Bangkok is widely visited for many things, especially for it’s food and shopping. Local food in this vibrant city provides convenient, delicious and pocket-friendly meals while being one of the best ways to connect with the local culture. But it can be bewildering especially for new or the infrequent visitors, when they chose to “go local” without a guide. That’s why I put together this guide to ten great eating spots easily accessible via the Bangkok Train System (BTS). The blog also comes with the shops facade picture and map link for easier reference.
1. Prachak – Roasted duck and meat diner
Address : 1415 Thanon Charoen Krung, Silom, Bangrak.
Opening hours : 7.00am – 10.30pm (closed during Chinese New Year and Songkran)
Budget : 60-100 bht per person (approx.)
BTS : Saphan Taksin. After alighting, exit #3, walk in the direction (7-8 min walk) of Robinson Mall. The eatery is opposite side of the road. Watch out for the red awning with the duck logo.
Roast duck is commonly found throughout Bangkok, especially in the heavily Chinese influenced areas like Yaowarat (Bangkok’s Chinatown) and Bangrak. Prachak Pet Yang one of the most established (102 years old) and a famous Cantonese style roasted duck restaurant located along Charoen Krung Road, opposite Robinson’s department store.
The best time to dine here is during late morning or early afternoon, when the meats are freshly prepared
2. Jok Prince – Oriental Porridge
Address : 1391, Charoen Krung Road, Silom, Bang Rak.
Opening hours :Daily: 6.00am – 12.00pm and 5.00pm – 11.00pm
Budget : 35bht per bowl onwards (approx.)
BTS : Saphan Taksin . After alighting, exit #3, walk in the direction (7-8 min walk) of Robinson Mall. The eatery is opposite side of the road, further down from Prachak.
Joke Prince is more than 5o years old and well known for its porridge. But you may strolled by Jok Prince unknowingly, as the diner does not have a prominent signboard. It’s simply two rows of tables laid out in a rather nondescript covered alley between two shophouses that used to lead to an old movie theater called ‘Prince’. At the entrance, an iron cooking counter with various pots of bubbling porridge greet constant queue of customers ordering take-aways at meal hours while the tables are healthily occupied.
This is the shop frontage as you stroll down Charoen Krung Road. Always a hive of activities where the cook skillfully orchestrating various pots of bubbling hot porridge. Our porridge came with tasty generous sized minced-pork balls with cilantro and julienned gingers. The porridge is smooth, soft and have a lovely smoky flavor, due to use of a charcoal stove. I would recommend Pa Tong Ko (Thai flour fritters (yu tiao in Chinese), to be added into the porridge. Other optional ingredients include egg (raw or fermented), deep fried pig intestines etc. Just remember to sprinkle white pepper before eating for an added kick.
3. Charoen Saeng Silom – Braised pork leg and rice
Address : 1391, Charoen Krung Road, Silom, Bang Rak.
Opening hours : Daily 8.00am – 2.00pm (usually sold out by 2pm, best come at 9.30-11.00am, if possible). Closed on Chinese New Year and Songkran.
Budget : 250-350bht (for 2 person)
BTS : Saphan Taksin . After alighting, exit #3, walk in the direction (7-8 min walk) of Robinson Mall, to Lebua State Tower. With your back facing the Tower Club at Lebua entrance, you will see a boutique hotel Silk Suite across the road. Go straight into the lane, just about 30 steps away, the shop is the right.
Widely available at countless street food corners, food malls or food stalls, braised pork leg and rice (khao kha moo) is like a ‘torch bearer” of standard Thai street food dishes. However, there are some khao kha moo stalls that stand out among the crowd. In Bangkok, one of the best places (if not the best) is Charoen Saeng Silom, which has been packing in the crowd for around 50 years.
You can order an individual portion of rice topped with tender braised pork leg and garnishing. But you’ll be delighted if you order the entire leg, which is like a huge drumstick with a big bone, surrounded by loads of juicy meat with a thick layer of gelatinous skin surrounding it. The dish was also served with some braised pickled mustard greens on the side and garnished with fresh cilantro. Best eat it with the vinegar based chili and garlic sauce provided. One order of pork leg should be sufficient for 2 person.
4. Je Niao Boi Kia – Iced dessert
Address : 439 Khwaeng Silom, Khet Bang Rak
Opening hours :Open daily, 11.00 a.m.-9.00 p.m.
Budget : 30-40 bht per bowl (approx.)
BTS : Saphan Taksin . After alighting, exit #3, walk in the direction (7-8 min walk) of Robinson Mall. The eatery is opposite side of the road, further down from Prachak. At corner of Charoen Krung Road and Si Wiang Road
In a spacious shophouse at the corner of Charoen Krung and Si Wiang, just steps away from a streetside fried banana cart, is a stall selling iced multi-ingredients dessert. This dessert features glutinous rice flour strips and so many other things from cooked beans to water chestnuts to Chinese grass jelly to sweetened tubers to fresh jack fruit— all served in the same bowl with brown sugar syrup and crushed ice.
Looks inviting and the various ingredients excite you with it’s range of texture and sweetness. It’s like the Chinese version of Cheng Tng, found in Singapore dessert stalls
5. Pranakorn Noodle Restaurant – Small bowl Noodles
Address : Phahonyothin Alley Samsen Nai, Phaya Thai.
Opening hours : Daily 9.00am – 9.00pm
Budget : 12 bht per bowl. Average for 2 person (12 bowls, 1 side order plus 2 drinks) about 200bht .
BTS : Victory Monument. Exit the station and look for the canal, which where the restaurants are located.
One of the key food attractions at Victory Monument is “small bowl noodles”. This is sort of “concept dining” as they are fun to eat. This dish got their name from being originally served from boats floating in the city canals. While there are boat noodle vendors serving big bowls of the dish, the diners at Victory Monument stayed faithful to tradition by serving small bite sized servings – a practice that was formerly used to prevent the noodles from spilling out of the bowl on the choppy canal.
Staff at Pranakorn Noodle Restaurant, dishing out never ending bowls of noodles to diners out to “create” records who ate the most bowls.
Each bowl can be slurped up in just one mouthful. There are several types of noodles and noodles-mix variations combo to choose from. The rice noodles are quickly blanched in piping hot soup before being tossed into a bowl along with a few pieces of water morning glory, some slices of either pork or beef and a pork meatball. The bowls are served in brisk manner , so you just eat and stack it higher and higher as you dine.
See next: What to eat near BTS in Bangkok? (Part 2)
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