There are few things that define Bangkok more than tuk-tuks and street food. Why not combine them and jump on a tour that combines both?
We recently had a chance to try such a tour. Expique, a tour company that lets people “experience unique Bangkok” caters to travelers looking for something different.
When we met the founder, Simon Philipp, who also co-founded the popular Random Thainess speaking series, he showed us his fleet of dedicated tuk-tuks — the city’s first with transparent roofs to allow better viewing as you whizz around — before telling us to jump in with our driver, Panya, and getting a get a ride around the city’s Old Town.
The first stop on the Evening Food and Tuk-tuk Adventure was Tha Din Daeng, a local evening street market that runs along sidewalks as far as the eye can see. We walked along and were introduced to several vendors and told a bit about the food they were selling, including fresh Thai vegetables and homemade sweet soymilk.
Our group of eight pulled up red plastic stools and chatted over pork satay at the beloved Tee Moo Satay shop. For non-meat eaters, Philipp and our guide Net also brought along traditional fish cakes and vegetables with four kinds of spicy, sour nam prik sauce for dipping. All of it was washed down with frosty local beer.
After about 20 minutes of snacking, we jumped back into our tuk-tuk and headed to the next stop at Pak Khlong Talad for some sweet and sour chicken at the edge of the flower market. It was hard to pay attention to the food since there’ s so much to look at as people rush by with flowers of all kinds.
After digesting for a minute, it was back into our motorized chariot for curry and vegetables at the famous Krua Apsorn on Thanon Dinsor. After slurping down delicious, creamy, and spicy curries in red and green with a bit more beer, we were starting to feel a full. But, alas, the tour was far from over and we began to wonder where Philipp and Net store all that grub since they seemed to be as chipper as ever.
Our next stop was at the top of an unpromising looking alley. As we followed our guides, we were shocked to see a street full of noodle vendors. Apparently, we had not even reached the carb course of our dinner. In the unpretentious little street, we bellied up (literally, we were so full) to little metal tables and were served the noodles of the day at — what we came to learn — is a very famous area for them. We ate at the most well-known stand of all, called Kuay Teow Kua Gai Nai Hong.
What we were served was a steaming plate of wide rice noodles fried with chunks of chicken and pickled squid with, of course, a fried egg on top. The dish is served with same foursome of condiments that accompany pad thai.
For our last stop, we were wowed to be deposited right in the middle of the famed hub of Chinatown — Yaowarat Road. We joined throngs of tourists and locals to have our just desserts after three and a half hours of eating and seeing the city. We tried Bua Loy Nam Khing, a sweet ginger soup with dumplings, and homemade Thai popsicles in flavors like rambutan, durian, and coconut.
In our state nearing full food coma, we were pleased to learn that a trip home in our tuk-tuk was part of the deal. Even after living in Bangkok for five years, we learned much about Thai food and visited several streets we’d never seen before on the tour.
This tour is 4 hours and costs THB2,250, including all food. To find out more about this and other experiences offered by Expique, visit their page.
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