Yaowarat Street Food

Yaowarat Road runs the spine of Bangkok's Chinatown - one of the world's largest - and after dark it becomes the city's most concentrated eating street: a neon canyon where charcoal braziers, steaming stockpots and pavement woks feed queues until late. The repertoire spans generations - peppery guay jub rolled-noodle soup, oyster omelettes crisped in pork fat, grilled river prawns at the famous seafood corner of Soi Phadungdao, roasted chestnuts, custard-stuffed buns, and dim-sum and bird's-nest houses standing since the district's trading heyday. Several carts wear Michelin Bib Gourmand plaques, and the best strategy mixes the famous queues with whichever unnamed wok smells right. By day the street reverts to gold shops and herbal traders under the dragon gate of Odeon Circle - a different city wearing the same signs.

What you actually see

• The neon canyon at full boil - the evening street in maximum service.
• Soi Phadungdao's seafood corner - grilled prawns under the lights.
• The old sweet houses - chestnuts, buns and bird's-nest parlours.
• Odeon Circle's dragon gate - the daytime district of gold and herbs.

When to go

Evenings from about six until ten are the show; cool-season nights make the crawl comfortable. Many vendors rest on Mondays - the street's traditional quiet night.

Honest expectations

Queues at the famous carts can run to an hour - eat around them. Pavements are jammed and traffic threads through the diners; pick busy stalls with fast turnover and you will eat as safely as anywhere in Bangkok.

Nearby

Wat Traimit's Golden Buddha, Talat Noi's riverside lanes and the Chao Phraya piers.