If you’re on the hunt for the best street food in Bangkok, you’ll find an incredible array of appetizing options to choose from. Lively night markets and daytime food stalls offer everything from charcoal-grilled meats and giant river prawns to spicy noodles and fried bananas.
For classic Thai flavors, check out the Ratchawat and Sriyan markets, with tasty fare such as beef noodles, roast duck, and curry or crab fried rice, or else head to Victory Monument for boat noodles and grilled pork skewers. One of the most popular destinations for street eats is Yaowarat, or Chinatown, where you can sample delights including oyster omelet and mango sticky rice.
Bangkok street food brims with strong flavors, fresh ingredients, and delightfully creative dishes that will tickle your taste buds. Here are some treats—savory and sweet—to try while exploring the Thai capital.
Moo Ping Pork Skewers
Moo ping pork skewers
Bangkok is one of the best places to travel for food, and you can’t walk through its street markets without catching the heavenly aroma of moo ping. These marinated pork skewers are placed on bamboo sticks and char-grilled to add a touch of smokiness to their caramelized crusts.
The marinade for moo ping usually consists of soy sauce, fish sauce, palm sugar, coriander root, garlic, and white pepper, creating a perfect harmonization in terms of its saltiness, sweetness, and umami—elevating the overall flavor of the skewers.
Moo ping skewers are usually served with a small basket of sticky rice on the side. You’ll find vendors all over town selling moo ping, as well as at spots like the Chatuchak Weekend Market.
Gai Tod Fried Chicken
Gai tod fried chicken
With a crispy outside and a juicy and tender inside, gai tod is Bangkok’s delectable take on fried chicken.
One thing that sets gai tod apart from Western-style fried chicken is the fact that it’s soaked in a mixture of garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, and coriander before being covered in rice flour or tempura batter. It’s then fried to a golden brown, and often covered with fried shallot flakes.
The result is a light and crispy crust that easily breaks apart with every bite, revealing the tender, flavorful meat inside. Vendors typically serve it with sticky rice and a side of spicy-sweet chili sauce for dipping.
One of the best places to try Thai-style fried chicken is Polo Fried Chicken, famous for its crunchy, garlic-topped version. You’ll also find roadside stands frying up this treat across the city.
Sweet and Savory Roti Pancakes
Roti pancakes
If you’re in the mood for crispy, flaky, Indian-inspired Thai roti pancakes, you’ll be glad to hear that you’ll come across loads of vendors selling roti in Bangkok.
Roti is made with an elastic dough consisting of flour, butter, condensed sweetened milk, and egg, which is then patted out into a thin sheet and fried on a scorching hot griddle until golden.
Roti pancakes
Street cooks skillfully fold tossed roti into squares, often stuffing it with banana slices, chocolate, or eggs before drizzling it with sweetened condensed milk and sugar.
For a savory twist, try some roti with a bit of curry on the side. One legendary stop is Roti Mataba, which has been serving stuffed roti for decades. Sweet or salty, this Bangkok street food is a must-try while exploring the city.
Som Tam Green Papaya Salad
Som tam green papaya salad
If you’re craving something fresh, sour, and spicy, why not give som tam a try? This tangy dish is one of the healthiest options you can select when it comes to Bangkok street food.
Thai green papaya salad is made by pounding shredded papaya, cherry tomatoes, green beans, garlic, chilies, roasted peanuts, and a few other ingredients with a mortar and pestle to create this zesty dish.
The culinary sorcery here comes from the impeccably balanced dressing—a mix of fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, and dried shrimp—that bursts into a sweet, salty, sour, and spicy flavor explosion with every bite.
Khao Pad Poo Crab Fried Rice
Khao pad poo crab fried rice
One of the simplest yet most popular street food dishes in Bangkok is crab fried rice or khao pad poo.
What sets this dish apart from typical fried rice is the addition of delicious pieces of crab meat with jasmine rice, eggs, green onions, garlic, and the ubiquitous chili fish sauce.
One of Bangkok’s best places for khao pad poo is Raan Jay Fai, a Bangkok street food stall with a Michelin star. For budget versions, there are plenty of street vendors and markets in Bangkok selling this satisfying, crab-infused concoction throughout the city.
Pad Thai Noodles
Pad thai noodles
Thailand’s most famous dish could very well be pad thai, a scrumptious stir-fry typically made with flat rice noodles, eggs, tofu, shrimp or another type of protein, and bean sprouts, all combined with a sauce made from tamarind paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, and dried shrimp.
Pad thai is usually served with crushed peanuts, lime wedges, and chili flakes, letting you adjust the heat and flavor according to your tastes.
Pad thai noodles
While this iconic noodle dish can be found practically everywhere in the city, one of the best places is the legendary Thipsamai on Maha Chai Road, where the noodles are stir-fried on a charcoal grill for a rich, smoky flavor.
Whether you order your pad thai with prawns, fried pork, or wrapped inside an omelet, this is one Bangkok street food that shouldn’t be missed.
Khanom Buang Crispy Pancakes
Khanom buang crispy pancakes
Khanom buang, or crispy Thai pancakes, are delicious little snacks that look like miniature tacos.
These crepes are constructed from a batter of rice flour and deep-fried in a flat pan until they are crispy and golden. They are then coated with sweet meringue and topped with shredded coconut or foi thong – thin strands of sweet egg yolks – to create a sticky, filling snack.
Savory khanom buang often features minced shrimp, fish sauce, and cilantro. Regardless of whether you opt for the sweet or savory version of these crispy taco-esque pancakes, you’ll be biting into some flavorful Bangkok street food goodness.
Thai Iced Tea
Thai iced tea
One of Thailand’s most refreshing drinks is Thai iced tea, or cha yen, which is a sweet, creamy, and aromatic drink served at street stalls all over Bangkok.
Brewed with strong Ceylon or Assam tea and dried star anise pods, tamarind, and cardamom, the tea is then combined with sweetened condensed milk and sugar, poured over ice, and finished off with evaporated milk for a creamy, multi-layered flavor.
What you end up with is a silky smooth, orange-hued drink that balances its sweetness with a subtle spiced flavor. Whether served with ice in a plastic cup or a plastic bag, cha yen is the ultimate way to cool down on a muggy day in Bangkok.
Hoy Tod Oyster Omelets
Hoy tod oyster omelets
Crisp, chewy, and bursting with salty seafood flavor, hoy tod – oyster omelets or oyster pancakes – is a streetside favorite in the Thai capital.
Hoy tod is made by pan-frying a thick batter of rice flour, cornstarch, and eggs until crispy and brown, then adding cooked oysters or mussels for a seafood protein blast.
Served steaming hot, topped with chopped scallions and a side of a sweet and spicy chili sauce to offset the fishy taste, hoy tod will offer you a hefty helping of fried, crunchy heaven.
Coconut Ice Cream
Coconut ice cream
If you’re looking for something cool and sweet while wandering the streets, nothing can compare to a bowl of Bangkok’s itim kati coconut cream ice cream.
Made of coconut milk, palm sugar, and occasionally, coconut pulp, this dairy-free indulgence is a cold dessert offered by street vendors, sometimes in a hollowed-out coconut shell, and covered with crunchy toasted peanuts, sweet sticky rice, fruit, and other various toppings.
Boat Noodles
Boat noodles
If you want lots of protein, one of Bangkok’s best street foods has got to be boat noodles, or kuay teow reua, which packs some very strong flavors into a fairly small bowl.
Traditionally served from boats on Bangkok’s waterways, this dish is a rich, aromatic mixture of a meaty broth flavored with star anise, garlic, cinnamon, and a splash of pig’s blood for extra richness. It should go without saying that if you’re a vegan or vegetarian, steer clear of these noodles.
Rice noodles are then submerged in the savory broth and garnished with sliced beef, pork balls, fried pork rinds, and fresh herbs. A great place to try boat noodles is near Victory Monument, along Boat Noodle Alley. Add some chili vinegar or ground peanuts for additional flavor.
Thai-Style Burgers
Thai-style burgers
Bangkok’s street food proprietors have reinvented the classic burger with a spicy twist. Vendors serve up flavorful beef, pork, or chicken patties seasoned with fish sauce, garlic, and Thai spices, which are then stacked on soft buns with spicy mayo, herbs, fried onions, and other tasty ingredients.
One of the most exciting versions is the Larb Burger, which takes its name from the northeastern Thai larb, a spicy minced meat salad. This tasty burger features lime, chilies, and chopped mint for a zesty twist. Some variations even use sticky rice instead of a traditional bun. If you love beef patties, you’ll want to give Thai-style burgers a try!
Sai Krok Isan Sausage
Sai krok isan sausage
While exploring the sweltering streets of Bangkok, you’ll likely catch the captivating aroma of sai krok isan, a sausage from northeastern Thailand. These plump little sausages, made from pork, sticky rice, and garlic, are left to ferment for a few days, which gives them their signature tangy-sour flavor.
Grilled on a hot open flame until crispy on the outside, sai krok isan are commonly served with chilies, raw cabbage, and slices of ginger. They also pair well with a cold beverage.
When you see a street vendor expertly rotating skewers of sai krok isan over red-hot charcoal, that’s your cue that this tasty snack is going to be served fresh and piping hot.
Grilled Giant River Prawns
Grilled giant river prawns
If you’re a shellfish aficionado, some of the best street food in Bangkok you can snack on are giant river prawns.
These colossal freshwater prawns, which are imported from the Chao Phraya River, are halved and char-grilled, with their shells turning a deep orange and the fatty meat inside cooked until tender and sweet, creating a rich, buttery flavor.
A popular side for giant river prawns is nam jim, a spicy seafood sauce made with lime juice, fish sauce, chilies, and garlic that’s perfect for dipping.
Kluay Tod Bananas
Kluay tod bananas
For a sweet and crunchy street food snack, kluay tod fried bananas are hard to beat. Thai bananas, which are naturally sweet and firm in texture, are sliced, covered with a batter of rice flour, coconut milk, sesame seeds, and grated coconut, and then deep-fried to a golden brown color.
You’ll end up with a crispy exterior and a soft and flavorful caramelized interior. Often sold in paper bags, kluay tod should be served scorching hot, just removed from the frying pan. You can find these tasty bananas at street market stalls across the city, with vendors expertly frying up batch after batch.
Kai Jeow Savory Omelets
Kai jeow savory omelets
If you’re in the mood for a fast and satisfying meal, kai jeow Thai-style omelets should be on your Bangkok street food radar. Kai jeow are cooked in hot oil, not butter, creating a crispy, brown crust and a soft, lightly textured interior.
They are typically mixed with fish sauce, green onions, and sometimes minced pork or shrimp for added flavor and served over steamed jasmine rice with a sprinkle of sweet chili sauce.
You’ll see this meal whipped up at countless street stands around the city. Omelet experts will prepare this simple but delicious dish before your eyes, providing a quick protein boost.
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