A Bangkok MICHELIN Street Food Guide

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This article is part of the Bangkok Food Trip series. Check out the installments: Bangkok Food and Travel Guide | Chinatown Food Trip | Jodd Fairs Rama 9 Food Trip (Night Market) | Khao Gaeng Jek Pui (Thai Curry Rice) | MICHELIN Street Food Guide | Phed Mark (Pad Krapow or Holy Basil Stir-Fry) | On Lok Yun (Thai-Style Western Breakfast) | Polo Fried Chicken (Soi Polo) | Raan Jay Fai (MICHELIN-Starred Street Food) | SookSiam Food Trip | theCOMMONS Thonglor (Food Hall) | Wattana Panich (Beef Noodle Soup)

Bangkok’s street food scene is so vibrant that even the MICHELIN Guide took notice. The food guide has awarded several Bib Gourmands and Plates to several establishments, and a Star to one culinary legend in the city. So far, we’ve visited six of the awardees (five current and one former) and we’re hoping to try more in the future.

If you are unfamiliar with the MICHELIN Guide distinctions, here’s a quick guide:

One Star: Restaurants with high quality cooking that’s worth a stop

Bib Gourmand: Restaurants offering exceptionally good food at moderate prices

Plate: Restaurants recognized for quality food but still working towards a Star or Bib Gourmand (but I noticed that the Guide has removed this distinction)

In this article, I’m compiling our experiences in Bangkok’s MICHELIN food spots. I will update this as I get to visit more spots.

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Guay Jub Ouan Pochana (Michelin Bib Gourmand)

Located in Bangkok’s Chinatown, Guay Jub Ouan Pochana has been selling its signature Guay Jub for more than fifty years. Guay Jub (or Kway Chap) is a Thai-Chinese peppery noodle soup composed of pork belly, pig innards, and large, flat rice noodles that have been rolled.

Ouan Pochana’s version has a very peppery broth and it reminds me of Bak Kut Teh, a Singaporean pork bone soup. The rolled rice noodles are soft, reminding me of macaroni in a Sopas, a Filipino chicken macaroni soup with milk (Guay Jub reminds me of a lot of dishes LOL). The pork belly, innards, and boiled egg all add texture to the dish. Overall, it’s a tasty and comforting dish!

Address: 408 Yaowarat Rd., Samphanthawong, Bangkok, Thailand (in front of China Town Rama Cinema) | Operating Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11AM-12AM

Kor Panich (Michelin Bib Gourmand)

Mango Sticky Rice is the most popular Thai dessert. It’s a dessert composed of ripe mangoes and glutinous rice, covered with coconut milk. One of the popular stores selling it is Kor Panich.

Kor Panich (or Kor Panit) was established in 1932 and has been in the same location ever since. Their recipe for Mango Sticky Rice, or Khao Niao Mamuang as it’s locally called, came from the owner’s mother-in-law who used to work for the kitchens of the Grand Palace.

Their Mango Sticky Rice has sweet mangoes, sticky rice, and creamy coconut milk.

Honestly, there’s nothing spectacular about it, as with all the Mango Sticky Rice I’ve tried in Thailand (I like Mango Sticky Rice but I don’t rave about it as others do). But if you’re only eating it once in your Bangkok trip, you might as well try it at Kor Panich.

Address: 431-433 Thanon Tanao, San Chao Pho Sua, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, Thailand | Operating Hours: Saturday-Thursday, 7AM-6PM; Friday, 7AM-7PM | Contact No.: +66 2 221 3554 | Facebook

Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu (Dinsor Road) (Michelin Bib Gourmand)

Pad Thai is undeniably the most popular Thai food in the world. This stir-fried noodle dish is available everywhere—on the streets, at markets (floating, night, and weekend), and at restaurants. But instead of trying it at Thipsamai, the most famous Pad Thai spot in all of Bangkok and also a Michelin awardee, we had it at Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu (Dinsor Road). It’s because Thipsamai’s Pad Thai has shrimp or shrimp oil, which we’re allergic to, while Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu serves pork Pad Thai.

Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu is the brainchild of Chef Andy Yang, the first MICHELIN-Starred Thai chef behind Rhong-Tiam in New Jersey.

As I mentioned, Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu serves pork Pad Thai. There are three varieties: Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu (with Berkshire pork butt beaten until tender and hand-chopped with Chinese cleavers), Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu Moo Krob (with crispy Berkshire pork belly), and Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu Moo Yang (with Berkshire pork loin that’s fermented, smoked and grilled). We tried the third one.

The pork loin is tender, fatty, smoky and feels like ham because of its slight sweetness. The noodles are soft (but I wished it’s chewier) and bean sprouts add crunch. This is one of the best Pad Thais I have ever had.

Address: 115/5 Dinso Rd., Bowon Niwet, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, Thailand | Operating Hours: Daily, 10AM-8PM | Contact No.: +66 89 811 1888 | Facebook | Instagram

Intermission: Are you planning a trip to Bangkok soon? Can’t decide what activities to do yet? Then check out the activities in Klook!

Patonggo Savoey (Formerly Michelin Plate in 2019)

Patonggo Savoey is a popular cart in Yaowarat Road and has recently opened a cafe in Thanon Santiphap or Santiphap Road. They are famous for Patonggo, a fried dough stick traditionally eaten for breakfast but has become a snack eaten at all times of the day and served with various dips. It’s like the Thai counterpart of Chinese youtiao or Spanish/Mexican churros.

Their Patonggo is crispy, light, and simply addicting (take it away from me! LOL). It comes with a pandan (screwpine) dip is creamy, rightly sweet, and has a nice pandan flavor. It’s good to have it with soya milk, which is perfectly sweet.

I prefer the one in Santiphap Road than in Yaowarat Road, which serves grilled Patonggo. It also comes in different flavors. We tried the one with a chocolate drizzle.

While grilling it adds smokiness to the dough sticks, I prefer it simply deep-fried.

Santiphap Branch Address: 7 Thanon Santiphap, Pom Prap, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok, Thailand | Operating Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 6AM-10PM | Contact No.: (+66) 63 565 5995 | Facebook | Instagram

Polo Fried Chicken (Soi Polo) (Michelin Bib Gourmand)

Polo Fried Chicken (Soi Polo) specializes on fried chicken (obviously LOL) and Isaan food. To the uninitiated, Isaan (or Isan) is the northeastern region of Thailand that borders Laos. With Laotian influences, their food is flavorful and spicy. Popular dishes, which you may recognize, include Gai Yang (grilled chicken), Kor Moo Yang (grilled pork neck), and, of course, Som Tam (green papaya salad).

But instead of grilled chicken, Soi Polo’s bestseller is Fried Chicken. It is easily one of the best fried chickens I have ever tried!

Check out our Soi Polo fried chicken and Isaan food experience here.

Address (from Google Map): 137/1-3 Sanam Khli Alley, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok, Thailand | Operating Hours: Daily, 7AM-9PM | Contact No: (66) 2251-2772 | Facebook | Instagram

Raan Jay Fai (ONE Michelin Star)

Founded in the early 80s, Raan Jay Fai is an eatery helmed by one of Thailand’s culinary legends, Supinya Junsuta a.k.a. Jay Fai (in Thai, “Jay” refers to a sister, while “Fai” means mole). It was awarded a MICHELIN Star in 2018, and is the only street food spot in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Their bestselling dishes are their signature Crab Meat Omelette and Drunken Noodles. But we’re allergic to crab and shrimp (which the latter has) so we ordered dishes without it.

Check out what we ordered and our entire Raan Jay Fai experience here.

Address: 327 Maha Chai Rd., Samran Rat, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, Thailand | Operating Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 9AM-7:30PM | Instagram

Which MICHELIN-recognized street food spot in Bangkok should I visit next? Comment below!

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