Once you go to Bangkok, Thailand, it’s really hard to eat Thai food anywhere else again. It’s the best right from the streets, and it’s incredibly cheap. I was basically paying $3 per entree throughout my trip. I’m letting you in on the dishes you must order while you’re there, and where to go to find them.

Must-Try Thai Dishes:

Pad Thai – You know and love it. This one was wrapped in an egg crepe type thing:

Som Tum – Spicy Green Papaya Salad

Pad Kra Pow – Thai Basil Chicken

Pad See Ew – Flat noodles

Pla Pao – Grilled Whole Fish

Tom Kha Gai – Coconut Chicken Soup

Kao Niew Ma Muang – Mango sticky rice

Khao Pad – Fried Rice (try the crab version!)

Gaeng Keow Wan Kai – Green Curry

Gang Massaman – A type of Curry from Southern Thailand

Tom Yum Goong – Spicy Shrimp Soup

Thai waffles – No idea what they’re called in Thai, but they are little waffle bubbles in coconut and chocolate flavors

Areas to eat Street Food in Bangkok:

I’ve paired some of Bangkok’s major attractions with where to find the best street food. Busy areas are synonymous with food stalls, so it should work out well!

Soi Samran Rat and Thanon Mahannop: Roads that run into each other near Wat Saket (golden mount). You can basically walk the line of street vendors and grab a ton of fried rice and Pad Thai. Best spot for Pad Thai on Soi Samran Rat is Thip Samai.

Maha Rat and Na Phra Lan: When you exit the Grand Palace, go to your left. There’s a small food market on the corner of these streets. It’s where I tried my first durian (stinky fruit that smells like a rotting corpse), ahh the memories.

Yaowarat (Chinatown): Come hungry. There are so many stalls of food with little seating areas. Take your pic, or try a few at a time.

Victory Monument: Super busy area, but again, that’s where all the street food is!

Major Food FAQs: Do I drink the water and is street food safe?

No, don’t drink the water or brush your teeth with it. Water bottles are like 30 cents, so just keep buying them from the many Seven Elevens.

You need to judge street food as you go. If an item has been sitting out for a while, I wouldn’t eat it. If it’s cooked in front of you on a hot wok, go for it. I always like to judge based on the amount of people eating at the stall as well. I’m not about to run to the unpopular ones. Watch out for those snow cone/ice type desserts. I avoided them just because of the water situation.

I actually avoided anything that wasn’t cooked, and I did great! No issues at all.

Let me know if you want to know anything else about the food scene. I tried to answer all the questions I’ve received so far about my trip, but open for more!!

As for other foodie experiences, I did an amazing cooking class on Koh Samui. Check it out.