Talat Phlu Food Guide: What to Eat and How to Get There

Quick answer: Talat Phlu food means Thai-Chinese dishes such as crispy mee krob noodles, chive dumplings (kuichai), red pork rice, Thai crispy pancakes and traditional Thai desserts, served on Thoet Thai Road, an old market neighborhood in Thon Buri district. From Adelphi Itsaraphap it is about 3 km by road, or around 5 minutes by taxi without traffic. Go between 11:00 and 14:00, Monday to Saturday, when the six shops in this guide are all open.

What is Talat Phlu food known for?

Talat Phlu grew up along Khlong Bangkok Yai, with the Maeklong railway line running through it. Sitting between the canal, the boat landings and the railway made it a trading center for Thai and Chinese families for most of the last century. The food still shows that history. Many shops are run by the third or fourth generation of the same family, and several recipes are more than 100 years old.

These are the dishes to look for:

• Mee krob. Crispy fried rice vermicelli in a sweet, sour and salty sauce with bitter orange zest. It is the dish Talat Phlu is most famous for.
• Kuichai. Chive dumplings, steamed or pan-fried. They became a local specialty in the 1950s and 1960s and are sold all along the street.
• Khao mu daeng. Red roast pork and crispy pork over rice with a rich, sweet gravy.
• Khanom bueang. Thin, crisp Thai pancakes folded over sweet or savory toppings.
• Thai desserts. Layered khanom chan, golden foi thong and other sweets, sold by the piece.

Six Talat Phlu shops worth the trip

All six are long-running shops on or just off Thoet Thai Road, within a short walk of Talat Phlu railway station. The Thai names are included so you can show them to a driver or a stall owner.

• Tek Heng, Mee Krob Jeen Lee (เต็กเฮง หมี่กรอบจีนหลี). The family says its crispy noodle recipe goes back about 130 years, to the reign of King Rama V, and the fourth generation runs the shop today. It received a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2023. The shop is opposite the small Talat Phlu police box.
• Suni Khao Mu Daeng (สุณีข้าวหมูแดง). Red pork rice served for more than 60 years beside the railway track near Talat Phlu railway station, on the railside lane at Soi Thoet Thai 25. It opens at 06:00, which makes it the easiest breakfast stop.
• Sarinthip Khanom Bueang Thai (สรินทร์ทิพย์ ขนมเบื้องไทย). Thai crispy pancakes from a family recipe now in its fourth generation, at 910 Thoet Thai Road. Order a mix of sweet and savory.
• Khanom Wan Talat Phlu Jao Kao, Mae Jeng (ขนมหวานตลาดพลูเจ้าเก่า แม่เจ็ง). A Thai dessert shop facing Thoet Thai Road, just past the railway station, with trays of khanom chan, foi thong and other sweets.
• Kao Lao Nuea Pueai T. Chanphen (เกาเหลาเนื้อเปื่อย ต.จันทร์เพ็ญ). Stewed beef soup, made here for more than 50 years. It is on Thoet Thai Road next to the dessert shop, before Soi 25.
• Kim Eng Kluai Chueam (กิมเอ็ง กล้วยเชื่อม). Bananas slow-cooked in syrup, at the mouth of Soi Thoet Thai 20. A good last stop for sweets to take back to the hotel.

Opening hours, checked in October 2026. Street shops change hours and close on some holidays, so check again before a special trip.

Best time to go to Talat Phlu

Late morning is the best time. Between 11:00 and 14:00, Monday to Saturday, all six shops above are open, so you can try noodles, rice, pancakes and desserts in one visit. Tek Heng closes from 14:00 to 16:00 on weekdays, so eat there first if you arrive around lunch.

An evening visit works too, with fewer choices. Tek Heng stays open until 21:00, Suni until 20:30, and Sarinthip and the Mae Jeng dessert shop until 20:00. Some noodle and dessert stalls along Thoet Thai Road open only in the late afternoon and evening. The beef soup shop closes at 17:30.

How to get to Talat Phlu from Itsaraphap

Talat Phlu is south-west of the hotel, in the next district. Distances below follow map routes from the hotel; car times are without traffic, and Bangkok rush hours add more.

Talat Phlu BTS station and Talat Phlu railway station are two different places, about 1.2 km apart. The BTS station stands over the Ratchaphruek Road junction, while the railway station is in the middle of the food street. For the shops in this guide, ask the driver for Talat Phlu, Thoet Thai Road (ตลาดพลู ถนนเทอดไท). A taxi is the quickest choice. The BTS is handy if you plan to continue to The Mall Tha Phra or further along the Silom Line.

Add Talat Phlu to a day in Thonburi

Talat Phlu is an easy half day on its own, and it also pairs well with the older lanes closer to the hotel. For a full day on this side of the city, start with the walking route in One Day in Thonburi, which covers Wat Arun, Kudi Chin and Khlong San from Itsaraphap, then take a taxi to Talat Phlu for a late lunch. The hotel’s Neighborhood guide maps more places around Itsaraphap and Tha Phra.

Staying near Talat Phlu: practical information

Adelphi Itsaraphap is an 18-room boutique hotel in Khlong San, about 5 minutes by taxi from Talat Phlu, with its own café, Adelfee Coffee.

• Address. 296 Itsaraphap 10 Alley, Somdet Chao Phraya, Khlong San, Bangkok 10600.
• Check-in and check-out. Check-in from 15:00 to 23:00, check-out by 12:00.
• Rooms. Deluxe (24 sqm), Premier King and Premier Twin (30 sqm each), for up to 2 guests. See all rooms at Adelphi Itsaraphap.
• Booking. Check availability and book direct on the hotel’s booking page.

Talat Phlu FAQ

1. Why is it called Talat Phlu?

   Talat Phlu means “betel market”. Sino-Thai families once grew betel on plantations around the area, and the market became the main wholesale place for betel leaves and areca nut. The trade faded after 1942, when the government banned betel chewing during the Second World War. Today the street is known for its food, and the old name stayed.

2. Is Talat Phlu open on Sundays?

   Yes. Five of the six shops in this guide open on Sundays, and Tek Heng serves all day on weekends from 10:00 to 21:00 without its weekday afternoon break. The one to miss on a Sunday is Kao Lao Nuea Pueai T. Chanphen, the stewed beef shop, which opens Monday to Saturday only.

3. Is this the neighborhood from the film How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies?

   Yes. The 2024 Thai film was partly shot in Talat Phlu, and fans of the film now walk the alleys, food stalls and railway line here looking for places they saw on screen. After lunch, a short walk around the lanes near Talat Phlu railway station takes you through the same part of the neighborhood.

4. What else is near Talat Phlu?

   Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen is across Khlong Bangkok Yai, about 1 km on foot from the market, or around 14 minutes. The temple is known for its 69-meter bronze seated Buddha, completed in 2021, and the 80-meter Maharatchamongkhon stupa, which holds a smaller glass stupa inside. The hotel’s Neighborhood page also lists The Artist’s House (Baan Silapin) in the Tha Phra area.

5. How old is Talat Phlu railway station?

   Talat Phlu railway station opened on 29 December 1904, in the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). It is on the Maeklong Railway line from Wongwian Yai to Maha Chai, now run by the State Railway of Thailand, and Wongwian Yai is the station before it. Shops such as Suni Khao Mu Daeng still trade right beside the track, so the railway is part of the market, not just a way to reach it.