Guides ·Food & drink

Pad Thai and the noodle canon

Pad Thai is genuinely worth eating in Bangkok even though you have had it a hundred times at home. Thip Samai on Maha Chai Road in the Old Town has been serving it since 1966 — the pad thai wrapped in a thin egg omelet is the signature, $3 to $5, with a queue of 45 minutes on weekend nights. Skip if you cannot wait; go on a Tuesday at 6pm. Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu, a spinoff of Thip Samai in Chinatown, is nearly as good with shorter queues.

Boat noodles (kuay teow ruea) are the other must-eat noodle: rich beef or pork broth with blood, herbs, and tiny bowls historically sold from boats. Boat Noodle Alley next to Victory Monument BTS has 6 stalls selling identical bowls for $0.80 each — locals stack 8 to 10 empty bowls in front of them. Wattana Panich on Ekkamai Soi 18 serves a beef noodle broth that has been simmering continuously for 45 years; $3 a bowl.

Tom yum and the soup problem

Tom yum goong (spicy shrimp soup with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime) exists in two versions: clear (nam sai) and creamy with coconut milk (nam khon). Both are correct; ask which you want. Jeh O Chula on Charoen Rat in Samyan is the tom yum destination — the mama noodle version comes in a hotpot with pork, eggs, and cheese, $12 for a huge portion feeding two, and the queue starts at 5pm.

Kuay Jab Uan Pochana in Chinatown does the peppery pork soup (kuay jab) with rolled rice noodles and crispy pork belly for $3, open 6pm to 3am. For tom kha gai (coconut chicken soup, milder), Krua Apsorn near Democracy Monument serves an excellent version at $6 alongside its signature crab omelet. Most tom yum on tourist menus is dumbed down; asking for it Thai-spicy (phet phet) is the only way to get the real version.

Curries: green, red, massaman, khao soi

Green curry (kaeng khiao wan) is the most familiar; the version at Krua Apsorn or Baan Padthai is properly fragrant with basil and small green eggplants, $6 to $9 with rice. Massaman curry — mild, sweet, with peanuts and cinnamon — was voted world's best dish by CNN a decade ago and holds up. Try it with beef at Baan Ice on Sukhumvit Soi 55, $8. The one to seek out is khao soi, the northern Thai curry noodle soup with crispy noodles on top; Khao Soi Mae Sai in the Ari district serves it at $4 a bowl.

For serious curry heads, Sorn (a two Michelin star southern Thai restaurant) treats crab curry with turmeric rice as a $220 tasting menu experience. On the other end of the price scale, any Muslim restaurant in the Silom area does massaman lamb or beef at $5 to $7 with roti. The best casual curry restaurant in central Bangkok is arguably Charmgang in Charoenkrung, $12 to $18 mains, opened by Le Du alumni and does a superb pork jungle curry.

Salads and the papaya problem

Som tam (green papaya salad) is the national obsession — shredded raw papaya pounded in a clay mortar with lime, fish sauce, palm sugar, chilies, and dried shrimp or salted crab. Somtum Der on Sala Daeng Soi 1 does the definitive Isaan version, $4 to $6, and now has branches in New York. Ask for it Thai-spicy at your own risk; a 4-chili som tam will genuinely make you sweat. The crab version (som tam poo) uses fermented salted crab and is a stronger flavor.

Larb (minced meat salad with roasted rice powder, mint, and chilies) and nam tok (grilled beef or pork sliced thin with the same herbs) are the other Isaan classics. Order them together with som tam and sticky rice for the full northeastern set — this combination costs $10 to $15 for two people at neighborhood shops. Baan Somtum on Silom is the reliable central Bangkok option. Larb ped (duck) is worth seeking out specifically.

Rice and grilled dishes

Khao man gai (Hainanese chicken rice) is the national comfort dish. Go-Ang Pratunam on Petchburi Road is the best-known, $3.50 a plate, cash only, expect a queue at lunch. The green sauce is what matters. Khao mu daeng (red char siu pork over rice) and khao ka mu (stewed pork leg over rice) are the other rice bowl classics; Charoen Saeng Silom does the stewed pork leg for $4 with braised egg and pickled greens.

Moo krob (crispy pork belly), moo ping (grilled pork skewers with sticky rice for $0.50 each from any morning cart), and gai yang (grilled Isaan chicken) are the grill essentials. Polo Fried Chicken on Soi Polo does the definitive gai tod (Thai fried chicken with crispy garlic) at $8 for a half bird. For steak-adjacent Thai, try nua yang jim jaew — grilled beef with tamarind chili dip — at any Isaan restaurant.

Sweets and drinks

Mango sticky rice (khao niaow ma muang) is only worth eating in Thai mango season (March to June); off-season versions use frozen mango and disappoint. Mae Varee on Sukhumvit Soi 55 does the Bangkok reference version at $4 to $6, open 5am to midnight. Coconut ice cream in a fresh coconut with sticky rice and peanuts at Chatuchak Market is a $2 weekend classic.

Thai iced tea (cha yen) at $1 from any street stall is a sugar bomb; ask for less sweet (wan noi). Thai iced coffee (o-liang) is stronger and better. Cha manao (lime tea) is the underrated pick. For beer, Chang and Singha are the local lagers at $2 in 7-Eleven; Leo is the cheaper third option. Craft beer has arrived in Bangkok — Mikkeller Bangkok on Ekkamai Soi 10 has 30 taps at $6 to $10 a glass.

How to order without embarrassment

At street stalls, point at what someone else is eating or at the picture menu. Say phet noi (a little spicy) for foreigners' spice tolerance, phet phet for real Thai heat, or mai phet (not spicy) if you cannot handle chili. Kap khun kha (thank you, female speaker) or kap khun krap (male speaker) closes any transaction politely. Prices are almost always fixed at proper stalls; if there is no price posted and no menu, ask before ordering.

At mid-range restaurants, Thai meals are shared: order 3 to 4 dishes for 2 people, including 1 curry, 1 stir-fry, 1 salad or soup, and rice. Do not order a starter and main course each — you will end up with double the food. Rice is often ordered separately at $0.50 per portion. Sticky rice is the northeastern norm with Isaan dishes. Fish sauce, chili flakes, and vinegar chilies on the table are for you to adjust the seasoning yourself.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask before they set off on this one.

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