Food trucks, the meals-on-wheels ventures that have become popular over the last few years among Bangkok diners, probably took their cue from the gastronomic fad that originated in the US, circa 2008.
Amid the city's glorification for the new out-of-town gourmet culture, however, there is a home-grown institution that is simply forgotten and somehow perceived as inferior.
For more than three decades, a vast population of Bangkok consumers has greatly benefited from the city's own original version of food trucks.
Rod kubkhao, which translates as "food car", is a pickup that sells a variety of fresh produce. The vendors, most of whom operate from rundown vehicles, are usually found driving around residential communities during the daytime when the breadwinners have gone to work, leaving at home their housewives and maids to plan dinner.
Selections of goods are more or less the same for all vendors, and basically include vegetables, red meat, poultry, fish and seafood as well as herbs and spices. Merchandise is commonly piled up on paper sheets or in baskets, with some kept in large ice buckets, and some displayed inside plastic bags on the side of the truck.
The only distinction and business trademark of each rod kubkhao is the vendors' voice and accent. With the help of an electric megaphone installed on the top of the vehicle, recordings of "kubkhao ma laew krub kubkhao" (food, here comes the food) play to notify the residents of their arrival.
From the food trucks, customers can buy as little as 5 baht portions of vegetables, which is impossible in supermarkets. If there's demand for more pricey produce, customers are welcome to place an order for the following day's delivery.
Despite the ever-increasing popularity of supermarkets, opening of new restaurants and heavy invasion of ready-to-eat, frozen meals, the number of local food trucks in Bangkok nonetheless appears to be on the rise.
That this exotic Thai-style trade is thriving is a good sign that traditional home-cooked meals won't fade away any time soon in our food-loving Kingdom.
Lumphun Amchaiphum
Ironically it is in a residential area between The Mall Ngamwongwan and Tesco Lotus that Lumphun Amchaiphum parks her vegetable-laden truck. Some may wonder whether the location, filled with so many shops, still needs this mobile veggie stall. But in the short time I was there, the sheer numbers of people that paid a visit to the truck to buy something proves everything.
"I think it's because we stop right in front of people's doors and sell things at very reasonable prices, that's why they don't bother buying them from elsewhere," explains the 29-year-old vendor.
As well as operating as a veggie shop, Lumphun also offers a special service to regular customers, some of whom run their own food business. She takes orders in advance on her mobile phone or on Line; all the customers need do is wait for the veggies at home.
While Lumphun sells from her trunk, her husband takes the role of driving and delivering produce to customers' hands.
It's been 10 years since the couple started the business on the advice of Lumphun's husband's grandparents who did the same thing in their younger years. Driving a pickup and selling veggies is a popular job among people from Lumphun's hometown of Sakon Nakhon, although all the residents agree to take different routes.
Lumphun and her husband usually roam around the Prachacheun-Ngamwongwan area, where they make more than five stops a day. Being at each stop at the same time is the key in retaining customers.
Slightly before 7am, Monday to Saturday, Lumphun and her husband head to Si Mum Muang Market to buy huge amounts of supplies. Lumphun then has to divide them into smaller bags and store them in handy positions before hitting the road.
Photo: Pattramon Sukprasert
As most vegetables perish quickly, and it is difficult to predict each day's sales, a gift of the gab in selling is needed.
"I need to be talkative and friendly to persuade customers to buy more," she explains. "Sometimes I have to put products on sale or match one kind with others and sell them as packages or they will be left rotten."
On average, they make between 2,000-3,000 baht per day, but on some days, when the price of vegetables is high, they scarcely make any profit even if everything is sold. But overall, this job fits her work philosophy.
"What I like about my job is all income goes directly to us and we can be pretty flexible as we're our own boss," she says. "Though I can't say it's the best job I've had, as this is the first and only job in my life, the thought of doing something else has never come to mind."
-- Pattramon Sukprasert
Lamyai Thongnak
Lamyai Thongnak, a traditional food truck vendor in the Lat Phrao area, has been in the truck business for almost six years. She branched out from selling shallots and garlic, which, she says, was much more tiring because it required travelling to many places.
Usually she earns enough to make a living, except during those periods when she returns to her hometown of Phetchabun.
"I sell everything ranging from vegetables to chilli paste, fish and meat. I enjoy a consistent sales performance. I have a number of regular customers who are elderly. They buy goods from me once or twice a week, but also go shopping at fresh markets if accompanied by their children," the vendor said.
According to Lamyai, every day is different when it comes to which items sell out. On the day of my visit, for example, limes were sold out.
Every night at around midnight, she goes to buy goods from Si Mum Muang Market in Prathum Thani because the prices are so low. She then starts selling goods at 4am and finishes at around 9-10am. She parks her pickup at the same points each day.
According to Lamyai, even with the existence of superstores almost everywhere, the sales remain unchanged because customers' demands vary.
"My business is not affected. My customers do not want to go shopping at superstores because they just want to buy a few things that cost less than the actual travel expenses. Some of them do not eat pork from superstores because they say it is not fresh, while the meat from my food truck is. Meats in superstores have been kept in fridges for several days and sometimes become hard," Lamyai noted.
-- Pichaya Svasti
Toey
Photo: Tawatchai Kemgumnerd
Toey, 45, operates his 6am to 1pm food truck business in a middle-class residential estate off Ramkhamhaeng Road.
His wife sits on the back of his truck and serves as the shopkeeper. She shares the space with a 100-item collection of fresh produce that is revised daily depending on seasons and demands.
"My clients are mostly housewives and maids. They might go to the supermarket once a month for non-perishable groceries and household items, but not for the daily supply of fresh food. I guess transportation and time are concerns."
Toey said his clients, the majority of whom are regulars, look for good quality and not necessarily cheap prices. Though sometimes frugal and picky, they are willing to spend for their taste bud satisfaction.
"We do stock premium grade produce as well as ordinary produce. Of course, better quality costs more, but my customers seem to understand."
When it comes to hygiene and freshness, Toey said he stores all the fresh meat and seafood in a cooler packed with ice. When he returns to his home, the food is placed in the fridge overnight. Items that are about to rot are thrown away.
Toey explained that the food trucks which visit construction sites offer quite different quality produce than the ones serving residential communities.
"The construction workers only look for cheap stuff. Compared with housewives, they are less picky and easier to deal with. But all of them disappear when the construction work is finished and then I need to go and look for new locations," he said.
"I don't think local food truck ventures are affected by the modern trade. Supermarkets or hypermarkets or even the currently popular farmer's markets don't impact on us. Our future is still bright, otherwise there wouldn't be so many food trucks in Bangkok right now."
Toey started the business eight years ago, following the same path of his uncle. Since then, he said, the number of food truck vendors have dramatically increased and the age of the vendors has become younger.
"Ten or 15 years ago, the vendors in the food truck scene were people of my dad's generation. Now they are operated by the younger generation who prefer self-employment to office work.
"I myself once worked in an office and found money was more difficult to earn and save. As a food truck vendor, I don't have to pay for office clothes, or for meals or transportation. Most importantly I get to spend a lot of time with my family."
-- Vanniya Sriangura
