Wang Lang Market

Wang Lang is the street food market that travel writers try to keep secret, which never works because the food is too good. Tucked behind Siriraj Hospital on the Thonburi side of the river, it's where nurses, medical students, and locals from the surrounding neighbourhood come to eat — which means the prices are low, the quality is high, and the only tourists are the ones who did their research.

The market sprawls through a network of covered alleyways barely wide enough for two people to pass. Stalls are stacked next to each other with no apparent logic — a woman making delicate mango sticky rice parcels next to a guy frying pork belly that's been marinating since dawn. The khanom buang (Thai crispy crepes) here are some of the best in the city — thin, crispy shells filled with sweet or savoury fillings, made to order on a flat griddle.

The easiest way to get here is by cross-river ferry from Tha Chang pier near the Grand Palace — it costs a few baht and takes two minutes. Most tourists get the ferry to see Wat Arun and completely miss Wang Lang, which sits 500 metres north and is arguably a better reason to cross the river. Come at lunchtime when the hospital shifts change and the market is at peak energy.