Bangkok has no rival when it comes to eating. Candle-lit canals, neon-swathed roads, dodgy alleys – all teem with food 24 hours a day. The more ‘authentic’ tastes are mostly found on the streets. Iconic pad thai is slung until the wee hours at Thip Samai (313 Thanon Mahachai, +662221680); daytime fave khanom jeen (Southern-style curries with rice noodles, herbs and vegetables) at Khrua Aroi Aroi (Thanon Pan, +6626352365) with views of a colorful Hindi temple; and duck noodles at Pet Tun Jao Tha (945 Charoenkrung Soi 22, +6622332541).

Markets are taproot of the food culture and the easiest way to experience the breadth of Thai cooking. Aw Taw Kaw (Thanon Kampaeng Phet across from Chatuchak) offers Gauguin-like piles of produce like mangosteens, durians and winged beans plus regional cuisine from Esarn, the Deep South and the Lanna-influenced North.

Yaowarat (tell drivers to go to Thanon Yaowarat) is the heart of things Thai-Chinese. Go at night for the old Deco buildings, helter-skelter noodle hawkers and swimming-fresh seafood on the corner of Soi Texas.

Going upscale usually means going down several notches on the taste meter. But there are exceptions to the rule. The French-Thai owned Le Lys (Soi Lang Suan 3, +6626522401) has a petanque court, bamboo bar and home-cooked dishes, which range from Phuket specialty nam prig goong siab to roasted Muscovy duck with pa naeng curry and holy basil. Dining outside is a local pastime and there are fantastical gardens and fairy-lit decks aplenty for the occasion. Roots-food specialist Hualamphong Station gets roaring with the young and artsy, while bang-for-your-buck (and basic) Kaolang (2 Thanon Sri Ayutthaya, +6622819228) and industrial chic River Bar Café (405/1 Soi Chao Phraya Siam, Thanon Ratchavithi, +6628791748) are tops for seafood and a breeze by the river.

Go mod, Western or global to glimpse the Bangkok high life: the surrounds will be sleek and the scene jumping. BED Supperclub (Sukumvit Soi 11 +6626513537) is the must-experience meal thanks to the futuristic architecture and shock-white interiors by Orbit Design Studio and the market menus of Dan Ivarie – a minor maestro famed for his ability to gauge local tastes and adapt them with a touch of homey-ness and global sophistication. Maha Naga (2 Sukhumvit Soi 29, +6626623060) presents dressed-up Thai in sexy Moroccan-tinged pavilions, Eat Me! (2/F, 1/6 Piphat Soi 2, Thanon Convent, +6622380931) offers art amid its trendy ‘Austral-Asian’ fusion and Biscotti (253 Rajadamri, Four Seasons Hotel, +6622516127) has fine Med-Italian fare and buzzing wood-trimmed design by Tony Chi.

Thais eat when they drink and the café-bar genre is citywide, most interestingly on Thanon Sarasin, Thanon Kamphaengphet (beside Chatuchak market) and the arty Thanon Phra Arthit where Hemlock (+6622827507), balances ancient recipes, art, teas and Saeng Som whisky with lime.

Western pubs offer home comforts, with ale challenging local Singha beer at the Dubliner (440 Thanon Sukhumvit, +66220418412) and the revamped Bull’s Head (Sukhumvit Soi 33/1, +6622594444) while Beer Chang and Red Bull cocktails are the norm at guesthouse bars lining Thanon Khao San.

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