Street Food in Bangkok: 12 Dishes You Must Try
From boat noodles to mango sticky rice, the essential Bangkok street-food list — with where to find each dish and vegetarian alternatives.
By Arjun Sethi1 min read
Bangkok’s streets are one giant open-air kitchen. You could eat a different dish at every meal for a month, but these twelve are the ones our travellers still talk about years later.
Savoury classics
- Pad Thai — stir-fried rice noodles with tamarind; try Thip Samai near the Golden Mount.
- Boat noodles — tiny, intensely flavoured bowls at Victory Monument.
- Som tam — green papaya salad pounded to order; ask for “mai phet” if you prefer it mild.
- Khao man gai — Hainanese chicken rice with ginger sauce.
- Pad kra pao — holy basil stir-fry with a crispy fried egg.
- Moo ping — grilled pork skewers, the ultimate breakfast on the go.
- Guay tiew reua — beef noodle soup from the canal-side stalls.
- Tom yum goong — hot and sour prawn soup.
Sweet endings
- Mango sticky rice — best between April and June.
- Roti gluay — banana pancake with condensed milk.
- Khanom krok — coconut pudding cups.
- Cha yen — orange Thai iced tea.
Vegetarian? No problem
Look for the yellow flags with red lettering (“jay”), which mark vegetarian vendors, especially in Chinatown. Say “gin jay” to ask for a dish without meat, fish sauce or egg.
Follow the queues, not the reviews: a stall busy with office workers at lunchtime is almost always a winner.
