So you want to sell homestyle food in Bangkok. Here’s what you need to know
SO YOU WANT TO SELL HOMESTYLE FOOD IN BANGKOK. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Many people would be surprised to see so many à la carte restaurants, noodle shops, Isan-food eateries, shops selling rice and side dishes, and food vendors outside fresh markets in Bangkok. They are countless, and seem to be ever increasing.
The trend signifies a continuous influx of rural people into Bangkok, and will continue that way. Aside from Bangkok, they also head to big cities like Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai. It’s natural for the rural crowd to search for better opportunities outside their own region. But when many people come in when there aren’t so many occupations, they then have to find a solution to make it in big cities.
Labour or craft-related professions aren’t great options, or perhaps they are last options for anyone. If you’re already a pro, it’s best to stay within your own province, as there are always jobs available. Unless it’s people who have never worked on crafts, they’d have to undergo training, which takes time. The pay is low. The workload is heavy.
If they go for trade and commerce, those fields involve so many factors. What will they sell? Who will they sell it to? How much money is needed for investment? How tough is the competition?
The easiest occupation is selling food. Most rural people know the basics of general cooking, and can make their own local dishes. Almost all of them grew up from families that make home-cooked meals. Isan kids would have already eaten som tam, sticky rice, nam phrik (chilli dip) and
kang om pak (Isan-style spicy vegetable soup) made by their parents. The young also help out in the kitchen. Some may have adult-level skills in grilling fish, frog and chicken.
When rural people are familiar with food, it becomes a choice for occupation that is seemingly easier to go into than other occupations.
But just because they know how to cook doesn’t mean they can cook well. Selling food has its own considerations — skills, agility, creativity and consistency — that influence a person’s chance of making it work.
Location and cleanliness of venue also shouldn’t be overlooked. A cook’s line of thought would be to sell à la carte dishes as their first choice. When they do, their family also gets to eat, and it makes for a side occupation in a family where the husband could be a salaryman, and the wife sells à la carte food for extra income.
À la carte food sells well, as it is popular. People can eat it at every meal, fill their stomach, and the price is affordable, too.
But the problem lies in the cost of production, which goes mostly toward rent, equipment, cutlery, tables and chairs. It is also a very tiring job, and most people may have to go to the market, prepare ingredients, serve and wash up alone.
So, most à la carte sellers are just temporary shops or vendors that are low-cost in rental fees and easy to build. They may rely on hopes that, if the business goes well, they can hire others to help them.
Another alternative is an eatery selling ready-to-eat rice and side dishes, which is easier than making à la carte dishes because they’re made in batch. Displayed in pots and trays, these items can be sold as instant meals. They’re easier and faster to sell, and some sellers may prepackage the meals in plastic bags so customers can just buy the food and take it home.
But this requires real talent. Selling rice and side dishes is proof of whether one can make it in this business. It’s equally tiring, despite the sales mainly taking place in the morning and at lunch time. In the afternoon, they have to go to the market and prepare ingredients for the next day. Some wake up at 3 or 4am to start cooking. Some may have help. It’s also worth noting that shops selling southern-born side dishes are playing an increasingly bigger role in Bangkok and other provinces.
A shop such as this requires a good location. A congested community near factories, dormitories or apartments, or near a transportation hub with vans and buses, may have better chances.
A noodle shop isn’t too much hard work. The broth is a very important factor in determining whether the noodle shop will have a future. Not a single noodle shop in Thailand makes broth that tastes the same, not even branches of the same franchise. Other important ingredients of noodles such as stewed pork, barbecue pork and fish balls can be made by the sellers. If they’re fresh and tasty, they could increase the shop’s chances.
Once you can get to the heart of noodles, you don’t have to worry about anything else. Not even location. Great noodle shops can be found in back alleys, in congested communities, and people will still go there. Mostly, people will eat two bowls at the noodle shops. It’s quick. It makes for good profits. And you only have to sell it at noon.
Another means of selling food is as a vendor found outside big markets in residential areas, or nearby schools and transportation hubs. Food sold this way is easy to consume, comes in a plastic bag, and can be found twice a day: in the morning and late afternoon.
In the morning, the food that sells well includes sticky rice with grilled pork skewer or fried chicken wings, Isan sausages, congee, grilled sticky rice and sushi. Most sellers don’t have to prepare their own food anymore, as there are wholesalers delivering their ingredients right to their carts. The sellers then have to prepare their equipment only. They start selling from 6-9.30am. When they’re done, they pack up their carts and leave them in the market’s designated storage. The sellers can just go home afterward. It’s not too tiring. It’s quick and yields quite a profit.
There are food vendors of other types of food. Rice with boiled chicken, rice with barbecue pork, rice with side dishes, grilled fish and rad na (noodles served with thick sauce) are some dishes that people take home as their dinner. Once they’re done selling, the vendors store their carts in a similar fashion. This is one popular method of food-selling. It’s not tiring; the profit is good. But there can be problems with the rain, which is unpredictable, as the vendors only have umbrellas, however large, to shield themselves.
These are food-selling occupations that can be found in Bangkok and other main cities. These occupations are popular among rural people, as they can use their talents to work toward their futures, with better chances than in other occupations.