Starbucks VIA: Italian Roast

B350 for a pack of 12 sachets. B29/cup
Surprisingly nice and complex: fruity and floral on the nose and pleasantly rich and bitter. It’s the stronger of the two Starbucks coffees, making it harder for all to appreciate.

Moccona Select

B99 for 180g. B1.1/cup
Ugh. It has that weird metallic taste that gives instant coffee a bad name: something between soap and burned popcorn. There’s not much going on here in terms of flavor beyond the bitterness.

Nescafe Red Cup

B63 for 100. B1.26/cup
We kept variables the same: one teaspoon of instant coffee per small cup. But despite all things being equal, this one tasted extremely watered down and gross, like sipping some dish water.

Khao Chong

B115 for 200g. B1.15/cup
Noticeably more complexity and richness than the other, non-Starbucks instant coffees in this test. The Khao Chong is chocolaty and doesn’t have that gross metallic acidity common with most of the others. If you’re looking at cost, Khao Chong is a winner in its category.

Moccona Espresso

B99 for 120g. B1.65/cup
Easily the most disgusting of the lot. Contrary to what you might expect of an instant coffee labelled “espresso”, this one lacks in both aroma and flavor.

Nescafe Red Cup Espresso

B31 for 40g. B1.5/cup
Same thing here: no body and a kind of acidic-metallic sourness. Clearly the “espresso” label both for Nescafe and Moccona suggests more one-dimensional bitterness. If you have to have them, stick to the regular variety.

Starbucks VIA: Colombia Roast

B350 for a pack of 12 sachets at Starbucks. B29/cup
Starbucks is 20 times more expensive than cheapo brands. Twenty! But clearly it should be compared to fresh drip coffee, not instant ones. It is rich and pleasantly bitter, full-bodied and has a nice, masculine spiciness to it. Unlike other instant coffees in this test, it offers a great deal more than just bitterness to cut your cream and sugar with, and can be drunk black.
What is Instant Coffee?

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Tri-City Herald

Fifth Food Avenue

5/F, MBK Center, 444 Phayathai Rd., 02-620-9814. BTS National Stadium. Open 10am-9pm.
MBK’s 5/F is one of the more style-savvy food courts; its black chairs contrasting with smooth white tables elevate it to more of a restaurant feel. Kiosks serve Thai (try Thai Fusion Cuisine’s stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts for B80), Indian (such as Indian by Chutney’s lamb masala), Mexican (Burrito Loco’s quesadillas for B85), Italian (Angelo does a seafood spaghetti for B80) and many more. And although in most food courts, you can see who’s cooking what, here it feels more like a collection of open-air kitchens because everything’s neat and orderly. For the most part, everything’s a bit more expensive than B100 but, it’s probably one of the best semi-affordable inter meals you can get in the ‘hood. Our faves? The Tamarind Tree cooks some fantastic vegetarian Thai food, sans MSG; and Sultana’s halal Thai food.

Central Food Loft

7/F, Central Chidlom, Phloen Chit Rd., 02-793-7070. Open daily 10am-10pm
With its black and steel grey décor, its large windows overlooking Sukhumvit and its army of staff that holds your table while you saunter off to order and brings you your food, the place is a bit of a hybrid between a traditional food court and a sit-down restaurant (which can sometimes get confusing). Externally contracted restaurants supply international cuisine: Indian by Ind Spice, Vietnamese by Dao Vien, Italian by Gianni’s, Japanese by Hou Yuu and much more. Instead of coupons, they have a card swiping system, though the protocol between self-service and table service is a bit ill-defined, so there can sometimes be confusion. That, and the place is always packed to the gills at mealtime, making it a bit of a market place rather than a hi-so chill-out zone.

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The Battle of Bangkok's Food Courts

BK Asks: What’s Your Ultimate Food Court Nightmare?

Kachen Sodsiri, 24, client service staff
“I ordered chicken rice for my dinner, had a few bites, then suddenly felt a weird texture in my mouth. I knew it wasn’t rice nor chicken so I pulled out the unknown object to find part of a baby cockroach.”

Benjawan Daengbuppha, 25, graduate student
“I was eating lunch with my friends at this food court. Everything was OK until the ladies sitting next to us started having this catfight and suddenly a noodle bowl landed right on our table.”

Maprang Prawatpattanakul, 29, senior coordinator
“I saw a cleaner using the same broom and mop that she had just used to clean the floor, to wipe the tables.”

Nicky Srisirungsimakul, 26, graphic designer and retoucher
“Sometimes sellers use their bare hands to do everything: touch the food, cough, sneeze, etc.”

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