MBK Food Court, Bangkok

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Place can get crowded especially during peak hours. Prices are cheap and provides a great variety of food to choose from. There are two stalls selling Halal food.

Favorite Dish: It has to be the one and only 'Crispy Chicken Rice' which cost only 35THB ($2). I can never getting bored having it everyday.

The chicken are crispy on the outside but juicy on the inside. The chilli sauce is sweet. Simply great!

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The most popular shopping mall in Bangkok has another gem...the food court! Here, u buy some coupons and exchange it with food at any stall in the food court. There is a good selection of stalls ranging from local to japanese to korean meals. You can even find Singaporean favourite like chicken rice here. There's even sharksfin and birdnest here. Clean and hygenic as food handlers do not come into contact with money. Find this on the 6th floor. A decent meal with drinks do not even cost more than 100 baht. You will definitely find something u like here.

Lots of good local food here. Tom Yum soup, Durian Glutinous Rice, Green Papaya Salad, Mango Salad etc etc....

If the heat in Bangkok is a little too much for you, this food court may be good as it's air-conditioned though its noisy. You will need to purchase coupons in exchange for food, balance coupon can be refunded at the counter. Price here are inexpensive and food taste great as well.

Favorite Dish: Mango Salad....love it sweet, sour and spicy.

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The ambience of this restraunt is typical of thailand its surronded by other restraunts on the 6th floor food court all offering there own flavours of the world! but only zahir's is halal...

i enjoyed my time in thailand and was at this restraunt many a time when i found myself in MBK (one of the best shopping centres in thailand!!) but yeah there are other halal restraunts dotted about but this one specfically stood out thanks to the friendly staff and cleanliness and overall options for diffrent dishes! i loved to be able to pick diffrent dishes and try them out all at a cheap price!!..im a bit picky with that sort of thing but found it not a problem at Zahir's

Favorite Dish: My fave dish was the chicken wrap they offer!!! great for a snack or a dinner as it can be wrapped up and taken away of you can sit down and have a meal!! if sitting in i advise the fatoosh salad!! im no fan of salad but trust me you will see!!!

I was delighted to find an all you can eat in the food court for just 50 baht. Traditional Thai fare with lots of strange dishes you've never seen before, all really tasty, the only problem I had as pacing myself! There are also plenty of other eateries in the food court ranging from Sushi bars to Dim Sum to steakhouses.

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MBK FOOD COURT

It seems that MBK – Mahboonkrong Shopping Mall is an allure that no visitor can avoid. For first timers, take the BTS to Siam Station and the citadel of consumerism will appear on the left hand side if you are coming from the Sukhumvit end of the line.

Once again, don’t expect to see the food court for quite some hours, as of you navigate the various floors of this bewildering complex.

The Food Court is on the 6th floor and works on the principle of a “bought-value” card. So you front up to the cashier’s window, and buy a stored value card for say 350 baht.

Don’t’ worry about the amount as anything left on the card at departure will be refunded by the cashier.

Once again, very good Thai is on offer here.

My checklist here re hygiene receives a 7.5 out of 10 whereas The Loft received the full 10.

I tend to steer clear of the stalls where the staff are not wearing gloves and where I see the bowls being washed in a sink along with the utensils.

There appears to be a central washing area with all the right machinery, but for some reason, some of the operators ignore that option and do their own thing.

Also the dining area is nowhere as clean as The Loft’s.

Thai and Chinese soups are good here, fabulous Pad Thai, spicy Singaporean satay's, Son Tam of course, sweets both Asian and European, ice cream, sandwiches made freshly on the spot, a stall that does some of the best fried rice in Bangers and you can also purchase Singha beer and the locally brewed Heineken.

I have never spent more than 400 baht for two at the MBK food court.

It is open from about 11 am through to about 9.30 pm, but the later you arrive, the less the selections, as some stalls seem to run out quite early of their most sought after offerings, but make a note of them, as they are usually the best stalls.

Basically sells everything like an ordinary food court. What amazed me is the cleaniness & hygiene. They had prepared a pot of hot boiling water at every counter where you can rinse your utensils. More to that, there also a pot of vegetables for vege lovers to add to your bowl any amount you like!
But first of all you need to go the coupon exchange counter jus before you choose your food. You can change more coupons in case you had not enough to pay the vendor. Don't worry of excess coupons, you can refund them all. Just follow the 'REFUND' sign on the floor you'll find your way to the counter.
After your meal, you can shop around for local thai snacks around the food court area. There's those small vegetables or fruits which made from green bean is very tasty!But do remember to finish it soon as it will turn sour/ bad after a few hours later.

Food court have been around in Bangkok malls for a much longer time (about 20 years) than they have been in Singapore.

There's not much ambience here at food court, but more of convenience. It would be crowded during lunchtime. There's a section near the Egyptian El-Pasha outlet which is rather cosy. The wallpaper depicts ancient Egyptian culture.

Coupons have to be bought from a counter before food could be purchased. Unused coupons could be refunded at a separate counter. You have to look out for "Refund".

Favorite Dish: 1 ) Curried Rice Stall
This stall sells local food, curried rice, which is popular with the Muslim Thai. It is basically yellow rice with chicken curry or fried chicken - your choice. The serving is rather small. However, I would usually have some desserts after my meal. So, the serving is afterall sufficient.
Cost : 35baht

They also serve yong tau foo with noodles (kway teow or vermicelli). The yong tau foo mix is standard unlike Singapore's style where you could choose from a wide variety. If I am not too hungry, I like to have this yong tau foo dish.
Cost : 35 baht

2 ) Thai Desserts
I love the durian with glutinous (sticky) rice. They used fresh durian and top it up with coconut cream. Simply delicious !
Cost : 35baht

If you have not acquired the taste of durian, you can try mango with the sticky rice. Oh, just the thought of it makes me drooling :p~
Cost : more expensive than 35 baht. can't recall.

There are also others which you could mix and match. Select any 3 and choose either coconut or sugar syrup for 35 baht.

3 ) El-Pasha
They serve a variety of Egyptian / Lebanese Food. Food here is rather good, as my dad and aunt would say. As for myself, I prefer to immerse myself with the local Thai food , rather than other culture when in Bangkok.

I usually do not like food court. MBK food court (the Fifth Food Avenue) is something different, located on the fifth floor. The cuisine is restaurant standard with quality chef cooking your meal. The price is cheap oh well compare to Aussie price. You can find International cuisines in MBK ranges from Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian; they also serve halal meat for the Muslim. The local Thai food is excellent especially the Pad Thai.

The ambience is relaxing and comfortable with air conditioning. They even have live band playing but we did not get to see it because most probably we ate there at the wrong time. In MBK there are many food court and restaurant. In my opinion the Fifth Food Avenue is the best.

We stayed at Pathmawan Princess Hotel which is attached to MBK and most of the time we ate here except breakfast as we have it in our hotel. The beverages and alcoholic drinks is also cheap, Heineken beer less than $2 AUD.

The Fifth Food Avenue has interesting systems. When you entered the food court a credit card is given to you. The credit card is swiped each time you buy your meal or beverages. After your belly is full and satisfied, you hand your credit card to the cashier at the exit and settle your bill with 5% surcharge.

If you happen to be hungry and have plenty of time, try everything, they all good for the price. Name of the few of the restaurants that we tried their cuisines: Vietnamese (Blue Ginger), vegetarian (Tamarind), Italian (Giorno), Indian (Chutney), Thai (Kao Gub Kaeng Express), Arabic (Ali’s Arabic). There are more restaurants that we did not try Creative Canteen which serve steak and seafood, Chinese Wok and Me and Japanese Yura. Next time we will try it.

Have a happy appetite and indulge yourself, yummy yummy I got love in my tummy.

Favorite Dish: The food that I've tried in Fifth Food Avenue I dont have favourites, for the price they are all good.

The most comfortable way to enjoy the street food of Thailand is here: The food courts of MBK. It's comfortable as there is air-conditioning and yet the prices are economical (to different pockets).

UPDATED 2007:
There are now 2 food courts in MBK.

The 5th floor is now home to a swanky upmarket style food court going by the moniker, The Fifth Food Avenue....selling food in a cold faux restaurant ambience with warm lights, live bands and hey, 2-3 times the price. Balmy. A plate of Pad Thai is now 120 Bahts for example. Here, trash the coupons. They issue a kind of smart card that one gives to the respective food vendor and they add one's order to the card. One can spend up to a maximum of 1000 Baht and need to return the card at the exit where you will pay the respective amount you spent. If one doesn't return the card, they will charge you 1100 Baht.

The more down-to-earth food court is on the 6th floor....sharing space with many boutique shops and flea market stalls. Here, you buy coupons in bundles of 100 Bahts and get your refund for the remainders by the end of the SAME day. It's noisy, messy, but hey, twice the fun but 2-3 times lesser the strain on wallet/purse!

Favorite Dish: 5F: You get a taste of everything. Local, Japanese, Western, Italian, Pizza, Indian, Chinese and hey, there is even a Halal stall selling local and Arabic dishes.

If you like comfort, do not wish to hang around with the locals staring down at you while you struggle with the chopsticks, and just want to place to bum out, try here.

6F: There are stalls selling tasty duck noodles & Thai style "Yong Tau Foo" (noodles served with an assortment of meat and fish items). Also look out for the stalls selling Thai desserts (like steamed Tapioca with coconut milk), Thai Milk Tea, Infusions (like Chrysanthemum, Lemongrass and Barley) and cheap Bird's Nest Brew.

If you love food, nary a care for what others think of you as you wolf down whatever that is in front of you, and just want a place for your bum to park while you eat, try here.