Patisserie Rosie @ Thong Lo, Bangkok - พาทิซเซอรี โรซี่ @ ทองหล่อ กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Cafe / Patisserie

Map: Patisserie Rosie @ Thonglor, Bangkok - พาทิซเซอรี โรซี่ @ ทองหล่อ กรุงเทพฯ

Charged Price: THB270 per person without alcohol

Visited: 14 February 2016

Food: 5/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Value for money: 3/10

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

Having heard about this goody-goody little patisserie for quite sometime but only had this chance to pay a visit. Patisserie Rosie is located in Soi Thong Lo 10, which connects Thong Lo to Ekkamai, but it gears more towards Ekkamai side (roughly opposite Arena 10). The little cafe is indeed little. It is just a small commercial building and can perhaps accommodate approx. 10 small tables max. Location wise, it might not be so convenient. Rather far from BTS Thong Lo Station and no parking lots available. If you do drive here, find somewhere to park along the road, else park at Arena 10.

What like about this place is its lovely decor. Many places love to keep their shops minimally in style. It is totally not my kind of thing. Maximalist decor is more of my liking. This place might not be that so maximalist but it at least gives that kind of feeling right from its entrance. Walking into the shop, after finding yourself a seat, you may take a look at sweet counter to choose your preference. Variety of sweet and pastry are presented there at the counter.

Patisserie Rosie at Thong Lo, Bangkok

Western decor little place

counter of sweet

choices of pastry

The range of pastry here are somewhat mixed. Some are those classic French pastry but some are kind of contemporary. For example Cherry Ripe (5/10) is in my humble opinion from the contemporary range. It comes in cherry shape. The fillings inside are cherry mousse at the first layer followed by layers of cherry compote, dark chocolate ganache, and sponge in the middle. This whole thing is then set on almond streusel. Lovely piece of dessert surely. But for the eyes only to me. The overall picture of this Cherry Ripe was ways too sweet for my palate. Things were missing here and there. Texture of ganache did not seem to go along well with others as well.

For the classic range, after glancing my eyes through the counter, I had spotted Apple Strudel with Vanilla Ice-cream (6/10) which has always been one of my favourite so why not at all. The apple strudel itself was rather delicious. Smooth and lovely filling with rather nice wrapped pastry. I wouldn't mind having the strudel alone or with some pastry cream. However, the vanilla ice-cream, though it could be a perfect natural match, was not on par with strudel. It was icy and ice bits started to form. Perhaps it was not well made or kept at wrong temperature.

In overall, I am not that impressed with Pastisserie Rosie as rumour has. Nice decor and beautiful pastry in shapes but palate matter should be the first priority when talking about food in my view. Again, some may argue that there are other nice choices, especially having heard that chocolate range which the owner is specialised in. Well, let's see next time when we give this little place a visit about its chocolate thing.

Cherry Ripe (THB200)

Square cut of Cherry Ripe

Apple Strudel with Vanilla Ice-cream (THB280)

Patisserie Rosie @ Thonglor, Bangkok - พาทิซเซอรี โรซี่ @ ทองหล่อ กรุงเทพฯ

113/2 Soi Thong Lo 10
Sukhumvit 55 Road
Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana
Bangkok 10110
Thailand

Open Hours: Tue - Sun from 12:00pm - 09:30pm

Tel: +66 (0) 92 542 9900
FB: https://www.facebook.com/rosiepatisserie/

Mixo Bar @ Hotel Sofitel So Bangkok, North Sathon Road - มิกโซ บาร์ @ โรงแรมโซฟิเทล โซ แบงค์คอก ถนนสาทรเหนือ

Cuisine: Bar

Map: Mixo Bar @ Hotel Sofitel So Bangkok, North Sathon Road - มิกโซ บาร์ @ โรงแรมโซฟิเทล โซ แบงค์คอก ถนนสาทรเหนือ

Charged Price: THB580 per person without alcohol

Visited: 15 April 2015

Food: 3/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Value for money: 5/10

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

Let's make it brief for this review of afternoon tea at Mixo Bar at Hotel Sofitel So Bangkok. First of all, the location is super convenient. Of course, it is right at the junction where Sathon Road and Rama IV Road intersect. There is a MRT station (Lumphini) right at the junction. Mixo Bar is on floor 9 of Sofitel So. It offers a stunning view of Lumphini Park. If you are going to visit Mixo Bar, especially of low tea, make sure you ask for window seats. As for the ambient, it is more like a modern kind of theme. However, it is spacious with high ceiling which makes the place comfortable. I would say that it is a rather decent place to meet up with clients for afternoon business discussion or even chitchatting among friends.

Mixo Bar @ Hotel Sofitel So Bangkok

the view overlooking Lumphini Park

(petite) afternoon tea set at Mixo Bar

As of early 2015, the price of an afternoon tea set (3/10) for 1 person is THB495++. Not so bad for the pricing. Nevertheless, the overall impression was not so great for me. What you would get in the set comprises of tiny pieces of sandwiches, pastries, and free flow choices of tea, coffee, or soft beverage. On the day of my visit, sandwiches were ham sandwich, tuna sandwich, cucumber sandwich, prosciutto and vegetable sandwich, and smoked salmon bagel. These sandwiches were dry. I suspect that they had been prepared in advance and left exposing to air. It would be great if these sandwiches are prepared just when ordered.

As for tea and coffee, tea range seemed to be a better choice. I ordered cafe latte to try and it was a standard machine brewed one: forget the barista. Tea quality was ok but not great, with approx. 20 choices to be chosen from but mostly those aromatic and non-milk based tea. There are only a few milk based black tea.

Ham Sandwich (top) and Tuna Sandwich (bottom)

Cucumber Sandwich (bottom ones)

Prosciutto and Vegetable Sandwich

Smoked Salmon Bagel

just swirling sugar in tea (^w^)

For the pastry range, there were fruit scones which were not quite scones for me, raspberry macaron was a fine one, green tea madeleine was not really my choice of madeleine at all, chocolate eclair had too thick pastry, chocolate tartelette also came with thick part of tart, and opera cake was kind of thick and dry texture. Disappointment really for pastry range. I would think that high end hotel like Sofitel So should be able to an afternoon tea a more worthwhile for their guests. Indeed, there is nothing to argue about the atmosphere and the view. Only if delicacy of food would compliment the experience better. Wish to see improvement of Mixo Bar.

Fruit Scones

jams by Bonne Maman

Raspberry Macaron

Green Tea Madeleine and Chocolate Eclair

Chocolate Tartelette and Opera Cake

Mixo Bar @ Hotel Sofitel So Bangkok, North Sathon Road - มิกโซ บาร์ @ โรงแรมโซฟิเทล โซ แบงค์คอก ถนนสาทรเหนือ

2 North Sathon Road
Bang Rak
Bangkok 10500

Thailand

Open Hours: daily from 08:00am - 01:00am (02:30pm - 05:30pm for afternoon tea)

Tel: +66 (0) 2624 0000
Web: http://www.sofitel-so-bangkok.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SofitelSoBangkok

Paris Mikki @ Metha Wattana Building, Sukhumvit 19, Bangkok - ปารีส มิกกิ @ อาคารเมธาวัฒนา ซอยสุขุมวิท 19 กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Pastry / French Dessert / Cafe

Map: Paris Mikki @ Metha Wattana Building, Sukhumvit 19, Bangkok - ปารีส มิกกิ @ อาคารเมธาวัฒนา ซอยสุขุมวิท 19 กรุงเทพฯ

Price: THB350 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)

Visited: 22 February 2015

Food: 7/10

Atmosphere: 5/10

Value for money: 4/10

Services: 4/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Do you like French pastry? If so and if you live in Bangkok, you are sure aware that it is so flicking difficult to find one good patisserie here. Here is one for you. Paris Mikki is located right on the ground floor of Metha Wattana Building in Soi Sukhumvit 19, which is around Asoke area, and was launched just in December 2014. Simply, travelling here is not a problem at all. All sorts of transportation that you could find Bangkok are just nearby: i.e. BTS, MRT, and bus (if you wish to use the service). There are also parking space at Metha Wattana Building.

Paris Mikki bakes authentic French pastry daily: viennoiserie, tart, choux, eclair, and etc. I promise many of them are delicious but they do come at some price tag. I would even suggest calling in to reserve your favourite choice in order to avoid disappointment. In term of venue, it is a tiny place for eating in. I really mean tiny. There are only a few small tables indoor and a few more outdoor. Forget the outdoor thing in Bangkok if it is not December and January. It would be really hot most of the time and rain in monsoon. The ambient in the shop, however, is rather relax and decorated beautifully.

Paris Mikki @ Sukhumvit 19, Bangkok

Little charming place

Elegant layout of pastry

As mentioned earlier, the gorgeous sweet stuff here is rather dearly priced. Nevertheless, it is at least good to say that it is inclusive of VAT and service charge which is rare for the modern day dining in Thailand. Many restaurants' owners seem to take advantage out of customers regardless how terrible their service is. Anyway, as for the service here at Paris Mikki, it might not be the so fantastic, I would say there seemed to be some care for customers.

Well, we did order a few choices to try here. The first one was Caramel Luxembourg (8/10). Ok, I gotta say I do like this caramel choux quite a lot. The choux dough was nicely made with thin crust. The filling comprised of vanilla based cream and caramel cream or should I say dulce de leche as the French say (O.o)". I found the texture was nice and dense whilst sweetness was there but not overwhelming. With a nice pot of non-cream based tea, it would be really enjoyable. Just a minor detail that annoyed me a little which is the small golden nameplate with store name. It is made of paper and it would be greatly appreciated if it would be made of something edible, such as chocolate, instead. But minor detail really.

Caramel Luxembourg (THB135)

Fabulous filling of cream and caramel

I want all these four caramel choux

The next one was Tart aux Fraise (4/10) or simply strawberry tart. Most of the time, I do enjoy tart based dessert considerable: chocolate tart, lemon tart, strawberry tart, and etc. For this strawberry tart, it did not quite match my expectation. The tart base was thick which gave a little harsh texture mouth feel. The pastry cream in the middle was too mild in terms of both palate texture and taste. Lastly, strawberry was fresh but not entirely qualitatively sweet. I wouldn't re-order this tart definitely. For THB205, I do expect to see something much better than this.

Tart aux Fraise (THB205)

Tart aux Fraise does look lovely on the shelf

As a lover of viennoiserie, I could not resist not to order one to taste. I went for Pain au Chocolat (7/10). This croissant based chocolate puff was delicious. The best part was texture: nice layers of puff with soft palate touch whilst maintaining crispiness. The con was chocolate filling: more please I would say. As you can see from the picture below, the chocolate filling was too little for the size of the pain au chocolat. I would suspect the classic croissant to be as good. If you like viennoiserie, here is one good thing for you.

Pain au Chocolat (THB95)

Gorgeous layers of Pain au Chocolate but too little chocolate

I promise Viennoiseries are great here

Lastly, I did also order a cup of Cafe Latte (3/10) and I found that it was not really cafe latte in my opinion. With that much milk foam on top, I would categorise this as cappuccino instead. At the time, I did not hesitate to let one of the staff aware straight away. The response was a bit lack of customer handling experience. Instead of offering a new cup of what it had been expected or something else for substitution, I was informed that it was machine brewed, not made by a barista, so this was how it's served. Well, that was not good enough in my opinion. However, the staff at least did promise to take note and will try to make adjustment. I will see how it goes during my following visit. For this time, THB120 for a not-really cafe latte and average quality after taste of coffee note, it was a rip off in my opinion.

In overall, this is a nice little place with delicious range of French pastry. Though not really so much of value for money, it is still difficult to find this kind of quality of pastry in Bangkok. I wouldn't mind paying for it as long as the standard is kept as-is and I dine in; this pricing is too ridiculous for take away in my perspective.

Cafe Latte (THB120)

Beverage Menu

Paris Mikki @ Metha Wattana Building, Sukhumvit 19, Bangkok - ปารีส มิกกิ @ อาคารเมธาวัฒนา ซอยสุขุมวิท 19 กรุงเทพฯ
Floor G, Metha Wattana Building
27 Soi Sukhumvit 19
Sukhumvit Road
Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana
Bangkok 10110

Thailand

Open Hours: Tuesday - Sunday from 11:00am - 08:00pm

Tel: +66 (0) 88 870 0020
Web: http://www.parismikki.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ParisMikki

Erawan Tea Room @ Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok - เอราวัณทีรูม @ แกรนด์ ไฮแอท เอราวัณ กรุงเทพ

Cuisine: Thai

Map: Erawan Tea Room @ Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok - เอราวัณทีรูม @ แกรนด์ ไฮแอท เอราวัณ กรุงเทพ

Price: THB400 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)

Visited: 3 May 2014

Food: 5/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Value for money: 5/10

Services: 3/10
Scale: [ 1=poor ----- 5=average/standard ----- 10=outstanding/exceptional ]

It was one fine but extremely hot Saturday that we decided to give Erawan Tea Room at Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok a go. The Erawan Tea Room is located on the 2nd floor of Erawan Bangkok Mall which is the shopping part of Grand Hyatt Erawan. The place is pretty big with large windows through out the area. The inner decoration is somewhat Thai style but with fusion regime of contemporary. For me, though it at least gives comfortable and relax sense, there are still some weird feeling of unbalance mix and match. The part that we do not so in love is the fact that some tables can be so close to each other. When we say so close, we really mean it: just turning back and you can be face-to-face with the next table. Erawan Tea Room surely fails the privacy category.

To travel here is rather convenient as Erawan is just a few minutes walk from BTS Chidlom station, else driving is perfectly fine too with spacious car park. The part that we would particularly like to complaint is the service. Staffs were pretty much ignorant and unfriendly. The first impression was the bad one. We were here for afternoon tea. However, Erawan Tea Room starts serving afternoon tea from 02:30pm, we happened to arrive 15 minutes earlier. The welcoming staff did not look so happily to welcome us at all. All she mentioned was afternoon tea wouldn't be served until 02:30pm and we may return 15 minutes later. I supposed that a good service should be like offering us to take a seat and wait or order some soft drink while waiting. Anyway, let not mention the other not so impressive experience. Perhaps we were wrong to be local and Erawan Tea Room happens to be famous amongst tourists.

Erawan Tea Room @ Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok

shop front

During lunch and dinner, Erawan Tea Room serves ranges of Thai food. However, the famous part of Erawan Tea Room is obviously the afternoon tea. Afternoon tea (THB390 per person) here is different from other places in the way that range of savoury bites and desserts is not the Western style but Thai style with mix and match of some Western dishes. For beverage choice, you can choose any of tea or coffee range from the menu. For us, we went for Thai Milk Tea and Lemon Iced Tea this time. The Summer heat in Bangkok this year is pretty bad and we could not really insist for hot tea. Both Thai milk tea and lemon iced tea were still short of tea concentration. They were too light indeed. For food, they were on average, meaning enjoyable but not a must try thing. What surprise us was the scone. It happened to be better than expected. Scones in many places in Thailand are really not so nice from our point of view. The one at Erawan Tea Room was not bad at all. They were soft but chewy and tasteful. If they do serve clotted cream instead of whipped cream that would be much better.

The tea set came in 2 parts: Savoury Bites and Desserts. Here are the savoury bites part of the day we visited.

Larb Goong Sod - ลาบกุ้งสด (spicy minced prawn salad with chilli and mint leaves in cucumber cup)
Tod Mun Pla Krai - ทอดมันปลากราย (deep-fried fish fritter with cucumber and peanut sauce)
Chor Muang Sai Poo - ช่อม่วงไส้ปู (steamed flower-shaped dumpling filled with crab meat)
Mieng Kratong Thong - เมี่ยงกระทงทอง (roasted coconut, lime, chilli and ginger with betel leaves in crisp basket)
Mar Hor - ม้าฮ่อ (minced pork and peanuts on fresh pineapple)

Thai Milk Tea and Lemon Iced Tea

afternoon tea set

savouries

The range of dessert is as below. They came with the mix of Thai and Western choices. For macaron, the texture was good but the filling was strange, especiall the pandan and lemongrass. The part that we did not like was the seasonal fruit skewer. It was just fruit really and too plain in fact.

Kanom Krok - ขนมครก (crispy rice pudding with taro, corn, pumpkin or spring onion)
Kanom Bueng - ขนมเบื้อง (crispy bean crepe with sweet or salted filling)
Thong Muan - ทองม้วน (crispy sesame roll)
Chocolate Macaron - ช็อกโกแลตมากาฮอง
Pandan and Lemongrass Macaron - ใบเตยและตะไคร้มากาฮอง
Mini Organic Passion Fruit Tart - ทาร์ตเสาวรสออร์แกนิค
Khao Niew Mamuang - ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง (mango with sticky rice)
Polamai Ruam - ผลไม้รวม (seasonal fresh fruit skewer)
Look Chub - ลูกชุบ (sweet bean paste fruit shapes)
Scones with Whipped Cream and Chiang Mai Strawberry Jam - สโคนและแยมสตรอเบอรี่

Anyway, the overall taste and atmosphere was ok. Only the service that was not so great from our view. We wish they can improve on this as well as the attitude of staffs. What we feel was that the afternoon tea is not really the one must try thing, however, the range of Thai food looks not bad at all. We may perhaps find another occasion to try their Thai dishes. But no more for afternoon tea here.

By the way, do book in advance if you would visit Erawan Tea Room for afternoon tea during weekend. It can be really packed.

dessert 1

dessert 2

scones with whipped cream and strawberry jam

Erawan Tea Room @ Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok - เอราวัณทีรูม @ แกรนด์ ไฮแอท เอราวัณ กรุงเทพ
494 Ratchadamri Road
Pathumwan
Bangkok 10330

Thailand

Open Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm daily

Tel: +66 (0) 2254 1234
Web: http://bangkok.grand.hyatt.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/GrandHyattErawanBangkok

Macaron by Dhara Dhevi Patisserie @ Central Chidlom Food Hall, Bangkok

Cuisine: French Pastry

Map: Macaron by Dhara Dhevi Patisserie @ Central Chidlom Food Hall, Bangkok

Price: THB30-55 per piece

Visited: 9 December 2013

Macaron: 7/10

This week we would not be reviewing a restaurant but a cake shop instead. If you are familiar with Chiang Mai and have sweet tooth, you would probably have heard about macaron at Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai. Now you do not have to go all the way to Chiang Mai to taste the popular French snack, there is now a shop located within the food hall of Central Chidlom (next to boulangerie of food hall).

It was my first time with macaron of Dhara Dhevi so I selected only 6 flavours to taste: vanilla, jasmine, Thai tea, yuzu, cinnamon, and white truffle. The texture was rather good: soft and not cracking hard. The filling cream was as well smooth and not too sweet. I would prefer it, however, to have stronger scent and aroma. At the price range of THB30-55, it is not cheap and at the similar range as well as quality to that of Mandarin Oriental shop but at least enjoyable. It may not be comparable to the world famous macaron such as Laduree or Pierre Herme, at least it is one of the top you can find in Thailand. By the way, the white truffle flavour was somewhat weird for me. I was eating sweet/dessert and the truffle scent was beyond expectation really. Well, other people may like this flavour though.

Macaron by Dhara Dhevi Patisserie @ Central Chidlom Food Hall, Bangkok

Floor G, Food Hall of Central Chidlom
Phloenchit Road
Pathumwan
Bangkok 10330
Thailand

Open Hours: daily 10:00am - 10:00pm

Tel: +66 (0) 85 048 5251, +66 (0) 84 611 3878
Web: http://www.dharadhevi.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/DharaDheviCakeShop