Exploring Star Night Bazaar Rayong, the Largest Food Market in Rayong
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of things to do in Rayong, the activities that are on offer here are very quick and brief, like drinking coffee at Laem Charoen beach.
So when my girlfriend and I were struggling to find things to do, we stumbled upon a seemingly ordinary food market, Star Night Bazaar, during our search. Little did we know that Star Night Bazaar is actually the largest open air night market in Rayong!
What’s even better is that half of Star Night Bazaar is dedicated to street food. With both of us being huge gluttons, we were set on exploring this night market.
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Largest Food Night Market in Rayong
Yes, half of Star Night Bazaar is full of various tasty Thai street foods, while the other half is for cheap clothing, trinkets, and jewelry. From just observing the crowd at this market, it’s obvious that people gravitate more to one half than the other…
In this article, I’ll be focusing on the street food portion of Star Night Bazaar, but feel free to explore the other shops, you might even find a nice T-shirt with random Thai words written on them.
The structure of Star Night Bazaar is laid out into multiple rows and columns with dozens, maybe even hundreds, of street food stalls occupying each row. So there is lots to eat and explore.
On that note, Star Night Bazaar is more catered to locals, you won’t find many tourists or foreigners here, that’s a shame though, because they are missing out on this glorious food market.
Let’s Explore Star Night Bazaar Market
Alright enough with the filler content, let’s get to exploring the Star Night Bazaar street food market!
One thing that I immediately notice is that, while Rayong is a beach adjacent city, there isn’t a lot of seafood at this market. So if you are tired of seafood in Rayong then this night market is for you.
If you want the best seafood in Rayong though then might I recommend my favorite, Chercher Seafood Restaurant, their Crab Pad Pong Karee is absolutely divine.
Regarding the price of some of the foods here, If you are familiar with night markets in Bangkok, like Jodd Fairs Rama 9, the prices here at night markets in Rayong are about 30% cheaper. More food for your buck.
Just an FYI, Star Night Bazaar street food night market does have a little seating area to eat your food haul on the far right side of the market. Although the seating arrangements are quite dark and dirty…
Clothing, Trinkets, Souvenirs, and Accessories
Alright let’s get the boring stuff out of the way. Okay, maybe not that boring.
Star Night Bazaar boasts a wide variety of clothing and jewelry, mostly for woman, I didn’t look into it much but there are some cute clothes and outfits and I can see this being a great place if you want to upgrade your wardrobe.
While the quality can’t be compared to big brands like Uniqlo or Zara, I don’t think those brands can compare to the vibrant and colorful designs of these fashionable night market stalls.
Yum Mama Talay, Spicy and Sour Mixed Seafood Noodle Salad
First up on our list was to find something substantial and hearty, because we’d actually came to this food night market for our dinner.
We spotted this stall making spicy and sour seafood noodle salad called “Yum Mama Talay”, where the “Mama” here refers to the Thai instant noodle brand named “Mama”.
The raw seafood is spread openly over a bed of ice, you got squid, shrimp, muscles, and more. You pick what sort of seafood you want, then the auntie give it a quick boil and tosses the seafood into a spicy and sour sauce made from fish sauce, chilis, and lime.
Next the noodles are boiled and thrown into the mix, and there you have it. Yum Talay. Yum.
I can’t tell you how fresh the seafood was, but I will say that we didn’t get any signs of food poisoning. The noodle salad was very tasty, sour, spicy, and the seafood makes the dish very filling.
Tokyo Nuey Krob, Crunchy and Buttery Crepes
Tokyo Nuey Krob is a funny snack because it has nothing to do with Japan or Tokyo. A hidden gem of the Rayong Star Night Bazaar Market, this snack is basically a thin, crunchy, and sugary crepe cooked in copious amounts of butter then drizzled with condensed milk.
This snack is dangerous, it’s very addicting and if you don’t watch out, you will probably get a heart attack if you keep eating it.
But yes, it is a very tasty and crunchy snack.
Ready Made Boxed Lunches or Dinners
Rayong’s Star Night Bazaar Market is full of ready made meals that are packaged in these square plastic containers.
You’ll find classics like Pad Kaprao or Khai Jieaw, Thai style fried omelette. You’ll also find wild ready made meals like those giant pieces of pork and chicken steaks you see above.
There is a stall that sells Khao Mok Gai, a Thai style biryani with a braised or deep fried chicken leg, I recommend you get that one it’s really tasty. You’ll notice the stall when you see plastic boxes packed full of bright yellow turmeric biryani rice.
Freshly Squeezed Fruit Juices and Smoothies
Fresh fruit juices are a popular in Thai street food markets and Rayong’s Star Night bazaar is no exception. This one particular store had their vibrant fruits out on full display.
You can get regular fruit juices or smoothies, my girlfriend and I opted for the avocado smoothie, I’m not a huge fan of avocado, but she said she enjoyed it.
Grilled Chicken and Pork
It wouldn’t be a Thai street food market if there were no grilled meats. Whether they’re on a skewer or left as big hunks of juicy meat, I would always recommend you get at least something from one of the dozens of grilled meat stalls.
Star Night Bazaar night market is famous for their grilled chicken, so keep and eye out for those, even the breast meat, which is usually dry, was juicy and flavorful.
If you are looking for other grilled meats to try I would recommend:
Kor Moo Yang - grilled pork neck
Sai Moo Ohn - grilled pork small intestines.
Every stall will have a side of sticky rice and a special spicy and sour dipping sauce to go with your grilled meats.
Also, these stalls usually sell by weight, usually per kilogram or half kilogram.
Khao Jee, Grilled Sticky Rice Mixed With Egg
A dish that I didn’t expect to see in these parts of Thailand, Khao Jee. These little grilled patties are sticky rice mixed with egg and a little bit of salt.
Khao Jee is enjoyed mainly in the northern provinces of Thailand in places like Chiang Mai or Chiang Khan, so it was a surprise to find them here in Rayong.
Nevertheless, the Khao Jee at Star Night Bazaar is pretty tasty, although they could do with a little bit more char to make the outside more crunchy.
You can eat Khao Jee alone by itself or pair it with other dishes like your typical sticky rice.
Giant Stewed Pork Knuckles and Pork Legs
This is something that I haven’t tried but I just love the visual of so I’m sharing it with you here today.
These are Kha Moo or pork legs, more specifically, pork legs and pork knuckles that have been braised in a sweet blend of Chinese spices. The result is a tender and juicy fall off the bone pieces of pork that is sweet and meaty.
This stall sells Khao Kha Moo which is a dish of sliced Kha Moo over rice along with some pickled greens.
You can get Kha Moo everywhere in Thailand, it’s like one of the country’s staple lunch time dishes, but if you see these braised pork knuckles out on display here at Rayong Star Night Bazaar, it’ll be hard to resist.
Local Khao Gaeng Curry Rice Stalls
You’ll know its a local market if you see these Khao Gaeng curry rice stalls. These Khao Gaeng stalls are the bread and butter of the average Thai salaryman (or salarywoman). Various curries each with a different taste profile ready for you to devour.
Khao Gaeng stalls in busy markets like these are often sold to go in plastic bags. If you spot these go a head and pick out some curries that look interesting to you.
I recommend the Pla Dook Pad Prik Pao, which are chunks of fish deep fried and then stir fried again with a bright red, sweet and spicy chili paste.
Savory Khanom Kroks with Seafood Toppings
Lastly, you might have heard of Khanom Krok, a popular Thai dessert/snack made from coconut milk custard cooked in these speciality griddles. Khanom Krok is very popular but for some reason I can’t find them at the Star Night Bazaar market.
Instead they have these savory Khanom Kroks made in a similar style except replace the coconut milk with egg and flour, then put some savory toppings on top like crab sticks or little pieces of shrimp.
These Khanom Kroks are served with a sweet and spicy chili dipping sauce.
the batch that I got was sitting out for too long so they’ve lost their crunch but the flavor was still pretty tasty. If you can get these fresh then that’s the way to go.
Details About Star Night Bazaar
Star Night Bazaar Market is the largest open air food and clothing night market in Rayong and is definitely worth a visit just to stroll around and see what kind of clothing and food options they have on offer.
The surrounding area is also home to a bunch of local businesses and even a Tescos.
Location: L 1193 Sai 4 Soi 2, Tambon Tha Pradu, Mueang Rayong District, Rayong 21000
Opening Hours: 4:00PM - 10:00PM | Mon - Sun
How to get to Star Night Bazaar
If you don’t have a personal vehicle, I recommend using Grab, the Uber of Thailand.
I am not sponsored or affiliated with Grab by the way. It’s just that Rayong doesn’t have much in terms of public transport.
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