Bangkok's Food Courts

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Bangkok Food Courts

Bangkok Siam Paragon Food Court

Bangkok's food variety is quite expansive due to the influences of indigenous and neighboring countries - contributing their culinary delights - pooled into Bangkok and then into the poshest department stores to jam packed open air markets like Chatuchak.

Unlike food courts in Western countries offering mediocre fast eats, food courts in Bangkok rival well established local Thai eateries on the streets.

For the uninitiated with Thai food or Asian food - in general your best bet is to head to a food court in one of any super malls in Bangkok such as the ones in Siam Paragon, MBK and the Emporium.

Why? For one thing they are centrally located so it's easy to get to. Second a lot of the menus in the food courts are written in English. Which helps when you want to avoid accidentally ordering pig's blood with noodle (which is actually quite tasty!).

One good thing is that all the foods are very affordable no matter how fancy the mall is. For a real treat one of the best food courts in my opinion is located inside the Big C Department Store near the Pratunam district, right across the Arnoma Hotel.

Recommended Food Courts in Central Bangkok

To purchase food from any food court in Bangkok you must first look for a "Coupon Kiosk" or something similar. Most are written in English and are there are usually several and easy to find.

At the coupon kiosk - depending on the food court you either get:

Prepaid Debit Card - You top up the card with Baht. Whatever is left over you can get a refund at the same coupon kiosk.
Coupon Ticket - Works like the prepaid debit card, except it's paper. You also get a refund for the unused portion at the same coupon kiosk.
A Debit Card with a designated amount of Baht for purchasing food. These cards come preloaded with a set amount of Baht, usually Baht 1000. You pay for whatever amount you've used up at a check out desk.

Big C Department Stores

Direction: From Sukhumvit Rd., go down to Ploenchit Rd. Then turn right at Rajprasong junction to Rajdamri Rd. Big C store is on the right. Closest BTS Sky Train station is Chitlom.

Big C is a great place to just relax in too during a really hot day in Bangkok. If you need to exchange currency head to the ground floor to Super Rich - currently they offer better exchange rates than local banks.

MBK Mall
Direction: Take the BTS Sky Train to National Stadium station. Alternatively you can use the walkways that connect Siam Paragon to MBK.

Food courts are located in the upper level on the 5th floor. MBK is huge. Massively huge. It's definitely one of the best places to find all sorts of knick knacks compared to Chatuchack Weekend Market - except it's air conditioned.

Siam Center Mall
Direction: Take the BTS Sky Train to Siam station. From there you can easily find signs directing you to Siam Center Mall through a connecting sky walkway.

Note* Currently this food court is closed for renovation. But when it re-opens and you're in the area be sure to check it out. It's worth it!

Platinum Fashion Mall
Direction: Traffic here is the worst so you really have 2 choices 1) Take a taxi but prepared to get stuck in traffic. 2) Nearest BTS station is Chitlom - head north on the side where Central World is located. When you hit Petchburi road turn left.

The food court there is quite good. However, since traffic is so bad here I only recommend paying a visit here if you plan on shopping instead of just eating.

Siam Paragon
Direction: Take the BTS Sky Train to Siam station. The exit from the station leads directly to Siam Paragon.

Currently Siam Paragon is the cream of the crop when it comes to malls in Bangkok. For a large variety of Asian cuisine head to the food court on the ground floor. Be prepared to fight for a seat during lunch time where it is often over crowded by students, tourists and locals on a lunch break.

Emporium Mall
Direction: Take the BTS Sky Train to Phrom Phong station. Use exit #2 which leads directly into the mall.

Before the Siam Paragon, the Emprorium took the crown as the only luxury shopping mall in the Big Mango. But don't count out the Emporium because it's still a great place to visit during a hot afternoon. Their are 2 food courts located on the 6th floor.