Category Archives: Type – Cafe

Mont Nom Sod – The milk and toast cafe at MBK Bangkok (มนต์นมสด)

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Mont Nom Sod

Address: MBK Center 2nd floor

Operating hours: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

Introduction

Mont Nom Sod is a cafe that specialised in toasts and milk that is situated at level 2 of MBK Center (Mah Boonkrong). The outlook of the cafe is not exactly impressive but don’t be fooled by their simple interior design. It looks our typical Singapore’s Ya Kun or Toast Box and the price is really economical as well, at about 23 baht per slice of toast bread.

Generally, Mont Nom Sod offers two kinds of bread, the toasted bread slices topped with a spread (like Coconut Custard, Condensed Milk, Chocolate, Taro spread, Pumpkin spread and Corn spread just to name a few) and the second kind is their soft steamed bread with a dip (coconut custard or chocolate dip).

Click to view enlarged menu

Click here to view my full list of Bangkok food Itinerary

The Toast (Coconut Custard and Condensed Milk) – 23 Baht

Mont Nom Sod’s bread is nothing like our square white bread where the texture became a little tough after toasting, or really crispy like Ya Kun’s. Their toast is crispy on the surface and fluffy soft on the inside.

Their Coconut Custard is in fact similar to our Singapore’s Kaya, just that there is lesser egg taste and stronger coconut taste. The aromatic coconut fragrance simply filled my mouth when i took my first bite. The bread didn’t became soggy even when it’s spread over the bread for a period of time. I know this because, as usual, I took quite some time for the food shot.

I always have a thing for condensed milk toast. Who didn’t spread condensed milk over their toast when we were kids? For Mont Nom Sod’s condensed milk toast, the last thing to worry is the condensed milk taste overpowering the toast and turned into a nothing-but-sweet-tasting toast. The condensed milk are applied in moderation with butter, and the sweetness is just nice for a supposedly-sweeter kind of taste.

Steamed Bread with Molten Chocolate Dip – 70 baht

If you have tried Old Town’s steamed bread, Mont Nom Sod’s steamed bread’s dough is fuller, more like a Man Tou (White Steamed Bun) texture but without the grease. At only S$2.80,  i get to enjoy a steam bread chocolate fondue. How good is this? Chocolate dip is rich and smooth and bread is fluffy and soft. No complain!

I also had their Sweet Cold Milk. Unlike chocolate flavor or strawberry flavor milk, white fresh milk is normally not as sweet but Mont Nom Sod’s is a sweetened version. I guess the Thais really like sweet stuff! The milk is worth a try, and after all, what is a visit to milk cafe without trying their milk?

Conclusion

Mont Nom Sod is a cafe which serves simple, yet delightful food at a very minimal price, which made me very happy after having my meal here. Some people classify Mont Nom Sod as one of the hidden gems in Bangkok. I like this cafe and thought that i will visit this place again on my next visit. I still have many bread flavors which i had yet to try.

This place is a perfect place to rest after walking for hours, and to refuel your energy. Give yourself a sweet sugar rush and continue with your shopping Part Two!

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After You Dessert Cafe (Siam Paragon – Bangkok)

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After You Dessert Cafe

Address: Siam Paragon Ground Floor

Operating Hours: 10.00am to 10.30pm daily

Introduction

After You Dessert Cafe apparently is the rising star of all dessert places in Bangkok. There is a legend that says ‘you have never been to Bangkok until you tried Afteryou dessert’. I visited this place once previously but I thought this saying was too exaggerating but nevertheless, After You Dessert Cafe is worth the visit for their Signature Shibuya Honey Toast, for at least once.

Twice, I visited their Siam Paragon branch situated at the basement. It was rather early at about 10am so there is no crowd. Awesome. After You Dessert Cafe mainly sells sweet items like pancakes, waffles, ice-creams and toast etc. They only have a handful of savory items on their menu and one of them is the Grilled Ham Cheese Sandwich.

They have another branch at Thonglor area, that is just opposite to Roast Coffee & Eatery and Mr Jones’ Orphanage. I didn’t pay a visit to this branch as i was already too full after having brunch at Roast and dessert at Mr Jones’ Orphanage. But one thing i am quite sure is, comparing to Siam Paragon’s basement branch, food shots at this Thonglor branch should turn out better due to the natural lighting.

Branch Address: J Avenue, Thonglor 13 Operating Hours: 10.00am to 12.00am daily

Click here for a consoliated list of my Bangkok Food Itinerary

Signature Shibuya Honey Toast

The whole idea about this Shibuya toast is actually very simple. This is not a sophisticated dish which requires long preparation time. I personally think that the reason for it’s popularity may just be it’s well toasted soft fluffy thick toast with melted butter evenly infused into every single slice of the toast.

After You Dessert Cafe then topped the toast with their fresh vanilla ice-cream and generally speaking, an additional scoop of Ice cream can almost never spoil a dessert. Complete this dish with honey syrup for those who have really sweet teeth. To be frank, this dish is definitely not out-of-this-world, but i would describe this dish as a ‘very satisfying’ dessert.

Hazelnut Pancake with Nutella Sauce

The formula to this dish is even simpler. If i am someone who love Nutella and Hazelnut, i will love this. After You Dessert Cafe provides a small tub of butter to be applied separately. I thought adding the butter is a good idea as sometimes it taste a little dry with just Nutella alone. I have no complain about the pancake. Soft, warm and fluffy.


Grilled Ham Cheese Sandwich

Using the same thick toast as the Signature Shibuya Honey Toast, this savory fluffy toast can be an option for those who are not very into sweet stuff. For certain kind of toast, i prefer the toast to be very thin with a lot of fillings, but not for this Grilled Ham Cheese Sandwich. The bread itself is rather enjoyable with two layers of melted cheese and a layer of ham.

Maple French Toast with Smoked Sausages

I think this is the other rare savory item in After You Dessert Cafe’s Menu. I thought the french toast is OK. It’s something that we can easily find in Singapore so nothing fantastic about this and can order something else on the menu.

Conclusion

Personally, i think that this place is not a die-die-must-go place but if i am at this area, specifically Siam area, i will make a point to visit After You Dessert Cafe just for their Shibuya toast. I really like the buttery taste of their toast that goes very well with vanilla ice cream.

For those who like an even stronger flavor, they also have Shibuya Chocolate Toast, Shibuya Nutella Toast and even Cheddar Cheese Shibuya Toast. You may want to give yourself a reason to pop by this cafe to see what is the big deal of these Shibuya Toast.

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The Deck @ Arun Residence (Bangkok – Phra Nakhon)

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The Deck @ Arun Residence

Address: The Deck By The River, Maha Rat, Phra Nakhon

Opening hours: Mon-Thu 8.00am to 10.00pm, Fri-Sun 8.00am to 11.00pm

Introduction

As a lover for landscape photography, I will always try to make some time to visit attractions for some shots while I’m overseas. The Deck is situated just directly opposite Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) across the river, which is within walking distance from The Grand Palace and Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) or Wat Phra Chetuphon. It is the perfect place to take a good shot of Bangkok’s Wat Arun.

While I am expecting a classy and posh restaurant that is within a up-class hotel, i am pleasantly surprised that The Deck is not such a place and i thought this cosy and homely residence/restaurant may just be it’s charm.

Click to see my list of consolidated Bangkok Food Itinerary

The restaurant

The deck is divided into three levels, while level one and two are reserved for seated dining, level three is their bar area. There is a spiral staircase that leads up to level two, and need to climb up a flight of metal steps to reach level three.

The dining area at level one is at the sun deck of the house with only a couple of tables that are well-spaced from each other. Seems pretty romantic at night? However, from the photo, you can see that a boat almost blocked the whole view of Wat Arun.

The dining area in level two is able to accommodate large dining crowd.

I thought the level three area offers a much better view and since my main objective is to shoot instead of eat, i opted for the level three bar.

Within the bar, there are only five or six tables that offers a direct view of Wat Arun and i am glad that I made my way there early at 5.45pm and i manage to secure the last unoccupied table that offers a great view of Wat Arun. The bar offers finger food and drinks. Those who don’t feel like having alcohol may order their coffee/tea or juice instead. Yeap, a bar that offers coffee and tea.

Food & Drinks

As I plan to visit the “Bangkok best phad thai” for dinner, i am giving the main course at The Deck a miss. I ordered the safest food – cheese nachos and sausage. The taste of the nachos actually exceeded my expectation. I was munching on the nachos and i cleared the plate in no time. Love the thin chips coated with warm melted cheese.

And how wrong can sausages go? There are three different kinds of sausage in the platter that tasted like – Chicken cheese, chicken, pork and comes with a side of mashed potato and a portion of mustard. Great for sharing.

By the way, I don’t exactly enjoy their cappuccino as much as I thought I tasted some spices in it and it taste rather weird.

Bangkok’s sun sets at about 6.15pm to 6.30pm and it was a pity that the sun set was blocked by some thick cloud thus unable to catch the yellow egg yolk. Such a waste!

But nevertheless I thought I still managed to capture a rather decent night shot of Wat Arun, i think. LOL. What do you think?

Conclusion

I am someone who can enjoy doing nothing and just find a cosy corner and chill out with friends while enjoying a view and enjoying the river breeze. This place sets a world apart from the up-class rooftop sky bar where visitors need to be in their long pants and flip-flops are a strict no-no, The Deck offers a very homely and casual kind of setting for friends to gather or romantic-seeking lovers to visit to have a good drink and chat.

The only problem with this place is for it’s location as Singaporeans (or any other visitors) very muck like to stay around Pratunam/Asoke/Siam area for it’s shopping convenience. I had to take a cab ride that took me around 20 minutes to reach The Deck @ Arun Residence.

If you are already visiting the Grand Palace, Wat Pho or Wat Arun, why not have a rest at The Deck for a drink before heading back to Hotel.

The sky is already dark and i set off to the nearby “Bangkok Best Phad Thai” for dinner, which will be covered in my upcoming post!

Here’s a shot of the interesting spiral stairs connecting level one to level two:

Directions and Map

As The Deck is not near to any particular MRT or BTS station, i took a cab directly to this place. Note that this place is not along the main road and the cab driver got to turn into a smaller lane to be able to see this place.

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Mr Jones Orphanage (Bangkok – Thonglor)

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Mr Jones Orphanage

Address: SeenSpace Thonglor 13, Bangkok, Thailand 10110

Operating hours: 10.00am to 12:00 midnight (last order at 11:00pm) daily

Introdution

Mr Jones orphanage is located at the ‘atas street’ of Thonglor. You may have noticed that the address is exactly the same as Roast Coffee and Eatery. Yeap, this cosy little cafe is at level one of the SeenSpace, just below Roast Coffee & Eatery. I guess as a child everyone would had dreamt of such a place where there are endless candies, cakes, chocolate and ice cream. Mr Jones orphanage is exactly such a place, only that you need to pay for it. LOL.

I would have to say the selling point of this cafe is the design of their cafe instead of just food. Upon entering this “wonderland”, on the left lies a kitchen that is literally full of pastries, with the ceiling decorated with a giant wooden clock.

In the middle, there is a long table arrangement that reminds me of of mini Harry Potter’s Hogwarts dining hall.

On the right, it’s labelled as “The Playground” where there is this large carousel-design dining table in the center. The area is the most well lit and if you want to get some good food shots, dining at this area will never go wrong.

However, I am most impressed by their attic dining area and this is where i choose to have my meal. There is a ‘secret attic’ that is leaded up by a flight of narrow wooden stairs. I have to bend my knees and lay low so that my head won’t knock onto the ceiling while exploring the “secret hiding place”. Low seating sofas and tables are placed at various corners of the attic with decorative items like toy soldiers, library books and plush toys are scattered all over the dimly lit attic, with no ‘adult’ (the waitress) looking at what you are doing.

It’s like you had been transported out from Bangkok, and into a place that only exist in a story book.

As i reach there quite early at about 11 am, i had the whole attic to myself with the freedom to walk around, sleep flat on their sofa, or do anything you want. Best chill-out place ever.

Click here to see my list of consolidated Bangkok Food Itinerary

Pastries and cakes:

Since I just had my breakfast at Roast Coffee and Eatery, I didn’t get to try Mr Jones’ main course and I only ordered their desserts. Mr Jones Orphanage do offer brunch menu like Egg Benedict, Sandwich or a full breakfast platter. But now the problem is, WHICH DESSERT SHOULD I ORDER?! There are a wide selection of desserts like Lemon Meringue, Passionfruit Sponge Cake, Rocky Road, Chocolate Fudge cake, Coconut Cake, Chocolate Ferraro, Oreo Pie,  Berry Sponge and even M&M + Kit Kat cake, which they call it the “Kit Kat Monster”.

In the end, i finally settle with their coconut cake at 100 baht (cus Thailand is famous for their coconut), Chocolate Ferraro at 110 baht and their Chocky Mud Pie (135 baht).

Their coconut cake is divided into four layers, first layer with the fresh coconut shavings, then the coconut cream, the sponge cake with a layer of fresh coconut meat sandwich between the sponge cake. I thought this is something that is not commonly found in Singapore. For those who like coconut, this is worth a try.

The staff recommended their Chocky Mud Pie and this pie was served piping hot from the oven. Nothing beats a molten chocolate center that goes with a mouthful of dark chocolate ice cream.

Conclusion

Mr Jones Orphanage has actually little main courses to offer therefore i would suggest having your breakfast at Roast Coffee and Eatery at level 2 and pop by to experience this cafe and to have desserts. Don’t be fool by it’s plain-looking main door.

I think it’s worth the visit cus this is something that we don’t have and will not have in Singapore. And apology if my photos focus a little too much on the interior design instead of the food, but that is because i really really like the interior of the cafe. Definitely an eye opener and a place not to be missed, especially if you are already at Thonglor area.

Directions

The nearest BTS station to Mr Jones Orphanage is Thonglor station and takes a 15 minutes walk. Direction is exactly as coming to Roast Coffee & Eatery. Taking a cab to this place will be much easier. If you choose to walk, you just need to walk on one straight road on Sukhumvit 55 and turn left into Akkhara Phat when you see a building call “Home Place”.

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Roast Coffee & Eatery (Bangkok – Thonglor)

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Roast Coffee & Eatery

Address: SeenSpace Thonglor 13, Bangkok, Thailand 10110

Opening hours: Mon – Thu: 10am-11pm, Fri-Sat: 9am-12:30am, Sun: 9am-11pm

Click here to see my list of consolidated Bangkok Food Itinerary

Introduction

Recently, visiting a brunch cafe is one of the must-do things in Bangkok. Roast Coffee & Eatery, the one of the most popular cafes in Bangkok is situated in the area of Thonglor, just next door to Mr Jones’ Orphanage. Roast Coffee & Eatery offers a wide selections on their menu with more than 90 items to choose from, including all day breakfast, dinner menu, sides and drinks.

I made a reservation through their Facebook page but their Facebook admin replied me saying that there’s strictly no reservation during the weekend and i should be able to get a seat if i’m there at 9am, and i did. From my photo, you can see that it’s not that crowded yet.

Situated at level 2 with all it’s full height window, the cafe is very well lit with natural light, and this can almost guarantee that your food photos will look good. Having a meal here and chilling out with some friends definitely gave me a great way to start a day.

Menu 1: click to enlarge

Menu 2: click to enlarge

Menu 3: click to enlarge

The Roast Breakfast Set

The breakfast platter cost 350++ baht and comes with a compliment juice and a hand crafted coffee/tea.

The best item in the platter got to be their bacon! Super crispy! Not exaggerating to say that this is one of the best crispy bacon that i had. And they are quite generous with the portion of their bacon. The more interesting item got to be the sausage patty. It taste like our Chinese dish – steamed minced pork patty with preserved vegetables, but less moist and with additional tinge of herb taste.

For those who like runny scramble egg, you may want to request them to make it more runny cus Roast’s style is a little dryer. The portion is huge for a breakfast. Don’t forget it comes with a glass of orange juice and a coffee with this set. Definitely a hearty brunch!!

Pulled Pork Burger

Costing 320++ Baht, the well toasted burger bun is served with a generous serving of moist juicy pork that are well tossed and coated with barbeque sauce and a portion of fries. I am glad that their pulled pork taste as good as how it look! This dish was recommended by the staff of roast.

Crab Cake Benedict

The only problem is their crab cake benedict. The poached egg’s yolk was almost fully cooked, which i consider it as a failure. And the portion for the crab meat egg benedict is really small. At the same price (350++ baht) as the roast breakfast set, i will choose to order the platter anytime.

Conclusion

Having your meal at Roast Coffee & Eatery is a break-away from the heavy traffic and the crazy shopping routine.  Apart from Roast Coffee & Eatery, this area also has many other interesting restaurants worth visiting. if you have yet to visit this area of Bangkok, why not fork out some time in the morning to chill out at this place and continue with your crazy shopping in the noon!

Don’t forget to pop by Mr Jones’ Orphanage for a quick dessert just next door!

Directions

The nearest bts station is Thonglor station and takes a 15 minutes walk. Taking a cab may be much easier, especially if Roast is your first meal of the day. If you choose to walk, you just need to walk on one straight road on Sukhumvit 55 and turn left into Akkhara Phat when you see a building call “Home Place”.

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