Mitsubishi Corporation has developed a global network to drive its next phase of growth by continuously improving its responsiveness to change and promoting collaboration across the organization, supported by the efficient and effective allocation of roles among the Head Office, MC offices, subsidiaries, and group companies. “A Local Lens on Our Wide World” taps into this far-reaching network, with employees at offices worldwide sharing insights into various aspects of local life.
In Bangkok’s restaurant scene, attention is turning to a small but growing number of Thai restaurants that are stepping away from the usual catch-all labels – northern, southern, northeastern – and doing something more specific. They are building their identities around individual provinces, their local ingredients, and family recipes passed down across generations. Bangkok diners are also showing growing interest in the origins, family recipes and local stories behind their food. These restaurants open a window onto just how varied Thai cuisine really is – a richness shaped in part by each area’s climate and geography, interactions with surrounding regions, and diverse communities.
One restaurant where I experienced this firsthand was Prai Raya. Opened in Bangkok by Raya, a long-established restaurant on the southern island of Phuket, Prai Raya serves dishes featuring bold southern curry pastes, seafood from the Andaman Sea and plenty of the herbs the region has always relied on, as well as traditional local desserts. When I ate there, a few dishes were new to me, and I’m Thai. It made me realize how much of Thailand’s own regional cooking remains to be discovered.
Focused on the cuisine of Trat Province in eastern Thailand, Sri Trat offers traditional dishes made with ingredients from the region’s coastal areas and forests. The restaurant builds its menu on family recipes inherited by the owner from his mother, a former winner of the Miss Trat beauty pageant. Another part of its appeal is that the staff are happy to explain the stories behind the dishes and the care that goes into them.
Run by an owner from Ubon Ratchathani Province in northeastern Thailand, Zao Ekkamai presents the region’s cuisine through seasonal ingredients and homemade fermented seasonings, alongside familiar dishes such as Som Tam (green papaya salad) and Gai Yang (charcoal-grilled chicken). What all these restaurants have in common is that they do more than simply recreate traditional flavors. By conveying the history and culture behind their dishes, they seek to give diners a sense of the places the food comes from.
Bangkok is becoming a proving ground for provincial restaurants. Success here can attract not only local diners but also tourists, while opening up new markets for local ingredients and even opportunities overseas. Better logistics and social media are also helping bring lesser-known ingredients to the capital. Above all, the challenge remains preserving a genuine sense of place. The restaurants that last are those that value real relationships with the producers behind the food. Thailand’s next food brands to make a name internationally may not come from a broad idea of “Thai food” at all, but from the distinctive tastes and stories of its individual provinces.
