Night Bazaar Food Court

Night Bazaar Food Court

Although part of the Night Bazaar proper, the Food Center deserves its own special mention as a place of fine dining in Chiang Rai city. This large food court is open from about 5pm until midnight and is a great place to have an eclectic meal in a lively location, especially as a compliment to a night of Bazaar shopping.

The large food court is located in back of the Night Bazaar, directly behind the Old Bus Station. It’s a large open air area full of yellow tables and chairs, with 2 long rows of food shops on either side offering hundreds of Thai and international dishes for the delight of your palate.

Some of the food shops have servers with menus who will wade out into the tables to coerce you into dining with them, but it’s worth it to have a leisurely stroll around to see what’s available. Most of the food booths have big signs boasting their menus with full colour pictures, or you can just walk up and see what they’re preparing.

Food and Drink
Most of what’s available is Thai food, with an emphasis on seafood prepared 100 different ways, but sushi has become popular lately and is also easy to find from 5 or 6 shops. Western ‘steak’ and French fries are also available from a few stalls. There’s also an abundance of Japanese food, a Mexican stall, and even fried insects to eat as snacks with beer. Two or three little shops also do fresh fruit shakes for 15 to 20 THB, a good deal. The food is a little more expensive than you’d find in a grubby street stall but only by 5- 20 THB more per dish and the atmosphere is definitely better.

The yellow tables represent the Singha beer company, and there are dozens of ‘cheer beer’ gals pushing large bottles (60-70 THB), jugs (100-120 THB) of assorted Thai beers. Again, prices are reasonable and service is attentive. If you buy a jug they’ll keep everyone’s glasses topped up so you can’t possibly count how many you’ve had.

Entertainment
The two main sources of entertainment are the stage show and the food stall menus. A quick survey of the oddly translated dishes on offer like “the moustache is tiny squid roasts” or “a crustacean fire” should bring a smile to your lips, if not a full guffaw.
If that’s still not enough for you, the east end stage (no Cats here, mind you!) hosts traditional Thai dance and music shows throughout the night. Shows include folk guitar duos, a troupe of Thai court dance students, and a Northern-style band on traditional instruments, all with a slow and relaxing pace.

Overall the food court offers a great variety, good prices, and comfortable atmosphere. Of course, rain will spoil the parade but on dry evenings this is a great place to take a break from your shopping or to meet up with friends for a feast. Don’t forget to try the Meatballs Fries, Every the Wood!