TakeMeTour’s Tip:
As of December 6, 2017, the first-ever Michelin Guide Thailand (Michelin Guide Bangkok 2018) has been launched! Check out the list of Michelin Guide Bangkok restaurants and our local tips for the best dining experience.
December has arrived and Thailand’s Michelin Guide is coming to town. Set to unveil on December 6, 2017, the first list of Michelin-starred restaurants is none other than Michelin Guide Bangkok.
As we all know, fine dining has always been a staple of the red foodie bible and Michelin Guide Thailand will be no exception. But with CNN listing Bangkok as one of the best cities for street food, it would be a shame to not include local eateries and street food vendors in Michelin Guide Bangkok.
As everyone waits with bated breath for Michelin Guide Bangkok to launch, TakeMeTour is back with more of the best local places to eat in Bangkok. Following our two previous lists of Michelin Star-worthy restaurants voted by over 2,000,000 Thai locals or Wongnai Users’ Choice restaurants), here are five more 2017 local favorites from Thailand’s no. 1 restaurant-finding platform.
5 Michelin Guide Bangkok-Worthy Local Restaurants (2017 Wongnai Users’ Choice)
1. Tasty Thai-Hainanese heritage: Pan Fah Restaurant (ภัตตาคารผ่านฟ้า)
With its eye-catching display of giant crab claws and chickens, Pan Fah Restaurant is hard to miss when you stroll along the historic Phra Arthit Road and Phra Sumen Road in Bangkok Old Town. The restaurant has been dishing out its famous Hainanese chicken rice for almost 80 years and we can imagine Michelin Guide Bangkok inspectors being impressed by the tender and juicy free-range chicken meat and the well-cooked rice. Seafood lovers shouldn’t miss Pan Fah’s steamed crabmeat and crab claws. The idea of eating such huge claws might sound like a hassle, but no worries. They are served perfectly cracked with seafood dipping sauce.
2. Heavenly culinary house: Krua Apsorn Dinso Road (ครัวอัปสร สาขาถนนดินสอ)
Krua Apsorn, which means Angels’ Kitchen, lives up to its name with heavenly authentic Thai cuisine. With its home-cooked dishes favored by Thailand’s royal family and many international media outlets, we can see Michelin Guide Bangkok inspectors checking the unassuming restaurant out. Local and foreign travelers alike recommend the fluffy crab omelet, the spicy crab curry and the very spicy stir-fried mussels with basil. The second branch of Krua Apsorn on Dinso Road (near the Giant Swing and other hidden gem temples in Bangkok Old Town) is the most popular branch.
3. Fantastically fishy: Siang Ki Khao Tom Pla (เซี่ยงกี่ข้าวต้มปลา)
Chinatown (Yaowarat) is world-famous for Thai-Chinese local way of life and cheap street food, so it might come as a shock to you that a tiny shophouse restaurant hidden in one of Chinatown’s many alleys dares to offer Khao Tom Pla (boiled rice soup with fish) at 300 baht. Once you taste a steaming hot and huge bowl of rice soup filled to the brim with fresh fish, oysters and other traditional ingredients, though, you won’t regret it. The 90-year-old restaurant is currently run by 80-year-old couple who has inherited the secret Teochew recipe and cooked their creations on a charcoal stove. The Michelin Guide Bangkok inspectors probably wouldn’t have missed such interesting personalities and the authentic boiled rice soup experience.
4. Ducky delight: Siah Duck Noodles (เซี๊ยะก๋วยเตี๋ยวเป็ด)
Siah Duck Noodles in Klong Toey district (home to a very local Klong Toey Fresh Market) serves up duck noodles and steamed duck in brown sauce as their specialties. The aroma of herbs in the soup will draw you in and you’ll fall in love at first bite with the tenderness of duck meat. Of course, the noodles themselves taste great, otherwise this small restaurant wouldn’t have been going strong for over three decades.
5. Spicy south right in Bangkok: Khao Jao (ข้าวจ้าว)
Southern Thai food is well-known for its spicy flavors. If you’re visiting only Bangkok and can’t make it to Southern Thailand this time, be sure to visit Khao Jao. Although located in an upscale lifestyle destination for both locals and foreigners like Thonglor, Khao Jao serves up southern-style Khanom Jeen Nam Ya (rice noodles with fish curry sauce) and bitter bean dishes at very reasonably prices. If you prefer milder flavors, order classic Thai dishes like Pad Thai, stir-fried glass noodles and many more. Khao Jao looks more modern than all the other restaurant featured in this list, but rest assured that the flavors are authentic.
Since these Michelin Guide Bangkok-worthy restaurants are located in the city’s must-visit destinations, don’t go hunting for food only. Find other local things to do in Bangkok, too. With TakeMeTour Local Experts as your local friends, you’ll enjoy not only great food but also great experiences.