Urban Pantry

This bread delivery service has an exciting range of products from sourdough to rye bread and wholewheat, along with some related pantry extras like dressings and pickles. Our personal favorite is the very savory and slightly tart rocket and parmesan sourdough (B160), but you can get other fillings in sourdough, such as sundried tomato and garlic (B150) and traditional white (B130). They also do speciality breads like New York deli-style rye bread (B140) and rosemary and olive batard (B150). As for pantry stuff, new items often come in, but the standards are Zuni zucchini pickles (B189 for 500ml) and the marinated eggplants with mint and capers (B179 for 500ml).
Place an order: First thing to do is to email urbanpantrybangkok@gmail.com and ask to be put on their mailing list. Every week, you’ll receive a pricelist of their usuals and their specials. And best of all, the list price includes the price of delivery, though for areas outside of Silom, Sukhumvit and Satthorn, there is often a minimum order for free delivery. They deliver Wed-Sat, on a case-by-case basis, so email them your order and they’ll call you to set up a time and place. Be quick though as stuff often runs out by mid-week. For more information, visit their Facebook page (Urban Pantry).

Birds in a Row

If you can’t be bothered to make yourself a sandwich or something, fear not. Birds in a Row Whole Foods Delivery Service will send a Mediterranean-inspired, organic, fully-prepared meal right to your door, lunchtime or dinner. They do catering, too, but for your purposes, know that they do a lunchtime delivery around noon and a dinnertime delivery around 5pm. Each box consists of a vegetarian main with two side salads (B160) or a non-vegetarian main with two side salads (B180). They have a monthly menu and weekly specials that frequently change. Dishes include stuff like zucchini squash fritters with tzaziki cheese and red snapper with fennel and mustard sauce.
Place an order: Have a look at their blog at birdsinarow.wordpress.com for pictures. For more information or to place an order, email birdsinarow@windowslive.com

Bangkok Bread Boys

Like Urban Pantry, Bangkok Bread Boys also do a number of funky breads like soy and linseed and multigrain, but they also have other exciting offerings like homemade muesli, various types of biscotti and monthly specials. Last month’s special, keeping with the Easter theme, was hot cross buns.
Place an order: Breads range from B60-180, biscotti is B60 for a pack of 12 and specialty items like walnut brownies are B40 each and muesli is B300 for just over half a kilo. To place an order, they recommend going sharesies with friends and placing a big order at chris@bangkokbreadboys.com or by calling 089-676-3042. Orders must arrive before 6pm for next-day delivery. The baking happens in the Dusit area, so unless you’re living out there, there’s a small delivery charge, depending on where you live. For more information, visit www.bangkokbreadboys.com.

Homemade Cheese

Are you over all those store-bought yogurts and cheese with their preservatives and their stabilizers and blah blah blah? No? Well, you don’t know what you’re missing without natural, homemade dairy products in your life. A bit unoriginally named, Homemade Cheese whips up yogurts and cheeses right here in Bangkok, for delivery to your place. They do a variety of unripe, fresh cheeses like cream cheese (B120-130/250g), feta cheese (B180/250g) and ricotta cheese (B150/250g). On the yogurt side, they do plain (B30/150ml) and all kinds of fruit yogurts like kiwi, peach and blueberry. They also make hummus and fresh tahini sauce (crushed sesame paste, both B150/250g) for a hearty Mediterranean sandwich at home.
Place an order: Visit their website at www.homemade-cheese.com for their full list of options. Make your order by contacting them at sales@homemade-cheese.com or 02-439-4510. While they usuall supply wholesale, if you email them and ask nicely, they’ll gladly delivery in central Bangkok for orders over B400. For smaller orders, they might charge B80 or more.

Le Lapin Delivery

Le Lapin delivers made-to-order sandwiches to your office. Choose from two types of bread (baguette and sliced) and any number of toppings, such as chicken curry (B90-135), beef meatballs (B120-180) and tuna wasabi (B90-135). There’s a vegetarian option with grilled vegetables and marinara sauce (B90-135) and well as a couple of salad options. For those going low-carb, Le Lapin does iceberg sandwiches, wrapped only in lettuce, with zero bread.
Place an order: Visit their website at www.lelapinbangkok.com and set up an account. Or you can call them at 02-651-9512. Still, you should visit the website to peruse the menu. Delivery fees range from B40-60, but there’s no charge for orders of B700 or more. Oh, and We are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm and Saturday from 9am to 6pm

Q&A with Regan Suzuki

We speak to Regan Suzuki, one of the people behind Birds in a Row and find out the ethics and challenges behind serving whole foods cuisine in a delivery model.

What is your background?
I do have a day job dealing mostly with forestry and climate change issues. I see Birds in a Row as part of a bigger picture of respecting our environment and the rural communities we depend not only for much of our food, but maintaining a lot of basic ecological services.

Why not a restaurant?
Well, opening early next month there will be a restaurant, Seven Spoons in the Lan Luang area (near the UN). It will be separate from Birds in a Row, with a different menu, but they will obviously be complementary and the delivery business will be based out of the restaurant.

Is Bangkok ready for this concept?
The organic and locally produced industry in Thailand is growing rapidly and I think we have been able to attract a number of people who are keen to support local Thai farmers.

What are the biggest challenges in managing Birds in a Row?
The ingredients we use are very much seasonal and can be difficult to keep on hand all of the time. Also, obviously economies of scale don’t necessarily work in favor of small business owners if needing to buy specialized ingredients in small quantities.

How do you come up with your changing menu?
Joke [the owner and cook] has a great collection of cookbooks and magazines which he draws ideas from and I also spend quite a bit of time checking out various international blogs. I do think food provides us with a wonderful opportunity to explore not only tastes and textures, but to gain insights into different cultures and worldviews. Adventure without leaving your home, I guess.