Define Cafe @ Rama 3 Road, Bangkok - ดีไฟน์ คาเฟ่ @ ถนนพระราม 3 กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Cafe

Map: Define Cafe @ Rama 3 Road, Bangkok - ดีไฟน์ คาเฟ่ @ ถนนพระราม 3  กรุงเทพฯ

Charged Price: THB140 per person without alcohol

Visited: 10 October 2015

Food: 3/10

Atmosphere: 5/10

Value for money: 3/10

Services: 5/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Unarguably, hipster cafes have been spreading out everywhere in major cities. Bangkok is not exception. Especially within city centre, you may probably find cafe literally every corner of streets. Here on Rama 3 Road, within Soi 73 and on floor G of Siamese Nang Linchi, there is another hipster cafe that has not long been opened. It's "Define Cafe". Like many of its peers, the place is kept simply plain and white. Yes, it looks tidy and clean at this juncture. But to me, it is kind of boring really. If you are thinking of visiting this little place, driving is perhaps the only convenient way. You may park at Siamese Nang Linchee and have the parking ticket stamped for 2 hours free parking.

Define Cafe @ Rama 3 Road, Bangkok

located on floor G of Siamese Nang Linchi

bright and white atmosphere

stool corner

The menu is just like other places which comprises of typical coffee based beverage, a bit of frappe, and some alternative choices for non-coffee people. On the pricing wise, it is not expensive but not cheap. There are some hot food being served too. It was almost lunch time when we visited. So, why not at all to try something. The Breakfast Set (4/10) was then ordered. It comprised of toasts, scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, and cheese. Honestly, it is just edible in my light of view. Very plain and basic quality stuff. Everyone can just make this themselves at home within 5 - 10 minutes. Why would I bother having this kind of food if I do not live in Siamese Nang Linchi and do not have time to cook breakfast.

menu board

just things on counter

Breakfast Set (THB120)

For beverage, we had Cafe Latte (3/10) and Hojicha Latte (3/10). I noticed that coffee beans are from Pacamara which guarantees decent quality. However, their brewing skill is unacceptable honestly. My expectation had been high but there was only disappointment. The espresso seemed to be under-extracted. The milk foam was rough. Oh yes, latte art was attempted but it was like broken art really.

For this another hipster cafe, there is no way I will return to this place unless they decide to hire a proper barista. An urgent improvement is highly needed here.

barista!!!

Cafe Latte (THB70)

Hojicha Latte (THB90)

Define Cafe @ Rama 3 Road, Bangkok - ดีไฟน์ คาเฟ่ @ ถนนพระราม 3  กรุงเทพฯ

Floor G, Siamese Nang Linchi
Soi 73 of Rama 3 Road
Yan Nawa
Bangkok 10120

Thailand

Open Hours: daily from 08:00am - 09:00pm for Mon - Fri, 09:00am - 09:00pm for Sat, and 09:00am - 06:00pm for Sun

Tel: +66 (0) 80 083 8833
FB: https://www.facebook.com/definecaferama3

Brunch O'Clock at 22 Kitchen & Bar @ Dusit Thani Bangkok - บรันช์ โอ คล็อก ณ ห้อง 22 คิทเช่น แอนด์ บาร์ @ โรงแรมดุสิตธานี กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: International

Map: Brunch O'Clock at 22 Kitchen & Bar @ Dusit Thani Bangkok - บรันช์ โอ คล็อก ณ ห้อง 22 คิทเช่น แอนด์ บาร์ โรงแรมดุสิตธานี กรุงเทพฯ

Charged Price: THB700 per person

Visited: 16 August 2015

Food: 7/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Value for money: 5/10

Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

The old French fine dining of Dusit Thani Bangkok has now bee converted to 22 Kitchen & Bar, which is in a more laid back style. Over more it also offers brunch kind of food every Sunday now which starts as early as 10:30am and runs until 03:00pm. If you are not familiar with Silom area in Bangkok, I can say that Dusit Thani Bangkok is by itself a noticeable landmark. It is located right at the corner where Silom Road and Rama IV Road intersect. BTS Saladaeng and MRT Silom are right there. Pretty much convenient to drop by. Driving is also ok for this place.

What I (and perhaps many others) like about this place for a long time is probably the nice view of Bangkok it offers. 22 Kitchen and Bar is, of course, on the 22nd floor of Dusit Thani Bangkok. The whole floor itself is the restaurant and there are many window seats. The view, in my opinion, is decent enough. It might not be as wonderful as those on higher floors. But it at least would offer those who seek romantic moment at night.

22 Kitchen & Bar @ Dusit Thani Bangkok

the bar of the restaurant

comfortable seats of 22 Kitchen & Bar

view from 22 Kitchen & Bar

For us, we popped by during brunch on a fine Sunday in August 2015. Instead of the usual bread and butter, 22 Kitchen & Bar chose to use muffins to welcome us. They were Blueberry Muffins and Chocolate Muffins (6/10). Nice and soft. Decent ones.

As it was a rather hot day, iced beverage was a compulsory in this case. We had Wellness Builder and The Activator to cool down. Wellness Builder is a smoothie with a blend of soy milk, blueberries, corn flakes, and banana whilst The Activator comprises of peach puree, orange juice, lime juice, and yoghurt. The Activator offered a more refreshing sense in this case. In addition, a pitcher of Singha Michalada was also served as a complimentary. I gotta say that staffs were pretty friendly and nice. Thanks for Singha Michalada. However, it was not really my kind of cocktail. Spice and heat from tobasco and chilli flakes were overwhelming. It was just too much for my liking.

Blueberry Muffins and Chocolate Muffins

Wellness Builder and The Activator (THB180 each)

Singha Michalada (THB850)

For the meal, we could not really resist not to order burgers though we should really have ordered other things that look more like brunch too. We had Double-Double Cheese Burger (7/10) and BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich (7/10). Double-Double Cheese Burger is simply double cheese burger with double patties of wagyu beef. I was told by a staff that each patty weighs around 120 grams. It was nice and juicy burger. Nice flavour too. The jalapeno sauce did its job in bringing another dimension well. It can be noticed that pickles were served on the side instead of putting in the burger. I think do care about customers who do not like pickles. So they let each one of us decides whether pickles should be put in the burger.

As for BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, this was a nice one. Rich in flavour. The tender pulled pork showed well contrast with the slaw inside. I like it. I used to have a rather disappointed experience with pulled pork burger at The Girl and The Pig but this one did change my attitude towards this kind of burger positively.

Overall, I do like this place personally. Though I have not yet tried other kind of food here, at least I can say that their burgers are decent. Nice bun and fillings too. Pricing is unavoidably high as it is a restaurant in a 5-stars hotel. Good food, nice view, and friendly service are what you pay for here. But lastly my favourite burger joint in Bangkok is still Papa's Kitchen on Phattanakarn Road though.

Double-Double Cheese Burger (THB450)

juicy yummy double patties of 120 gram wagyu

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich (THB340)

Brunch O'Clock at 22 Kitchen & Bar @ Dusit Thani Bangkok - บรันช์ โอ คล็อก ณ ห้อง 22 คิทเช่น แอนด์ บาร์ โรงแรมดุสิตธานี กรุงเทพฯ

Floor 22 Dusit Thani Bangkok
946 Rama IV Road
Sathon
Bangkok 10500

Thailand

Open Hours: daily from 06:00pm - 10:00pm for dinner and 10:30am - 03:00pm for Sunday brunch

Tel: +66 (0) 2200 9000
Web: http://www.dusit.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/22kitchenandbar

Chan & Yupa Tearoom @ Soi Sukhumvit 10, Bangkok - ฉันท์ แอนด์ ยุพา ทีรูม @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 10 กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: International Food

Map: Chan & Yupa Tearoom @ Soi Sukhumvit 10, Bangkok - ฉันท์ แอนด์ ยุพา ทีรูม @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 10 กรุงเทพฯ

Charged Price: THB400 per person without alcohol

Visited: 24 May 2015

Food: 6/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Value for money: 7/10

Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

There may be hundreds of tearoom and restaurant kind of place around. However, there is hardly any place that really touches my heart in Bangkok. Chan & Yupa Tearoom in Soi Sukhumvit 10, on the other hand, has just been recently launched and it makes a lot of sense for me: nice atmosphere and decent food in brief. The venue is a house converted restaurant with lovely decoration in a comfy country style. As for location, it might be exactly convenient with some 5 minutes plus walk from BTS Asoke Station as the closest mass public transport. Driving here is a more convenient choice for me. If in doubt of its location, just find Chuvit Garden on Sukhumvit Road and the restaurant is just a few hundred metres in the alley next to the park. Please bear in mind that this place does not operate during dinner meal: i.e. breakfast and lunch only.

Chan & Yupa Tearoom @ Soi Sukhumvit 10, Bangkok

relaxing garden view

cosy home-like dining room

glasshouse corner perhaps

fancy low tea???

In term of menu, it ranges from Thai dishes to international variety. What really impressed me is the quality to price ratio. I think what customers get here comparing to what you will pay is conclusively reasonable: decent portion, tasty, quality ingredients, and not exaggerated price.

As for us, the savoury range we had was Rocket Salad with Sausage (6/10), Spicy Sausage Spaghetti (6/10), Carbonara Spaghetti (5/10), and Egg Benedict with Salmon (6/10). Rocket salad was enjoyable with a touch of fresh crispiness of radish to go with balsamic vinaigrette. Spicy sausage spaghetti was, in contrast, a pasta dish in a more local style. This kind of pasta is always pleasant as long as level of spiciness has been stated correctly and always always al dente. Carbonara, however, was less impressive. I just expected more of cheesiness and fattiness.....Opppsssss!!!!! Lastly, egg benedict with salmon was a well prepared classic dish. If I could get up very early, popping by this place for breakfast with egg benedict would indeed be fantastic. In addition, Strawberry, Banana, and Yoghurt Smoothie (7/10) was unexpectedly delicious: smooth and rich but not overly sweetened.

Rocket Salad with Sausage (THB155)

Spicy Sausage Spaghetti (THB185)

Carbonara Spaghetti (THB185)

Egg Benedict with Salmon (THB235)

Strawberry, Banana, and Yoghurt Smoothie (THB130)

Dessert range was as well in line with savoury dishes. Cakes are mostly priced at THB110 a piece. We had White Chocolate Cake (5/10) and Chocolate Truffle Cake (6/10). Both were delightful but chocolate truffle cake was more like my style with rich and flavourful character in overall. On the other hand, you may feel like having a sort of structured dessert, Yupa's Style Waffle (6/10) was awesome too. Classic quality waffle to go with slices of banana and maple syrup, what else would you request. For me, the one I like most amongst these desserts was Chocolate Lava with Ice-cream (7/10). Baked to the right point such that molten chocolate inside flow out nicely. Nice chocolate touch and balance. Only if the ice-cream possesses creamier texture, the overall picture of this dish would be tremendous.

These sweets were definitely sweet and rich. Cups of tea would be a perfect compliment and I did not hesitate to order one. Nymph of the Nile Gryphon Tea was the chosen one. It was white tea with aroma of floral. Light on the body and possesses notes of roses. It was such a perfect one to go with rich and creamy sweets. At Chan and Yupa, they operate in a traditional style still. Meaning, you may ask for hot water refill when your pot of tea runs out of water. Of course, as long as your tea is strong enough, refilling with hot water or diluting strong tea in the pot with hot water are standard practices (at least in my sense).

Well, this is a highly recommended tearoom and restaurant. A very good one to relax and chitchatting with friends or a comfy lunch with family. Try out yourself, I suggest.

White Chocolate Cake (THB110)

Chocolate Truffle Cake (THB110)

Yupa's Style Waffle (THB140)

Chocolate Lava with Ice-cream (THB180)

Nymph of the Nile Gryphon Tea (THB125)

Chan & Yupa Tearoom @ Soi Sukhumvit 10, Bangkok - ฉันท์ แอนด์ ยุพา ทีรูม @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 10 กรุงเทพฯ

12 Soi Sukhumvit 10
Sukhumvit Road
Khlong Toei
Bangkok 10110

Thailand

Open Hours: Tue - Sun from 08:00am - 06:00pm

Tel: +66 (0) 2252 6601
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ChanYupa.Tearoom/

Taper Restaurant and Bar @ Thonglor 13, Bangkok - เทเปอร์ เรสตัวรองท์ แอนด์ บาร์ @ ทองหล่อ 13 กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Casual Brunch / Twist & Mix Style

Map: Taper Restaurant and Bar @ Thonglor 13, Bangkok - เทเปอร์ เรสตัวรองท์ แอนด์ บาร์ @ ทองหล่อ 13 กรุงเทพฯ

Price: THB500 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)

Visited: 7 March 2015

Food: 6/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Value for money: 5/10

Services: 5/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

If you have tried creation by Chef Ton at Le Du before, you may want to check out his new place in Thonglor where he partners up with Chef Toon who would mainly be steering the wheel of this place. This new little place is called Taper and it is located in Soi Thonglor 13 and is right next to Little Beast. The concept of of this place is different from Le Du but partly inspired. This joint, Taper, starts serving just before noon and last until late afternoon / early evening only: i.e. brunch and lunch destination. However, they also have those twisted dishes, East meets West, like Le Du. Personally, I find it rather interesting but still needs some further improvement. By the way, don't worry that this place is in Thonglor and it would be tedious to find parking spot, there are parking lots just behind the building.

Taper Restaurant and Bar @ Thonglor 13, Bangkok

bar style seats with open kitchen on the lower floor

more comfy seats on the upper floor

The very first dish we got to taste was called Tofu (7/10). It is basically soft kind of tofu served with soy carrot puree and soy reduction. There is also crispy rice along side to give the cracking 3rd dimension. To me, it was like Tao Huai - เต้าฮวย which is soft tofu in lightly sweetened ginger water. I gotta say I do like this dish and it is somewhat healthy too (I think).

Tofu (THB220)

Next there came along pasta dishes: Salted Egg Carbonara (6/10) and E-Sarn Olio (4/10). Salted Egg Carbonara is perhaps inspired by stir-fried squid with salted egg dish of Thai food and pasta carbonara of Italian. The concept of this dish does meet my expectation with salted egg to substitute saltiness of parmesan and egg yolk. On the other hand, E-Sarn Olio was beautiful on its own. It was rich and possesses strong flavour. Somewhat hot and spicy in fact. For us, the word olio somehow misinterpreted the expectation of the dish. Olio is supposed to be rather dry. But it was not quite the case for this one. We believe either the name should be changed or make it a little less soaky. Both pasta dishes, in our view, were a little too soaky and soft. It would be more delightful if al dente was presented. Quality control needs to be lifted at this juncture.

Salted Egg Carbonara (THB290)

E-Sarn Olio (THB290)

Lastly, we got a chance to have our hands on a dessert, even though we were full by the end of pasta dishes. It was Coconut Pancake (6/10) for the case. Ok, I do like this dish. With that creamy and thick coconut caramel syrup, the dish had already by far won my heart personally. With a touch of coconut and almond crumble along with pancake, I think they did pair each other well enough. This is perhaps the twist from grilled banana with coconut caramel that you may find anywhere in Thailand.

In brief, I do like this place and will return in the near future to see how it gets improved. Well, if you are bored with those so many joints in town that serve those egg dishes, sausages, and typical sandwiches for your weekend brunch, you may as well in par with my perception of Taper. Have a try and bon appetit.

Coconut Pancake (THB235)

Taper Restaurant and Bar @ Thonglor 13, Bangkok - เทเปอร์ เรสตัวรองท์ แอนด์ บาร์ @ ทองหล่อ 13 กรุงเทพฯ
44/11 Soi Thonglor 13 (Soi Akkhara Phat)
Sukhumvit Road
Khlong Tan Nuea, Wattana
Bangkok 10110

Thailand

Open Hours: Tuesday - Sunday from 10:00am - 05:00pm

Tel: +66 (0) 99 929 5464
Web: http://www.taperbkk.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/taperbkk

Sora City @ Sukhumvit 26, Bangkok - โซระ ซิตี้ @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 26 กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Cafe

Map: Sora City @ Sukhumvit 26, Bangkok - โซระ ซิตี้ @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 26 กรุงเทพฯ

Price: THB225 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)

Visited: 25 January 2015

Food: 5/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Value for money: 6/10

Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

There may be coffee shops almost every corner nowadays in Bangkok city centre. Here is no exception. Sora City in Soi Sukhumvit 26 was established not long ago: just at the beginning of 2015. It is just a small cafe with simple but comfortable ambient: those wooden furniture in Japanese minimalist style. In addition, the owner also opens a bike shop at the rear of the cafe. It is a small and unique bike shop in fact.

At the time of our visit, Sora City was just launched. The lady owner and staffs were friendly. Menu is kept simple as in cafe style ranging from simple scrambled egg to omelette rice for savoury, pancake for dessert, and cafe beverage. As mentioned, the place is tucked in Soi Sukhumvit 26 which is more or less convenient for many mean of transport. Nevertheless, driving might cause you a little problem if you are thinking of stopping by this little cafe for a good cup of cafe latte. The thing is there is one park lot at the back of the cafe. More than that you will have to find parking space yourself somewhere along the street. But if you live in the area, walking or biking to Sora City may give you some pleasure during weekend.

Sora City @ Sukhumvit 26

simple but relax

tiny cafe and bike shop

"The Real Alaska" exhibition (happened to be at the time of visit)

name card and reindeer

This is just a cafe, an ordinary cafe really. So there is nothing much for me to review except saying that coffee here is not bad at all. It was carefully brewed though. Savoury dishes were enjoyable too. As we often drive through Soi Sukhumvit 26, Sora City will be another destination for our coffee break. The followings are what we had:

Creamy Omelette with Shrimp on Rice - ข้าวไข่ข้นกุ้ง (6/10)
Bacon, Scrambled Egg, and Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes - เบคอน ไข่กวน และแพนเค้ก (5/10)
Caffe Latte - กาแฟลาเต้ร้อน (7/10)
Signature Bitter Chocolate Frappe - ช๊อคโกแลตปั่น (6/10)

Creamy Omelette with Shrimp on Rice (THB100)

Bacon, Scrambled Egg, and Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes (THB125)

Caffe Latte (THB85)

Signature Bitter Chocolate Frappe (THB140)

Sora City @ Sukhumvit 26, Bangkok - โซระ ซิตี้ @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 26 กรุงเทพฯ
61/52 Soi Sukhumvit 26
Sukhumvit Road
Khlong Tan, Khlong Toey
Bangkok 10110

Thailand

Open Hours: daily from 09:00am - 08:00pm

Tel: +66 (0) 2001 6600
FB: https://www.facebook.com/soracity