Met a guy in Bangkok who showed me the real way to eat cheap.

He was at a street cart near Khao San Road. Ordered a plate of pad thai for 40 baht, about a dollar. Told me to skip the tourist spots and just watch where the locals line up. Said 'if the cook looks tired, the food is good'. Saved me a ton of cash that whole week. Anyone know other cities where this local-line rule works best?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_sanchez2mo agoMost Upvoted

But what if the local line is just for something you hate?

quinnj242mo ago

Works like a charm in Hanoi, especially for pho. Found a tiny place where motorbike taxi drivers ate breakfast, best bowl I ever had for less than a dollar. The local-line rule is basically foolproof in any big Southeast Asian city, honestly. Just look for plastic stools and a crowd that isn't taking pictures of their food.

gonzalez.rowan26d ago

My local-line rule fail was in Bangkok, when I followed a huge queue only to find out it was for a dessert made with durian. I stood there for ten minutes wondering why everyone was so excited about what smelled like a gym locker. Sometimes the crowd knows best, and sometimes the crowd has a deeply wrong opinion about fruit. I just smiled and walked away to find some pad thai instead.