One of my favorite ways to get to know a new city is to go on a food tour. I try to schedule one for the first or second night of my visit, because it’s a great way to get an inside scoop of the city and eat at some amazing spots. We’ve been on food tours in Greece, Vietnam, etc., but one of my top food tours was in Bangkok, Thailand, with the company Bangkok Food Tours.
We signed up for the Midnight Tuk Tuk Food Tour, and it was a crazy good time. There were a dozen of us on the tour, and you’re paired off into your private tuk tuk, which is a cross between a car and a motorcycle.
The amazing thing about Bangkok is it’s full of energy and FANTASTIC food late at night. They have expansive street food options, and our guide (a knowledgeable local named Phang), took us to the best spots for chicken rice, fried fish, mango sticky rice, pad thai, fruit…we ate so much that towards the end, we were on our knees pleading with Phang, “NO! NO MORE!” Everything was so incredibly tasty, my mouth is watering while I type this. Chicken rice…omg…sounds so simple, but it’s bursting with flavor.
You really have to know the city to find some of these nooks and crannies. It’s a treasure hunt! And when you find the treasure, you cry with joy because it’s so dang good. Here’s a video of noodles being stir fried by chefs in a (sanitary) back alley.
You make about 6 or 7 different stops throughout the city, so it’s a great way to get the lay of the land. You also visit a cool bar overlooking the river that snakes through the city.
And we topped it off with a visit to the temple you see there across the river, beautifully lit and completely empty except for us, which made the experience even more serene and magical. As the song goes, “one night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster” (if you go on this food tour)!!
Mmm…pad thai…
