Food
Bangkok Struggles With Street Food Stalls Clogging Sidewalks
Bangkok is gradually cleaning up its sidewalks and managing street food carts, one of its most popular tourist attractions, in order to handle foot traffic and provide hygienic street cuisine.
For decades, street food has been an economic lifeblood to the city. It provides economical lunches to office workers, day labourers, and visitors alike, while also allowing sellers to earn a steady income.
But the long-standing street food tradition is about to change. Within the capital city of around 15 million people, there is an increasing demand for Bangkok to provide a safe environment for walkers on its narrow and congested pavements.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will hold a public hearing this month on draft laws for street food. It encompasses zoning, the vendor screening process, as well as technical concerns and food hygiene requirements.
In Bangkok, many sidewalks are occupied not just by street food sellers, but also by signboards, bus stops, motorbike taxi stations, garbage cans and trees. Most Bangkok sidewalks are less than two metres (6.5 feet) wide.
A fruit seller on Sukhumvit Road, a major thoroughfare in central Bangkok, told BenarNews that she hired the front stairs of a building for her business. This allows her to place the cart on the footpath yet move it to the steps as needed.
Stalls like this cause complications for Bangkok resident Manit Intharapim, 56, who has been confined to a wheelchair for over three decades.
“Bangkok’s pavements have never improved. “They’ve been like this for so long that no one notices anything wrong with them,” he explained. “We want good, convenient, clean and safe pavements for everybody,” Manit went on to say.
The metropolitan administration intends to rebuild 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) of Bangkok sidewalks, making them cleaner, clearer and more organised by adding more greenery and repairing problems such as uneven floors, potholes, loose tiles and pools of water.
About a year ago, the BMA revealed plans to relocate over 70 stalls in Silom, including Somsak’s, to a nearby hawker centre. A dispute between sellers and BMA officials nearly got physical, but no one was injured.
Dining on the street in Thanon Plaeng Nam off Yaowarat in Chinatown, Bangkok.
In Silom alley, a nearby pig soup shop sets up tables and chairs as an eating area on the pavement, which becomes busy as night falls. There is no washbasin, water tap or drainage on the cart.
Bangkok’s “hawker centres” for sellers draw inspiration from Singapore, which has been an industry leader in managing street food stalls for decades. According to a Bangkok official, Singapore began transferring street food vendors to hawker centres in the 1970s, but it took more than a decade to see benefits.
As of 2023, the BMA predicted that there were approximately 20,000 sellers on Bangkok’s streets. Officials stated that they had attempted to identify about 125 hawker centres to accommodate approximately 10,000 sellers.
Meanwhile, the local government’s efforts have prompted several vendors to express concerns about future expensive rents and undesirable sites.
Chadchart’s hawker centre, which debuted in January, was practically vacant by February. According to a neighbour, sellers had to push their carts to the street outside because there were no customers.
“If I move to the hawker centre, I’ll have to pay about 1,000 baht ($28) per day in rent, and no one walks past there.” It’s just the way Thais behave. “They walk past things, and if they want to buy them, they do,” Somsak explained.
“City officials advised me to shift jobs, proposing I work as a security guard and my wife as a housemaid. At our age? “How did they come up with something like that?”
Chadchart is not the first Bangkok governor to launch an initiative to clean up the city’s pavements. Most recently, in 2017, then-Gov. Aswin Kwanmuang proposed intentions to prohibit street food in Bangkok except in two tourist hotspots: the Yaowarat (Chinatown) district and Khao San Road, the backpackers’ haven in the city’s ancient quarter.
At that time, Chadchart stated that there were “two sides to the issues including the people’s hardship and the city’s order, although there was no measure to be lenient when it comes to the city’s order.”
Somsak and his partner sellers reached an agreement to transfer their stalls to the alley, allowing them to continue selling on the sidewalk.
Long Queues Return for Bangkok’s Famous Street Food
Americans are revolting against McDonald’s and other fast-food establishments. This is harming French fry suppliers like Lamb Weston.
Lamb Weston, North America’s largest manufacturer of french fries and a significant supplier to fast-food chains, restaurants, and grocery stores, is closing a production facility in Washington state. Last week, the company stated that it would lay off almost 400 employees, or 4% of its workforce, and temporarily shut down manufacturing lines in response to falling customer demand.
Lamb Weston (LW) shares have plummeted 35% this year.
America’s French Fry King Sounds An Alarm
The potato giant is oversupplied at a time when demand is low. In recent years, restaurant prices have risen faster than grocery store prices, prompting shoppers to avoid fast-food establishments.
This move has had an impact on Lamb Weston because individuals are less inclined to prepare French fries at home. According to Lamb Weston, fast-food restaurants account for around 80% of all french fries consumed in the United States.
Fast-food restaurants, such as McDonald’s, are offering bargain menus to entice customers back. McDonald’s has introduced a $5 meal that contains a McDouble cheeseburger or a McChicken sandwich, small french fries, four chicken nuggets, and a small soft drink. However, these promotions are not benefiting Lamb Weston because customers are purchasing fewer portions of fries.
“Many of these promotional meal deals have consumers trading down from a medium fry to a small fry,” Lamb Weston CEO Thomas Werner stated during an earnings call last week.
Lamb Weston did not immediately reply to CNN’s request for comment.
McDonald’s, Lamb Weston’s largest customer, accounts for 13% of revenue. As McDonald’s goes, so does Lamb Weston.
America’s French Fry King Sounds An Alarm
And McDonald’s is struggling. Sales at US restaurants open at least a year declined 0.7% last quarter compared to the same period a year ago, dragged down by fewer consumers visiting the brand.
Lamb Weston is also heavily exposed to other fast-food companies, according to analyst R.J. Hottovy of analytics firm Placer.ai, in a research note to clients last week.
Customer traffic to fast-food restaurants fell 2% last quarter and 3% the prior quarter compared to the same period last year, according to Lamb Weston.
SOURCE | CNN
YouTube’s top stars have launched their competitor to Lunchables.
MrBeast, Logan Paul, and KSI are collaborating on a “groundbreaking new better-for-you lunch option” called Lunchly, combining all their goods into a single meal geared at their younger fans.
The all-in-one meal includes a bottle of Prime Hydration, a sports drink alternative founded by Paul and KSI that has grown in popularity; a Feastables milk chocolate bar created by MrBeast, a popular YouTube star with over 300 million subscribers; and one of three processed food options, including pizza, nachos, or turkey aand cheese with crackers.
Logan Paul And MrBeast Have A Lunchables Competitor That They Say Is Healthy
“Our ultimate goal has always been to offer not only high-quality products, but also healthier alternatives,” Lunchly cofounder Logan Paul stated in a press release. He also stated that the school lunch industry has been “dominated by Lunchables” since he was a child, and that it is “time to provide a better option for those looking for a convenient, healthier choice.”
Lunchly promises to be “healthier” since Prime contains more electrolytes than a Capri Sun in Lunchables, and Mr. Beast’s chocolate bar contains less sugar than a Kit Kat or Crunch bar.
Lunchly’s launch comes after Lunchable, owned by Kraft Heinz, announced a huge initiative last year to participate in school lunch programs. However, the company had to reformulate the components first to guarantee that the items met regulatory rules, which included incorporating fresh fruit into their meals.
Consumer Reports reported in 2024 that it recently studied the nutritional profiles of two Lunchables kits supplied in schools and discovered that they contain significantly more sodium than the Lunchables kits available in stores.
Logan Paul And MrBeast Have A Lunchables Competitor That They Say Is Healthy
Of course, KSI, Paul, and MrBeast know how to create brands, thanks partly to their devoted following. Despite government worries about the caffeine content of some of its drinks, Prime sales have risen, threatening industry leaders such as Gatorade and BodyArmor.
“Prime brings a youthful buying cohort that hasn’t had a lot pitched their way beyond traditional kids’ drinks,” Jeffrey Klineman, editor-in-chief of BevNet, previously told CNN. “Paul is significantly more intriguing to a 13-year-old than a juice box.”
SOURCE | CNN
Pressure cookers are very popular cooking utensils for preparing soups, stews, and tenderising meats in quick time. However, their versatility and uses go far beyond these traditional uses.
If you’re trying to use your 5 litre pressure cooker differently, you are at the right place, as we are going to explore unexpected and creative ways to use this essential kitchen utensil.
Infused oils and extract
You can use your pressure cooker to prepare infused oils and extracts. To do that, you have to put the herbs, spices, or citrus peels in a jar filled with oil or alcohol. Then, seal the jar and cook under low pressure for a short time to infuse the flavours uniformly.
By this method, you can extract intense flavours in a quick time as compared to what it takes through traditional infusion methods. You can also experiment with combinations like rosemary-infused olive oil or vanilla extract for baking.
Artisanal Curd Making
You can use your pressure cooker to prepare yoghurt. To do that you have to heat the milk to a proper and specific temperature, and then cool it down before adding yoghurt culture. After that, keep the mixture in jars, seal, and ferment in the pressure cooker with the use of the yoghurt setting. And yes, after that, you will have creamy, homemade yoghurt at a much lower cost than store-bought varieties. You can add up your yoghurt, various flavours and toppings for a healthy breakfast or snack option.
Quick pickling
You can also prepare quick pickles using your pressure cooker. For doing that combine the ingredients such as vinegar, water, salt, and your choice of vegetables or fruits in the cooker.
Now, after that, cook under pressure for a few minutes to infuse the flavours rapidly.
Once it is done and cooled, your quick pickles will be ready to eat and enjoy, giving a taste of tangy flavour to sandwiches, salads, or charcuterie boards. You can do this using different spices and herbs to prepare unique flavour profiles for your pickles.
Steaming vegetables and seafood
You can use your pressure cooker’s steaming capabilities to cook vegetables and seafood very easily and quickly. To do that, you have to place a steamer basket inside the cooker, add water, and put your ingredients.
Then, after that, cook under pressure for a few minutes to keep the nutrients intact and also get the perfect tenderness. From crisp-tender asparagus to succulent shrimp, the possibilities of preparing the dishes are many. You can add different flavours using aromatic herbs, spices, and citrus zest.
Homemade bread and desserts
You can amaze your family with freshly baked bread and delicious desserts that can easily be prepared in your pressure cooker. To do that, use the cooker as a makeshift oven by placing a trivet inside and also adding water to it.
After that, you have to place your bread dough or dessert batter in a heat-proof container, cover it, and then cook under low pressure. In very little time, you will get tender bread or delicious desserts without even messing up the kitchen. You can also try various other recipes like chocolate lava cake or savoury herb bread for a delightful treat.
One-pot pasta dishes
You can easily prepare one-pot pasta dishes that are cooked perfectly in your pressure cooker. To do that you have to combine pasta, sauce, vegetables, and protein in the cooker, and also remember to check and put enough liquid for cooking. Then, seal and cook under pressure for a few minutes. This will allow the flavours to get mixed beautifully.
And with this, from classic spaghetti marinara to creamy Alfredo, your pressure cooker can do it all. You can enhance your pasta with your favourite ingredients and garnishes.
Conclusion on a pressure cooker
Cooking indeed is a creative method. Do justice to your creative culinary spirit with your 5-litre pressure cooker. Bake bread, make homemade yoghurt, and make several main dishes as well as side dishes using a wide pressure cooker.
Impress everyone and yourself! Make the best out of your culinary instincts.
SEE ALSO: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Perfect LED Bathroom Mirror
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The above article is sponsored content any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of CTN News- Chiang Rai Times. For detailed information about sponsored content policy click here.
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