Instant noodle store

Story and photo by Reuters

In Thailand, a country famous for its flavorful, spicy cuisine and street food, instant noodles may seem an unlikely culinary hit.

But for teenagers such as Ratchadaporn Krongngam, a store that stocks more than 70 types of instant noodles from across the Indo-Pacific — and lets you cook and eat them immediately — is an experience worth savoring.

Since Good Noodle opened in a Bangkok mall in October 2021, it has seen thousands of young customers browse its bright, orange shelves for noodles from all over the region, including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan.

“This is my third visit,” said Ratchadaporn, 18. “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.”

Customers often dine in the store, where they can cook their own three-minute meal, which costs between 6 and 250 baht (U.S. $0.18 to U.S. $7.46).

Sirayakorn Charoenthat, 18, said the prices are reasonable for students compared to eating at restaurants.

Instant noodles are hugely popular in several Indo-Pacific countries because of their taste, versatility, convenience and low price, although health experts warn against consuming too much of the highly processed food because it lacks key nutrients.

Good Noodle’s managing director, Ungkool Wongkolthoot, said he scoured Bangkok’s convenience stores and supermarkets during the COVID-19 pandemic for all the different types of instant noodles he could find, which turned out to be more than 350.

With this, he saw a business opportunity.

“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.”