Rung Rueang – My favorite noodle shop in Bangkok

Rung Rueang has been my favorite noodle shop ever since my first visit more than 10 years ago. It was my friend Annie, who told me about Rung Rueang, when I asked her, where I could find the best street food in Bangkok, and what great find. Rung Rueang is a family run restaurant, which is hugely popular among locals, who go there for delicious and inexpensive noodle dishes.

The first couple of times I visited Rung Rueang they didn’t have an English menu, but that has changed, and Rung Rueang is now mentioned in the Bangkok Michelin Guide (Bib Gourmand, 2024). Furthermore, some of the staff members speak English and can help you navigate the menu. Basically, you choose what kind of noodles you want, whether you want them with or without soup and spicy or non-spicy. You can also buy cold drinks and there’s a good selection of refreshing iced teas.

The noodles are served with fish balls, ground pork and offal, which is what gives the soup that amazing, finger-licking good taste, so don’t be surprised to find a piece of intestine or a slice of liver along with your noodles. I think you’re supposed to eat it, but if you’re not too keen on that, do as I do and stick to the ground pork and the fish balls.

Strictly speaking, Rung Rueang isn’t a street food place, as it has walls and a real floor as well as a couple of fans in the ceiling to keep the place cooled down. The kitchen is right at the entrance, so you can see how the food is prepared. You sit on plastic chairs around ramshackle steel tables and since noodle dishes are from China, you eat your noodles with chopsticks and not the usual Thai spoon-and-fork cutlery.

Rung Rueang closes at 5pm so this is primary a place to go for lunch, and around noon, Rung Rueang gets very busy. The restaurant quickly fills up, and people are also lining up outside to pick up their lunch to go. I suggest that you either come a little early (around 11) or wait until the lunch rush is over. Then the staff will also have more time to help you ordering your food and explaining what you are eating.

• Rung Rueang is located down Sukhumvit Soi 26. If you walk from Sukhumvit Road, you will find Rung Rueang on the right side of the street, immediately after Arize hotel.

• The restaurant doesn’t look like much from the outside and can easily be missed, but look for the small red signs over the entrance (and the huge crowds the restaurant tend to draw around lunchtime), and you will know, that you’re at the right spot. There are two restaurants under one room, but they’re both Rung Rueang and they serve the same food. Annie likes the one to the left better, but I couldn’t taste the difference.

• Each bowl costs around THB60. Expect to order 2-3 for a full lunch.

Rung Rueang , Sukhumvit Soi 26, Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Nearest BTS: Phrom Phong