Street Food in Thailand: affordable meal or Michelin-starred gastronomic dish?

A description of Thai street food and how street restaurants have evolved since one of them received a star in the Michelin Guide Thailand.

By Ranjith Chandrasiri

Street food is an integral part of Thai food culture.

It is certainly one of the most tempting attractions for tourists in Thailand and one of the best ways to experience authentic Thai food.

Both locals and foreigners love street food because it is convenient, cheap and delicious.

There is no shortage of fresh, made-to-order Thai food options, straight from carts or small street restaurants.

Street food comes in many forms, from a humble cart on the side of the road, to several stalls at a local market, to a traditional shop with tables spilling out onto the sidewalk.

You will find a high concentration of street food vendors in busy areas and markets.

Virtually every soi (alley) is dotted with street food carts selling everything from som tam (papaya salad) to delicious banana pancakes and ice cream.

Many of these dishes are a fundamental part of Thai food culture, and some foods are indicative of their origins, from Isaan (northeast) to the South.

From dawn until late at night, vendors can be found on every street corner, preparing everything from hot dishes on the grill to ice cream in their custom-made curbside carts.

They usually specialize in certain types of dishes and can be seen busy stir-frying dishes in large woks, pounding green papayas, grilling meat skewers, or boiling noodles.

The carts themselves are often part of the charm, regularly as inventive and colorful as the prepared dishes.

Stalls fall into the category of "street food" as many have kitchens or seating areas that extend onto the sidewalk, but they generally offer greater consistency and better hygiene than street stalls.

Street food in Thailand. Photo: Lee Lefever

In recent years, street food has begun to move from street stalls to Michelin-starred restaurants.

The Michelin guide ranks restaurants by awarding them stars or a place on the Bib Gourmand list, which is less prestigious than a star.

The Bib Gourmand list includes a more diverse mix of dining options at affordable prices.

The Bib Gourmand distinction, symbolized by the famous "Bibendum" licking his lips, is awarded to restaurants that offer quality cuisine, carefully prepared, at a reasonable price and with very good value for money, for a maximum of 1,000 baht (26.70 euros) including a three-course meal: starter, main course and dessert, excluding drinks.

Since the arrival of the Michelin Guide in Thailand, the only street food restaurant awarded a Michelin star is Jay Fai, a roadside restaurant specializing in popular Thai cuisine such as khai jeaw poo (crab omelet), tom yum (hot and sour soup), and pad kee mao (fried and boozy noodles).

It was first awarded a Michelin star in 2018 and has retained this enviable status ever since.

Jay Fai is one of seventeen restaurants selected for the first-ever Michelin Guide to Bangkok.

Announcing the selections, Michelin said:

“Bangkok has learned to successfully offer many types of international cuisine styles without sacrificing its own food heritage.”

Located in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, Jay Fai was founded in the 1980s by 75-year-old Supinya Junsuta, the restaurant's sole chef.

She wears her "signature glasses" and does all the cooking by herself in her outdoor kitchen.

Jay Fai, like many other street food restaurants, serves a variety of Thai dishes in a simple setting.

It is one of only two street restaurants in the world to hold a Michelin star.

Expect to queue for several hours to get a seat at this famous little restaurant and to pay up to 1,200 baht for Chef Supinya's famous khai jeaw poo.

While many local street food vendors aren't concerned about earning a Michelin star, some have reorganized their shops with an eye toward earning an award.

The bar has been raised in terms of food quality, innovation, hygiene and service standards.

Michelin did not disappoint, awarding Bib Gourmand awards to several street food vendors and stalls that met the strict criteria.

The 2022 Michelin Bib Gourmand selection features 133 restaurants and street food establishments, including 39 street food establishments in Bangkok.

In particular, there are a total of 108 establishments in the "Street Food" category, more than restaurants, in Bangkok (39 street food establishments and 32 restaurants) and Ayuthaya (6 street food establishments and 4 restaurants).

Of course, there are 108 Bid Gourmand selections and hundreds more stars in the making scattered throughout Thailand.

It's worth doing some research and visiting these trendy street food establishments to enjoy a delicious meal at an affordable price.

There is no doubt that Thai street food has evolved and gained an international reputation since its inclusion in the Michelin Guide.

Michelin has unearthed some hidden culinary gems in Bangkok and other Michelin-listed destinations: Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Phang-Nga, while Pattaya has yet to make the coveted list.

See also:

Street food: the best street dishes of Thailand

3 Thai Dishes Featured in Asia's Top 50 Street Foods

Author: Ranjith Chandrasiri, a seasoned hotelier, food and wine connoisseur, multilingual, with a wealth of knowledge and international experience in hotel management in luxury hotels and iconic brands.