Chinatown and Yaowarat Road

Chinatown is one of the oldest and most atmospheric neighbourhoods in Bangkok, and its main artery, Yaowarat Road, is the city's most famous street-food strip. Chinese traders settled here in the late eighteenth century, when the founding king moved them from the site of the new Grand Palace, and the district grew into the commercial heart of the city: a dense grid of shophouses, temples, gold shops, wholesale markets and narrow lanes that still feels like another century by day. The magic comes at night. As the shops close in the early evening, food carts and pop-up stalls take over the pavements of Yaowarat and the lanes off it, and the road glows with neon signs in Chinese characters and Thai script. The food is a blend of Teochew Chinese and Thai: rolled rice-noodle soup with crispy pork, oyster omelettes, grilled seafood, crab and prawn dishes, stir-fried noodles, dim sum, braised goose, chestnuts roasted in giant woks, and desserts from ginger dumplings to mango sticky rice and toasted bread with custard. Several Chinatown stalls and shophouses have been recognised by the Michelin Guide with Bib Gourmand listings, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand counts the district among the essential street-food destinations in Bangkok. By day, explore the other side of Chinatown: Wat Traimit, home of a golden Buddha made of solid gold weighing several tonnes; Sampeng Lane, a narrow covered market of wholesale goods; the Chinese shrines and temples hidden between shophouses; Talat Noi, a riverside quarter of old warehouses, street art and cafes; and the Pak Khlong Talat flower market, at its best before dawn. The MRT Blue Line stops at Wat Mangkon, right in the middle, and the river boats stop at Ratchawongse pier.

Eating well in Chinatown is about timing and choosing. The street stalls set up from late afternoon and are busiest from around 7pm to 10pm; many favourites have queues, which are a good sign. The best approach is to graze: walk the length of Yaowarat Road from the Odeon Circle and the Chinatown Gate towards the Chalermburi end, and stop for one or two dishes at several places rather than one big meal. Prices are low, and most stalls take cash only, with some taking Thai QR payments. Plastic stools on the pavement are part of the experience; for something more comfortable, a number of shophouse restaurants have air-conditioned rooms upstairs. Sundays and Mondays can be quieter, as some vendors take a night off.

If you are unsure where to start, a guided street-food walk is a good investment on your first night; a guide knows which stalls are the real thing, handles the ordering and adds the history of the district. Otherwise, look for the stalls with the longest queues of Thai diners. Vegetarians can enjoy Chinatown too, especially during the annual Vegetarian Festival, usually in October, when yellow flags mark stalls selling meat-free food, and Chinese New Year brings dragon dances and huge crowds to Yaowarat.

By day, come in the morning for Wat Traimit and its golden Buddha, a walk along Sampeng Lane and coffee in a restored shophouse in Talat Noi or Song Wat Road, an increasingly fashionable strip of galleries and cafes in old warehouses. Then go back to your hotel for a rest and return for dinner. Chinatown is busy but generally safe; watch your bags in crowds, and be careful of traffic, as Yaowarat is a working road with scooters weaving between the stalls.