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Pratunam Chicken Rice Restaurants
At the Pratunam intersection are two competing khâo man kài restaurants known by every taxi driver in the city (just say 'Midnight Kai Ton' to get here). Folks argue about which one is better, but we vote for the shop further from the corner. The dipping sauce with big chunks of ginger is its bird in hand.
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Rosdee
This stodgy family eating hall is never going to make it on to any international magazine's 'Hot Lists' of places to dine, but the elderly bow-tied staff does give the place a certain element of charm. Instead, Rosdee is known for its consistently tasty, well-executed Thai-Chinese favourites such as the garlicky aw sùan (oysters fried with egg and a sticky batter), or the house speciality, braised goose.
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Rub Aroon
Perfectly situated for a post-temple refresher, this café across the street from Wat Pho also throws in great old-word atmosphere and a few simple dishes.
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Ruen Mallika
Thai restaurateurs have tourists figured out: convert an old teak house into a restaurant and the crowds will come, regardless of the food. Ruen Mallika ups the ante with exquisite dishes, like dizzyingly spicy náam phrík (a thick dipping sauce with vegetables and herbs) and soulful chicken wrapped in banana leaves. The surrounding garden supplies the ingredients for deep-fried flower dish, a house speciality.
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Sanguan Sri
This restaurant, resembling a concrete bunker filled with furniture circa 1973, can afford to remain decidedly choei (old-fashioned) simply because of its reputation. Follow the lead of the area's hungry office staff and try the excellent kaeng phèt pèt yâang , red curry with grilled duck breast served over snowy white khànǒm jeen noodles.
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Taling Pling
You know you've picked well when Thai families outnumber expats. And you get a stylish setting, pretty enough for Bangkok gays. A few menu standouts include yam plaa salid taling pling (a fried fish salad with the namesake sour vegetable), chicken wrapped in pandanus leaves and phàk dam lung (stir-fried gourd leaves).
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Tha Tien Restaurant
After the river express boat ends its evening service, this pier-side restaurant fires up the wok and takes in a spotlighted view of Wat Arun. Cheap, yummy and very rustic, Tha Tien's added bonus is the chance to soak in the local ways: whiskey as a main course and boat vendors selling dried cuttlefish.
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Thonglee
With the owners' possessions overflowing into the dining room, a heavily laden spirit shrine and tacky synthetic tablecloths, Thonglee is the epitome of a typical Thai restaurant. However, in the sea of foreign food that is Th Sukhumvit, this is exactly what makes it stand out. Thonglee offers a few dishes you won't find elsewhere, like mǔu phàt kà-pì (pork fried with shrimp paste), and mìi kràwp (sweet-and-spicy crispy fried noodles).
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Tom Yum Kung
We don't make a habit of recommending restaurants on Th Khao San; it is just too easy to get caught in a tourist trap. But Tom Yum Kung is better known among Thais than foreigners and the dishes prove it. No silly pineapple curries here.
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Ton Pho
On a steamy day, catch a breeze at this open-air riverside restaurant. Ceiling fans rotate relentlessly as waiters scurry across the wooden floorboards (big gaps reveal the river beneath). The decor has the charm of a school cafeteria, adding anecdotal evidence to the Thai conviction that good food shouldn't be sullied by the Western concept of ambience.
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Tongue Thai
Using your trusty finger and the picture menu means your tongue is needed only for tasting. Maybe the name is supposed to remind us of the chef's honourable intentions not to sacrifice Thai flavours to Western palates. Anyway, your tongue will be feeling most Thai as it wraps itself around flavoursome morsels of spicy eggplant salad.
