One of Bangkok’s latest and most hyped shopping centers as you probably know is Terminal 21, located next to Asoke BTS station.

Apart from entering the door and walking around for about 3 minutes before exiting, I hadn’t previously been there. But a few days ago I paid a visit to the Terminal 21 food court for lunch – and it was an enjoyable experience.

The food court was busy, yet nowhere near the size nor craziness of the MBK food court, which can be a little confusing at times.

At Terminal 21 as soon as you reach the food court you’ll notice the clearly marked counter booth where you’ll need to exchange money for a little credit ticket.

The ticket can be used at any of the stalls and whatever extra money you have left over is happily re-exchanged back to cash.

Terminal 21 food court includes the main realm of Thai dishes; Fried noodles, soup noodles, stir fried dishes like pad kra pao, Thai curries, a humongous bubbling pan of pork knuckles (ka moo), chicken rice, a local Bangkok style mixed dishes stall (khao gaeng), and even a vegetarian Thai food option.

In other words, you won’t have trouble finding something you like here!

After the usual food court pondering and walking around, I decided on the khao gaeng stall first. A scoop of rice accompanied by my choice of stir fried melon leaves (yord mara), stir fried glass noodles (pad woon sen), and mackerel salad (yam pla too).

They were all great, especially the yam pla too which was wonderfully flavored with red onions and lime juice.

Price: 37 THB (not sure why the odd number, but that’s really what my receipt said)

The seating area is clean and organized, and on the far side, if you’re lucky enough to grab a table it includes a nice view of central Bangkok.

After completing plate #1, I did another few laps around the food court, and after much contemplation decided to try the vegetarian place.

They probably had about 25 or so dishes stacked up including a pile of dok kajong, flower buds that you may remember from The Local Thai restaurant.

Spotting the het hom, which are in reality mushrooms but taste like Kobe beef (bottom dish), I had to claim them as one of my sides. Also as a big fan of bitter melon I got it stir fried with egg.

Price: 30 THB

Pretty stuffed after two main courses, I didn’t have dessert, though they offered a pretty wide selection of everything from mixed shave ice (nam kang sai) to mango sticky rice.

The Bottom Line

Terminal 21 offers a classy food court with a great atmosphere.

Of course, it’s not spectacular Thai cuisine at its finest, but it sure makes a good and affordable lunch – and there’s lots of things to choose from. For just 100 THB you can purchase about three different dishes to sample.

Bangkok, Terminal 21 Food Court

Prices: 30 – 80 THB per person
Hours: 10 am – 10 pm

How to get there:

Terminal 21 shopping center in Bangkok is located at Asoke BTS Station or Sukhumvit MRT Station. Follow the signs to Terminal 21 and the food court is on the 5th floor, also known as the San Francisco floor or Pier 21.

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