Wednesday 22 July 2026

Good morning Bangkok. Happy Wednesday.

🌡️ Weather: 27-36°C (81-97°F). Hot through the afternoon with scattered thundershowers. TMD warns of increased rainfall through July 25. Morning is the outdoor window.

🌫️ AQI: 68-142 (Good to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Morning is the cleaner window.

Customer Palmmy Thaniya posted on July 19 that on June 14 she purchased two scoops of nut-flavored gelato from PARAMETER: Classic Refined Gelato at Siam Paragon, paying ฿259 per scoop. While eating, she encountered something unusually hard and assumed it was a peanut. Her friend then noticed blood in her mouth. When she spat it out, she found a piece of glass roughly the size of a peanut and realized she had already swallowed part of it. Doctors found cuts to her tongue and inner cheek and administered a tetanus shot as a precaution. The shop refunded her gelato and covered her medical expenses, but Palmmy says she received no formal explanation from the owner or chef about how glass ended up inside her dessert.

The glass incident alone would have been enough to generate a news cycle. What turned it into a national conversation was the response from chef Krit Sripoomseth, a former actor associated with the brand, who told critics that Thai consumers "need to change their mindset" about pricing or "they will continue settling for poor-quality products." PARAMETER charges ฿159-299 for 90-100 grams of gelato. The comment landed as lecturing customers about why they should be grateful to pay premium prices. Thai social media responded with a wave of jokes about the "ultra-smooth" gelato that apparently contains glass, melts within moments of serving, and should not be chewed or photographed. Meanwhile, the Swedish Embassy went viral the same week for posting a diplomat praising ฿20 street coconut ice cream as "ultra-smooth and sweet." The contrast wrote itself.

Bottom Line: ฿259 for a scoop of gelato that contains glass. A chef who responds to a food safety incident by telling customers to upgrade their mindset. And a Swedish diplomat discovering that the best ice cream in Thailand costs ฿20 from a pushcart. If you are paying premium prices, you are entitled to premium safety. Glass in your gelato is not a mindset problem. It is a quality control failure.

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The Interior Ministry has voided the examination results of 5,924 candidates in the local government recruitment scandal, a significant jump from the 3,621 facing dismissal that we reported on July 19 and the 3,000 altered answer sheets discovered during the initial Nonthaburi raid on June 26. The Central Examination Committee is continuing its review. All 480,000 answer sheets from the national exam are being rechecked using technology, conducted in front of journalists to ensure transparency.

The three masterminds remain in custody. Eleven government officials face criminal charges. The PM has pledged that no one is protected, including members of his own party. But the rising number tells a harder story: every time investigators look deeper, they find more tampering. From 3,000 to 3,621 to 5,924 in less than a month. The question is no longer how many people cheated. It is how many people are currently sitting in government positions they paid ฿350,000-800,000 each to obtain, and what happens to the public services they are supposed to be delivering.

Bottom Line: 5,924 and counting. The committee rules on July 23. Tomorrow. If the appointments are formally revoked, Thailand will face the challenge of replacing nearly 6,000 local government officials simultaneously. If they are not revoked, the government's anti-corruption credibility takes a hit it cannot afford. We will cover the ruling tomorrow.

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Spectrum Lounge & Bar sits on the 29th and 30th floors of the Hyatt Regency Bangkok on Sukhumvit Soi 13, and the two-level format is what separates it from every single-floor rooftop in the city. The 29th floor operates as an elegant lounge with indoor seating, full food menu and a calmer atmosphere suited to dinner and conversation. The 30th floor opens to the sky with outdoor seating, DJ sets on weekends and panoramic views across Lower Sukhumvit that stretch from the Asoke towers to the Benchakitti skyline. The transition between the two levels lets the evening evolve naturally without needing to leave the building.

The cocktail menu is creative without being complicated, with signature drinks running alongside classics. The food goes beyond bar snacks: red tuna tartare, truffle carbonara, crispy calamari, lamb chops and a dozen Fine de Claire oysters for the table. "This rooftop is terrific with view, food and drinks, and service of staff," one reviewer wrote. The 4.6-star rating across 1,661 Google reviews and 4.5 on Hyatt across 995 reviews reflect a venue that delivers on every level, literally. On an evening when you want somewhere that works for both cocktails and dinner without choosing between the two, Spectrum is the call.

TIP: Go at 5:30PM opening for the best sunset position on the 30th floor. Move to 29 for dinner when you are ready. Reserve via TableCheck. Smart casual dress code.

📍 29F-30F Hyatt Regency Bangkok, 1 Soi Sukhumvit 13, Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
📞 02 098 1234
🕐 Daily 5:30PM-1AM
⭐ 4.6 stars (1,661 Google reviews)
🌐 hyatt.com | 📸 @spectrumrooftopbkk

Always check opening times before heading out.

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Have a wonderful Wednesday, and see you tomorrow morning.

— Patrick