FOOD:
The best food in all of Asia is in Thailand. Japan comes in a close second. I have eaten at people's homes, in the street, at nice restaurants and in bars....and I am always pleasantly surprised at the variation and creativeness of Thai cuisine. I would recommend eating Thai food instead of sticking with local fast food places. I like spicy food but most cooks can make the dishes light on the heat if you ask. I could never understand why a tourist would get on a 17 hour flight to eat at McDonalds and Pizzu Hut. Here are some suggestions:

1. RESTAURANTS: Restaurants are plentiful in Bangkok and there are tons of them on Sukhumvit. They say that the best Indian restaurants in the world are in Bangkok. Some places to check out are:
Cabbages and Condoms: One of the best Thai restaurants in Bangkok. The decor is not as fancy or traditional as other Thai restaurants but the food is excellent. It's on Soi 12 off of Sukhumvit. There are several different parts of the restaurant , including a dining area and an outdoor patio. There is an open air beer garden as you enter and the selection of drafts is solid. I ordered the Seafood Curry and spring rolls. Their honey roasted rotisserie chicken is excellent. The mango with sweet coconut milk and sticky rice is refreshing for desert. I also suggest the steamed prawns in whole coconut. The prices average about 200 baht ($4.40) and the service is excellent. Your check is presented with a condom. This restaurant was started by a man who started the PDA (population and community development association). It's a non-profit group which specifically helps the rural poor obtain medical treatment and education for the prevention of AIDS. PDA was one of the chief groups that began awareness about AIDS and prevention to Thailand. The highest rate of AIDS is in the rural North where uneducated Thai men think that it is cool to screw young girls without condoms and infect them with AIDS. The myth that the white man brought AIDS to Thailand is a joke. The highest incidents of AIDS are in areas where no falang's exist.
Mrs. Bilbir's: Located on Soi 11 off of Sukhumvit. Excellent choice for Indian food, especially curries. She also teaches a Thai and Indian food class for two hours. If you want to totally confuse a Thai chick...cook Thai food for her. She will want to marry you the next day.
Vientienne Kitchen: Located on Soi 36 off of Sukhumvit. The place specializes in Issan/Lao food. The menu is very interesting in that it contains dishes with frogs, carp and rodents. The dishes are extremely spicy so ask your girl what to order. The place has large, banquet-sized tables downstairs and bamboo, sitting tables upstairs. The upstairs tables have various pillows to add comfort to sitting on the floor with your tiruk.
Akhbar's- Excellent Indian Food located on Soi 3 in the Arab Quarter. The service is excellent, the decor amazing and the tandoori meats and breads are insane. Very cheap.
Chinatown- Great place to try out some Chinese/Thai delicacies. Great place to eat Peking duck or shark fin soup...if you like that sort of thing.
Little India-Excellent Indian food at great prices...you might be the only falang there but that's what makes it fun. Try the Masala tea from some of the vendors
2. FOOD COURTS:
One of the best thing about Thailand is it's diversity of food at it's food courts. Most of the food courts are on the top floor of a mall. You have to buy coupons to pay for the food. The food court at MBK mall is the best in Thailand. There are televisions everywhere playing Premier League Soccer. Some of the highlights include: Mango with sticky rice, peking duck with rice, oyster omelet, fresh exotic fruit shakes, Vietnamese food, Seafood soups, Hainan chicken and rice. The World Trade Center also has a good food court with similar dishes but the place is smaller.
3. STREET FOOD:
I normally will not buy street food overseas but Thailand has the cleanest, freshest and most delicious street food in the world. I have eaten from street vendors hundreds of times and have never gotten sick. You should look at the vendor and see if the vendor is busy and that his/her spot is clean. Most of the vendors have small plastic chairs and tables to eat at...this gives you a chance to mingle with the locals and bar girls with hangovers. Sometimes you order from the cook and sometimes you order from your seat.....follow the locals.
The best places to eat street food are: Sukhumvit road, Soi Cowboy, near MBK, Pratunam area and Kho Sahn Road. Kho Sahn Road is a great place to order fresh BBQ'd seafood and 50 baht large Chang Beers. I highly recommend trying to eat som tom (spicy papaya salad, noodle soup with pork(Guay tiew), mango with sticky rice and Hainan chicken from various vendors. In addition, the Pad Thai from Kho Sahn vendors is to die for. I have tried grasshoppers and find them good. I wont touch the other bugs. I try to avoid eating satay meats as the meat does not look fresh and is out too long. Try to avoid the satay vendors in front of Nana Plaza as I have known many to get sick there. It is nearly impossible to get sick from noodle soup or papaya salad, so give it a try.
DRINK:
1. BEER:
Some of the best beers in Asia can be found in Thailand. The most popular is Singha Beer. Singha beer is delicious and can be purchased in California. They also have a beer called Singha Gold which has less alcohol. Remember that Singha beer has 7% alcohol in Thailand, so watch out. Other notable beers include Thai Beer and Leo which has decent taste and is cheap. A good beer to buy for the drunk relatives of your Thai girl. My favorite beer in Thailand is Chang. Chang is close to 81/2 percent alcohol but some say it's closer to 10. Has great taste but will kick your ass if you are not careful. Best to start with Chang and move on to water or other beers. I try to drink moderately in Thailand as I want to know my surroundings and don't want to be hungover on vacation. Most beers will come in a holder to keep the beer cool. Many of the bars have a problem with serving cold beer so find a place that does it right and stick with them. Many of the restaurants serve lukewarm beer and will give you a glass of ice.....I hate this but ya gotta' go with the flow.
2. WHISKEY: I recommend trying some Thai whiskey on your trip. It has a unique flavor and is quite good with Coke. Local Thais are snobs and will not drink local Mehkong whiskey and then will dilute expensive whiskey with Coke. Mehkong with Coke is usually the cheapest drink at the bars but be careful as the stuff goes down easy and could kick your ass later.
3. WATER: Only drink bottled water. Many of the hotels will offer free water in the glass bottles and all 7-11's carry bottled water at super cheap prices.
4. TEA/COFFEE- Try drinking Thai tea from one of the sreet vendors. Very refreshing. You just tell them "Gaw Ao Cha Nom Yen Sai Thoong". They will give you Thai iced tea in a bag with a straw....great stuff. At restaurants, thai's will normally give you instant cofee. Best place to get cofee is at the many outlets all around Bangkok, including Stabucks and Cofee World.

This is my first post, but I have found that many of the girls really want the bottles of Jack Daniels that I brought in from Duty Free. Never mind that they were empty, I assume that they were going to fill them up with Mekong or something. Status. Who knows.

The food court at Big C (get off at the Chit Lom station) is absolutely brilliant. High quality food in beautiful surroundings, the perfect food court realized.