Tom yum goong is Thailand's iconic hot-and-sour river-prawn soup: lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and Thai chillies in a clear or chilli-paste-thickened broth around a whole goong mae nam river prawn.

Tom yum's modern Bangkok form dates to the early 20th century, when river prawns from the Chao Phraya and Mekong were ladled into spiced broths in fishing-village kitchens. The clear (nam sai) and creamy chilli-paste (nam khon) versions diverged in Bangkok by the 1960s. Pa Aor in Pom Prap Sattru Phai became the city's canonical tom yum noodle counter in the 2000s, earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2018 for ladling river prawn into a hot-and-sour broth on rice noodles.

3 editor picks for Tom Yum Goong in Bangkok, ranked by editorial score. All Bangkok signature dishes · Tom Yum Goong across every city.