IS A FOOD TOUR IN BANGKOK’S CHINATOWN WORTH IT?
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On most of my trips I take very few organized tours, prefering instead to explore on my own. But one type of tour that I have been tempted by quite often is a food tour. Usually, they are quite expensive – around USD 80 – and I could never justify the cost.
But when I looked at the various tours on offer in Bangkok (it doesn’t hurt to look), I saw that food tours here were… well, not cheap, but a lot more reasonable. And after almost 6 weeks of solo travelling I rather liked the idea of meeting new people and having an actual conversation.
So I went ahead and booked the tour – read on to see what happened, what we ate, and whether I would recommend going on this Food Tour in Bangkok’s Chinatown!
Satay Spits were one of the stops on our tour
Booking the Food Tour
There were quite a number of Food Tours offered by Get your Guide. I went back and forth a while but ultimately booked this Chinatown Food Tour as it had a reasonable price (around USD 37) as well as good reviews.
Getting there and Check-in
Similar to my Ping River Cruise, the meeting place was again at a temple. However, this time the instructions were quite clear (meet in front of the entrance).
The temple in question is Wat Mangkon, the only Chinese Buddhist temple in Bangkok. Conveniently, there is a MRT stop by the same name nearby so getting there is quite straightforward.
Wat Mangkon was decked out for Chinese New Year and quite busy
Our tour was slated to start at 5 pm and this is where I made my mistake. In an overabundance of caution (I hate being late) I started out way too early and got there a good 1.5 hours before the start.
My original plan was to spend the waiting time either in a nearby park or strolling through Chinatown. But once again the extreme heat made it difficult to enjoy either of these options. I did try to find a park but there was a huge construction project going on so I couldn’t even find the entrance.
And whereas most central areas of Bangkok offer plenty of cool indoor spaces (can you say Mall), this wasn’t the case for Chinatown. Or maybe I just didn’t find them? Either way, I was already extremely hot and sweaty and our tour hadn’t even started!
After an emergency purchase of some water at a 7-Eleven, I decided to check out Wat Mangkon instead. This turned out to be the right decision!
Wat Mangkon is a good place to explore as you wait for your tour
Not only did the temple offer shade, airconditioning, seating, and bathrooms, but there was also quite a lot going on as Chinese New Year was only a couple of days off.
While I don’t recommend getting to the meeting point as early as I did, I do recommend being there a little early. One couple was running late and almost missed joining our tour (luckily they made it still at our first food stop).
I would aim for getting to Wat Mangkon about 30 minutes before the start of the tour and spending that time exploring this beautiful temple.
What to expect on the tour
Once everyone has arrived, you will set out on a walk through Chinatown. Every block or so you will stop at a different restaurant/stall to try their specialty. Alogether, there were about 10 stops (some with several different foods) during the three hour tour.
General Observations about the Food
As the tour was in Chinatown I had expected the food to be strongly Chinese inspired, but while a couple options were, most were the typical foods you would expect in Thailand.
While a couple of choices were a bit more unusual, there was nothing that was really “out there” – no scorpions or intestines or anything. A couple of foods were a bit spicy but nothing extreme. Clearly, the food stops were chosen so to appeal to a broad range of tastes.
While some dietary restrictions can be catered for (e.g. if you want to avoid pork), this is probably not the ideal tour for you if you are vegan, have severe allergies, or maybe even for Vegetarians (though you could pick around the meat if you are on the easier-going side).
Guide and Group
Our guide was friendly, bubbly, and very engaging. She also did a great job taking photos of anyone who wanted them (I passed but other guests were impressed by her skill) and she did a good job including everyone into the conversation and helping the group to connect.
For some reason I thought there would be a bit more sight-seeing of Chinatown involved (maybe important buildings in the area etc.) but that wasn’t really the case. The tour guide however did tell us a lot about Thai food and customs so there were learning opportunities.
We were a total of 7 people, three couples from Europe and the US and me as the only solo traveler. In general, at most stops each couple got one plate to share between them. More than enough given how many stops we had! As a solo traveler I either got a full plate or shared with the guide.
Bangkok’s Chinatown is busy and quite hectic
The Food
So you are probably wondering – what did you eat? I don’t want to completely spoil the surprise and also think it is likely that the exact choices change a bit based on tour guide, day of the week, number of guests etc. So the following is just a rough indication of what could be included.
Anyway, I will list the foods we had (unless I forgot something) with a picture and a quick comment. This should give you an approximate idea what to expect.
Stop 1 – Green Curry with either Chicken or Pork
I really enjoyed the Chinese sausage in this Green Chicken Curry
This was a rather generous helping but we were told to pace ourselves so most didn’t clean their plate. There was a choice of chicken or pork and at least the chicken came with Chinese sausage (my favorite part). It was a bit spicy but nothing extreme!
Stop 2 – Banana Roti
A bit surprisingly, the second stop was already something sweet – Roti. This crisply fried pancake is filled with delicious banana and drizzled with chocolate and condensed milk. Roti is definitely one of my favorite foods in Thailand and this one was no exception.
Stop 3 – Shrimp/Pork Dumplings
The next stop was one of the promised Michelin recommended options. We had a table inside a small restaurant and were served plump and juicy shrimp/pork dumplings with fried garlic and vinegar for dipping. I thought these dumplings were very good but not sure if they were that out of the ordinary either (but I am no expert).
Stop 4 – Street Food
Stop 4 was at a tiny food court (for want of a better word) with several stands next to it so we got a selection of smaller offerings. This included fish cakes with dipping sauce (in the upper left corner on the photo above) and chicken and pork skewers with peanut dipping sauce and vegetables. I wasn’t too sure about the fish cakes (that is due to personal preference though) but loved the skewers and especially the dipping sauce.
There were also eggrolls with vegetables and wontons. All were very tasty as you would expect of fried food. But it was about at this point that most of us started to feel a bit full and enthusiasm for the foods started to wane.
The guide also gave us small shots of Pennywort Juice which is apparently extremely healthy and good for your skin. Unfortunately, it tastes about like you would expect from green sludge. Some of the other guests did drink a second glass but I was glad I got the first one down.
Stop 5 – Pandan Jelly Drink
Our next stop was another drink (maybe to wash down the taste of the healthy juice?). I do not remember the name but it was coconut based and had jackfruit as well as something resembling green gummy worms. This was apparently pandan jelly – a sort of green coconut with a flavor that blends coconut with vanilla.
Stop 6 – Fried Chicken
The next roadside place served both a clear soup (I quite liked it but most seemed less impressed) and rice with fried chicken. The food was tasty but by this point you could tell people were pretty full already so not that much got eaten
Stop 7 – Papaya Salad
Next we went into a restaurant and got some Papaya Salad. It was very crisp, refreshing and not too spicy. Do be careful if you get this dish on your own though! I ordered some the other day and it was way too spicy for my European taste buds. The version on the food tour was definitely a milder, more bland alternative.
The Papaya Salad was a hit with the group. I believe we were originally supposed to get a second dish at this restaurant but something went wrong. Instead of waiting the guide decided to move on to our next stop. Most of us were anyway so full that one dish more was not really needed.
Stop 8 – Patonggo
We were so full that I thought nothing could tempt us anymore but the next stop turned out to be my favorite of the tour! And I think everyone else enjoyed it too. This was another Michelin recommended place so expectations were quite high and the shop delivered.
Called Patonggo, this was a sweet treat consisting of fried dough pieces that were served with condensed milk and pandan custard for dipping. Opinions varied as to the custard – some loved it, some didn’t care for it – but everyone enjoyed the fried dough.
And of course the coconut ice cream that was served alongside the Patonggo was a hit too!
Stop 9 – Soup with Crispy Pork
I really can’t comment on this dish – by that time I was so full that I passed on trying it. As I have had crispy pork in Thailand before and was incredibly full already, it seemed a waste to get a dish just to try a bite or two (and there was no way I was going to manage more).
Stop 10 – Mango Sticky Rice
Our last stop was probably the most famous Thai food, Mango Sticky Rice. I was glad to finally try it – I had been pushing it off as I just wasn’t sure if I would like it. To my surprise, I did like the sticky rice and overall it was pretty good (though not as good as the Patonggo).
Tour End
At the end of the tour, the guide dropped us off at a Secret Bar. While the Bar did have a cool look and atmophere and wasn’t cheap. So after quickly using their bathroom, I bailed on having a drink there (as did one other couple) and made my way back home.
My recommendation is to decline going along if you already know you don’t want to get a drink. It’s always a bit embarrassing to leave a place without ordering after you are seated. Unfortunately, I hadn’t really thought it through so went along. On the plus side, it was a good chance to use the bathroom at the end of the tour.
The Bar had a cool theme and reminded me of the Magic Castle in Hollywood
Pros and Cons of this tour
All in all, it was a great tour but of course there are always pros and cons.
On the plus side, it was a chance to try many different foods with little wait. The guide provided a lot of information about Thai food and culture. If it is your first time in Thailand or if you are only here for a short time, it is very helpful to have the food curated for you.
And maybe just as important, it provided a great chance to meet and talk to fellow travelers. Especially if you are travelling solo and – like me – are not the most extroverted, this makes for a nice social evening and a change from exploring Bangkok on your own.
On the negative side, an organized tour is of course a bit more expensive than just strolling through Chinatown and ordering various dishes yourself. This is less apparent for solo travellers as ordering 14+ dishes yourself would add up. But if you are a couple or bigger group, you could save money by exploring on your own. Still, the price was quite reasonable, certainly cheaper than in most other places.
As mentioned above, the tour is probably not ideal if you have strict food restrictions (e.g. Vegans wouldn’t have found a lot to eat). And there was maybe too much food (and some waste) – at the end it was difficult to be excited about anything.
So would I do this bangkok Food tour again?
This Bangkok Food Tour was a lot of fun and I am very glad I went on it. It gave a great introduction to many of the most popular Thai specialties (and some Chinese inspired ones). Next time I would do a food tour earlier on during my time in a new country/city – there were quite a number of foods I had already tried in Chiang Mai. But that is on me and wouldn’t be a problem on a regular, shorter vacation.
I especially enjoyed the chance to meet and talk to fellow travellers. As an introvert, that is not my strength and this tour made it easy to start a conversation. Highly recommended for solo travellers!
Chinatown was packed with tourists and visitors after the tour
