The Kaset Fair is Thailand’s biggest street food festival. Held every year in the beautiful grounds of the Kasetsart University in northern Bangkok, the Kaset Fair is a huge celebration of all things Thai food!

The words “largest”and “street food market” are like catnip to our ears and if you’ve been an avid reader of our blog, then you’ll know that we travel led by our stomachs. So, finding ourselves in Bangkok at the time of the annual Kaset Fair, there was no other choice, we had to go and visit!

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Crowds of people walk along a road lined with street food stalls at the Kaset Fair in Bangkok.

What is the Kaset Fair?

The Kaset Fair is a humongous market consisting of over 2000 vendors and stall holders. The Kaset Fair is essentially one enormous farmer’s market celebrating all things Thai farming covering everything from agriculture to food, landscapes to environment.

The fair has a huge focus on sustainable agriculture and demonstrates many of Thailand’s modern farming innovations. Alongside the environmental exhibits, the market is also home to hundreds and hundreds of street food vendors and restaurants who flock to Kasetsart University from all over Thailand.

The market also showcases many OTOP (One Tambon One Product) vendors who come to sell and showcase their local crafts and goods.

Round wicker baskets are filled with colourful traditional Thai desserts and puddings at the Kaset Fair in Bangkok.

Our experience visiting the Kaset Fair

After missing out on visiting the fair on a number of occasions over the years, we were very excited to find out that we were finally in Bangkok whilst the Kaset Fair was happening, so we headed there, for a full afternoon of munching!
We knew the Kaset Fair was going to be big, but nothing could have prepared us for the scale of the market! As we descended down the stairs of Kasertsart University BTS station, all we could see in front of us were hundreds and hundreds of brightly coloured tents stretching away into the horizon. We had arrived just after lunch and the market was already super busy. We decided to follow the crowds and headed to the food stalls that surrounded the lake. As we trailed around we picked up a selection of delicious street food starters including sushi, moo ping sticks and some delicious BBQ beef skewers. Midway round we were extremely thirsty and in the distance we could hear the iconic ching ching of ice against metal. Following the chime, we found the iced soft drink seller and we picked up a massive cup of iced EST cola (Thailand’s Coca Cola) and re-caffinated ourselves for the next section of food.

Crowds of people walk through the Kaset Fair Market. On either side, street food stalls line the road selling everything from Korean Bimbap to Thai style salads. In front of the viewer three Thai school girls wearing backpacks walk in front.

In the next area we found ourselves in what appeared to be one giant village full of different ‘floating’ restaurants. All along the small canals and waterways of the campus, restaurants had set up full kitchens and dining areas selling everything from mountains of pad thai to steaming hot pots. If you wanted, you could easily set up camp in one of these restaurants and spend a couple of hours munching down a big feast! We were not hungry for a big meal, but we did stop by a small stall and picked up chunks of deep fried tofu and sweetcorn, topped with a sweet chilli and peanut dipping sauce.

A two photo collage from the Kaset Fair. The first photo features a stall holder stood behind their fried goods stall. The second photo shows John holding a tub of deep fried sweetcorn, tofu and a sweet chilli and peanut sauce.

Feeling full from our starters we continued exploring. We passed by more and more stalls selling everything from dried pork to dancing shrimp and everything in between! As we delved deeper into the market, we passed by stalls cooking up bubbling hot khanom kroks (Thai coconut puddings) next to piping hot balls of Thai style takoyaki (Japanese squid snacks). You could even get a ‘Croc’ pastry shoe stuffed full with Nutella, sweet corn and other sugar filled treats - if eating footwear is your thing!
The atmosphere at the fair was electric. Megaphones blared out and music played from everywhere. It was like we were in the middle of one giant food carnival.
Our favourite area of the whole fair was a camping themed garden which was decorated with huge colourful flowers, beds of multicoloured lights, camping furniture and colourful bunting. Here we picked up two delicious, super strong iced americanos alongside some delicately crisp khanom buang filled with egg meringue and coconut. One of the things we loved most about this area was all the little craft stalls that sat alongside the food vendors. Ellie bought an adorable crocheted black cat key ring and John stocked up on more stickers for his collection. Alongside little trinkets there were bag sellers, mobile phone accessories, craft stalls and jewellery makers. It was so much fun to wander around and see what was on offer!

A watermelon juice stall sits next to a meat on sticks street food stall at the Kaset Fair Market in Bangkok.

After a good few hours munching and drinking under the hot and humid Thai sun, we were completely full. As the crowds were starting to triple, we decided it would be a good time to head back to our accommodation, so happy and content, we made our way back through the crowds and headed towards the BTS station.
We had only just touched upon a small slither of what was on offer at Kaset Fair but we had still had an amazing experience! Next time we would love to spend a full day exploring. We had only managed to explore the street food sections, spending our time in about 3 or 4 of the 13 zones on offer! When we next return, we would love to check out some of the farming / agricultural exhibits, try our hand at some of the activities on offer and shop more in the local craft sections.

When does the Kaset Fair take place?

The Kaset Fair takes place annually at the end of January / beginning of February and usually lasts for around 9 days. We would recommend checking the Kasetsart Instagram and Facebook pages for exact dates.

Clear bags are stuffed full of Tamarind ready to be sold at a fruit and vegetable stall at the Kaset Fair Market in Bangkok. — *You can buy all sorts of exotic treats at Kaset Fair, including lots of Tamarind!*

Where is the Kaset Fair and how do I get there?

The annual Kaset Fair takes place in the pretty grounds of the Kasetsart University (Bangkhen Campus) set in the north of Bangkok. You can find the university campus on a map here.

The easiest way to reach the fair is to use the BTS Green Line. Just jump on any train heading north towards Khu Khot and get off at the Kasetsart University BTS Station found here.

If you’re staying on or near the MRT Blue Line, you’ll need to catch a train north to Chatuchak Park station and from there, you’ll need to transfer onto the BTS Green Line at Mo Chit BTS station. From Mo Chit, you’ll need to ride 5 stops (about 10 minutes) to Kasetsart University.

For those who are short on time, you can easily arrange a taxi / Grab / Bolt to the university.

If you’re after a great eSIM to book your taxis with, we can highly recommend Holafly. Click here for all their Thailand packages.

There’s plenty of hotels and guesthouses available in and around the university including the Maruay Garden Hotel and the P24 at Kaset Hotel. For all accommodation nearby and to book a stay, click here.

When is the Kaset Fair open?

During the fair’s nine day run it is open everyday from 10 AM until 10 PM. If you’re planning to visit in the evening, expect it to be very crowded! The Kaset Fair is extremely popular with local Bangkokian’s and even when we visited (during the late afternoon) it was very, very busy. By the time we headed to the BTS to leave, the station staff were having to control the crowds.

Two street food stalls line the road at the Kaset Fair. On the left, the stall is selling baskets of dried shrimp and other shellfish, whilst the stall to the right sells colourful iced drinks.

Admission fee

The Kaset Fair is completely free. There are no tickets and no entry fees, just turn up and enjoy the fair. Our only advice is to make sure you bring plenty of baht with you so you can gorge yourself silly with all the tasty Thai treats on offer!

Also to get the most out of the fair, make sure you go hungry, go very hungry!

Thanks for reading,

John & Ellie x

#adventuresofjellie

A row of brightly coloured flowers are lit up with lights in a flower bed in the middle of the Kaset Fair in Bangkok.

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