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There's little to complain about in Bangkok's food scene.
The city's street vendors serve up tasty and cheap soups, rice and noodle dishes, among other Thai standards. Numerous eateries provide a range of well-regarded global cuisine, whether it's crème brûlée, carbonara or ceviche.
But what about one of the most humble of Western food staples: bread? Until recently, residents had to make due with low-quality local loaves or standard, mass-produced fare sold at grocery stores.
Two recently opened shops, however, have Bangkok's carb-loving residents rejoicing.
BKK Bagel Bakery
BKK Bagel Bakery sells homemade, New York-style bagels (plain, salt, whole wheat, poppy seed, sesame and 'everything'), as well as sandwiches, lox and cream cheese.
The bagels have the right texture and consistency ─ crucial qualities for bagel connoisseurs ─ because the dough is boiled, says co-founder Eric Seldin, a Washington, D.C., native. He teamed up with a Thai partner, Tri Kanchanadul, to open the cafe in March. Both men found Bangkok bagels lacking, so they set out to do them correctly.
Mr. Seldin reckons they now offer the only proper New York-style bagels in Southeast Asia, if not East Asia, as well. 'Others import dough,' he says, and don't make their products from scratch.
In assembling the menu, he says he focused on 'the things I liked as a kid: tuna melts, roast beef, lox.' One of the café's most popular bagel sandwiches is the 'Show Stopper': turkey, havarti cheese, bacon, avocado and mustard. Another sandwich, 'Moishe's Lunch,' consists of corned beef and sauerkraut.
BKK sees a steady steam of customers, especially at lunchtime, and has attracted attention among local bloggers. Its bagels recently became available in Bangkok's first Dean and Deluca, as well as in a café at the U.S. Embassy.
Urban Pantry
518/3 Maneeya Center, Ploenchit Road, Bangkok 10330
Urban Pantry is run by 36-year-old Arkansas native Benjamin Lord. A financial-services adviser by day, he began baking gourmet bread at home for fun last year, after a friend gave him the book 'Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.'
Mr. Lord started baking six to eight loaves a week and selling them to acquaintances, but he now churns out as many as 120 loaves a week for a customer base that includes Americans, Australians, Europeans and Thais.
The delivery-only business has no commercial front and no standalone website but has gained popularity through word of mouth and social media like Facebook and Twitter.
Popular items include fire-roasted chili and cheddar whole-wheat bread, sun-dried-tomato-and-garlic sourdough, and New York-deli-style rye. Urban Pantry also sells biscotti, zucchini pickles, coleslaw and garlic-marinated sweet red peppers.
'The concept is to stock your pantry with things you can't get or that you miss from home,' Mr. Lord says.
The dishes reflect his background: He graduated from New York University and lived in the city for a year before moving to Ho Chi Minh City. He lived there for four years and worked in the import-export industry. He has been in Bangkok for nearly 10 years.
Urban Pantry's carrot-miso-ginger dressing was inspired, Mr. Lord says, by his days in New York, when he encountered such sauces in East Village restaurants. His Southern roots are reflected in quirky comfort foods like the occasionally available 'kitchen-sink potato salad,' whose recipe changes based on what's on hand.
He also uses his sales and marketing skills, he says, to provide his customers with personalized services, soliciting their feedback and suggesting products to order based on their family size and eating habits.
'Thai breads can be too sweet,' says Eric Forbes, an American based in Bangkok who orders frequently from Urban Pantry. He's become a fan of Urban Pantry's sourdough loaves and likes that the rye 'tastes different each week,' he says.
Mr. Lord says he hasn't made many concessions to local tastes, and he hasn't aimed to fill a void for products that weren't previously available. He says he uses all-natural ingredients, buying organic when he can and even preparing the sun-dried tomatoes himself.
One product is created strictly the way it's made in the South: his coleslaw. 'I use only Kraft mayonnaise,' he says.
Mr. Lord will soon be opening a dedicated baking facility in Bangkok but plans to continue his delivery-only model for now.
'I have no food and beverage experience,' he says, adding that his love of food is his driving force. 'That's basically it,' he says. 'I like to eat good.'
参考译文：
吃在曼谷没有什么好挑剔的。这个城市的街头小贩提供各种美味而廉价的汤、米饭和面条，以及其他各种泰式美食。大量餐馆供应各式备受食客好评的全球各地风味美食，从法国的甜点烤布蕾（creme brulee）、意大利的奶油培根面（carbonara）到拉丁风味海鲜沙拉（ceviche），不一而足。
那么西式食物中最不起眼的主食面包呢？一直以来，在曼谷只能吃到杂货店售卖的低质本地面包或批量生产的普通货色，直到最近，这种情况才有了改观──两家新开张的面包店给曼谷的淀粉质食物爱好者带来了欣喜。
BKK Bagel Bakery
BKK Bagel Bakery出售自制的纽约式面包圈（无味的、咸的、全麦的、罂粟籽的、芝麻的，等等等等，应有尽有），还卖三明治、熏鲑鱼和奶油乳酪。
面包店的共同创办者、来自美国华盛顿市的埃里克•赛尔丁（Eric Seldin）说，面包圈的口感和韧度都恰到好处──这可是面包圈行家最重视的品质──因为用的是烫面。他与他的泰国合伙人特里•坎查纳多（Tri Kanchanadul）今年3月一起开了这家店。两人都发现了曼谷现有的面包圈的不足之处，于是开了这家店，采用正确的方法来制作面包圈。
赛尔丁估计，他们就算在东亚不算独家，至少也是东南亚地区目前出售正宗纽约式面包圈的唯一一家面包店。他说，其他家都进口面团，而且不是整个生产环节都亲力亲为。在口味的组合上，赛尔丁说他着重于自己小时候喜欢的东西：金枪鱼三明治、烤牛肉、熏鲑鱼。店里最受欢迎的面包圈三明治叫“压轴戏”（Show Stopper），有火鸡肉、哈瓦蒂干酪、培根、鳄梨加芥末酱。另一种三明治“摩西午餐”（Moishe’s Lunch）里头则有牛肉粒和酸菜。
BKK的人气稳步提升，特别是午餐时段，而且吸引了当地众多博客的注意。他们的面包圈最近在曼谷首间Dean and Deluca超市开始供应，在美国大使馆的一家咖啡厅里也有售。
Urban Pantry
（曼谷Ploenchit路Maneeya Center 3楼518室（10330））
Urban Pantry由36岁的阿肯色州人本杰明•罗德（Benjamin Lord）经营。他的本职是金融服务顾问，去年朋友送了他一本《五分钟手工面包》（Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day）之后，他出于好玩开始在家烤制美味面包。
罗德起初每星期烤六至八条面包，把它们卖给熟人。现在他每周要做120条面包，顾客包括美国人、澳大利亚人、欧洲人和泰国人。
这项只供外卖的业务没做广告，也没有独立网站，但却通过口口相传及Facebook和Twitter等社交媒体赢得了知名度。
最受欢迎的品种包括辣椒和切达奶酪全麦面包、蕃茄干香蒜酵母面包和纽约熟食店里常见的裸麦面包。此外还出售意大利脆饼、西葫芦腌菜、凉拌卷心菜丝和蒜香甜红椒。
罗德说，“我的理念是用你缺少或买不到的东西丰富你家食品柜的内容。”
罗德提供的产品反映出了他的生活背景：他毕业于纽约大学（New York University），在纽约居住一年后移居胡志明市，在那里生活了四年，就职于进出口业。如今他在曼谷已经住了将近十年。
罗德说，Urban Pantry的胡萝卜味噌生姜调料灵感源自他在纽约的生活，当时他在East Village餐厅见到了这种调味汁。有些怪怪的怀旧食物则是因为他是在美国南方长大的，像偶尔供应的“洗碗槽土豆沙拉”，其配方不定，完全就是手头现成有什么就弄什么。
罗德说，他还运用了自己的销售和市场技能，给顾客提供个性化服务，索求他们的反馈，根据他们的家庭人数和饮食习惯推荐他们订购何种产品。
长住曼谷的美国人艾瑞克•福布斯（Eric Forbes）说：“泰国面包通常都太甜了。”他频繁地订购Urban Pantry的美食，如今他已经成了酵母面包的粉丝，也喜欢“每个星期味道都不一样”的裸麦面包。
罗德说，他没有过多迁就当地口味，也没专门去填补之前所没有的产品的空缺。他说他采用的都是全天然食材，尽可能买有机原料，甚至自己制作蕃茄干。
有一种产品是严格按照美国南方的制作方式烹制的──凉拌卷心菜丝。罗德说，“我只用卡夫牌蛋黄酱。”
罗德不久将在曼谷开设一家专做面点的店铺，但是计划延用目前的只供外卖的模式。
他说，“我没有制作食物和饮品的经验。”他表示，对食物的热爱是他的动力。“基本上是因为，我自己喜欢吃得好。”
