Food
POP-UP restaurants are a growing trend in Bangkok shopping malls and in suburban main streets.
These are temporary restaurants that can operate from any location where there are customers and that is safe for cooking and serving food.
While beer gardens operating during the cool season are probably the pop-up format that Thais are most familiar with, pop-up kitchens and food trucks are gaining popularity in Bangkok.
The Mall Group recently introduced pop-up kitchens around its supermarkets. Patrons can buy fresh produce and ask for it to be cooked at these kitchens.
Although seating is limited, the food fad has caught on and it is not surprising to find queues forming at these new eateries.
Potential patrons keep track of opening hours and the location of these trucks on social-media platforms – an indication that the digital age has fundamentally changed the way people dine and socialise.
Pop-up restaurants can range from the simple to the ultra-high-end, but one thing they all have in common is the element of exclusivity.
Because of their temporary nature, pop-ups intrinsically create a “moment in time” that cannot be replicated; this also ties in neatly with the experience trend and craving for new and exciting concepts.
These food and beverage developments have given some of Thailand’s malls and retail streets a revival, adding diversity and vitality to the shopping experience and keeping people in the malls longer.
The mobility of these pop-ups and food trucks means that empty spaces can be easily converted into food halls or markets, helping to breathe new life into sometimes derelict but architecturally exciting space, such as former factories, warehouses, office buildings and marketplaces that are in good locations.
In Bangkok, mall operators have used car-park spaces to host food and culture festivals. Boosted by rising income levels and an insatiable demand for fresh culinary experiences, these food halls have become very popular.
These pop-up restaurants because of their mobility and flexibility will continue to help mall operators pull in retail crowds even as they undergo renovations.
