The Top Five Best Food Tours in Bangkok

The Top Five Best Bangkok Food Tours

Image by David Mcelvey sourced from wikimedia commons

Bangkok is one of the capital cities around the world considered as something of a ‘food hub’, and seemingly not without good reason.

The sights and sounds of the SE Asian city can come across as exotic, tantalising, and chaotic to say the least, and this is due in no small part to the many kinds of cuisine that are likely to be encountered.

Food buffs from all around the world may likely descend upon Bangkok with totally different angles on the food – whether it be grass-roots level ‘street’ food, authentic, local dishes or cordon blue, high-level, ‘Royal’ Thai cuisine of the finest order.

Bangkok has them all.

But what better way to experience the food and get a taste for what is what than by going on a food tour? Again, Bangkok has them all – night food tours, tuk tuk food tours, dessert food tours…and so on.

This can be a great way to find out how locals eat, and where their considered favourites local eateries may be, or even meet some of the cooks who are responsible for the preparation and presentation of the dishes.

Some of these places have been established for years, across a few generations, and they may even have a few stories to tell.

With a guided food tour, visitors to the city are much less likely to experience the usual hassles of searching for the right place to eat or encountering frustrating language and cultural barriers than can sometimes make what should be a pretty straightforward affair seem marginally less so.

So here we aim to present a small selection of what might be expected from such a tour, with what might be considered as some of the top food tours currently on offer.

1. Yaowarat Street Food Tour (Chinatown)

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One of Bangkok’s famous street food (and all food) destinations is the Chinatown region of the city.

It happens to be one of the preferred dining neighbourhoods of many locals, and comprises one of the largest evening street food markets on offer in Bangkok.

Yaowarat is one of the most well-known streets and areas in the Chinatown region, which is quite large and is easy to get lost in. In fact many Thais even have some difficulty navigating it unless they are local to the area. So it might be handy to take a food tour in order to get to the heart of things.

Image by Christophe95 sourced from wikimedia commons

The many flavours of Thai-Chinese cuisine will be encountered at a selection of eateries on the Yaowarat tour, and it includes stops at street vendors as well as dining in restaurants. The food is likely to include selections of noodles, dim sum, seafood, and desserts.

You might hear a few myths and legends about the neighbourhood and some of the traditions inherent in Chinese food, and some of the local landmarks will also be pointed out. Definitely some of the best street food and cuisine in Bangkok will be encountered on a food tour such as this one.

There are obviously various operators who run such tours, so it is worth shopping around for the one that best fits your requirments.

They are usually run sometime between 6pm – 9pm, and are available as either group or private tours. The groups can be as large as 10 or more people, so if that’s not your thing then opt for the private tour – but obviously this will be more expensive.

Many of these tours are on foot, and start (and finish) from Hua Lamphong MRT station. The prices usually range somewhere between 1000 to 1500 baht per person.

2. Food Tour by Tuk Tuk

‘Best Eats Midnight Food Tour by Tuk Tuk’ is just one example of a relatively well-known tour operation that encompasses a very ‘Thai’ take on things – i.e. taking a Tuk Tuk and eating Thai food.

The idea behind this particular theme is that in Bangkok – the city that never sleeps – it is possible to eat around-the-clock, so why not try just that.

Image by Ian Grafton sourced from wikimedia commons

The tour will stop around a variety of local restaurants that stay open at night, which claim to present a variety of dishes such as Bangkok’s best Pad Thai. From the perspective of a tuk tuk you might gain some real insights into local food and culture.

Again the restaurants are old and well-established – they have probably seen it all. These types of establishments are usually family-run, small and intimate, and it is not entirely uncommon to see woks blazing, sometimes on the street, as the cooks do their thing.

The eateries on this tour are situated in the region of Bangkok’s ‘Old Town’ where it is possible to take in the dazzling and lively street scenarios alongside some historical and famous buildings and architecture.

More of a combination of sightseeing and food stop-offs, the night food tour will also likely encompass a few other activities like a wander around a market, a rooftop riverside bar with great city views, and even a visit to a famous temple, which at this time will be pretty much on the serene side of quiet.

The ‘best eats food tour’ is a 4-hour tour that usually operates from between 6pm to 8pm, and does both private and group tours, which again meet up at an MRT subway station – this time San Yam, near Hua Lamphong.

Expect the prices of this tour to be somewhere in the region of 1500-2500 baht for group tours (which can be as large as 15-20 people), and higher for private tours.

Some of the tuk tuk food tour operators also run earlier, evening food tours if the later one is not ideal, and these are more likely to start around 4pm. However, due to the fact that Bangkok’s notorious 5pm-onwards ‘rush-hour’ is looming, these tours are more likely to focus around slightly more less-populated areas of the city in order to avoid sitting in stationary traffic jams for hours on end.

3. Vegetarian or vegan food tour by tuk tuk

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With continuously growing numbers of health-conscious people turning towards plant-based diets, it is no surprise that a variety of vegetable-oriented food tours are also to be found in Bangkok, including those by tuk-tuk.

And although it may not seem that obvious to many visitors in Bangkok, there is a long history and tradition of vegetarian and vegan food in the city that stems from some of the beliefs of the Buddhist and Chinese communities, which are more commonly seen in some of the vegan food festivals that occur in Bangkok (and other regions of Thailand – most notably Phuket).

In fact there are some amazing selections of Thai and other Asian plant-based cuisines in Bangkok, most notably perhaps in the ‘Old Town’ region (known for its population of Thai-Chinese).

So why not check it out in true Thai style – by Tuk-Tuk! Some of these tours have food stops that include a variety of vegetable-based dishes, from Thai to Chinese to Japanese, and vegetarian restaurants that offer a more mixed variety of cuisine.

This particular variety of dining experience is more likely to veer a little more off the well-beaten tourist paths, due to the fact that many areas of the central capital regions are not always that vegan-friendly– as any well-meaning vegan often finds to their chagrin when they visit Bangkok expecting a nation of smiling, plant-eating Buddhists, and instead find only grilled chicken, stewed pork and roast duck!

Although there are, of course, now many modern and classy vegetarian and vegan restaurants in downtown Bangkok areas, they are likely to be on the higher end of the price range, so it’s a good idea to opt for one of these tuk-tuk tours that are more likely to steer clear of those places.

Some of the local, old-school, family-owned establishments that are lesser-known among the international travel-blogging community are more likely featured in this type of food journey, making it a far more authentic experience.

It’s a good idea in fact to opt for one of the tours that will allow you to partake of a few culinary treats and perhaps provide the opportunity for a visit to a local food market, along with a few stop-offs at some of the other worthy sights of Bangkok’s old quarter.

A great way to see things from an authentic perspective, this is the way to explore a grass roots-style plant-based dining scenario in Bangkok. These tours are typically available between mid-morning and mid-afternoon in order to avoid any possible congestion, and are usually 4-5 hours long.

Again you should find the option for either group or private tours, with the usual meeting place being San Yam or Hua Lamphong MRT subway stations.

One point of consideration for strict vegans when looking for tours or checking minor details, is that in Thai there is some distinction between vegetarian (mung sariwat) and strict vegan (jae), and the latter is devoid of any oils or flavourings that are not considered ‘clean’, with restaurants pertaining to this style of food and cooking usually being identifiable by a yellow flag that is displayed, like those that are common during times of vegan festivals (which bear some religious significance in the country). It is worth checking this detail before booking.

Image by madebypeoplelikeyou sourced from wikimedia commons

4. Take a dessert tour

For those with a predilection for all things on the sweet side, why not take a dessert tour in Bangkok?

This is an opportunity to discover and uncover some of the Thai capital’s best Thai dessert shops, including both Thai and western bakeries which the locals ‘in-the-know’ are most likely to recommend.

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On a tour like this you might just be amazed at the sheer range of speciality chocolate, cakes, pancakes, crepes, honey toast, fruit – and just about any other sweet treat that you could lay your hands on — at a variety of food stops.

Many of the desserts likely to be encountered on a tour such as this are prepared with traditional recipes, often through the use of unique and creative techniques. What? You didn’t know they did desserts or bakeries in Thailand?

This is another tour also likely to be on foot, and will doubtless inspire participants to explore some of Bangkok’s leading artisan regions, as well as more familiar types of malls and commercial centres.

On the ‘Siam Sweets Tour’, for instance, you will pay a visit to Bangkok’s first ever cinema, still with its 1960s architecture intact. This particular tour claims to be ‘the perfect excursion for sweet tooth’s of all ages’.

Image by Mr. Trakool sourced from wikimedia commons

Siam Sweets Dessert Tours operate public and private tours between 1pm and 4pm, on foot, with group sizes usually somewhere between 3 and 10. The tours start from the Nation Stadium BTS station close to MBK Centre.

Prices for the Siam Sweets Tour are as follows: 1,450 THB / adult
1,150 THB / child (age 6 – 12)

5. Thai cooking class tour

For another completely different angle on Thai cuisine, why not consider a Thai cooking class tour and learn what goes into some of the fine cuisine you are likely to encounter in Bangkok.

Furthermore, learn how to make some of the popular Thai dishes from hand-selected ingredients. Of course there are many cooking classes in Bangkok to choose from, but some of them will offer something of a tour by way of a trip to a local market to see how the ingredients are selected and bought, usually accompanied by a local cook or chef.

The chef then teaches you how to make these dishes at home. The cook, who is also most likely a Thai food tour specialist, will endear participants with a variety of interesting snippets related to Thai food and the culture that is part and parcel of life in and around the local wet markets. There is also a good chance that there will be a few opportunities to taste some of the food.

Some of these tours again, in the name of authenticity, offer transportation by Tuk-Tuk, with some tours and classes being advertised as private and others as group affairs.

Either way, a Thai cooking class tour promises a fun and informative experience, and something like this is of around a  4-hour duration, sometime between early and mid-morning, after the usual meeting at the nearest MRT or BTS station.