Photo Journal: Soi 38 Street Eats in Bangkok

Written by Kyle about Thailand. Feelin' normal

Delicious Street Food, Bangkok, Thailand

I have an addiction. No, it's not caffeine or nicotine or liquor. It's food from street stalls. Wherever we travel, I am compelled to walk right past any restaurants with "waiters" and "menus" and such, preferring instead to head right to the guy who is making food from a portable kitchen. And nowhere does my addiction get fed more often than in Bangkok. In truth, I actually refuse to eat anywhere in Bangkok that looks remotely like a restaurant. With food from street stalls going for $1 or less, why would I bother?

Soi 38 off of Sukhumvit in Bangkok is just one of the many examples of street vendors in Bangkok that set up and tear down their operation every day, preparing food that in many cases is better than anything you will get in a restaurant. In fact, these cooks are no slouches. Just watch one of them prepare a dish and you'll see that there is great care taken in every step of the process. With so much competition, they have to know their stuff, lest they lose customers to someone better.

One of the best mango sticky rice dishes known to man. Half a mango, sticky rice, and covered with sugary coconut milk. Yum!

Delicious Street Food, Bangkok, Thailand

Cooking food where ever he can find space.

street food in Bangkok, Thailand

I'm calling this one the kitchen sink, only because there is everything in it and I don't know what it all is.

street food in Bangkok, Thailand

Sugar glazed duck over rice. Combined with the tangy, spicy sauce, this is absolutely addictive.

Delicious Street Food, Bangkok, Thailand

A vendor prepares his soup for a customer.

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August 28, 2010 Andi: I love street food too!!! I've never once gotten sick from it either. That sticky rice looks delish!

August 30, 2010 Kyle: The sticky rice is about as good as it gets. We've never gotten sick from it, either. Generally, the food is cooked fresh and right in front of you, so there is less of a chance of getting sick from it.

August 28, 2010 Rose P.: Amazing! What a big difference from the usual hotdog vendor. Thanks for sharing!

August 29, 2010 Audrey: I completely understand this addiction. When people tell me that they visited Bangkok and didn't eat street food it just seems like heresy. We haven't found any place to match Bangkok in terms of the variety, quality and price of street food. Oh, how I miss it...

August 30, 2010 Kyle: Yup, still the best in the world. Even the residents of Chiang Mai will admit that the food is Bangkok is better. Although it's not street food all the time, the dingy restaurants in Kuala Lumpur are neck-and-neck with Bangkok in my opinion.

August 29, 2010 Carin: Bangkok is still my favourite city in the world! (Well..maybe not as great as Cape Town..) LOVED their mangos - You just don't get them like that in SA.

August 30, 2010 Kyle: The sweet, ripe, mangos are something else here. It's too bad that they can't really be exported well, because it really should be shared with the world.

August 29, 2010 Eric: Street food is really growing on me here in South Korea. I have found a few favorite spots that I visit often that have amazing food.

August 30, 2010 Kyle: They still have a ways to go in the ROK, but they're getting there. Have you tried the silk worm larvae? It tastes about as good as it sounds :)

September 01, 2010 Bessie: Looooove the food in Korea and crave it regularly!!! Better sitting on the floor (especially when heated!) than in the street, though we've had a few tasty bbq weiners on the stick there post Hof. :)

August 30, 2010 Eric: Yeah I have had it a few times, and you're right its not very good.

August 30, 2010 Adam: YUM! Bangkok is one of my favorite cities in the world, and this is a major reason for that. Love, love, love their street food. So good, so fresh, so much variety, and so cheap. Great post. It has me really wanting to go back.

August 30, 2010 Earl: There is no doubt that an excellent mango and sticky rice is the most incredible item of food man has yet to create!

And after reading this post, I tried to think of a time when I ate in a restaurant in Bangkok and I came up blank. I guess it's been all street food for me as well. In some countries, street food tends to be more basic than the food found in restaurants but in Bangkok, the variety of dishes is just unreal and at times simply overwhelming.

September 01, 2010 Kyle: Ya, one of my first experiences abroad was in Thailand, so I thought all foreign countries has awesome street food as well. The street food in most places is good, but, ya, for the most part in other countries the restaurant food is better. It's their loss, I guess, and more reason to like Bangkok.

September 02, 2010 vanessa: ha i love street food to! i'm looking at your blog trying to inspire my 22-year old sister to venture off and follow a similar path as you all!

ps i love mango sticky rice!!!

September 07, 2010 budget accommodation: Mmm...street food, troley food...you can find that they can be really great or really disappointing.

September 08, 2010 Kyle: Our rule of thumb is to eat at places that are busy because that means people like it and there's a higher chance that the food will have been cooked recently.

September 19, 2010 mumsie: Yummmm!! Just the other day I happened upon a great PBS television program -- Globe Trekkers . . . Touring Bangkok! And they RAVED about the street food in Thailand!! And YOU get to enjoy it, you lucky-duck! LoL ...Eat-on!! B^)

January 17, 2011 dave: Your reviews of the food on Soi 38 are spot-on. I loved watching the various 'chefs' and eating at Soi 38 when I was there a couple of years ago. Tonight I showed my Thailand pictures to some friends who are headed there soon and of course recommended a visit to Soi 38. Wish I could go back.

Photo Journal: Soi 38 Street Eats in Bangkok

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