I am a traveler and blogger for a while and have been so fascinated about street foods in Bangkok. The term “street food” doesn’t represent food vendor that present on the side of the road but in a shelter place and restaurant as well. Beside of sightseeing, there are some new businesses emerging in the country like food tours in Bangkok and other cities for enthusiastic food tasters to try out several different samplings.
Thailand is a popular tourist destination for many decades. Travelers around the world would have pan to stop by the country, also the food is the signature of Thailand and well-known around the world. If you are coming to Bangkok Thailand for foods, please read through this article and I will show you what to and not to eat also should you go with a food tours during your short term visit?
(Photo: Bangkok Chinatown credit: Pixelbay)
Bangkok is known as the “City of Angel” a place where a lot of street foods scattering around the big city. People usually sit and eat on a table and chair that place on the footpath and some even on the road. Traffic is chaotic in central city all day and night. Bangkok is the most crowded place where tourists gathered when visiting Thailand because of convenience in commuting and modern lifestyle. The modern city has many skyscrapers standing together next to a hundred year old building and houses in the neighborhood of a busy district. Thailand has a diversify of foods from different cultures and nations since last century. From American to Japanese restaurant you can find it all here. But the main food stalls in tourist areas are mostly western cuisine instead of real traditional Thai style of eating.
There are hundred of street food stalls in a single street like Bangkok Chinatown, night markets, Sukhumvit and Silom road in central areas. If you are planning to travel to Bangkok alone or with your family and friends, you probably aren’t going to find the most unique and outstanding restaurants and food stalls there. They are hidden within hundred of vendors in the crowd. What you need is someone who can lead you to the hidden gems. It is worth joining a food tour in Bangkok if you want to visit outside the tourist spot to experience the local foods and lifestyle that you will never get to try alone.
Is Food on the street safe to eat?
Definitely safe, but be picky for the stall that you are going to eat from. Avoid fried foods at all cost on the street, vegetable oil is cooked over and over with no replacement and it can be very toxic for your stomach. If you like fried, I would suggest to eat at a restaurant which is more hygiene and well cooked. Food poisoning from street is a total nonsense, if you eat raw or thing that is not properly cooked you may get bacteria from them and become food poisoning. It is safe to eat on the street but be cautious and see how the chef cook the foods.
Avoid ices in beverage that sell on the street, most street drinks are fine but the ice is made from low standard manufacturer that contaminated with soil and dust it is better to exclude them. Every restaurants and shops beverages with ice are safe to drink.
(Floating market credit: terimakasih0)
Don’t trust all the information you learned from Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor, Google Directory, etc. They seem like a yellow page and encyclopedia to me. Furthermore, these detail aren’t written by the local but some self-claimed expert who live in that area for a long time. A local is a person who was born and raised up in the location whom you would want to seek for and go together for the food tour, he or she can show you around and bring you to the unrevealed places that isn’t expose to foreign tourists.
If you spent sometime on the internet, you may discover the real gem but it is tedious having to search through several websites especially on the forums to see what people are talking about including their reviews for places that they went. I aren’t a big fan of those story tracer, the best idea is to join a group tour that go to the same destination where you plan to go. Time can be saved for doing other important things than spending on the internet researching.
If you are interested in joining a food tours in Bangkok, I would recommend “Food Adventure Food Tours“. The guide is born and raised in the area and he does know where to bring his guest for authentic Thai foods for sure. You will get to try the traditional style Thai dishes, a combination of Chinese-Thai and local homemade dessert.