Culinary tourism in Bangkok is now a reality as a new tour company, Bangkok Dining Tours, has started bringing culinary tourists from around the world to Bangkok to eat in some of the city's best restaurants. The first tour offered by the company is called the Asian Cuisine Menu Tour and offers foodies the chance to go to 10 restaurants that offer Asian cuisine over a five-day period. The tour illustrates why Bangkok is considered to be one of the premier dining cities in all of Southeast Asia.

The tour features Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Indian food with several varieties of some of the cuisines. The company was started by Ann Aikins, a native Thai, whose American husband, Tom Aikins, has been a restaurant writer in Bangkok for almost 14 years. During his travels amongst the Bangkok restaurant scene he has reviewed over 400 restaurants and eaten in many more. His knowledge of the Bangkok restaurant scene has allowed him to compile the 10 restaurants on the Asian Cuisine Menu Tour based on personal experience of long standing.

And although culinary tourism has been an important trend worldwide for a number of years it has not hit Bangkok until now and the Aikins's are optimistic about the chances of succeeding with their new venture. "We've done enough research to indicate that there is certainly interest around the world as far as people's impressions of Bangkok as a serious food city," explained Ann Aikins during a recent interview. "And my husband's knowledge of the restaurant scene here has helped us pick 10 restaurants that serve great examples of particular types of Asian cuisine. We're sure that people won't be disappointed in the quality and value for money that they receive on our tour."

The Asian Cuisine Menu Tour is a package that offers travelers five nights in the Ambassador Hotel, a four-star hotel in the midst of the city's dining and entertainment district, along with 10 restaurant meals - five lunches and five dinners - as well as all transportation and airport transfers. The price of the tour is quite low compared to many other culinary tours around the world but the quality of the food is quite high. And, the Aikins are quite happy to arrange short tours within the city and also to help with any special shopping requests that clients may have such as tailors or shoemakers. More information about the tour can be found on the Bangkok Dining Tour's website.