For Thai food with a twist, the hip district of Siam Square is the best place to go hunting. The shopping malls generally have a wide choice of chain stores where you can eat for mid-range prices. If you're on a budget, every mall that takes itself seriously at least has one food court. Soi Tonson, a sidestreet of Ploenchit Road, is known as Bangkok's Little Italy with plenty of nice Italian restaurants. The best are both very good and reasonably priced (at least by Western standards).

Food Courts

If you want cheap food and air-conditioning, head into the upper-floor food court of any mall or department store. Food courts come in many varieties, from basic snack places to eclectic cuisine. Most food courts use some variation of a coupon system; unused coupons are always refunded. Some of the better ones include:

• Big C Food Court, 5th Floor, Big C, 97/11 Ratchadamri Rd (opposite CentralWorld Plaza), ☎ +66-2-250-4888. 9AM-11PM daily. New, bright, airy and very cheap with mostly Thai dishes as low as 20 baht. Payment with a stored-value card. Note: Big C is closed for the time being due to heavy protest fires in May 2010. 50 baht.

• Central Food Hall, 1st Floor, Central Chidlom, 1027 Ploenchit Rd (BTS Chit Lom, hidden behind the TOPS Supermarket in the same building as FoodLoft), ☎ +66-2-655-7648(-52). 9AM-10PM daily. It offers Thai fare (and English menus) at much cheaper prices than FoodLoft. 50 baht.

• FoodLoft, 7th Floor, Central Chidlom, 1027 Ploenchit Rd (BTS Chit Lom), ☎ +66-2-793-7070. 10AM-10PM daily. This chic dining venue with a hip and trendy black, metallic and red colour theme is large and popular among Central's visitors. This is one of the most upmarket food courts, and could even be described as a culinary experience on its own: eight cooking islands represent quality restaurants that serve different cuisines, including Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, Malay and Vietnamese (desert is also represented by one island). It is fairly expensive with most dishes close to 100 baht. Dinnertime at Fridays and Saturdays have live music. You receive a 1000 baht voucher on entry and pay for what you've used on exiting. 150 baht.

• MBK Food Court, 5th-6th Floor, MBK Center, 444 Phaya Thai Rd (BTS National Stadium), ☎ +66-2-620-9000. 10AM-10PM daily. You might not expect it, but this is a really good find! Food court "The Fifth", as you might expect, is at the fifth floor, and has recently been refurbished. It has an assortment of Western, Asian, halal and vegetarian dishes from 50 baht up. Paying goes by an electronic card system, and you pay as you leave. The food court at the sixth floor is very cheap with less than 50 baht per serving. It is popular, but noisy, and serves tasty Thai food including some you have probably never heard of before. Paying goes by coupon. 50 baht.

• Siam Paragon Food Court, 1st Floor, Siam Paragon, 991/1 Rama I Rd (BTS Siam), ☎ +66-2-610-8000. 10AM-10PM daily. This food court covers a large part of Siam Paragon's ground floor. It is divided in three sections, a general food court (pay by coupon), a more upmarket food court (pay by electronic card) and a take away counter. The whole place is enormous with many different joints selling different kinds of food, such as Isaan, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese and international. 50-100 baht.

Budget

• Hong Kong Noodles, 430/3-4 Siam Square Soi 10 (BTS Siam, near the corner of Soi 2 and Soi 3), ☎ +66-2-254-8755 ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). 10AM-10PM daily. Serves up cheap and tasty wonton noodles, a selection of dim sum and more Cantonese favorites in modern, if utilitarian, surroundings complete with air-conditioning and table service. 30-40 baht.

• Ka-nom, 266/8 Siam Square Soi 3 (BTS Siam), ☎ +66-2-508-7366. 10AM-9PM daily. Everyone who has been to Macau knows how delicious they are: Portuguese-style egg tarts. They don't come very cheap, but are hand-baked right in front of you. They also have cakes, pies, breads and croissants. 40 baht each.

• Pisces, 36/6 Soi Kasemsan 1 (BTS National Stadium, in the middle of the street at the left). 8AM-1PM, 5PM-10:30PM daily. This simple Thai (and vegetarian) restaurant is popular for breakfast among backpackers who stay at the nearby guest houses. Its interior looks good and is colorful, and the lady who runs it is really nice. Service can be a tad slow though. 60 baht.

• Subway, 1st Floor, Siam Paragon, 991 Rama I Rd (BTS Siam, at street level near Starbucks), ☎ +66 2-204-2001. 10:30AM-10:30PM. American-style sandwiches and salads, exactly like one would find at the chain in Western locations. 90-100 baht.

Mid-Range

• Greyhound Cafe, 4th Floor, Central Chidlom, 1027 Ploenchit Rd (BTS Chit Lom), ☎ +66-2-225-6964(-5). 10AM-10PM daily. An minimalistic restaurant of concrete and brushed steel. On the menu is fusion, with food ranging from authentic Thai to Italian pasta to Elvis burgers. Mains are usually around 300 baht, although the lunch sets are cheaper than that. There's also a branch at Siam Center. 300 baht.

• Kabuki, 1st Floor, Siam Paragon, 99/1 Rama I Rd (BTS Siam), ☎ +66-2-129-4351(-6). 11AM-10PM daily. This Japanese restaurant chain, inspired by Japanese Kabuki theater themes, was the first of its kind in Bangkok. It is more upmarket than its sister Uta-Andon, but still very affordable if compared with luxury Japanese restaurants. 450 baht.

• Lan Som Tam Nua (Som Tam Paradise or Papaya Salad Restaurant), 392/14 Siam Square Soi 5 (BTS Siam), ☎ +66-2-251-4880. noon-9PM daily. If Thai food isn't spicy enough or you have yet to sample som tam (raw papaya salad), check out this trendy yet very friendly and very Thai restaurant specializing in northeastern Isaan food. For the full-on Isaan experience, order raw mango salad (ตำมะม่วง tam ma-muang), spicy pork salad (ลาบหมู laap muu), grilled chicken (ไก่ย่าง kai yang) and sticky rice (ข้าวเหนียว khao niaw) - which will cost less than 200 baht per head. English menu, two floors of seating. Warning: This is real Isaan food and thus very spicy! 200 baht.

• No. 43 Italian Bistro, 43 Soi Lang Suan (BTS Chit Lom, at Cape House), ☎ +66-2-658-7444. A lovely Italian bistro that serves an a la carte breakfast, lunch and dinner. With quiet white wood floors, black and gold walls, and an illuminated open bar, the items are pleasantly affordable considering the restaurant's elegant ambiance. Quiet, reserved and gentle on the senses, this restaurant also offers great Thai food on request. 150-300 baht.

• Sunrise Tacos, 1st Floor, Siam Paragon, 991 Rama I Rd (before supermarket entrance near counter 7), ☎ +66 2-229-4851. Open 24 hours. A Mexican grill restaurant with traditional favorites like nachos, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, fajitas and salads. The meals are fresh and there is 24 hour delivery available. 200 baht.

• Uta-Andon, 6th Floor, Isetan, 4/1-4/2 Ratchadamri Rd (BTS Chit Lom), ☎ +66-2-255-9800. 11AM-9PM daily. Same ownership as Kabuki, this Japanese restaurant chain has a branch in Isetan. Ambience and decoration are plain and straightforward.

• Wanara Eatery, 81 Ruam Rudi Soi 2 (BTS Ploen Chit), ☎ +66-2-695-4242. In Thai, 'wana' means forest, the source of the distinctive ingredients that make up traditional Thai cooking. Combined with western flavors, Wanara brings together the fusion cuisine.

Splurge

• Gianni, 34/1 Soi Tonson (BTS Chit Lom, off Ploenchit), ☎ +66-2-252-1619. noon-2:30PM, 6PM-10:30PM daily. One of Bangkok's best and most authentic Italian places. Formal but romantic atmosphere with shared couches and such, you'll want to dress up a little. Try the lunch sets at 270/320 baht, as dinners are considerably more expensive. 1000-1200 baht.