Best Food Markets in Bangkok
A visual guide from the Bangkok travel guide — see all posters in Visual Guides.
Bangkok's food markets run on a clock. Khlong Toei, the city's largest wet market, is at its most extraordinary between four and seven in the morning, when whole tuna are broken down on wet concrete and coriander arrives by the sack. Or Tor Kor across town is a daylight market, partly air-conditioned, stacked with graded mangoes and durian priced like jewellery. Yaowarat only really starts after sunset, when the charcoal grills come out onto Chinatown's pavements. The trick is picking the market that matches the hour you are actually hungry.
Daytime markets
Or Tor Kor, directly above MRT Kamphaeng Phet and opposite Chatuchak, is the polished one: immaculate fruit, southern curries sold by weight, a serious food court at the back, and prices well above street level for good reason. Wang Lang, on the Thonburi bank beside Siriraj hospital, is the everyday counterpart, a dense lane of snacks, grilled pork skewers and coconut desserts reached by cross-river ferry from Tha Chang or Tha Phra Chan. Talat Phlu, a short walk from its own BTS station, is the local favourite for old Thai-Chinese dishes and stays busy well into the evening.
After dark
Yaowarat is the set piece. Get off at MRT Wat Mangkon and walk the main road between roughly seven and eleven, when the pavement kitchens are running: seafood grills near the Odeon circle, kuay jab noodle soup in peppery broth, roasted chestnuts, and queues that reliably tell you which stall is worth joining. Jodd Fairs at Rama IX draws a younger domestic crowd for volcanic pork ribs and beer under tent lights. Pak Khlong Talat, the flower market by the river, works around midnight; not a food market as such, but the noodle stalls beside it barely close.