By David McMannus

If you spend any time traveling around Asia or Australia the chances are pretty good that you’ll end up in Bangkok at some point, since it’s the region’s most important air-hub.  And if you’re in Bangkok and you’re of a certain age the chances are even better that you’ll spend a few nights staying in Banglamphu, the city’s oldest neighborhood which contains the backpacker mecca of Khao San Road.  
When in search of sustenance many visitors to Banglamphu stray little further than their hotel/guesthouse restaurant where they can generally expect bland renditions of Thai recipes which have been refashioned to accommodate the narrow constraints of the archetypal British tourist’s palette.  If you’re in search of something more interesting then just head outside to the street where – as is the case in virtually every Thai city and town -  the best local food can be found at makeshift restaurants right on the sidewalk.  Walk around the neighborhood and you will find one vendor after other preparing simple, specialized meals at their mobile food stands or to sidewalk restaurants which literally are right there on the sidewalk – kitchen and all!

Most of Bangkok’s citizenry do not have a kitchen in their apartment so they eat practically every meal outside at one of these restaurants, and your best bet in selecting one is simply to look for a steady stream of Thai customers.  You needn’t be too picky though, the standard is generally high and it’s actually quite rare to hear of anyone becoming ill from poor food in Thailand.  As long as you stick to drinking bottled water you should be fine.

Locals will usually start their day with breakfast at a street side cart.  Congee - a type of rice porridge - is a popular choice with Bangkokians, though it may be a little alien to foreign tongues since it is often flavored with ground pork and other savory ingredients.  This is because the Thais do not view breakfast as a different category of meal to lunch or dinner - you will often see them enjoying fried rice (khao pad)  or even curries at this time of day.  You can find all of these items along with more traditional western fare along Soi Rambutri, a relatively quiet and sedate soi (literally alley) off Khao San Road.  

If eating outside it’s a good idea to grab an early lunch, since temperatures and humidity soar in the afternoon. A very pleasant area to enjoy an impromptu city picnic is the park at the end Phra Athit Road.  Nestled between the river and the canal (klong in Thai) this green space offers a respite from the endless traffic and chaotic hustle of the neighborhood.  You can grab a dish of fiery Gai Pad Bai Ga-Prow - ground chicken liberally spiced with thai basil, garlic and chillis from one of the vendors who set up shop along the canal side of the park.  For the chili-phobic it should be noted that this is a pretty hot number, as it the other dish these vendors specialize in - Som Tam, a refreshing papaya and herb strewed salad dressed with lime juice. These dishes go for 15 – 25 baht each (less than $1 per plate) and are prepared while you wait.  Once again, food here is oriented towards local palettes so if the vendor asks you if you want it spicy you would be well advised to answer mai dai.  Fair warning!

If you would prefer to sit at a table there is a small restaurant right across the street from the park named Roti Mataba which will probably be packed with local students and the odd tourist.  If you’re lucky you can snag one of the outdoor street side tables and feast on roti (Indonesian flat breads stuffed with curried pork, vegetables and other ingredients).  They also serve slow cooked braised mutton and chicken here, incredibly tender and a change of pace from Thai flavorings if you need a break from fish sauce and chili.  Portions are small here, so don’t be afraid to order multiple dishes tapas style, prices are low so you should be able to handle the final tab.

In the evenings Thais will generally enjoy a large multi-dish meal.  These are best ordered at some of the larger on-street operations and without a doubt the best place in the neighborhood to find these is Samsen Soi 2 which is the first alley after you walk over the canal bridge when coming from Khao San Road.  There are several popular restaurants on this short strip, the best known being the Thai-Chinese operation that takes up most of the right hand side of the street.  One of the best dishes found here is Baby Clams in Chili Sauce, a large bowl of incredibly tasty molluscs swimming in a sweet and piquant sauce that you can mop up with jasmin rice.  Also good here is Crab Curry in Yellow Powder, a whole crab which offers considerable entertainment for your fellow diners as you attempt to prize it apart in search of its delicately flavored flesh.  It comes in a yellow curry sauce that is more south Indian than Thai, though it is a great favorite of Bangkokians.  

If you continue down this soi and take the second left you will find a lady standing behind a charcoal barbeque where she roasts whole fish most evenings.  Come early as she often sells out early and heads home – the food at this cart is incredibly popular.  If you’re lucky you can snag a whole red snapper, stuffed with lemon grass and grilled over charcoal, the dish is served with nothing more than nam pla prik (a dipping sauce of chilis in fish sauce and lime juice) as an accompaniment.  This vendor does not even offer rice with her food, yet this doesn’t stop Thais or in-the-know tourists from filling the plastic tables assembled around her cart.  Other dishes available include mussels steamed with garlic, grilled prawns and even oysters (be advised: Thai oysters are very large and chewy, possibly overly so for western palettes).

So there you have it.  The next time you’re in Bangkok avoid the over-priced tourist restaurants serving bland, inauthentic food and head out into the streets as the locals do.