All things sweet, sugar and nice in Bangkok cafes

When I am Bangkok, everyone always assumes that I will be surrounded by street stalls of fish noodles, or a plethora of Thai snacks here and there. However, if you ever spot the amazing creativity of Thai chefs and artists, and note the influx of Japanese expats and tourists, what resulted is a trendy cafe scene that satisfies your tastebuds in every way.

I followed ladyironchef’s blog post “34 Best Cafes in Bangkok you must visit once in your life” and as they said, cakes, tarts, coffee..they have it all. (Original blog here: http://www.ladyironchef.com/2015/01/bangkok-best-cafes-guide/)

Hello Kitty land is the dream place for every Hello Kitty fan. A three-storey shop, the second and third floors are decorated with pink, sweet and comfy furniture for high teas and main courses with plenty of Hello Kitty merchandises and furnitures for you to take photos with. (Even the ceiling has a Hello Kitty logo)

The third floor is mainly used for afternoon tea patrons, while the first floor has a diverse range of main courses and sweets available, from pad thai to ice cream and cupcakes, you can savour them all at Hello Kitty land and enjoy a sweet tune of the famous Japanese cartoon, then unwind yourself at the spa at the basement.

Hello Kitty Land

SiamSQ1, Bangkok
Tel: +66 2 115 1335
Daily: 10am – 10pm
Nearest BTS: Siam

After You is a cafe famous for its Japanese desserts, especially for its Shibuya Toasts (THB175). True to its slogan, “you always have room for dessert,” its coffee and desserts are not only photogenic, but also taste as good as they look. If the Shibuya toasts are too much for you, there are also other delicious little treats, such as Japanese custard cake above, mille feuille, crepes and cakes.

Another amazing gem is their coffee. Each mocha/latte/cappuccino comes with latte art (if you have tried making latte art before, you know how difficult it is!) and twists of Japanese flavours, such as matcha coffee are also available. But beware, while there are branches in Central World and Siam Paragon, they are often packed full of shoppers. The best bets may be Siam Square or Silom Complex branches with less shoppers and more space.

After You

Siam Square One
Daily: 11am – 12midnight
Nearest BTS: Siam

Everyday by Karmakamet

Everyday by Karmakamet is a small lifestyle shop and cafe tucked in the corner of Yada Building next to BTS Sala Daeng Station (if you come by MRT, get off at Silom and follow the masses who are commuting to BTS). While the cafe is not that spacious, it’s a cozy creative spot that encourages you to doodle your thoughts with pencils, crayons and markers as you enjoy a croissant or sip the cup of coffee. Combined with a lifestyle store, you can also get MUJI-esque notebooks, liquid containers and aprons.

My favourite is the rose milk tea with almond croissant. Karmakamet, the group that operates Everyday by Karmakamet also runs a diner on Sukhumvit Soi 24.

Everyday by Karmakamet

1/F Yada Building
Silom Road
Tel: +66 2 237 1148
Nearest Station: Sala Daeng BTS/ Silom MRT

Bake a Wish

Bake a Wish Cafe is another dessert cafe that my friend recommended when Coffee by Dao and After You both have huge queues. A small Japanese dessert shop at the basement of Siam Paragon, this cafe boasts many creamy, chocolate-y desserts that are sure to fill your tastebuds with sweetness.

From chocolate almond cake above and New York cheesecake to Japanese chou-cream (cream puffs) and matcha macarons, Bake A Wish definitely satisfied my sweet tooth that day.

Bake A Wish

Basement at Siam Paragon

991/1 1st Floor, Rama I Road, Bangkok 10330

Nearest BTS Station: Siam

http://www.facebook.com/bakeawish.japanesehomemadecake

Cafe Chili

What if you crave for something Thai? To be very honest, the food courts of Siam Paragon, Central World and Terminal 21 are filled with Japanese restaurants. Perhaps, it is because Thais love Japanese food because it means trendy or cheap (yes both combinations are there when you have Yoshinoya and Ootaya), or perhaps, because traditional Thai food is easily available at home or on the streets outside these malls.

Thai food is always a bit of a challenge for me because of my peanut allergies. However, Cafe Chili is the solution for my Thai food craving when my friend took me there. Specialized in Northeastern Thai cuisine, the Som Tum (papaya salad with crab) was a spicy and sour wake-me-up, while the pad see ew (stir fry noodles in soy sauce) is just the right portion. There is also an outdoor patio area for drinks.

Cafe Chili

Opening Hours: 10:00 – 22:00

Location: Basement of Siam Paragon

Nearest BTS station: Siam

Thai Culinary Training @ Sompong Thai Cooking School Bangkok

I have always wanted to take Thai culinary training because unlike cooking classes in other countries, Thai cooking schools are very hands on and make sure that not only do you make curry pastes and sauces from scratch, you also visit local markets so you can see and feel the many ingredients that you work with to make your delicious 4-course meal in 4 hours.

When I saw Soompong Thai Cooking School’s website online and that they accommodate my peanut allergies, I immediately signed up for their class. (FYI, I took the Wednesday class).

Once we were picked up at Chong Nonsi BTS station, we began a local market tour of the ingredients used.

View of the market.

Coconut is shredded in machine and then vendor puts shreds into other machine to turn it into coconut paste.

Grounded red, panang and green curry pastes at local market

Platter of vegetables and spices required for the 4 dishes.

We began making our first dish: Panang Curry Chicken. Because I am allergic to peanuts, I can only make red curry as panang curry paste contains peanuts.

Red curry is made up of galangal (Thai ginger), kaffir lime skin (not the lime, just the skin), coriander seeds and roots, shallot, shrimp paste, garlic, shallots, cumin seeds ,lemongrass and peppercorns. With the traditional way you smash the dry ingredients, herbs then juicy ingredients with pestle in the mortar, or you can do it with a blender. But the key point is to blend all the ingredients.

However, it takes more than the curry paste to make the red curry chicken.

Curry paste is not complete without coconut paste. After it is mixed with coconut paste, then comes the cooking and simmering of chicken. Afterwards, sprinkle with kaffir lime leaves and red chillies and serve with rice with a dash of coconut milk if you prefer a creamier texture.

NB: Important difference between coconut paste and coconut milk. Coconut paste is much thicker and creamier, coconut milk can be made by diluting coconut paste with 1/2 cup of water.

The next dish is Som Tum (Papaya Salad). The dish is relatively easy to make, but the making of the sauce and styling of the salad are also arts in themselves.

Similar to the red curry, lime, fish sauce, dried shrimp, sugar, garlic and chili are mixed and crushed in the mortar. Then long beans, green papaya, carrots and tomatoes are shredded, cut and mixed. A tip on the tomato flower is to cut the tomato skin and twirl it.

And how can Thai cuisine be complete without pad thai (stir fry noodles) and mango sticky rice?

Many people often believe that pad thai should look orange, but it is because they used dried shrimps with coloring. Pad thai is really thin rice noodles stirred fried with sauce and egg. The seasoning, composed of  chili, white sugar, palm sugar, tamarind paste, oyster sauce and fish sauce are mixed together in the mortar.

Like Chinese cooking, garlic and shallots are cooked first for the fragrance, then we added the shrimp/chicken and the egg. Noodles and water are then added once the egg was cooked and set aside on one side of the wok, and after the noodles are softened, add the pad thai sauce and mix everything! To top it off, there is always coriander seeds, lime and chives.

Mango sticky rice is probably the easiest to make, but getting sticky rice is hard. Once the sticky rice is cooked, soak it with coconut topping (coconut paste and white sugar), then cut the mangoes and there we go.

4 hours of amazing culinary training is totally worth it with this delicious lunch! And a huge thank you to all the staff for the accommodations. guidance and the cook book!

A few notes and substitutions though:
* Shrimp can be taken out of pad thai and som tum for vegetarian options.
* Curry pairings: Red and panang curries work well with beef and chicken, but green curry works better with chicken.
* Always, always have honey or lemongrass tea to cool off all the spice from the curry. I know this is more of a Chinese saying, but if you are not used to having Thai curry in your diet, it is better to have something to cool off the spice.
* Don’t substitute ginger with galangal as flavour is different.
* With chili, remove seeds to reduce spiciness and tamarind plant can be soaked to produce tamarind juice that make the paste.

Sompong Thai Cooking school, 31/11 Silom Soi 13 , Silom Road,Bangrak Bangkok, Thailand 10500
+662-233-2128

http://www.sompongthaicookingschool.com/