Some of the best food in the city costs less than a coffee back home.
Pad thai, boat noodles, som tam (papaya salad) and mango sticky rice are essential starting points found at stalls across the city.
Look for stalls with high turnover and long local queues — busy stalls mean fresh ingredients cooked to order.
The single best signal is turnover — a busy stall with a queue of Thai customers means fresh ingredients and fast cooking; an empty stall with food sitting out is the one to skip. See the full street food safety guide for more detail on what to look for.
Pad krapao (holy basil stir-fry with a fried egg) is arguably Thailand's true national dish and a safe, delicious starting point — see the dedicated Pad Krapao guide. From there, moo ping (grilled pork skewers), som tum (green papaya salad), and khao man gai (poached chicken rice) round out an essential first-timer's street food itinerary.
Pointing works everywhere — most stalls have visible ingredients or photo menus; "mai pet" (not spicy) and "phet nit noi" (a little spicy) are worth learning if you're chilli-sensitive, since default Thai spice levels run hotter than most visitors expect.
Chinatown (Yaowarat) after 5pm, Victory Monument's surrounding sois, and any neighbourhood morning market are the three most reliable street food hunting grounds — see the self-guided street food tour for a specific route through Chinatown to the Old City.