2. Eat till you can eat no more
Bangkok street food is rarely sold from carts these days outside of markets, but most districts are packed with small shops that specialise in one type of food and you’ll want to try it all.
Sydney food writer Matty Hirsch recommends Nai Ek Roll Noodles in Yaowarat. “They specialise in guay jub, rolled rice noodles that are slippery and chewy, in a grunty broth fuelled by white pepper,” he says. Add chopped crisp-fried pork belly for maximum deliciousness.
On Charoen Krung Road in Chinatown, the smoky pork congee from the Michelin Bib Gourmand Jok Prince – topped with a lattice of fresh slivered ginger and spring onion – is a full piano scale of flavours playing on your tongue.
And Perth food writer Jessica Rigg is obsessed with the pungent Laotian som tam – green papaya salad – at Som Tam Jay So in Silom (best served, she says, with sticky chicken wings).
But don’t sleep on Bangkok’s high-end food either. At Potong, guests are led through an exploration of chef Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij’s Chinese-Thai heritage inside an old apothecary shop, while Sorn (pictured above) – which holds two Michelin stars and the number 11 ranking on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list – is the place to try fiery southern Thai cuisine that uses the freshest small-farm ingredients.