Some like it hot and spicy ... on the street

Street food is one of Bangkok’s charms. Never mind the open-air atmosphere and tropical humidity, street stalls offer a variety of exotic and authentic Thai food for everyone.

Yaowarat, or Chinatown, is arguably the best place for food stalls and offers a diverse range of mouthwatering dishes, from noodles and barbecued seafood to grilled duck. A street chef fries morning glory (main picture) in a flaming hot wok, creating excitement for customers.

Although Khao San Road is an international tourist spot, people can find cheap and delicious street food. Comfort food includes grilled pork, omelette and iced smoothies. A Brazilian tourist (bottom left) shows how to eat pad Thai with style by letting the noodles flow down from her chopsticks.

People can find delicious food almost everywhere in Bangkok. A food court in Din Daeng (top left) offers a variety of affordable dishes from savoury treats to desserts. One of its famous dishes is egg noodles and sticky rice with crispy chicken wings. And, of course, som tum, or papaya salad, is a must.

Vendors have found innovative ways to display their dishes in spite of restricted space. Prasarn Songprasit (top right), a 60-year-old vendor widely known as “Condo Dish” at Indra Square in Pratunam, has only one square metre of space to work in but gets round the problem by putting food containers on top of each other.

Even a tuk-tuk (bottom right) contributes to the food scene by carrying fresh vegetables for cooking in Sukhumvit Soi 24.

No wonder CNN has named Bangkok the best city for street food in the world. The best Thai food does not exist in air-con restaurants but is like a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered on the street.