With the baht at an all-time high and affordable street food joints making way for glitzy malls and upscale restaurants, Bangkok is no longer the cheap-as-chips destination it once was. But with the right insider intel, you don’t have to live off a street food diet.
Chinatown: Street Eats and Vibrant Markets
Bangkok’s Chinatown is an assault on the senses – in the best way possible. Simply dip into one of the many alleys branching off its main thoroughfare and zigzag your way past mom-and-pop shops and shrines shrouded in incense smoke. The tiny snaking alley named Soi Phat Sai is a good starting point, but don’t set off before you've downed a strong Hokkien-style coffee (฿25/74p) at the legendary Eiah Sae, which has been in business since 1927. Come nightfall, head to Yaowarat for a neon-lit curbside feast. My personal favourites are the peppery roll noodles at Nai Ek (a big bowl of soup with all the porcine trimmings costs ฿100/£2.96) and the buns slathered with pandan coconut custard at the immensely popular Khanom Pang Jao Gao (฿20/59p per bun).