Eating in Bangkok: Street Food, Floating Markets & Cafés

Bangkok is known for its magnificent temples, futuristic skyscrapers, and diverse food scene. From affordable street food and hidden bars to gourmet restaurants, the variety is endless. Once you start a food tour through Bangkok, you'll want to erase the word 'full' from your vocabulary and wish you could eat forever.

For seven days, blogger Sarah indulged in the street food stalls, trendy neighborhoods, and floating markets of Bangkok, discovering so many incredibly good places to eat that a week in Thailand's capital hardly seems like enough. She shares the most extraordinary restaurants and many tips on where to enjoy the best food in Bangkok in this article.

The air is filled with the aroma of various spices and fried meat and vegetables. At the food stalls in Talat Phlu, people chat and laugh. There are said to be over 50,000 street food stalls in Bangkok where you can try unfamiliar dishes or classics like Pad Thai or mango sticky rice. The latter is especially delicious at Mae Varee at the beginning of Thonglor, near the Skytrain station. Here, alongside the sweet sticky rice with creamy coconut milk, you can find mangoes in all variations.

Authentic and affordable street food can be found in almost every corner of the metropolis. If you're unsure amidst the vast selection of stalls, opt for the one where the most locals are lined up.

Street food in Bangkok is also available in upscale versions. How about a Michelin-starred crab omelet? At the inconspicuous stall where the egg dish is prepared, stands Jay Fai, a petite woman in her 70s. She wears rubber boots and a motorcycle helmet for protection against the sparks. Jay Fai and her cuisine have gained worldwide fame ever since being featured in the Netflix docuseries 'Street Food.'

In the main artery of Chinatown, Thanon Yaowarat, street food stalls line the street. On a grill, mini bananas emit their sweet aroma. Next door, Khanom Sai, steamed rice flour dumplings filled with sugar and coconut, are wrapped in banana leaves.

Various cultural influences make Bangkok's culinary scene diverse and exciting. Here in Chinatown, soy sauce and star anise mix into Thai cuisine. A spectacular event occurs in this neighborhood each year between late September and mid-October. During this time, Chinatown turns into a meatless foodie paradise for nine days during the Vegetarian Festival. Additionally, during the Taoist festival, you can expect vibrant parades and performances around Wat Mangkon Kamalawat. By the way, you can also easily identify vegetarian street food stalls outside of the festival by their yellow flags with red Thai or Chinese writing.

Not far from the bustling Yaowarat Road, yet in a peaceful location, lies the ASAI Bangkok Chinatown. Within walking distance of Chinatown and the ASAI Hotel, Soi Nana awaits with numerous trendy bars, such as Teens of Thailand, Wallflowers Café, or Ba Hao, where you can take a journey back to 1970s Chinatown. Tucked away in a side alley is the Tep Bar. When in doubt, just follow the melodious sounds, as traditional Thai live music is regularly played here.

In Soi Ari to the north of the city, you will be treated to street food as well. This area is also buzzing with trendy cafes, bars, and fantastic restaurants. Paknang serves Southern Thai cuisine on two floors, and SATI Handcraft offers great coffee and soul food, as well as workshops.

With Yellow Lane, you'll find your own little foodie and cultural cosmos in the Ari District. Expats enjoy using the Green Space as a cozy office retreat and come here to cowork. You can easily spend the entire day at Yellow Lane. After a late breakfast, you can read a book before transitioning to banana bread and a flat white. Finally, a visit to the adjoining deli to stock up on fresh fruit and selected local delicacies is well worth it.

On weekends, Yellow Lane Café regularly hosts a small neighborhood market with great food and creative products from the community. The owner has many plans for the little Yellow Lane cosmos. Soon, an ice cream parlor will open, and various excellent events are in the works. It is precisely these places, created with much dedication and ideas, that make Soi Ari so special and vibrant.

Once, the canals of Bangkok served as the main transportation routes, and countless boats would ferry people and goods from one bank to the other. With the expansion of roads, most waterways disappeared, and the klongs were replaced with multi-lane roads and sewage systems. However, some canals still shape the cityscape today, and with them, the tradition of the floating markets remains. In addition to the well-known Damnoen Saduak, located about 80 kilometers outside Bangkok, you'll find impressive floating markets within the city limits.

A true hidden gem is located on the river island of Bang Krachao. On weekends, you can stroll through the Bang Nam Phueng Floating Market near Wat Bang Nam Phueng Nai, sample local delicacies, and sip fresh coconuts.

Another highlight for me is the Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market, which stretches along the banks of the Lat Ta Niao Canal in the west of the city. Here, a seemingly endless array of delicious local food awaits you. I treat myself to various Thai desserts - from coconut pudding made with rice flour called Kanom Krok to Khanom Mo Kaeng, a type of pudding topped, for example, with egg yolk strands cooked in sugar syrup.

Even at the market of markets, you can eat to your heart's content. With an impressive 15,000 stalls, Chatuchak Market is one of the largest of its kind, offering a food section alongside batik shirts and Buddha statues. Soon, the Chatuchak Market is expected to open at night.

Natura Café: The café's operator, Porntip Thiensup, is a visionary with an extraordinary green thumb. She grew up in the Chom Thong district on the west side of the Chao Phraya River. In the Poomjai Garden, the plantation owner is dedicated to cultivating lychees, whose history dates back to the reign of King Rama III in the mid-19th century, when he ruled the land of Siam.

In addition to preserving and planting lychees, Porntip created a unique tropical permaculture paradise, the peaceful atmosphere of which she happily shares with visitors. Here, you will find both a restaurant and the Natura Café, where you can enjoy delicious cakes, homemade lemonade, and Thai food.

The Gingerbread House: The history of the Gingerbread House dates back to 1913, hidden away in a lovingly renovated wooden house near the Giant Swing and furnished with selected vintage treasures and antique furniture. Great emphasis is placed on detail in the culinary delights as well, with a lavishly celebrated Thai-style tea time. My tip: Be sure to order one of the Thai tea sets with typical desserts and mango sticky rice - it's to die for!

Floral Café at Napasorn: Bohemian flair meets industrial design at the Floral Café at Napasorn, located near the famous flower market, where you can enjoy great coffee, cakes, and mango yogurt smoothies while shopping for art and flowers.

What must you eat in Bangkok? No trip to Bangkok is complete without papaya salad, Pad Thai (stir-fried rice noodles), and mango sticky rice. Typical for Thailand is also the sour-spicy soup Tom Yum. At street food stalls, you can try snacks such as satay skewers and fruits like dragon fruit, mangosteen, and rambutan.

How expensive is food in Bangkok? In Bangkok, you can get excellent food for little money. You can eat particularly cheaply at the street food stalls scattered throughout the city. Even in simple restaurants, you often leave satisfied for around $5.

What does street food cost in Bangkok? For street food, you typically pay just 30 to 50 baht, which translates to about 80 cents to $1.30 per dish.

Tipping in Thailand: In restaurants, about ten percent is an appropriate tip. It's important to give only bills for tips, as coins are intended for beggars and could be seen as alms.