You cannot say no to rainbow-colored cheese right? So when I saw Say Chiizu on Siam Square, I just had to stop and get their Unicorn Fruit Toast.
In the commercial, which is running on the screen in the shop, you can see how a woman stretches the cheese longer and longer, and it was impossible to stop watching, ha ha. What a fascinating sight! No doubt, I had to get my own elastic cheese sandwich.
I only rarely stay at the airport hotels in Bangkok, as I prefer to stay in the city even if it is only for a short layover. If you have more than 20 hours in Bangkok, you are much better off staying in the city center, because even a few hours would allow you to sample some delicious Thai food, get a massage and do some shopping. If you land at night, the taxi ride to the central areas in Bangkok does not take long, and if you arrive during daytime, you can take the airport train and be in central Bangkok in less than an hour.
In most Asian countries, bubble tea is still a big thing, and you can get all sorts of delicious versions and flavors. The latest trend is brown sugar boba, which I tried at KOI a couple of weeks ago, but which is available at most of the trendier boba shops. The brown sugar syrup gives the drink a rounder, fudge-like flavor that I really like.
Octave is the rooftop bar at Marriott Hotel in the chic Thonglor area. The bar is very popular among Bangkok’s expats, and if you’re not there right when they open at 5pm, finding a good spot to watch the sunset from might be difficult.
Afternoon Tea at the Authors’ Lounge at Mandarin Oriental is one of the things you have to try, if you are visiting Bangkok. Leave your backpack and flipflops at home (there’s a rather strict dress code) and head down to Chao Phraya River for a glimpse and a taste of what Bangkok was like in a time long gone.
I arrived in Bangkok rather late, and before I got to the city and checked in at the hotel, it was way past dinner time. My hotel was on a quiet stretch of Charoen Krung Road without a lot of restaurants in sight, so for a short moment I wondered whether I would have to go to bed hungry. But the I found a tiny place, where a man was serving soup from a giant pot.
Somboon Seafood is a very popular seafood restaurant chain in Bangkok. The original restaurant opened back in 1969, and their signature fried curry crab has turned into legend.
The first time I met Badminton was by the pool, where he was giving complimentary head and neck massages to the hotel guests. Banyan Tree has all sorts of complimentary treats, and in addition to massage, they also offered free yoga classes, so I signed up for a yoga lesson the following morning at the hotel’s gym. Guess who the instructor was? Badminton!
In 2018, Thailand finally got a Michelin guide, and one of the stars landed at Nahm. I usually don’t go star-hunting, but since Nahm was at the hotel right next to ours, it also felt silly not to go. I therefore booked a table for lunch the other day. We chose the set menu which we put together from the a la carte menu and here’s what we had:
Canapes: Egg nets with prawns, wild almonds and kaffir lime, Pork and lobster with shredded ginger and Thai citron, Pineapple and chicken
Kingfish salad with pomelo, lemongrass and lime
Hot and sour soup with chicken, prawn and wild mushrooms
Clear soup of roast duck with Thai basil and young coconut
Oxtail curry with nutmeg, ginger and eggplant
Duck
Snake fruit in syrup, Thai wafers with poached persimmon and golden duck egg noodles.
Set menu: 1600THB/person
I liked the canapes the best. They looked gorgeous and showed signs of the creativity you’d expect to find at a Michelin-starred place. The other dishes were more traditional Thai. Filling, and slightly to the heavy side, but packed with all the Thai cuisine flavors that I love.
The dessert was delicious even though the roasted shallots made both Poul and I think of Danish hotdogs (they’re topped with roasted onions).
The set menu is a good deal if you want to sample as much of the menu as possible. Besides you get a more authentic dining experience by having the different types of dishes together, Thai-style. It’s a lot of food, especially if you’re like me and usually don’t eat a lot for lunch, so bring a big appetite or a hungry husband.
Nahm, Sathon Tai Rd, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Bangkok 10210, Thailand
After You Dessert Cafe became famous for their Shibuya Honey Toast, which hit Bangkok big time a couple of years ago. Today, the new star stealing the show at After You (and dominating Insta-feeds all over the city) is the Hojicha Kakigori. It looks like an edible version of Mt. Fuji, and it is absolutely delicious.