I love my neighbourhood. I have a choice of half a dozen fresh markets in the immediate area and many more if I care to travel just a little further.

Every day around 5:30 I take a stroll down to one of them and make the difficult decision of what to buy for my evening meal. It’s usually a curry of some sort, a fish and a vegetable dish, bagged up to take home and enjoy with rice I cook at home.

I’m lucky in that on a Tuesday and Friday the local temple holds a market which includes a vendor selling some of my favourite hard to find northern Thai dishes plus some tasty southern food.

There’s people frying pla tu, grilling shallots and garlic for nam prik, and much more. The variety is astonishing and my dinner for three dishes seldom costs more than 100 baht.

On Sunday, there’s an abundance of Lao and Issan ingredients and plenty of fresh vegetables.

It’s interesting to see the current trend on Bangkok’s restaurant scene emphasizing local produce and ‘authentic’ dishes….and charging a premium for it.

On the streets of Bangkok it has always been so, and it will continue as long as the authorities don’t interfere with market and street vendors, or force them off land to build another bloody mall. I don’t think this fantastic food scene should be taken for granted. It needs protecting.

Want to eat local in Bangkok? Make it part of your daily life. Get down your neighbourhood market.