Top nosh in Ratchaprasong

There’s certainly a lot to do in Bangkok’s central Ratchaprasong district – with everything connected by a Sky Walk – but the biggest magnet is still the food.The Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association and Tourism Authority of Thailand are encouraging folks to take a “Walk” around the area to see what they discover. 
The Chidlom BTS station is the perfect starting point for food foraging. Here are 10 great stops along the way.

PROVENCE
On “West Walk” section of the Ratchaprasong Walk, Provence is celebrated for its terrific noodles served all day. The name comes from the picturesque French region and the restaurant is decked out in flowers to mimic it. 
Boat Noodle with Beef is a popular choice, aromatic, full-flavoured and chock full of Australian beef. Lighter snacks include Chor Muang Dumplings and Spring Rolls and desserts extend to Sticky Rice with Mango and Banana in Syrup.
L Floor, Gaysorn Village
Top picks: Boat Noodle with Beef, Khao Soi Curried Noodle with Braised Chicken Drumstick
Open 11am-8pm daily

THEO MIO
Springy pasta and rich cheeses mark Theo Mio as an authentic Italian restaurant. Home cooking meets wonderful local and imported ingredients in dishes found nowhere else in the city. Chef Theo Randall personally makes the pasta for Pappardelle con Ragu di Guancia, adding juicy Wagyu cheeks cuts marinated in red wine and then grilled to perfection.
InterContinental Bangkok
Top picks: Pappardelle con Ragu di Guancia, antipasti
Open 10am-8pm daily

OUAN YUM PU
Ouan Yum Pu is a food stall serving northeastern dishes such as spicy som tum (green papaya salad) in various forms. Spicy Santol Salad is made with white and fluffy santol pulp and can include crab, dried shrimp or pickled fish. Deep-fried Chicken Drumsticks and Grilled Catfish are also terrific.
Stall No 21, TOT Canteen
Top picks: Green Papaya Salad with Crab, Grilled Pork Salad, Grilled Chicken
Open 8am-2pm daily

BKK BAGEL BAKERY
Authentic New York-style bagels of all sorts, topped by a dish called Lox, Stock & Bagel with home-cured salmon, dill, capers, lemon and cream cheese. The Tuna Melt is amazing, too. There are also brownies, pies, carrot cake, cheesecake and cookies, plus Big Apple-style coffee, including vegan coffee.
G Floor, Maneeya Centre
Top picks: Lox, Stock & Bagel, Smoked Chicken, Bacon & Avocado
Open 7.30am-5.30pm daily

BOONLERT
At the south end of the district is the Cook food court with more than 50 street-style eateries. One of them, Boonlert, is an extension of the famous egg-noodle shop in the Nang Lerng neighbourhood. You have to try Wonton Egg Noodle with soy-marinated grilled pork or shrimp. The luscious soup – pork bone simmered with coriander root and seasoned with white soy sauce – smells wonderful. 
The Cook Food Court, fourth floor, Amarin Plaza
Top picks: Wonton Egg Noodle, Egg Noodle with Crabmeat
Open 10am-8pm daily

GREAT HALAL
Anyone who’s ever been to Police General Hospital knows about a no-name food stall there that specialises in Muslim-style som tum and deep-fried minced catfish. Also fantastic are the Chicken Biryani with tender thigh or drumstick and the Mutton Biryani with goat meat rinsed in milk and spiced to remove the heavy odour. And the prices here are more than merely reasonable.
Nutrition Department Building, Police General Hospital
Top picks: Chicken or Mutton Biryani, Deep-fried Minced Catfish Salad
Open 6am-2pm daily

EAT
EAT – the name is an acronym for Eat All Thai – does authentic set meals and a-la-carte dishes. Pad Sam Mhen is a trio of ingredients famous for their strong taste and smell – bitter bean, solo garlic and climbing wattle vermicelli. They’re stir-fried with curry paste, shrimp paste and a giant river prawn. Stir-fried Cowslip Flower with Salted Egg is different here than anywhere else. Grilled Pork with Northeastern Thai Sauce and Grilled Sticky Rice has the meat (a little on the fatty side) charcoal-grilled, dipped in hot jaew sauce and enjoyed with egg-battered sticky rice. 
Second floor, Groove@CentralWorld
Top picks: Pad Sam Mhen, Stir-fried Cowslip Flower with Salted Egg, Grilled Pork with Northeastern Thai Sauce
Open 11am to 9pm daily (until 10 Fridays and Saturdays)

WASHOKU GALLERY
A food court that mimics urban Japan and precisely presents its cuisine, this is a great place to enjoy Osaka-style yakitori, Kansai-fashion small-ball takoyaki and the organic unagi for which Kagoshima is renowned. Desserts and snacks come straight from Japan. 
Fifth floor, Isetan@CentralWorld
Top picks: Onigiri Bento, Organic Unagi, Beef Tongue Teppanyaki, Mochi
Open 10am-8pm daily

KUANG HENG CHICKEN RICE
At Ratchaprasong’s north, Kuang Heng Chicken Rice – more than 70 years old – is duly acclaimed for that dish, but its crisply battered Roasted Chicken Rice, bite-sized Pork Satay, and tasty Bitter Melon Soup with Chinese herbs are also fantastic. The starters include spring rolls and fish maw soup and for dessert you can have Volcano Shaved Ice in flavoured syrup. 
Pratunam intersection
Top picks: Chicken Rice, Roasted Chicken Rice, Pork Satay, Bitter Melon Soup with Chinese Herbs
Open daily around the clock

THE SQUARE
The buffet here is sensational, offering Thai cuisine such as Spicy Grilled Pork Salad, Papaya Salad and Khanom Chin rice noodles, Japanese onigiri with excellent toppings, Chinese dim sum and remarkable Western fare. You can get a pizza, penne, grilled pork, chicken or seafood, bread butter pudding, blueberry mousse – and that’s just a random sampling.
Sixth floor, Novotel Bangkok Platinum Pratunam
Open 6pm-10pm Sunday through Thursday