Thipsamai, probably the best-known pad Thai shop in Bangkok, has come out to explain its decision to charge customers for paper cups.
Thanyanan Ruengwetwattana, the vice president of Thipsamai Co, told Daily News Online on Sunday that the two-baht charge for a paper cup was aimed at maintaining the hygiene of the shop and also helping improve the standard of street food in Thailand.
Thipsamai restaurant charges two baht for a paper cup if customers order water. (Photo from @iamverybee Twitter account)
The charge is for customers ordering water with or without ice at the shop only. Customers who order pad thai to take home are not required to pay for extra charge, she said.
"We don't want to take advantage of our customers. If we add it into cost of each order of at least 60 baht, it will not be fair for those who do not order water," Daily News Online quoted her as saying.
The explanation followed an Instagram post by @iamverybee with one of the pictures showing the sign at the shop reading "two baht for an empty cup". The post has been shared by more than 6,000 people and elicited a long list of comments.
Thipsamai has used disposable paper cups instead of reusable plastic ones since 2016, to guard against Mers --Middle East respiratory syndrome -- which reached Thailand that year, according to the shop.
Thipsamai restaurant, on Mahachai Road,is well-known to both local people and tourists visiting Bangkok.