Thailand is known for its spicy, complex foods. So, something as simple as instant noodles might seem unlikely to be a favorite among Thais.
But for young Thais like Ratchadaporn Krongngam, a new store with more than 70 kinds of instant noodles from across Asia is a popular place to visit.
Good Noodle opened in a Bangkok shopping center last October. It has already welcomed thousands of customers. The store offers noodles from places like Indonesia, South Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Ratchadaporn, who is 18, has visited Good Noodle three times already. “I love it here because I wanted to try out new and different kinds of instant noodles as I want to know how all of them taste," he said.
People often eat the noodles in the store, where they can cook their own three-minute meal. Sirayakorn Charoenthat, another 18-year-old, said the prices were reasonable for students compared to eating at restaurants.
Instant noodles are hugely popular in many Asian countries because of their taste, simplicity, and low price. Health experts warn against eating too much of the highly processed food because it lacks important nutrients.
Ungkool Wongkolthoot runs the store. He said he searched through Bangkok's food stores during the pandemic for all the different kinds of instant noodles. He discovered more than 350 of them.
This gave him the idea to open Good Noodle.
"I wanted to give the customers an instant experience with the noodles,” he said. “Not just buying the noodles from other convenience stores or supermarkets, then forgetting about them at home.”
I’m Ashley Thompson.
The Reuters news agency reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
shopping - n. the activity of visiting places where goods are sold in order to look at and buy things (such as food, clothing, etc.)
customer - n. someone who buys goods or services from a business
convenience - adj. a quality or situation that makes something easy or useful for someone by reducing the amount of work or time required to do something
