a better butter

little home bakery

what american doesn't love a good brunch here and there? what other meal can be leisurely stretched into two meals? what other meal is only socially acceptable on weekends? what other meal can legitimately pack in tons of carbs and butter?

i guess that's what it comes down to: butter. here in asia, the reigning fat solid is an orange, vegetable oil margarine-like substance, whose unmistakable fragrance wafts out of every bakery. it also leaves that distinctive oily aftertaste when you shove down a pork floss bun.

and this is where little home bakery stands tall in its stalwart defense of BUTTER! their goods have the full, rounded flavor of butter. and in case that's not enough for you, your banana pancake (80B) or strawberry waffle (95B) comes with a proud, defiant scoop of white, smooth butter melting in glory.

for those "brunch-should-block-my-arteries" folks, you can always get the american breakfast with two eggs, bacon, pancakes, grilled tomato, fried potatoes, coffee and juice (165B). and for those disgusted by that, you can always order from their extensive thai menu (75-125B).

bright, sunny, half-diner-half-cafe ambience, little home bakery's a perfect spot to meet your friends for butter - i mean, brunch.

little home bakery

thonglor, between soi 23-25

weekdays 8am-9pm, weekends 9am-9pm

webby: http://www.littlehome.co.th/

it's as exciting as toast

after you

it's dry, it used to be bread, it is light tan - it's toast!

oh ye of little faith, believe me when i tell you this toast is worth it. 3 inches tall and smothered with shibuya honey, nutella, peanut butter & bananas or other scrumptious sundries plus ice cream and whipped cream - this isn't your grandma's toast. this is toast in splendor.

for all ye nonbelievers, don't worry, after you has other desserts. between 4 of us, 5 desserts didn't stand a chance. two toasts, applesauce brownie (with ice cream), baked sundae (lava cookie with ice cream), millecrepe (crepes stacked with whipped cream), and four quadruple bypasses. i pity our arteries and the cow that had to produce all the cream we consumed.

baked sundae oozing

applesauce brownie. light, yet intensely chocolatey.

millecrepe with creme brulee-sugared top.

my only regret was not being able to try one of their many coffee drinks. i am not of the breed who's able to drink coffee at night and not become a vampire. next time, i'm getting my lazy butt up for breakfast (since after you opens at 7am) and throwing down a coffee and a breakfast toast. yes, savory or sweet, you can have your toast at any time of day.

after you

thonglor soi 13, j avenue

desserts 145-200B

open 7am-midnight

02 712 9266

other locations @ paholyothin la villa and central world 7th fl.

i will punch you in your face

house of beers

i will fist-fight any person who disputes the superiority of belgian beers. traveling belgium this past spring, it was a personal goal to have a glass of beer in one hand and a cone of pommes frites in the other. i almost cried when luggage restrictions kept me from packing any beers in baggage on the way back to bangkok..

thank god for house of beers, bangkok's happy belgian beer home. they carry 3 of 6 of the belgian trappistes (rochefort, chimay, orval) and a hefty list of other notable bottles (leffe, tripel karmaliet, waterloo, maredsous). you have to trust a brewing tradition that has its origins in trappist monasteries. god himself told them how to make beers. didn't you know that "jehovah brewmaster" is one of god's titles in the old testament? here, true to its name, it really is about the beer - no skimpily dressed waitresses, no extensive food menu, just beer, mussels, and a few other items. and expect to pay for your beer love - they run upwards of 250B for an imported bottle.

personal favorites?

chimay blue: been my favorite beer for years. this one converted me to belgians. just drink one.

tripel karmaliet: surprisingly intensely flavorful with high alc content for a light beer. the triple distillation's no joke.

rochefort 8: out of rochefort's 6, 8, and 10, i think 8's the best. rich maltiness in a clean, dark beer.

maredsous: if you're looking for something a little unusual, try this monastery's beer. slightly more acidic with a distinct peanutty flavor.

waterloo double dark: tried it at HOB for the first time. smooth, creamy, malty - a beautiful dark.

HOB, i'm moving in...just charge it to my tab.

house of beers.

522/3 thonglor (soi 16). "penny's balcony (1F)."

hours: 11am-midnight

02 392-3513

sometimes i like being a lady

witch's tavern

hands down, the best thing about the witch's tavern is their wednesday lady's night. it makes me proud to have two glorious X chromosomes to partake in opportunities like this (i.e. free booze). every wednesday 5pm-9pm, all ladies drink free from a selected menu (chang beer & well drinks). it is oh-so-satisfying to receive your bill at the end of the night with a long list of zeros. i like the look of this place: a distinctly southern, 2-story pale yellow mansion with bar seats, tables, booths, and couches - sit wherever your butt desires. a great bangkok bar/pub with an drool-inspiring expansive menu (tapas to burgers to chinese to thai) but will take a formidable chunk out of your wallet and sadly not that good. judging from the menu, it really seems like their food would be good, but don't expect much.
their spanish tapas (240B) were mundane and bland comprising chorizo, a few olives, garlic mussels, and toast. eddie's burger (290B) was decent: hearty portion, on a good homemade bun, but too salty and over-seasoned and dry. margherita pizza (220B) was just a normal thin-crust cheese pizza with dried basil sprinkled on top. and do not be tempted by the apple&blackberry crumble (170B) which was just warmed-up apple chunks and a couple blackberries mixed with a bland vanilla pudding and handful of semi-sweet crumbs. food = disappointing.

one thing that makes witch's tavern stand out among bangkok bars is its extensive cocktail menu with old faves and new twists. as tasty and as interesting as they sound, i have yet to try such an expensive drinky.

the bar island floats in the middle of the large 2 story room with seating surrounding. not great ambience for having conversations (it's pretty loud), but nice to chill and listen to the jazz band. outdoor seating available (i.e. get your own drink at the bar and drink it outside).

oh and all you bingo-lovers: free bingo on wednesday nights. one round at 11pm, jackpot anywhere between 3000B-15,000B.
happy hour 5-8pm: buy one local beer, get one free.

witch's tavern. thonglor btw soi 8 & 10. hours 11am-1am.
tapas 140-280B, farang mains 240-390B, thai mains 140B, sushi/sashimi 100-350B, desserts 120-180B
beers & cocktails 90-300B.
webby: www.witch-tavern.com

you'd better stretch beforehand

oishi buffet

can you handle the intensity of a 1 hr 45 min buffet? this type of gastronomic challenge requires an iron will, a sharp mind, and lightning agility to sprint your way through mountains of food. i was seriously running.

oishi buffet is the inspiration for all japanese buffet restaurants in bangkok and it's easy to see why. they've got sushi, shashimi, salads (bar and premade), shabu shabu/hot pot, grill & mongolian bbq to order, fish and stir-fries made to order, soups, gyoza, tempura, duck, hand rolls, fruit, shaved ice, frozen yogurt (including green tea!), cakes and pastries. served with a range of beverages including teas, coffees, sodas or for a little extra: beer, other bottled soft drinks. unfortunately for me, i'm chinese, and have the "getting your money's worth" gene, which forces me to try everything and eat as much as possible. i was hurting afterward; though, a good kind of hurt.

the big standout in my opinion is their mongolian bbq grill (made to order) with their korean-seasoned meat and a pretty large spread of sushi rolls. everything else is good, but pretty average. it's just awesome because you get SO MUCH OF IT.

don't get overzealous, though, it's "all you can eat but pay for what you don't" meaning that if you have too much leftover, you're paying for it. mind what time you go, too, since 5-9p is the most expensive rounding out to 499B (and they add on a 17% service and tax charge). the cheapest time is from 2:30-4:30p at 399B.

oishi buffet. thonglor soi 10. (other outlets at phaholyothin soi 19 and siam discovery 2nd floor)
hours 11a-10p. 499B (+17% service/tax) per person. 02-714-8760

webby: http://www.oishigroup.com/brand_oishi_brand_eng.html

books a la cosmopolitan

skoob bookstore

tucked on the second floor of 'penny's balcony' stripmall on thonglor, skoob packs its small space with an impressive amount of new and used english & japanese books. unfortunately, i can't comment on the japanese literature available, but the english selection has a fair number of fiction and non-fiction, popular and slightly more obscure titles. though, if you're looking for something specific, it may be more difficult to find. and as a plus, all the used books i looked at were in good-as-new condition.
there's a jazz-flavored cd corner. it literally is a corner, but i was actually surprised with what albums they had - a mix of world, folk, indie, experimental. and they've got some funky, thai-cut tote bags for sale that are a livelihood project for rural areas.

and for all you caffeine-addicts, stay all day if you like: lavazza coffee & cookies available. seating sparse, though.
skoob. thonglor soi 16 (2nd fl. of "penny's balcony")

webby: www.skoob-bkk.com (it's a great ordering site for such a small shop)

book smart books mart bookmark

bookmark

a trendy 2-story independent bookstore in thonglor (in "the 3rd place"). one of the most interesting features is the "tribute" to the owner painted on the 2nd floor. i think i'm much more used to bookstores with anonymous, nerdy, wallflower-type owners.
the 1st floor is mainly thai books the owner has chosen, covering a wide range of interests. the 2nd floor stocks books and mags that are more geared to the creative/design reader (art, architecture, design, fashion, etc.); very pretty and engrossing.

it's got good ambience: it's quiet, it's well-lit, there's several choices for seating, and nice views out onto the patio garden. plus, the location in "the 3rd place" is super convenient with coffee shops, internet, cozy seating. i can be there all day in this literary oasis. bookmark. thonglor soi 10 (on the 1st floor of "the third place" complex). hours 10am-9pm.

i did it myself at greyhound cafe

thai culture seems an antithesis to the DIY (do-it-yourself) culture of the west. why do something when there's always somebody to do the job for you?
greyhound cafe epitomizes the DIY trend and manhattan cool (well, as much as a restaurant in bangkok can be) - which makes great ambience, but not always the most convenient experience. the furniture we were seated at, for example, was a table that was coffee table height while the chairs were taller and loungy so that our knees came up to table level and you're in half-reclining position. not exactly the most convenient arrangement for eating, but i felt cooler.
both entrees we ordered required assembly: dave's "DIY nachos" and my "complicated noodles" (yes, that's really what they're called). the grilled chicken with the nachos was surprisingly tender and generous for the amount of tortilla chips, which makes it feel more like a meal. making DIY nachos inevitably becomes the construction of each individual nacho, which is nice if you're anal or a "perfect bite" kind of person. my "complicated noodles" did live up to their name and actually required a little bit of brain power. how do you combine square sheets of noodle, ground seasoned pork, cilanto/mint sauce, and lettuce? first attempt at rolling all the ingredients in the noodle turned into an acrobatic juicy mess. second attempt at eating components individually didn't make it fun or as tasty. the final engineering solution was placing the flat noodle on my spoon, then piling the rest of the ingredients on top and then shoveling it all in my mouth. i'm still not sure that was right, but it made it taste good and i wasn't covered in juices. i do highly recommend the dish, though. the flavors mix and complement each other really well and the diversity of textures (crunchy, crispy lettuce, spicy ground pork, soft tender noodle) make a great dish.

ooh, drink highlight was the chinese plum sprite float which sounded too interesting not to order. chinese plum frozen into ice cubes thawing in sprite made a refreshing, robust, tart, unique drink. nicely done. and of course, it had to have a little DIY in it, too. the sprite comes in a separate glass pitcher so you can add it yourself.
left-right: complicated noodles, DIY nachos, chinese plum sprite float

international/fusion cuisine. about 200+B/entree (cheaper for the asian dishes), about 100B/drink
located at thonglor soi 15 "j avenue" (additional locations at emporium, chit lom central, siam center, la villa)
and for you web-savvy: http://www.greyhound.co.th/