UPDATED - Bangkok street food stall ban: Stalls to move

A family preparing food for customers at a street food stall in the Phrakanong district of Bangkok. Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha

UPDATE (April 20): Vendors will be allowed to set up shop on smaller streets while hawkers based in two top tourist hubs – Chinatown and Khaosan Road – will be reorganised but not barred completely. (Scroll down for full update)

Street food stalls will be banned from all of Bangkok's main roads under a clean-up crusade, a city hall official said on April 18, prompting outcry and anguish in a food-obsessed capital famed for its spicy roadside cuisine.