Eat well in Bangkok without overpaying: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in Bangkok for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
Go-Ang Pratunam in Bangkok is the pink-uniform chicken-rice counter on Petchaburi, Bib Gourmand since 2018 with khao man gai plates under 100 baht since 1960.
TryKhao man gai Hainanese chicken rice
TipCash only. Queues from 10:00-14:00 then 16:00-21:00. The original Pratunam location, six total branches in the city.
Boat Noodle Alley off Victory Monument in Bangkok serves 50-baht bowls of kuay teow ruea pork or beef noodles from a row of canal-side stalls.
TryBoat noodles (kuay teow ruea)
TipCash only. Order three or four small bowls to rotate flavours; locals stack five bowls at the bigger Boat Noodle Heaven stall.
Thipsamai in Bangkok's Old Town has cooked the city's most famous Bib Gourmand pad Thai since 1966 with plates under 200 baht, even with the shrimp oil.
TryPad Thai wrapped in egg
TipCash only. Closed Tuesdays. Open Wed-Mon 09:00 to midnight; the wrapped-in-egg pad Thai is the canonical order.
Rung Rueang in Bangkok's Sukhumvit 26 is the Bib Gourmand pork-noodle counter, four generations of pork balls in kuay teow rice noodles, all bowls under 100.
TryTom yum pork noodles
TipCash only. Open 08:00-17:00 daily; lunch queues from 11:30. Two branches on Sukhumvit 26, both run by the same family.
Polo Fried Chicken in Bangkok's Soi Polo is the Bib Gourmand garlic-fried-chicken room, a 1989 family business deep-frying half birds with crispy fried.
TryGarlic fried chicken with sticky rice
TipCash only. Lunch crowds fill the room by 12:00; arrive before opening or after 14:00. Open 07:00-21:00 daily.
Or Tor Kor in Bangkok's Chatuchak is the cleanest food court in the city with curry plates and som tam stalls under 200 baht, the Bib Gourmand som tam pla ra.
TrySom tam, grilled chicken, curry plates
TipThe som tam pla ra stall in the back corner is the canonical order; the durian and mangosteen vendors are seasonal.
Nai Ek in Bangkok's Yaowarat has cooked Bib Gourmand kuay jab in peppery pork-offal broth since 1960, bowls with crispy pork belly all under 120 baht.
TryKuay jab Yaowarat in pork broth
TipOpen 08:00 to midnight, cash only. Closed for Chinese New Year. Queue from 11:00 onwards on weekdays.
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