Category: Bakeries

Bangkok Sweets: Strawberry Daifuku

~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

It’s hot in Bangkok. Temperatures run up to 36 degrees celsius and on some days it feels like 44 degrees celsius. Everything slows down in Bangkok. This weekend is the start of the Thai New Years or “Songkran” Festival where people everything slows down and people go home to the provinces or take holidays abroad. I personally love being in Bangkok this time of year when the roads are clear. The only problem is. It’s hot. I need food that is cool and refreshing. A few weeks ago, thanks to a dear colleague who gave me one, I discovered the Japanese confection of “Strawberry Daifuku.”

It’s cool, refreshing, and melts in your mouth.

I’ve only ever had daifuku with red bean, chestnut fillings or other sweet fillings. With fresh strawberries, this strawberry daifuku has since become my favorite. You get to get mochi with less guilt. I also particularly love the green tea filling and the freshly made mochi. It’s thin and melts in your mouth. Just like the ones I’ve had in Japan.

The website says each piece is made my a Michelin Star chef. I can’t say I know the difference, but I do know I like it. If you eat it right away, it’s even better.

I stopped by their stand at Central World by the supermarket the other day and there wasn’t any queue for it. Great for me. Not sure if its great for the owner though. I have to admit I personally think it tastes much better than the new hit Croissant Taiyaki which is all the fad right now and has long lines. But that’s for another post.

It’s a bit pricey, ranging from 50baht to 90 baht per piece, but then you get what you pay for. Large juicy strawberries surrounded by melt in your mouth mochi. Hmm.. I better stop before I start dreaming about it. O

h, and no, I don’t know the owner nor do I get paid for writing this. I just like it and wanted to share this little treasure 🙂 Itadakimasu

They have a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/strawberrydaifukusweet as well as instagram.

Green tea strawberry daifuku
Green tea strawberry daifuku

Half strawberry daifuku

Inside the strawberry daifuku
Inside the strawberry daifuku

Travel Tales: Introducing Vientiane, Laos

~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes a place so close can seem so far and when you finally get there, you wonder what kept you from visiting sooner.  My work this year has given me the opportunity to travel to many South East Asian countries (as some might say “regional” travel) and though most days you miss the comfort of your own home, the almost monthly travels does have its perks; for a few hours in the evenings or early mornings, you get to explore the city.  Some cities are not so convenient, but Vientiane, Laos is a great city to walk around even if you only have a couple of hours.

It’s so charming I have to confess that I have fallen in love with it and even as I am writing, images of its streets and shops appear like a trailer in my mind.   It’s as if I have been charmed, intoxicated.  There’s something about the place that makes me yearn to go back and visit once more.

A city with a population of roughly 700,000 to 800,000 on the banks of the Mekong river, Vientiane still retains many of it’s old world charms.  There are no shopping malls, no large advertisement billboards or flashing electronic ads to numb our senses but rather there are streets of local shops and eateries nestled in between boutique hotels and guests houses.   I’m not sure how long this old world charm this will last, seeing that there are plans to build a large World Trade Centre Complex, but I have to admit I have a selfish dream that it will continue to retain its charm.

What is there to see in Vientiane and should you visit it?  Find out and follow me on my next few posts as I take you on a virtual tour around the city to ancient temples, bakeries, eateries and shopping.

 

Bangkok Brunch: Chu chocolate bar and café

~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

Having my own home, kitchen and not so crazy about food as in my fat days, I’ve been eating out a lot less.  However, don’t get me wrong, I still go out and enjoy good food.  Today my good friend recommended we go try this new place in town called “Chu: chocolate bar and café” as we wanted to have “Eggs benedict” and this place served breakfast all day long as well as a variety of chocolate drinks and desserts.  My favorite kind of place for a lazy weekend breakfast.

It’s still it’s soft opening, but it seems to have attracted quite a bit of clientele with its new space and great atmosphere.   It’s furnished fairly simply in an industrial style with open ceilings, cement floors and wooden tables.  Simple, yet comfortable and most importantly, spacious.   Something that is now harder and harder to find in Bangkok.  It has a lot of natural light which is great, even though there is no view.  There are seats for every kind of customer. If you just wanted dessert, there were soft sofas where you could rest, and if you were eating alone, there’s a high table with high chair where you can look out of the restaurant and people watch. Lovely.  A seat for everyone.

What about the food?  We ordered Eggs Benedict with Norwegian Salmon, Norwegian Scramble, Homemade Pancakes with blueberries, Chicken Ciabatta with pesto, walnut .  For dessert we had Lava cake and Chocolate con churros.  What a feast it was.  So what’s the verdict?  I think overall the food was average.  The ingredients were fresh, presentation beautiful, but taste wise it wasn’t the best place in town.  The Eggs Benedict were a bit disappointing.  I had expected the jumbo poached egg to just melt into the smoked salmon and sourdough muffin base when pierced, but instead the yolk was soft boiled.  I wanted runny eggs to just melt into the hollandaise sauce and permeate the smoked salmon and muffin.  That’s how I like it.  The sauce was okay, but I think there was slightly too little of it to offset the jumbo egg.

The Norwegian Scramble was good though.  I love anything with eggs and the scrambled eggs were a delight to eat.  Soft with mascarpone cheese and smoked salmon, it melted with each bite.  I just wished I had a little more of the scrambled eggs. Portions are not exactly on the large scale here, but good if you want to watch your waistline.

My favorite was the Homemade Pancakes.  I think it was probably the only dish to which I have nothing to comment on.   The texture was nice and fluffy, the fruits fresh and the maple syrup just lovely.  I enjoyed every bite.  Chu only provides you a little pot of syrup though, so if you are the type that loves to just drench your pancakes in maple syrup then you’d better ask for more.

The Pesto Chicken Ciabatta with Walnut Sandwich was okay.  I always like chicken and pesto so for me, it’s always a good choice to order.  It tasted great, but if you want to use fork and knife, it gets a bit hard to cut.  I ended up using my hands to eat the sandwich.

Dessert was chocolate lava cake and Chocolate con churros.  It’s okay, but I thought the lava cake slightly too sweet, the outside not soft and fluffy enough.  If you’ve had chocolate and churros in Spain, of course it’s no way as good as the original.  I miss San Gines in Madrid and wanted the Chocolate con Churros here to be like the one I had in Madrid, so was a bit disappointed at the small size of the churros and the chocolate that wasn’t liquid chocolate.  It could be from a different part of Spain, but helas I’ve only had the one in Madrid.

Service?  It was fast, friendly and efficient, but I was a bit surprised when one of the waiters did not speak Thai.  Hey, I’m in Thailand!  It was also a bit inconsistent. Before dessert, they cleared the dishes, but failed to finish clearing all of it.  Minor details which I am sure will be improved upon once the restaurant is fully opened.

Overall?  I still like the place and thoroughly enjoyed sitting there for almost three hours without feeling rushed.  The food was average, atmosphere pleasant and a great place for a lazy weekend breakfast with friends.  It’s great if you are indeed of a quick meal and are not necessarily in search of the best Eggs Benedict in town. Will I go there again?  Yes.  Location is great. Atmosphere lovely.

It’s at Asoke BTS, Exchange Tower 2nd Floor.  Convenient and you can even go walk around Terminal 21 afterwards to digest. Bon appetite!  https://www.facebook.com/CHU.BKK

Seating area
Seating area

IMG_8652 IMG_8648 IMG_8647 IMG_8644 IMG_8642 IMG_8641 Chu cute sofa corner Like their decor Chu brownies Chu seating view Chu menu Chu long table Chu menu Chu menu

Japanese Sweets: Maple Snaffles from Hokkaido

~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

Image

I wake up in the wee hours of the morning (4.30am) for no apparent reason today with the thought of Maple Snaffes in my head.  The thought of it won’t go away, my brain wants to have some, but helas we don’t have any and so I will just have to write about it instead.  Continuing from my previous posts on Snaffles from Hokkaido, where I talked about the original cheesecake flavor and chocolate favor, I have to say that my new favorite one is the Maple Snaffes Cheesecake.

The Maple Snaffles cheesecake have the same soft and feathery texture of the original cheesecake flavor but it has an added tinge of maple syrup.  The great thing is that you can taste and smell the maple syrup but yet it does not overwhelm the cheesecake.  It makes the cheesecake aromatic (I like the smell of maple syrup, don’t you? )  Too much of the maple syrup would make it too sweet, too little would not be enough to make it aromatic.  The Maple Snaffles, have the amount just right.

If you’ve never tried the Maple Snaffles, I think you should try it.  The chocolate cheesecake one is for chocolate lovers and if you don’t like the smell of maple syrup, then the original cheesecake one is good for you.

I suddenly have a craving for some rich maple syrup now writing about this.  Maybe today I shall go buy some and make some pancakes!

Have a good weekend everyone! 🙂

Japanese Sweets: Snaffles from Hokkaido

~ Swisa A ~ 2 Comments

I love to eat. I think many like me also like to eat but our likes and dislikes change over time. I think our tastes also change the older we get. When I was young, I hated mushrooms. Now I devour them as if they were the most delicious thing on earth. Anything with mushrooms are good. Tonight I want to share with you one of my all time favorite sweets, not sweets but (as if you can’t tell from the post title) Snaffles.

In Japan, apparently each city/region has their own specialty when it comes to sweets. You can only get the triangular mojis from Kyoto, Tokyo Bananas from Tokyo, Castella cakes from Nakasaki, and Snaffles from Hokkaido (correct me if I am wrong here). My first experience with Snaffles was early last year when we had a Japanese friend come visit. With him came along a box of Snaffles which has since become one of my all time favorites amongst cheesecakes and japanese sweets.

I usually don’t like cheesecakes too much because they are heavy and creamy. Not my thing.

Snaffles’s cheesecakes, however, are light as a feather. As my spoon scoops up a piece I feel as if I am take a spoon through a souffle. Despite it’s lightness, it is rich in flavour and with the plain cheese one, you can taste the cheese. Not overwhelming. Just delicate and light. Snaffles also comes in chocolate and I have to admit I like chocolate purely for my love of chocolate. The chocolate is chocolate and the texture is light (though not as light as the cheese flavored one.)

Another detail I like about Snaffles is that they come in small little rounds. Each little piece is around two bite sizes and perfect for those who want a taste, but don’t want to over eat. It also lets you have a bit of each flavour without feeling overly guilty. Yes, I used that excuse. Tonight I had one cheese and one chocolate. Tomorrow I go running.

They also have different flavours that I have yet to try. Waiting for me is another box of Maple Snaffles. That will have to wait it’s turn, but I will let you know how it is. My guess is that it is light and tastes like aromatic maple syrup.

Oh, if you get a box of Snaffles be sure to open it right away and eat it. They have a very short lifespan and need to be refrigerated. www.snaffles.co.jp

Oban Yaki: Japanese Style Pancake @ Isetan CTW

~ Swisa A ~ 1 Comment

I love Japanese food. I can eat it everyday and still not get bored with it.  Tonight I feel like having some Japanese Oban Yaki (which are Japanese pancakes with some fillings) so to curve my craving,  I will tell you instead about it.  It’s incredibly delicious and satisfying.  It’s comfort food that beats all the other comfort foods. (For me anyways)

I’ve never had this pancake anywhere else other than at the Isetan Store at Central World in Bangkok so I cannot tell you if it’s the best one, but even then I find it scrumptious.  I can feel my eyes sparkle and already my mouth curving into a grin just thinking about this pancake hot off the stove with gooey fillings.  I like the one with the hot chocolate filling, but the creamy custard or the red bean are also just as good.   The chocolate is hot and gooey to the right consistency, not too sweet nor too bitter.  I can imagine myself biting into the warm hot chocolate, whose taste is just perfectly offset by the pancake.  It also doesn’t run down your hands so it’s perfect.  The cream is just lovely and not too sweet.  A great cream pancake if you love cream buns.  The red bean is a thicker consistency and full of nutrients.  (I’m not a very keen red bean person)

The counter is just outside the Isetan supermarket on the fifth floor and behind a glass wall you can observe the pancakes being made.  A special stove with large indentations form the shape of the pancake.  The batter is first put in, rotated and the filling finally dropped in just as the pancake is partially cook.  Towards the end, the second half is placed on top and a few minutes later you have the Oban Yaki.

I love watching it being made.  Almost every time I go there, I find a little crowd of people watching as they wait for the Oban Yakis to be ready.  It’s that popular, on weekends they aren’t made fast enough for the hungry consumer.  I always buy at least three and for a mere 30thb each, they aren’t a bad deal…

They are so good that when I went to Japan last year, I actually went around looking for the “original” from Japan, made in Japan Oban Yaki, but helas I could not find it.  Perhaps its only found in certain cities.  I suppose this gives me an excuse to go back to Japan and look for it some day.  I still love the country.

The Bread Machine

~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

The weekend is always dangerous. It’s especially dangerous when I find myself in the electronics section or in the kitchen appliances area. If I am in the Apple Store too long, I get tempted by the iPad 2, the MacBook Air or even the little accessories. Suddenly my iPhone feels like it needs a couple more accessories. (I already have three brand new cases waiting to be used. I’m stocking up for when iPhone 3GS cases become hard to find… :P) At the moment, the universal dock is tempting. I can charge my phone on it at night without taking up space on my bedside table and it’ll look pretty on its stand..hmm

In the kitchen appliances area, I’m drawn by all the baking materials. Yes, I enjoy being a girl and cooking although I am also a working woman. I enjoy cooking. For me its like I get to go on a little vacation and create a few things. A stir here and there, pop it in the oven and suddenly you get a new creation. At the same time, it’s also relaxing and gets your mind off things. Yes, my house is full of cooking books, and machines of all sorts. We have the yogurt maker, crepe machine, fondue set, all sorts of baking trays and cake pans. The house is overloaded with cooking materials, utensils and all sorts of machines. This past weekend’s newest addition is the bread machine.

Of course nothing beats making bread the traditional way by hand, but with so many things to do nowadays the machines are always so tempting. Here, I can just pop the ingredients into the machine and roughly three hours later, I’ll have fresh bread. How absolutely wonderful. I can use it to make pizza dough or just bread dough so that I can take it out to put in stuffings. I can make fruit breads, carrot bread, or any kind of bread. All this, without getting my hands dirty. This is exciting stuff.

I can even pre-programme the machine so that it starts later on at night. This way I can wake up to the fresh smell of bread. Ahh…what I good dream. Tonight I’m trying it out. Lets see what the results are like. So far the dough looks promising and thinking about it is giving me little bursts of joy. I’ll have fresh bread soon!

Although I love all these machines and gadgets, I have to admit that I wonder if one day I will be overwhelmed with all these machines. What do we do with all the unused items? What will this earth do with them? I still have my Palm V since the days when PDAs were the chick thing to have. The younger generation no longer know what it is. It still works wonderfully but it is mostly left to sleep in my drawer. I could throw it away, but it’s such a pity to throw something so good away. So what do you do with all your unused gadgets? Do you recycle them or keep them? What do you think?

Not to forget my bread machine, if you have a bread machine, how do you like it? 🙂 Do you have any good recipes to share?

Bangkok Dining: Buttercup @ Amari Residences

~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

It’s been a busy few days for this writer but fear not, she has not forgotten Having “Me” Time.  It’s  has become a part of her life that can no longer be separated, for no matter how much there is to do, you must take time out to enjoy it a little, experience the moment, remember the little things in life.  One such way of course is to reunite with friends, chit chat, catch up on each others lives and all this while enjoying good food and good atmosphere. (Girls always like the nice ambiance)  Last weekend, I had the opportunity to explore this cafe and restaurant called “Buttercup.”

The name itself is so adorable it brings me back to my childhood days when you still ran around on the grass and got your hands dirty with dirt and flowers.    We’d play with buttercups (yes the real flowers) and put them under our chin to see if its beautiful shade of yellow would reflect onto our chin.  If it did, it was supposed to mean that your wish would come true (or something like that).  How wonderfully simple life was back then.

This cafe and restaurant was just as cute as it’s name.  I’ve always liked bright colours and this of course, to go with it’s name, this place was decorated in a beautiful shade of yellow.  Not too bright, not too orange, this was a nice soft yellow with a tinge of grey.  The minute you walk in, you feel relaxed.  I suppose the fact that it also borders on a beautiful lush green courtyard garden and the fact that it was raining the morning I went gave it all a more relaxed atmosphere.

There’s a table to greet with you a selection of scones, cookies and other little decorations.  There’s a large bookshelf cutely decorated that gives it a more homey atmosphere.  There are also plenty of magazines and newspapers for you to pick and choose.  If you want to check out the cakes, there is a large selection for you to choose from.

The seating is also quite nice.  You can sit on couches, normal dining tables as well as outdoors if you dare to brave the heat.  I suppose it would be a good place to come back in the winter months.  All the seats are comfortable so you can sit there and spend time with your friends for quite a few hours.

What’s on the  menu?  We tried chicken pot pie, spring rollls with ham and cheese, mini burgers,  fried chicken wings,  sphagetthi carbonara, spicy spaghetti with mushrooms and cake.  The food I thought was good and something you can come back again to.  It’s not out of this world delicious Michelin star level, but it’s a good everyday restaurant where you can come back again and again.  My favorite was the sphaghetti.  Both the carbonara and the spicy one were delicious.  Being a fan of pies and anything with puff pastry, I also liked the chicken pot pie.

Drinks and service? They had quite a selection of drinks from their own unique expresso with strawberry sauce (which my colleague tried), smoothies, and I had the green tea latte.  Now I’m particular about not having syrup with my drinks and always make a note to ask for it on the side.  In other restaurants, I might get a somewhat confused look from the waitress, but at Buttercup they understood my request.  A few minutes later, as desired, my green tea latte came with syrup on the side and no whip cream.  I have to tell you it’s a relief to not have to ask them to redo drinks.   Service at buttercup therefore gets top marks from me.  Everyone was friendly, food was on the slow side, but we spent the time chit chatting way, and they got the orders all correct.

So if you are looking out for a place to catch up with friends, reunions or just somewhere to go have a relaxing brunch on the weekends, I think Buttercup is really quite a little discovery. It’s quiet and there isn’t a buzz of people everywhere.   Oh the prices are also quite reasonable.  Most dishes range from around 180thb to 250thb.

Here’s their website:  www.buttercupbkk.com  They open from 9.00am to 8.00pm and their number is 02-319-9630 if you need to make a reservation.  Bon appetit!

Bangkok Must See: Relax at Pra Athit Road

~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

There’s a road in the old part of Bangkok (now often called Rattanakosin Island), that I enjoy visiting not only for the food but also for the ambiance.  This row of old shop houses has stood the test of time and now caters to a young and funkier crowd that I guess would never have crossed the original owners’ mind.  Located next to Thailand’s second oldest universities, and adjacent to the backpacker haven of “KhaoSan Road,”  students, artists, and those seeking an alternative atmosphere come here to dine, listen to Jazz and walk in the park.

Although it has changed much over the years, some of it still remains the same.  The old shop houses most date back roughly a hundred years and the old fortress of Pra Sumen date back to time of King Rama I.  It is one of only two remaining from the original fourteen built.  It’s ancient yet it stands there towering above the park and Pra Athit Road for all to see and to admire.  It’s now part of the Santichaiprakarn Park which occupies an area between the fortress and the Chaopraya river. 

It’s one of my favorite parks and when the weather isn’t too hot, I’d sometimes go and sit there looking out across the river during lunch.  It’s been awhile since I did that, but it used to be one of my favorite pastimes.   It’s relaxing to just watch the water or just simple observe human activity. There’d be people reading, people having a picnic, some practicing juggling, some artists, or couples out for a chit chat.  There’d be older people out too on their daily work.  In one part of the park, not far from the Sala, there is a little walkway that takes you out towards the river and onto a walkway that runs along the lenght of the river.  It’s beautiful.

Okay, so I’ve gone on at lenght about the park, I’ll now mention a favorite few restaurants that are worth visiting if you need somewhere to go for a good lunch.  I’ll start from the area neigbouring the Pra Sumen Fortress and run along the road down towards Thammasat University

1. Roti Mataba:  This is a classic muslim restaurant where you can have the chicken with saffron rice, mutton curry, fish curry, roti, and mataba.  Their menu is a lot more diverse than this, you’d just have to go check it out for yourself.  It’s a tiny little shop house, but they have upstairs dining in an airconditioned room.  Oh, it’s closed on Mondays so don’t go there 🙂

2.  A newly opened Chicken Curry Rice (ข้าวหน้าไก่)  shop just opened not far from Roti Mataba and their chicken curry is delicious.  Although new, it comes from the original shop that is well-known for it’s chicken curry in the five intersection area near Chinatown.  You can opt to have the chicken rice with either rice, steamed yellow egg noodles or friend yellow egg noodles.   I like them all.

3.  If you want Italian Food in an atsphere that takes you away from local Bangkok, then go to Primavera.  They serve lunch sets and for a couple hundred baht you can have soup, salad and a main course. Their food is average but the wooden walls give it a cosy feeling.

4.There’s Gingerbread House on the corner just opposite the fortress that sells cakes and coffee.  It’s very small, and has very few seating but I like the way they decorated the shop. It makes you feel like you are really in “old bangkok.”

5.  If you want beef noodles, there is the famous beef noodle soup restaurant.  It’s not the clear soup kind so it can get a bit “beefy,” but its a good place to go have simple beef noodle shops.  It occupies two shop houses so it’s pretty big, but their’s no aircondition so it can get a bit warm.

6. Further along the middle of Pra Athit Road in the area opposite the World Bank’s FAO and UNICEF offices you’ll see a row of shop houses that have been new renovated.  One of my favorite shops there is “Saffron” which is a little restaurant and bakery.  They serve homemade traditional thai food and delicious cake in a cosy homey feel.  My favorite is always the rice with pork fried with green chilli and for dessert I like the banoffee.  Mind you, they also have waffles with ice cream as well as another whole shelf filled with different kind of chocolate brownies, blackforest cakes, orange cake, cherry pies, and cookies… There are so many I can never resist the temptation to buy some home.  Oh, it’s airconditioned so that makes it even better. There’s only around 4 tables so be sure to make a reservation or go there early.

7. Not far from Saffron is a Thai restaurant called “Hemlock” that only opens in evenings, but it’s a great place to take visitors from abroad if you decide to visit the area for dinner.  Their restaurant is minimalist and upstairs also serves as a little art gallery.  They serve traditional thai food and the shop is cosy you can spend a good hour or so there.

8.  Another place I like is “Ricky’s Coffee Shop.”It moved from it’s original location but that’s because it was doing so well it had to expand.  It’s a favorite amongst my colleages and I for it serves both Thai, Mexican, fusion and a number of foods.   I like their fried rice with potataoes and veggies, their tuna salad, quesadilla, nachos, sphaghetti with bacon and garlic and various open sandwiches.  It also opens for breakfast which makes it my breakfast place when I decide to go on a walking tour of Old Bangkok.  They serve omelettes, bagels, croissants and coffee… All taste good and for a very reasonable price too.  If you like mango, they do an awesome mango smoothie.  I also think they sell on of the best bagels in town.  I really do like it more than Au Bon Pain’s version.   Now I feel like going there sometime this week..

9.  If you are looking for another nice restaurant in the evenings with a view of the river, there is also Navalai River Resort opposite the street.  I’ve yet to eat there, but I’ve walked around and the view is beautiful.  You sit there on a deck overlooking the river.  I’ve also heard that the food there is quite good.

Hmm…I could go on, but I think this post is getting slightly long. 🙂  Hope you all enjoy dining on Pra Athit Road! I really will need to go take some more snapshops next time I visit :)..Sometimes things so close by, don’t get recorded as much as it should!

Bangkok Must See: Vivi The Coffee Place

~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

There is a hidden secret that was discovered by a colleage a few years back right and one that I truly enjoy visiting. Thank you na ka.  It’s a little coffee shop called “Vivi The Coffee Place” located right next to the river of Kings and it is somewhere that is perfect if you want to stop by and have a little rest after a visit to the Grand Palace or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.  It gets hot and humid and having somewhere to just chill and relax by the river is ideal.  Or if you just need a little hideaway, this place too is the perfect place.  It’s quiet, it has a gorgeous view of the Temple of Dawn, an ancient fortress and you can spend a good number of hours just reading away.  Away from all the crowds of people you usually find on streets and shopping malls.  Here you are at peace.

The Coffee shop is part of a boutique hotel called “Aurum” which in itself is a beautiful building that makes you wonder if you are indeed in old Bangkok.  I believe the building is new, but it has been built in a style that reminds me of the old buildings in Paris.  What I love about it is the feeling you get when you first see it.  You are walking up a small little “soi” or alley surrounded by old Thai shop houses and then suddenly you find yourself standing in front of a beautiful building and the entrance to a coffee place.  You feel like you are an explorer finding a secret.

The service is friendly and if you go early mornings, you have the place to yourself.  There’s seating both outdoors and indoors.  Outdoors you get to sit on a little balcony right next to the river and facing the Temple of Dawn, and indoors you get to be in the comfort of airconditioning.  You also have a view of the temple, but it might be somewhat obstructed by those sitting outside.  Wherever you sit, it’s still a beautiful little coffee place.  Their bathroom is also very clean so if you are in search of a clean bathroom (which is most often the case when one goes on holiday) this one is great.

Check out their website! It’s mostly about the hotel though…but it’ll offer you a map of the place.  Enjoy!  http://www.aurum-bangkok.com/