Chinatown is having a meal here. While the fresh seafood is tasty, the main draw here is ordering a plate of morning glory and standing back with your camera ready. Making stir-fried pak bung (morning glory) really is an art that depends on cooking the vegetable quickly in extremely hot oil, causing the oil to burn and flame, which gives the pak bung its flavor. At Fai Keaow Yaowarat, the maniacal chef gives this a whole new meaning. Every five minutes or so, perhaps eyeing the crowd that has gathered round to watch, he preps his oil, gets the greens ready, and then sends a fireball into the sky big enough to light up a city. Seriously, if this was an indoor restaurant, it would have burned down ages ago. Those sitting too close to the chef should probably not have facial hair and should be well prepared to order extra drinks and ice to cool the searing temperatures.
Recommended for Street Food because: For great street food and the best outdoor show in town, Faikeaow Yaowarat lights it up!
Dave's expert tip: To get here, find the corner of Yaowarat and Isara Nuphap, the continuation of Isara Nuphap becomes Yaowarat Soi 11, and the restaurant is halfway down this lane on the left side. You might want to consider standing to watch the first plate of pak bung get torched before deciding which table you want to sit at!
Khao raat gaeng, or curry over rice stalls, are one of Bangkok's most iconic fixtures, always packed with hungry workers. But at Khao Geng Jek Pui, recently featured on the Netflix "Street Food" series, not only won't you not get a table, you might not even get a seat. At this seven decade old street venue, customers line up around the block for a bowl of rice with curry toppings, and the restaurant has been nicknamed "musical chairs rice and curry" due to the fact that it has no tables, and only individual stools lined up against a wall in an alleyway, where every time someone gets up, someone else moves in and snatches their stool! At this vintage Chinatown street food eatery, the third generation owners said they considered installing tables as part of modernising, but that they realised they would slow down service and customer turnover, and besides, the regulars who flock to this delicious spot everyday seem to be thrilled about having games to play while they eat.
Recommended for Street Food because: For some of Bangkok's best rice and curry, and certainly its most unique, Jek Pui stands out.
Dave's expert tip: They usually sell out of food here by late afternoon, so plan on coming early. It really is only a lunch spot.
Pad kee mao, or drunkards noodles can be found at many street stalls for 30 baht a plate, but for an experience that has been written up by food critics around the world, and now even has a Michelin star (Bangkok's only street food restaurant with such an honor) head over to the Saochingchao District of Bangkok to Jay Fai. Stuck in one of Bangkok's last timeless neighborhoods, where skyscrapers and designer malls don't exist, Jay Fai is a small no frills shophouse eatery, but what sets it apart are the drunken noodles that come with ultra fresh monster prawns made by an auntie who has been serving the faithful for 60 plus years. Jay Fai is also renowned for its rad na, which is a close cousin of pad kee mao, made with a gravy that is thicker and nowhere near as spicy as the drunkard's noodles. It also is served with giant prawns, as well as squid and scallops. The crab omelettes here are also not to be missed.
Recommended for Street Food because: For classic Bangkok fare, where the hi-society dine on the street, Jay Fai is one of a kind.
Dave's expert tip: Saochingchao is not well served by public transport. Best to take the Skytrain to Ratchathewi and then take a taxi along Petchaburi heading west. Or if visiting Khao San Rd, you can walk down Tanao south of Democracy Monument to reach the neighborhood. You better come early as the wait here can be really long with huge queues outside.