Thai Street Food - 5 MUST EAT Foods in Chinatown, Bangkok!! (Local Favorites Only!)

I'm in Bangkok, Thailand, and today I'm gonna share with you five of the most iconic Thai street foods to eat and where to eat them when you're in Yawarat, Bangkok's Chinatown. Good morning, hey everyone. Hope you're having an amazing day. It's Mark Wiens. It's bright and early in the morning, just after 6 a.m., and we're getting started early. I'm in Yawarat. This is Bangkok's Chinatown, one of the most famous places in the entire city for street food. I mean, there's so many dishes you can eat, but I wanted to take you to eat five of the most iconic local foods that I think you should not miss when you are in Bangkok's Chinatown, and we're gonna eat them all in one day. Yawarat, or Chinatown, is one of the most bustling areas of Bangkok. Founded in 1782 and originally settled by Chinese merchants, today it remains a center of trade and commerce. Nonstop energy, 24 hours a day, where you'll find everything from textiles to gold shops, and of course, never-ending street food. So good to be in Bangkok's Chinatown this early in the morning while it's still waking up. Well, we have a lot to eat today, and that's why we're starting so early. We're going to the first place down this alley, and this is a place that they only sell for a certain amount of time early in the morning. So here we are. This is the first place called Diatou Kwaichap. They only open from, I believe, 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. They're sell-out by 8 a.m., and they're only open from Thursday through Sunday, and they serve a dish which is called kwaichap, which is our number one dish, one of the most iconic dishes that you have to eat when you come to Yawarat in Bangkok. One of the main things about this dish are the noodle rolls, and so actually, uncle makes them fresh. He has the dry noodles, which are in squares, and then when he boils them in water, in hot water, then they curl up into coils of noodles, and that's the signature noodle of kwaichap. And from there, it's basically an all-pork affair. The broth, which is just continually boiling, it looks so good. There's pieces of skin floating around in the broth. You can see pepper boiling around in the broth, but he does it so expertly. He's done it for so long. His father started it, and he's been doing it for generations, and he just picks out the pieces of pork so expertly, chops it with all of those pork parts, and then the broth goes on, the hot broth with a little bit of skin. Okay, here it is. This is dish number one, which is called kwaichap again, and this is a dish that you will find just throughout Chinatown, throughout Bangkok. It's extremely popular, and it's a very Thai-Chinese dish that originates with the Teochew, or the Taichu people from Southern China who migrated through Southeast Asia, bringing with them their food, and so Chinatown has a very strong influence from the Teochew, or the Taichu people. They said the recipe is from 100 years ago. This looks amazing, thick, rich. Okay, let's just try that broth first. Oh, that is extraordinarily soothing, and rich, and porky, and flavorful. Not as heavy on the pepper as some other versions. There's so many different versions. Some are really peppery, others are less peppery. This is kind of a medium pepperiness, but that being said, they do have a couple bottles of pepper, so we will have to definitely season with some pepper, but wow, that broth is absolutely sensational. What an award-winning broth. Oh, that's healing. Okay, here we go, here's the bottle of pepper. That's being passed around. Pepper is so fragrant. Oh, man, I think I could actually use a little, one more squeeze of pepper. People go heavy on the pepper. You have to taste that broth. Okay, try those noodles with the pepper in it now. Oh, with that pepper, and then I love the actual noodles themselves, which are noodle rolls. Actually, they're sliced into squares, and then they coil up into noodle rolls. These noodles have an amazing kind of chewy texture to them. Some of them are really soft. Ying, how is that? That broth is amazing, huh? I am gonna move in for a little more seasoning. A little bit of chili. Oh, yeah, and then I'm not totally sure if everybody adds vinegar. Does most people add vinegar? But my wife, Ying, always adds vinegar, so I'm gonna follow that, and let's try some of these pork parts. Oh, wow. That stomach is cooked to perfection. Oh, just a little bit of elasticity, but it sort of just melts in your mouth. Oh, that was tongue. Oh, the tongue is amazing. As we're starting to eat this, there's starting to be a line forming behind us for a queue for the kway chap. But man, talk about the morning sweats. The chili, the soup, back here in the market. The humidity of Bangkok. Whenever you start sweating at 6 a.m. in the morning, you know you're gonna have a good day. Sweating from food, that is. Now, the portion size is not huge, so you can either eat more portions, but the good thing for us is we have a lot more food to eat today. We're not going hungry. Oh, what a spot, and I didn't even notice down here in the alley is where they're cooking everything over charcoal. The restaurant has been here for 80 years, third generation now. They hand make all of their own fish balls for 80 years, same recipe. Yes, sweating. My shirt is almost drenched at 6 a.m. in the morning. Oh, that was successful. That was extraordinary. What a dish. I've had kway chap so many times, but this is my first time here, and it's truly outstanding. A local popular spot that's only open for a few hours, a few days per week, but this is a dish, this is number one, kway chap, something that you have to eat when you are in Chinatown in Bangkok. We have about a 10 minute walk to get to the next place, which is gonna be something incredibly tasty, but as we're going there, I just wanted to tell you that there's so much food to eat in Yawarat. I mean, you could walk, you could stop pretty much anywhere you see food, and it's gonna be delicious and tasty, and you should definitely try it, but for this tour and for these five iconic dishes, I really wanted to include some places that are a little bit off the beaten path, some places that are really locally popular, and we should be coming up very soon to the next place. It's about 8 a.m. now. This is our breakfast or meal number two. So this restaurant, it's right across from the hospital. They have all the curries prepared here at the front. They're famous for especially, I mean, all the curries, but especially for a dish called gangari, which I will order. That's the dish number two, and I'll explain to you more about it after we start eating. Oh, what a spot, and I didn't even notice down here in the alley is where they're cooking everything over charcoal, and one of the things that they're really famous here is the beef curry, gangari, but also with the enwo, which is the tendon, so tendon beef curry. Oh, this looks incredible. I cannot wait to start digging in. Got big chunks of tendon over rice with that curry sauce. Oh, wow, the tendon just melts in your mouth. It's almost more like a stew, actually, and that kind of brings us to the history of gangari, which is a yellow curry in Thai, but this is the Chinese version. It's a Chinese Thai curry, which has been influenced from so many cultures. Gangari typically uses some curry powder, which is an Anglo-Indian invention, similar to masala, but with a curry powder blend of spices, and so actually, gangari is a dish that has history with British naval officers, with Indian spices, and here in Yawarat, it's a dish that has developed as a blend of Thai, a blend of Indian, a blend of Chinese influence, all spread, and all coming together in a really mild curry that eats and tastes more like, I mean, to me, it's more like a tendon stew rather than a curry, as you know, because a lot of the Thai curries would make use of a lot of fresh spices, lemongrass, galangal, chilies, whereas this is a really mild curry, but really so soothing and so fitting, and this really is a very common and a very popular dish in Chinatown. It's very iconic, and that's why it's number two on this list, and their version is extraordinary, especially with the tendon. It's such a unique blend that it tastes a little bit sweet, but not that sweet, it's just so mellow and so comforting and thick and hearty. So you can add some of these chopped green chilies, chopped green chilies, and then I love this entire tub of chilies and fish sauce, oh yeah. Sprinkle on a little bit of this, bump up that heat, oh yeah, and then we also got some of the gun jiang, which is the Chinese sausage with it as well. With that salty fish sauce to bring out the flavor, the extra heat of the chilies, the sausage, I'm not a huge fan of the Chinese sausage, it's quite sweet, but that does kinda fit well together, and it's actually fried, the edges of all of that sausage is a little bit crispy, which makes it nice. You gotta see how wobbly, how gelatinous this tendon is. Oh, oh it's beautiful. Oh, it's shaking. The texture, the gumminess, it melts in your mouth. Those lumps of gelatinous tendon, something you've gotta eat when you're in Chinatown. Wow, so they said that they boil the tendon for half a day, that's why it gets so tender, that's why it's so good, but then they're still boiling more pots of their specialty, which is again the tendon of the beef. They do sell for lunch, but then they wrap it up after lunch, so these are probably for the next batch when it starts to get busy later on mid-morning. I also couldn't resist the chicken curry with bamboo shoots. I love bamboo shoots. This curry is again a little bit mild, but really soothing, really rich and thick. Oh, yeah, what a place, friendly, delicious. And Ying, what's the name of the place again? Kangkali. Hii. It's a little hard to pronounce. Hii. Kangkali. Hii. It's Chinese, right? It's Chinese, kind of like a V. So it's a little hard to pronounce even in Thai, but highly recommended, that was great. Big shout out also to a restaurant which is called Jek Pui, which is one of the legends of kangkali. They're extremely famous. I made a video there a long time ago, might highlight it here, but you can also go there, but this place is incredible. Okay, we've got a lot more to eat today. We are moving on to the next place. We're actually getting to the end of Yawarat and into an area called Pahurat, which is famous for textiles, for clothes, for fabrics. But the next dish that we're gonna eat, it's something that is almost omnipresent. There's so many places to eat this dish, and it should be just up ahead down an alley. So you walk from the main road, you come down this alley. What time is it now? I think it's, oh, it's exactly 10 a.m. They open right at 10 a.m. We're here right on time. Okay, so located down the alley, this place is called Goi Teow Luk Shin Pla Je Kung, serving what is dish number three, which is Luk Shin Pla, which is fish balls. Fish balls are very common in Chinatown. They're very popular, very famous, something you have to eat. They were just explaining to us that the restaurant has been here for 80 years, third generation now, and its uncle in the back from his family passed down from generation to generation. And this is the type of place that has so much history, so much heritage, the traditional recipe of fish balls, the way they're supposed to be done, not compromising. It's truly an art. You can choose your different noodles. I got the egg noodles, and then she really artfully blanches those, puts them in your bowl. I got the dry version, and then she adds in some seasonings. She adds in some pork lard. She adds in, I think there's some garlic in there as well. She adds in some green onions, and then she has an assortment of different fish balls. I got a mix of different fish balls, which she then adds to your bowl. It looks fresh. They hand make all of their own fish balls for 80 years, same recipe. Okay, and we got here right as they open, but if you come here a little, maybe probably within an hour or as it gets lunchtime, it's packed, and also she sells out, I think by around noon or so. Take a look at these fish balls. You could just see how bouncy they are. We got a variety of different fish balls and dumplings and fried fish balls, and then I got the egg noodles on the bottom, which she blanches here. She adds in some pepper. She adds in some lard. There's some lard chunks in there as well. Which one should I eat first? Maybe this guy? Just take a bite of a fish ball. Oh, yeah. Oh, you can feel how spongy it is, that texture, and the good news is we have a whole nother extra bowl full of the fish balls, so we can taste one, and then we can have more. The sponginess of that fish ball. Oh, my god. Oh, okay. Sawadee krap. All right. All right, my god. Luk shin. So Auntie is saying that they mix it all by hand. They chop it by hand, do you? No blender. Three different types of fish, and sometimes with some of the, I mean, lots of fish balls these days, they'll blend it so it's too smooth and too fine of a texture, and then sometimes add flour. These, you can tell, they're just fully fish, which she says they hand chop, handmade, completely handmade, and that just totally is the texture that you want. I mean, it's spongy, it's a little bit coarse. Oh, that is incredible. And so fresh, it doesn't have any kind of a fishy taste whatsoever. Wow, that's delicious, that's sensational, that's just handmade quality. It is time to do a little bit of seasoning, a little bit of chili goes in, and you gotta get a little bit of vinegar as well. Egg noodles, there's bean sprouts in here. She adds in a little bit of pork lard, fried pork, and then there might be some garlic in there too, and then spring onions. Good, springy, really, really thin egg noodles as well. I mean, the noodles are kind of just the filler here. It's really all about the fish balls. And we gotta take a look at this soup. This soup is incredibly clear and clean. It's so pure, so clean, not oily, and it's just kind of this flavor that's just kind of, you taste it at the front of your mouth, but where you really get the flavor is when it goes down, and that's just kind of like a, oh, it's just soothing. And so you could get your noodles with broth in the noodles, but I really like it on the side, and then you can just kind of drink the soup as you go with the dry noodles. That way you really get the flavor of the dry noodles plus the dry fish balls. Okay, let's move into some of the other fish balls, like this one. Oh, that one is amazing. Oh, there's some kind of an oniony taste to that one. Now that I get another taste of that, I think that texture in that fish ball, I think it could be water chestnut, because it has that kind of crunch to it, that juicy crunch to it that contrasts the texture of the smooth, bouncy fish ball, silky fish ball. But something you'll notice is that every single fish ball has a different texture, a different taste, a different feel in your mouth. And as we're sitting here now, it's just full. Their phones are ringing, people ordering. You can tell why they sell out. Pretty much before lunchtime, they're sold out. Okay, I want to try this dumpling. Not totally sure what the dumpling is, but let's try it. Oh, it's a combination of shrimp and pork, I think. You've got the bouncy texture of the pork plus that kind of silky flavor from the shrimp. Oh, yeah, that bounciness. You don't want those fish balls to slip out of your chopsticks. Might bounce on the table and bounce back at you. They're that bouncy. Oh, man. And that always is a sign of quality. That was so satisfying. Okay, we've eaten three of the most iconic dishes, Thai street foods, Thai-Chinese street foods, that you have to eat when you come to Yaowarat. We have two more to go. That was extraordinary, and it really is hard to find that quality, that level of fish ball. They're so friendly, too, and they wouldn't charge us. They didn't charge us for that. That was so nice of them, highly recommended. That was delicious, and what a cool location down an alley. Okay, we're moving on. More food coming up. It's a bit of a walk. We walked all the way across Chinatown, basically to the other side, and we're on the outskirts of the other side, near to Hua Lamphong, and we have almost made it to the next spot, but actually, it's really good. I needed a little walk after three meals already. I'm ready to eat again. We're at number four, is hoi tod, which is a fried oyster omelet. Uncle is an absolute pro. He's been doing this for, Uncle, how long have you been doing this? I've been doing this for 60 years. 60 years. Since 2005. Wow. 2005. Wow, 60, Uncle has 60 years of experience. 78 years, Uncle. He's 78 years old, still fries himself. I love his move, where he just splatters on that mixture with the oysters inside of it, and then cracks on an egg, and just continually feeds it with lard to make it crispy. Right when it's the correct time, he then fries up some garlic in some more lard, puts on a handful of bean sprouts, and then puts your oyster omelet on top of it. What an oyster omelet, what a move. Okay. What a place, this is just beautiful. All right, and Uncle is just so, so friendly. I can't wait to try it. Oh, wow, yes. You get this immediate crunch from the lard and the egg, and the batter that's sizzled into crispiness. But then at the same time, you have this amazing gooey texture of the cassava batter. You've got the crunch of the bean sprouts, the fragrance of the garlic, and then those oysters just melt in your mouth. They're plump little oysters that just kind of, like, so good. And I'd say that one of the keys here, with Uncle's 60 years of experience, is that he knows the exact ratio, the timing, exactly how long to fry it, so it's both crispy and gooey all at the same time. That's something that makes it special. Usually like a sweet chili sauce that goes with it. A little bit of this. I love all those crispy edges. Actually, with that sauce, even though it's sweet, kind of really balances the whole flavor, brings the flavors out, and adds not only sweetness, but a tanginess to it as well. That's extremely satisfying and rich. Oh, man, that was tasty. Oh, we might need a little break. Oh, actually, we do have a little break. We have a couple of hours before the next meal. It's gonna be a massive meal. It's gonna be a banquet of Thai-Chinese food to end. You're not gonna wanna miss this ending. We have made it to dish number five, and for our final meal, we're right in the heart of Chinatown. This is Yaowarat Road, always busy, and just traffic continually, but this is the center of Chinatown. We're going to an old-school restaurant. It's very famous, but it is an institution. I think they've been open for something like 90, even 100 years. Welcome to our final restaurant. This place is called Tang Jia Yu. We ordered a special dish that they are gonna prepare for us. They're lighting up the charcoal right now. They're gonna prepare for us one of their signature dishes, something that you have to pre-order. This is gonna be our fifth and final dish, and they're gonna cook it right here. Oh, that fire's blazing hot. This is dish number five of the most iconic Thai street foods, and he is roasting it right here over a raging hot fire, just continually. It has to be turning so it doesn't burn. A suckling pig. It is now just completely golden, dripping, crispy. Oh, man, that color is insane. Freshwater fish, and so another one of their specialties along with the roasted pig is the sashimi. And there's, with teochew food, there's really an emphasis on freshness. He slices that fish just perfectly thin and then arranges it in a beautiful pattern on the plate, sprinkles it with sesame seeds with a little bit of decoration, but it's just so artful, so much expertise in the slicing and the cuts. The recipes are not extremely complex with flavor, but it really stressed the importance of quality and freshness. And then it's served with a whole salad. I think the suckling pig is ready. The fish is ready. We're gonna order a few more of their signature dishes and then sit down. We're ready for the final meal, a banquet. Okay, and here's the suckling pig. Oh, wow, that's huge, actually. Oh, this is a straight-up banquet and the quality, the precision. And this is dish number five. I mean, the whole meal, and we have to start with that skin. That is something truly spectacular. It's just, it's shining. It looks like glass. It's just, it's ready to shatter in your mouth. And we grab one of these thin-like pancakes, grab a piece of this. Here, I'm gonna go straight in for the center, that piece of skin, into the pancake. Look at how crispy that is. And then you can add in cucumber, some green onions, and finish it off with a little bit of the dark sauce. All right, here we go. Oh, wow, it is so crispy. It's so delicate, just shatters. Okay, I just wanna try that skin on its own, though. It's just so clean-tasting. Now, most of the time, you would eat this suckling pig with a whole group, an entire family gathering. So you'd finish all the skin. Then after that, they take the pig into the kitchen and they cook a dish of your choice with. I'm gonna move into the pla dip, which is the raw fish. And then you dip it into this sauce. All that melts in your mouth. I love that crust of sesame seeds. And then the sauce is a little bit sweet, nutty, and sesame oil. And then you have this whole plate of vegetables, which they said is for garnishing. Yeah, there's everything from pineapple to pickled radish on here. Mm, oh, that radish is amazing. Wow, that goes down so easily. It just melts in your mouth. Balance that all with some fried Chinese broccoli. Mm, oh yeah, I love the texture. Just completely crispy, just wok-tossed, so you have a little bit of a wok-smoky flavor to it, but not overcooked at all, crisp and fresh. And I think one of the things that you'll also notice about Jiuqu food is that it's not over-salty, not over, nothing to cover up the ingredients themselves. The next dish we have is called ka-han op-maw-din, which are goose feet braised in a pot, loaded up with as many of those herbs as possible, all of that ginger. Mm, mm, mm, oh, the ginger in there, the garlic, the scallions, oh, that's incredible. There's so much skin and flappy material on this goose foot. And that's what makes it so good, and the texture is not, like, rubbery at all. It's so soft and tender. Redip it into all of that goodness at the bottom, all of the chunky herbs, put it right into this, the mitt. One of the tastiest goose foot you'll taste in Bangkok as well. And now we got nam-chim seafood, which is the Thai sauce of chilies and garlic. Dip it into the seafood, Thai seafood sauce. Oh, man, I don't even know how to take this to my face. I think we have to go vertical, that's the only way. Oh, wow, the goose feet, unbelievable. And with that sauce, the acidity, the lime juice, the garlic in there, that is an incredible combination. Okay, so it has come. This is the entire body chopped up and then deep-fried with garlic is what she recommended. The ribs, the drumsticks, it's all in here. And on this bite, the moment the restaurant reopens for dinner, it just totally filled up, like completely full, reserved. So definitely make a reservation when you come here, but that just shows how popular this place is. Oh, wow. Oh, that is so tender and fatty and crispy. It's all here, the ribs, the ears. So fatty and juicy. To me, that's one of the concepts of Kyochon food, is that it's not, rarely is it over-seasoned or over-salty, but you really taste the flavor. That is so good. What a meal, what an experience, and what a just culinary institution, a landmark of Thai-Chinese dining in Bangkok. I hope this place never changes from the floor to the red seats, to the decor, to even the people that eat here. Oh, that was amazing. I will have all five of these dishes in the description box below, and also all the restaurants, you can check them out in the description box below. But really, you can try these dishes across Yawarat, and if you eat all five dishes in one day, it's gonna be a very, very good day. I wanna say a huge thank you to you for watching this video. Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it. Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you, and if you're not already subscribed, make sure you subscribe now for lots more food and travel videos. Thanks again for watching, goodbye from Bangkok.