Maybe I’m biased because I’m Thai but this is just crazy talk, Nat Geo.
I don’t usually take these “best of” lists too seriously. They’re subjective, they’re designed to spark debate, and that’s fine. Half the fun is getting annoyed at them anyway.
But this one got me writing an op-ed about it.
National Geographic recently published a list of “15 of the best places in the world for food right now” on 19 May. And somehow, unbelievably, Bangkok didn’t make the cut.
Not only did Bangkok not make the list, but neither did France. FRANCE.
Meanwhile, two British destinations made it in. Two!
Here’s the full lineup:
- Crete, Greece
- Kelowna, British Columbia
- Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, and Maui in Hawai‘i
- Buôn Ma Thuột, Central Highlands, Vietnam
- Czechia
- Lucknow, India
- Northern Colombia
- Train trips through scenic landscapes in Italy
- Southern Tasmania, Australia
- Singapore
- Somerset, England, United Kingdom
- Sonora, Mexico
- Bozcaada, Turkey
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Cape Town, South Africa
- London, England, United Kingdom
Look, I love the UK and spent a few years going to school there since I was a teen. But if someone told me they were booking a culinary pilgrimage to Somerset, my first thought would not be “wow, lucky you”.
Literally no one has ever dramatically announced: “I’m off to Somerset in England for the food scene.”
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Now before people come for me: yes, food is subjective. Of course it is. Some people travel for fine dining. Others travel for street food, local produce, wine regions or food history.
But leaving Bangkok off a global food list feels very wrong. I get it, maybe they have to update the list every year and Bangkok cannot be on there every year, but I personally feel that this is such a progressive time for food in Bangkok at the moment.
This is a city where you can eat grilled pork skewers on a plastic stool at midnight, then wake up for Michelin-starred crab omelette, then spend the afternoon hopping between boat noodles, southern Thai curries, Isan grilled chicken, Chinese-Thai seafood stir-fry and mango sticky rice – all without ever needing to spend a fortune.
It’s the auntie who has been making the same bowl of noodles for 40 years and somehow still remembers exactly how you like it. It’s the smoky wok coming from a roadside stall under a flickering fluorescent light. It’s the fact that some of the best meals of your life might come on a cracked plate for less than the price of a coffee.
And unlike some food cities that specialise in one thing, Bangkok does everything. Street food. Regional Thai food. Fine dining. Old-school shophouses. Multi-generational recipes. Ridiculously good mall food courts. Tiny hidden noodle shops with handwritten menus and no English translations. It’s the kind of city where office workers queue for curry at 11am sharp, where families argue passionately over which som tam stall is best and where everyone has a “secret spot” they swear nobody else knows about.
You can spend an entire week eating in Bangkok and still barely scratch the surface. One shop might be famous for duck noodles, another for late-night seafood, another for old-school Thai desserts tucked inside fading shophouses. Every corner feels like someone’s recommendation. Every meal somehow turns into another meal.
And that’s the thing about Bangkok: the food scene doesn’t feel curated for tourists. It feels lived in. Messy. Obsessive. Deeply personal. People here don’t just eat because they’re hungry. We genuinely plan our days around food. Conversations revolve around food. Entire friendships are built on “have you tried this place yet?”
It’s chaos in the best possible way.
Also, respectfully, before joining HoneyKids Thailand as the Managing Editor, I’ve written four Thailand guidebooks for Lonely Planet. I’ve eaten my way across this country for years. So yes, maybe I’m emotionally invested here. And maybe I might know a thing or two about this subject.
So, yea, respectfully again, if your global food list excludes Bangkok, people are going to raise eyebrows.
The good news? Bangkok doesn’t really need validation from a list. The queues outside our restaurants are already long enough.
You can even see how good Thai food is in our Eat & Drink section.
