Bangkok never runs out of surprises when it comes to street food deals, but one recent find is getting people talking. Yingcheep Atchanont, Programme Manager of iLaw—a Thai human rights and legal watchdog NGO known for promoting discussions on democracy and freedom of expression shared on Facebook that he stumbled upon a stall at the MRT selling lunch boxes for just 60 baht — buy one, get one free. His post has since gained over 4,000 likes and plenty of attention online.
Yingcheep admitted he wasn’t even hungry at the time but couldn’t resist trying it out. The lunch boxes looked decent enough, though portions were small and the taste a little flat — probably because they were cooked in the morning and sold by evening. When he asked the vendor how they could sell so cheap, the answer was straightforward: “We don’t make a profit. The owner just wants to cover costs and told us to sell it this way.”
At first glance, it sounds like a sweet deal. Two boxes for 60 baht feels like a steal, and for light eaters, even one box is enough to fill up. But Yingcheep noted that this isn’t just a one-off promotion. The stall seemed to sell at this price all the time, using “buy one, get one” as a strategy to make customers feel they’re getting more.
Right next to the stall, another booth was selling rice boxes for 40 baht and dumplings for 30 baht — giving budget-conscious commuters plenty of options. For Yingcheep, this small food battle between vendors paints a bigger picture of how businesses are adjusting to tougher economic times.
“On the surface, it looks like consumers win,” he wrote. “But when sellers are forced to cut prices this way, food quality drops, and higher-quality shops that charge more will struggle to survive. It’s simply because people don’t have much money in their pockets.”
The post struck a chord with many Thais online, with comments ranging from excitement over cheap eats to concern about what it means for long-term food quality.