Next in Food: What will we eat in the rest of 2020

The dining trends that we will see in Bangkok in 2020

Written by

Top Koaysomboon

Phavitch Theeraphong

Khemjira Prompan

Sunday March 1 2020

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Bangkokians take eating quite seriously—our home, after all, is a known food capital. Each year brings about new food trends, new drool-worthy dishes and new customer preferences. Some trends come and go, some last many years, and a few have become mainstays, changing the food scene in ways both subtle and dramatic, and continuously transforming the way we eat.

Time Out Bangkok examines the city’s vibrant gastronomy scene to come up with a list of what gastrophiles should be expecting this year.

Hotels doing delivery

As the threat of coronavirus hangs over Bangkok, diners have chosen to stay indoors and away from the crowd. But that hasn’t prevented the city’s gourmands from wanting to savor fine food. In response, a few five-star hotels have jumped into the food delivery scene. Centara Grand at Central World, for one, has kickstarted a partnership with Grab Food, offering dishes from three of its dining outlets—Spanish and Mediterranean eatery Uno Mas, European steakhouse Red Sky and pastry shop Zing Bakery—for delivery.

Similarly, edgy hotel W Bangkok offers fare from The Kitchen Table on Food Panda and Lineman. Fans of the restaurant’s international fare will get to savor many of its popular dishes—from Thai salads and curries to pizza and sandwiches—in the comfort of their own homes.

Luxury Sukhumvit hotel Sheraton Grande has also joined the delivery club, but has taken things a step further. Instead of just sending gourmet food to your doorstep, the hotel will “deliver” their chefs! Their Grab a Chef program allows you to hire the culinary masterminds behind the hotel’s many famed restaurants—from Italian institution Rossini’s to Thai diner Basil—to cook for you at home. Prices start from B35,000.

The emergence of ghost restaurants

Food delivery apps have reshaped the F&B industry, allowing customers to conveniently have food from their favorite eateries delivered to their doorsteps—way before coronavirus hit. The popularity of these apps has contributed to the emergence of one big food trend: ghost restaurants. We’re talking food outlets that are delivery-only and rely heavily on food delivery apps: no storefronts, no dining rooms.

Some of our favorites include Urban Pizza, The Pizza Company’s spin-off brand that churns out New York-style pies—thin crust and gigantic—through Food Panda, Grab or GET. There’s also Paleo Robbie, which creates meals-for-delivery following the paleo diet philosophy, (i.e., lots of lean protein and organic veggies, and without refined sugar, dairy, MSG and meat raised using artificial growth hormones or unnecessary antibiotics). For vegans, check out Vegan Crush, a vegan delivery-only restaurant that sends out 100-percent plant-based meals every Monday. Their food is low in sodium and oil, and is created with unprocessed natural ingredients. Pranaa is also another option. The health food provider prepares wholesome international fare that are free from oil, sugar and refined carbs.

More plant-based options

Meat alternatives are nothing new. But it wasn’t until last year that what we now call “plant-based meat” started making waves—big ones—in the local restaurant scene. New players like Beyond Meat, Impossible and OmniMeat have injected scientific innovation into non-meat products, taking them to a new level, to the point that even carnivores are finding them irresistible. Chain restaurants like Sizzler started putting plant-based meat on its menu since the vegetarian festival last year, while vegan eateries like Bare Food, Vistro, Veganerie and Broccoli Revolution offer their own creative plant-based takes on dishes that are traditionally made with meat. But for those who want to try cooking meatless fare at home, upscale supermarkets like Villa Market carry Beyond Meat burger patties and Beyond Meat beef-free crumbles. For something a little more gourmet, check out Chiangmai-born Beast and Butter or famous burger place 25 Degrees where they make their veggie burgers in-house from scratch.

Gourmet chefs opening up casual joints

Bangkok has become a playground for high-profile chefs to showcase their sophisticated cuisine at fine-dining restaurants. But towards the end of 2019, we started seeing Michelin-accredited chefs taking food back to its humble roots at more casual establishments. Chef Napol Jantraget and Saki Hoshino of 80/20 have started churning out their own versions of nam prik (chili relish) at Krok, reinventing the ubiquitous condiment in funkier ways, and serving them with hearty proteins, vegetables and rice at affordable prices. Meanwhile, Chef Thitid Tassanakajohn of Le Du re-imagines pad thai at his new venture May Rai. Chef Ton’s version of the beloved street food is served alongside a well-selected list of natural and organic wines. Supanniga Eating Room has also launched Sood Kua on Lineman, which serves stir-fried proteins of your choice, such as minced pork and crab roe, with rice, salt and chili.

More global culinary legends coming to our shores

Bangkok’s appetite for fare delivered by world-renowned, Michelin star-decorated chefs is insatiable. And we expect the demand to increase in 2020. Two more famous chefs are making their debuts in the city, joining big names like Martin Blunos, Hank Savelberg, Jean-Michel Lorain and Alain Ducasse (who just recently opened Blue by Alain Ducasse at Iconsiam). These are Chef Andreas Caminada of three-Michelin-starred Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau in Switzerland, who is launching IGNIV, a “sharing concept” restaurant, at The St. Regis Bangkok (scheduled to open in May 2020); and Chef Mauro Colagreco, frontman of three-Michelin-starred Mirazur in Menton, who is bringing Cote by Mauro Colagreco, a Mediterranean restaurant, at the soon-to-open Capella Bangkok. In addition, Alain Ducasse ’s chocolate salon Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse will debut in Bangkok at Chidlom’s Athena 23 mall.

The appearance of unfamiliar cuisines

Bangkokians have been developing a taste for unfamiliar international fare over the last few years. Taking advantage of the city’s rapidly evolving palate are modern Latvian restaurant Baltic Blunos in Sukhumvit and Yangon-born Burmese restaurant Feel in Pratunam. This year, more restaurants are giving us a taste of more exotic cuisines. Lola’s Kitchen, located in close proximity to the Philippine Embassy on Sukhumvit, is a worthy addition to the very few Filipino restaurants in Bangkok—the menu allows locals to savor Pinoy dishes like chicken adobo and bulalo (beef shank soup). Over at Soi Sukhumvit 33/1, you have Sabor Brazil, a restaurant that specializes in grilled dishes from the South American country.

Food bloggers becoming restaurateurs

A few of your favorite food bloggers, after years of treating their fans to updates on the most happening food joints in town, are themselves subject to the call of critics now that they’ve put up their own food outlets. YouTuber Mark Wien has teamed up with food blogger iTan (Kittidech Vimolratana), Chef Gigg Kamol and actor Pongtap Arutan to open a restaurant called Phed Mark, which serves pad kaprow (stir-fried dishes with basil) at affordable prices. Then you have Fashion on Food vlogger Kanokwan “Ching” Asawanuchit, who took a quick break from her khao gaeng restaurant to start Yum Sane, another food venture that doles out yum (spicy salad) at the food courts of Emporium, Emquartier and The Mall Bangkhae. Lifestyle blogger duo Oats x Somewhere have taken the sweet path with a donut shop in Udomsuk called Drop by Dough, while the peeps behind the vlog Bearhug have set up a bubble tea shop called Bearhouse.

Thai fine-dining steps up its game

Sophisticated Thai cuisine wants to make its presence felt in 2020. First in the line-up is Jaew Jim Thompson, which is reinventing Thai cuisine through the vision of Canadian chef Andrew Martin. David Thompson, formerly of Nahm fame, steps back into the scene with an elegant new restaurant called Mahanathi at new luxury hotel Orient Express Mahanakhon Bangkok. Waldorf Astoria is adding more big guns to the city’s fine-dining scene as it unveils a new Thai restaurant to take over the space vacated by Nordic-Thai venue Front Room.

Dining alone is suddenly de rigueur

The food courts at Emporium and Emquartier have introduced new seating arrangements designed for solo eaters. Each seat faces the wall and comes with electric outlets to charge your electronic devices—every lonely diner’s best friend. Popular hotpot chain MK has also dedicated a corner in some of its restaurants for one-diner tables. And with authorities encouraging social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we’re pretty sure more restaurants would make adjustments for eating by your lonesome.

The restaurant scene heats up by the river

Dining by the Chao Phraya has become even more exciting. Last year, we beheld the unveiling of Blue by Alain Ducasse at Iconsiam and the reopening of the revamped Lord Jim’s at Mandarin Oriental. Later in the year, Capella Bangkok’s Mediterranean restaurant Cote by Mauro Colagreco and Thai establishment Phra Nakhon are expected to provide steep competition. The same can be said for Yu Tian Guan, a destination for Cantonese delicacies, as well as Italian dining room Riva del Fume, both at the soon-to-open Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River.