So you’re in Bangkok for the first time but you’re only here for a few days, maybe just the weekend and you don’t know where to start. You’ve heard of all the great places to see, things to do and food to eat but it all gets too overwhelming. Where do you begin to experience all that the city has to offer? Well, here’s a clue – Bangkok food tours.

Now don’t let the name fool you, it’s much more than just a food tour. The tour company, aptly called Bangkok Food tours combines food, travel and culture in the most immersive and seamless way possible.

After meeting one of the co-founders at a Travel Massive event, I was invited to come and give one of their tour a try. With my love for food, travel and exploration, how could I resist?

I didn’t get to choose which tour I get to join but it so happened that they gave me one that I was really interested in: the midnight food tour via a Tuk Tuk ride. So without further intro, let’s dive into how my experience with the tour went.

Midnight Food Journey

At about 7:40, I reach Sam Yan MRT station. I’m 20 minutes early and unable to find the meetup group at first glance. After looking around for a bit, I caught my eye of the tour guide, sticking out like a sore thumb with her bright green polo. She introduces herself as Mod and we exchange smiles and a handshake. Soon after, the remaining customers arrive. Now there are a total of 11 of us plus the guide.

6 or 7 Tuk Tuks are waiting for us on the side of the road and we hop on for our first leg of the tour. We are met some with traffic from the get-go but the drivers seem to know their way around as they squeeze their way into tiny alleys and back ends of shopping malls.

In no time, we’re at our first stop of the night and it was in Prathunam, right opposite the Palladium mall is a packed restaurant serving khao Mun Gai (Hainanese chicken rice). We each get one plate with condiments and sauce. We are also served a sharing plate of som tam (papaya salad) and nam tok moo (spicy pork salad). All three, sublimely delicious. We also had a plate of mango sticky rice, another must-eat sweet dish when in Thailand.

Next, we got back on the Tuk Tuks and whizzed our way to a popular noodle place called Ann Guay Tiew on the corner of Luang road and Phlap Phla Chai road. It’s right across from Let The Boy Die restaurant & bar.

When we got there we didn’t get to eat right then. Khun Mod took us to the back and showed us how the noodles were prepared. This was a very unique and insightful into not only the food but also a bit about the culture behind Thai cooking.

The noodles are flat and fried with garlic, chicken and seasoning and is then topped with either scrambled egg or a runny egg. Then you get a range of condiments on your table such as chilli powders, vinegar, fish sauce and sweet chilli sauce to further enhance the flavors. How it turns out in the end is totally up to you.

After about 20 minutes here we were off again, back on our Tuk Tuks. This is where the tour got interesting. Since it was now past 10 pm, the roads were empty so the Tuk Tuks were having their way. It looked like a scene from Fast & Furious as we raced against each other, leaving trails of neon lights from the underbelly of the Tuk Tuks. It was beginning to be more than a food tour for sure. It was now an adventure!

We zigzagged through the roads and made our way to a local market, which is located on Chak Phet Road near Saphan Phut or the Memorial Bridge and is open everyday from 6 pm – 6 am. Here you can find wholesale flowers, vegetables and fruits at really cheap prices. I was amazed!

It was a good thing we got some exercise as walked through the market because we were all quite full from our previous meals. Did I mention that we were about to have more later?

Back again on the Tuk Tuks and we were now headed to Wat Pho, a renowned temple built by Rama I, known for housing the 46m long reclining Buddha and also a leading school for Thai massage. Here we spent a good 20-30 minutes learning the history of the temple, taking some pictures and hearing some funny jokes about Thai culture from the tour guide. It was all in good fun but educational as well. Although I knew 99% of it, it was good to rediscover Thailand, which has always been our mission on Dose of Life.

What next?

You guessed it. Back on the Tuk Tuk. It was now 11.15 pm and Khun Mod informed us that we will be going to her secret spot. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose her secret spot because well, if you ever do this tour, you will lose a bit of the experience. All I can tell you is that it was quite near to Wat Pho.

After spending some time at the secret spot, drinking beer/mocktails, we went to our final spot – Thip Samai, a very famous restaurant known to have the BEST Pad Thai in town. Thip Samai is located on Maha Chai road, opposite the Thepthidaram Worawiwhan temple.

Undoubtedly, what they say about Bangkok is true – it really is a city that never sleeps and in this case, a city that never stops eating. Even till midnight you see local restaurants lined up with patrons, waiting to sink their teeth in delicious Thai goodies.

At Thip Samai, you get two options for Pad Thais – the original or the special one. The special one was interesting because it is cooked with shrimp fats and has larger shrimps in it whereas the original one has dried small shrimps. The special is also wrapped with a thin sheet of omelette. Drooling yet? I was but I had to force myself to eat since I was still very full. I think we all powered through our last meal because indeed it was definitely one of the best Pad Thais I’ve ever had, if not the best.

After finishing off our plates, Khun Mod offered some more Thai sweets, which I politely declined but I recommend that you do not if it is your first time here.

If eating till midnight doesn’t tickle your fancy, they have other tour packages on offer too. They are are divided into half day, full day and multiple day categories. Some of the more interesting ones are:

• Timeless Thonburi food & canals adventure (combination of food and boat tour )
• A private setting as you eat with a local family
• Bites and biking
• Floating market food tour
• A 3-day culinary adventure from Bangkok to Chiang Mai

My Lasting Impressions

What I loved most about the tour and in fact about the whole company is that they work very closely with the locals and as part of their mission, revolve their tours around sustainable tourism. . This seems to be a growing trend among tour operators in Thailand, which is a really good thing.

Now the price of this specific tour I did is 1,700 Baht and one might think that it may be too expensive. Although, it is possible to replicate the destinations and food at a much lower prices BUT having lived in Bangkok for 20 years, I have never experienced the city like I did on this night.

Having the Tuk Tuks at your disposal all night, eating at 4 different restaurants, chilling with a beer at the secret place, visiting a temple, meeting other travelers and gaining valuable cultural knowledge, well you can’t put a price tag on that. It’s priceless. Also don’t forget, we got to see some behind-the-scenes cooking action and Khun Mod was able to get us through long queues and communicate with vendors effectively – a must for first-timers in Bangkok.

Throughout the way, Khun Mod describes each dish to perfection – detailing the history, preparation and how to eat them properly. It was indeed a job well done by her, the Tuk Tuk drivers and the management of Bangkok Food Tours.

Disclosure: this review is of my personal and honest opinion even though I did not pay to join this tour. Dose of Life in general does not work with companies or operators that we do not firmly believe in or don’t share similar passions.