Street chef: The Mandarin Oriental's head chef breaks down Bangkok street food

Like any Bangkok chef worth his toque, Norbert Kostner, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok's executive chef for more than 30 years, understands that street food is the pulsing heart of all Thai cuisine. That's why he never stops sampling, and spying on, the work of his blacktop brethren.

"I go to Chinatown for rice soup with good fish or shark fin soup. You'll see the big Mercedes Benzes pull up there (for shark fin soup). Chinatown is famous for it. There's a noodle soup stall near my home on Sukhumvit Soi 101. The people who run it only come sometimes, from 9:30pm to midnight. I have their mobile number, so I call ahead to see if they're in the neighborhood.''

''They specialize in one thing. If you make one thing all your life, you must be very good at it. It's the only way people will come because it's not about being the cheapest. The competition is already cheap enough, so it's about being good.

"Near the Oriental, there is one person who sells pork knuckle and rice, that's it. But you see people from all over the city. Rich people send their drivers to get his pork knuckle. By 1pm it's gone. He could probably make three times more, but maybe he's not interested or the recipe limits him.''

"I'm inspired by the equipment. The other day I passed a vendor grilling prawns on a simple Chinese grill. It was fantastic. We spent so much money on our bulky charcoal grill."

"I really look at how they cook -- it's easier for me to get their secrets because they just think I'm a tourist. They're not suspicious. It's fun, they're really outgoing.''

''It's very different. The street food vendors really tune and tune until it's perfect. They never do anything different. Are they chefs? Sure. They're very professional. What they cook is very simple, but if you want to copy them, you won't be able to.

"I'm most impressed by how they can turn out dishes with so little and with so few pans. They have one wok, and they can make one portion or 10 portions. Soup or stir-fry. It's just so effortless.''

"So many dishes ... Bangkok street food is full of flavor. My favorites include wonton and noodle soup, oxtail soup, grilled pork with sticky rice and simple black bean buns from Chiang Mai's Angkang region that break apart like cotton."

"When a dish is finished, you should still be hungry. Never get a second helping. You want to leave with a desire to return."