Whether you’re a tourist or a local, there’s a high chance there’s a convenience store sandwich in Bangkok that has you in a chokehold. Price-friendly, quick, and easy to consume, the 7-Eleven toastie ranks amongst the highest on the Thai soft power snack pyramid. Now, a Bangkok restaurant has given the sandwich a glamorous upgrade, bringing together food and online culture, as well as a larger conversation on the recent ‘high-low’ trend.
[Hero and Featured Image Credit: Bisou]
The viral 7-Eleven toastie gets a high-end makeover at Bisou Bangkok
Located in a famous dining enclave in Langsuan, Bisou is known amongst the foodie crowd as one of the sexiest spots to grab dinner. In fact, the French restaurant and wine bar even won the Best Date Night award at our recent Best Bites Awards.
From the macarons that depict naughty imagery, to the kiss-themed wallpaper that frames the interior, Bisou finds the balance between being cheeky and tasteful. Now, they’ve launched something just as sweet that promises high ‘grammability, but also good flavour.
While it isn’t an official partnership with 7-Eleven, it isn’t hard to tell where Bisou’s new ‘Bisou Toast’ pulls its inspiration from. Made with house-baked milk bread, jambon de Paris, melted scarmorza, and black truffle, the packaging and the ingredients are a clear play on the viral 7-Eleven ham and cheese toastie.
In the promotional video posted to Instagram, the restaurant writes: “You probably noticed everyone’s obsessed with the 7-Eleven ham and cheese toastie. So at Bisou, we just made our version.”
While a ham and cheese sandwich is not truly an innovation, the resemblance to the viral snack is gaining a big thumbs-up from the local community. The sandwich even comes in a paper box that looks strikingly similar to the original 7-Eleven packaging.
At least, this sandwich won’t be heated in the microwave for you to consume on the street.
About 7-Eleven’s viral toastie
It’s safe to say that 7-Eleven’s toasties have gone viral. Tourists from near and far post videos and reviews on social media, ranking the different fillings, and offering their hacks. Locals may be less vocal, but on any hungover morning, we give this sandwich our nod of approval, too.
As a content category, shopping recommendations and 7-Eleven hauls are a major trend for travel influencers in Thailand. Even though this hype can account for some of the sandwich’s popularity, it also comes down to accessibility and convenience.
According to one Reddit thread, it is “home comfort in a foreign land” for many expats and tourists. Others don’t overcomplicate the appeal: “It tastes good. It’s not that deep.”
A high-low trend around food and lifestyle
While Bisou’s new 7-Eleven toastie is exciting, it isn’t the first to embrace this ‘high-low’ mix.
Restaurants like Sühring have brought street food into a fine dining realm before, with the famous German ‘curry wurst’ catapulted into an adorable, Michelin-starred package, or at Korean restaurant I-Sang, where the chef imagines a ‘KFC’ box of Korean fried chicken (spoiler alert: it’s actually crab).
It doesn’t always have to be packaged in a complex manner. IGNIV Bangkok offers a classy serving of caviar with their nuggets, while 100 Mahaseth reimagines the casual hot dog with Northern Thai sausage. Lest we forget, mac and cheese long lost its reputation as children-only food. Rather, we covered it in truffle shavings and made it acceptable for full-grown adults in sophisticated settings.
There are a few reasons why these high-low food collaborations work. They provide an affordable window into luxury dining, or, like in the case of the toastie, a fabulous upgrade to an otherwise simple dish. There’s a warm sense of nostalgia to the trend if well-executed, and more often than not, given how photogenic it can be, it provides good social media clout, too.
The high-low trend doesn’t stop at food, either. We’d be amiss not to call out the recent queues (and brawls) around the Audemars Piguet and Swatch collab, bringing together a luxury maison and a more affordable watch brand. Fashion has seen it often in recent years: Uniqlo x Jonathan Anderson, Victoria Beckham x Gap, and H&M x Mugler are just a few that come to mind.
Again, it’s about market accessibility, and about a refreshed and interesting form of storytelling. Arguably, there are benefits for both brands involved, depending on reach and reputation. It’s likely the end of these collaborations is not near, and it’s only going to get wackier from here on out.
Other 7-Eleven snacks we’d love to see glammed up
The 7-Eleven ham and cheese toastie is only just the beginning. From watching the viral convenience store hauls and from recognising our own 7-Eleven habits, there are a lot of other snacks that could get the fine dining treatment. Here’s what we’re thinking:
Banana milk reimagined as a clarified cocktail in a snazzy glass.
Shrimp wonton soup served as an amuse bouche sphere that bursts in your mouth.
Sticky rice burger made with wagyu beef and crispy rice, with option for uni topping.
Chocolate lava cake made with Valrhona chocolate ganache, served under a glass cloche.
Chocolate milk in a bag made with dark cacao and presented on ice with a silver straw.
Now we wait.
Note : The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
