Friendly Service Crew & Delectable Dessert at Maison Ikkoku

A winning formula for a cafe is great coffee + friendly customer service + awesome food & dessert. Maison Ikkoku located near the Sultan mosque nailed all three and I especially love the small alfresco area with enough fans to beat the humid weather!

A day at Thong Lo, Bangkok

Sawadeekaaaa! I'm back with 2 food places to share in the Land of Smiles and I felt this compelling need to blog about these 2 makan places because I love the ambience, they gave my tastebuds a jolly good time with all the awesome flavours and they are not at the heart of the shopping action, which is great for a wind down and catchup with the social media.

If you have a jam-packed schedule of shopping and more shopping in Bangkok, the one place you have to check out is Greyhound Cafe. It's a fusion of Thai and Western cuisine that blended really well and tastefully together without creating any pot hole in your wallet.

I gotta be honest that I expected these anorexic-looking spicy chicken wings (110 baht) to disappoint my tastebuds because they looked so dry! But BOY, was I in for a spicy and juicy kick! The chicken was succulent and juicy and I guess the petite wings were much easier to be enjoyed than regular sized ones. A must-order from the starters/appetizers menu definitely!

This tangled mess of spicy and flavourful and oh-so-tasty spaghetti (220 baht) with basil leaves and juicy chicken and mushrooms left a burning sensation on my tastebuds! I highly suspected that the spice originated from the stem of green balls and decided to not touch it at all. I reluctantly exchanged my Thai-style spaghetti for pesto pasta with my partner halfway through my plate because my tastebuds couldn't handle the spice anymore! You have been warned.

The pesto pasta (220 baht) was a delight, not too oily and superbly tasty without the MSG-overload aftermath. I especially love the fresh seafood of crunchy shrimps and nicely cooked scallops. It was definitely a great mix to the Thai spaghetti that we ordered. 

Another must-order is this Thai ice tea blended drink (100 baht). It's a sweet though thankfully not overly sweet and refreshing treat after a tasty meal. Addresses to find this awesome cafe is right at the end of this post.

After Greyhound Cafe, we walked a bit further up towards a small building called Seen Space at Soi 13 for desserts at Mr Jones' Orphanage! Feast your eyes people!

Can't help but to be reminded of the #hashtag video with Justin Timberlake when I saw these cupcakes. #omnomnomnom

I couldn't help but to gush and squeal inwardly at every photo I took, just look at these gorgeous-looking cakes and pastries and tarts and cupcakes and OMG the M&M cake looked so yummy!

I thought that the Chocky Mud Pie with vanilla ice cream (135 baht) was quite addictive though the gooey mixture of melted chocolate with fudge cake was a little too thick and heavy, it goes perfectly well with the ice cream. 

The Strawberry Sponge Cake (120 baht) on the other hand, was a little too dry and not spongy enough for me. In the end we dipped the sponge cake into the chocolate mud pie to finish it off! Strawberries + chocolate = WIN.

We were pretty amused by the name of this dessert - Custard Cow's Poo (120 baht) and decided to give it a try anyways! It turned out to be the highlight of this high tea session! I love the chewy texture, which kinda reminded me of nyonya kueh kueh and though it was a little bit too sweet, it was pretty perfect with the tangy strawberries and black coffee. 

Although I should have tried more types of cakes to give a more accurate conclusion of the desserts here, I do not think that the dessert are as yummy as they are presented. However, I will definitely recommend you guys to spend a lazy afternoon here because I felt like I stepped into some whimsical wonderland here and there's this magical feel to this whole place, which I have not find in Singapore yet. Moreover, the sofa chairs are really comfortable and the coffee was surprisingly good!

Do let me know if you have tried other kinds of dessert which left you with a better impression as I would love to try it the next time I'm in Bangkok!

Next up! Affordable and fresh seafood in Bangkok - stay tuned for that!

Greyhound Cafe
J Avenue @ Thong Lo Soi 15
(Nearest BTS Station: Thong Lo)

Emporium, 2F @ Khlong Toei
(BTS Station: Phrom Phong)

Siam Center, Ground Floor
(BTS Station: Siam)

Opening Hours:
11.00am - 9.00pm daily

Mr Jones' Orphanage
Siam Center, 2F
(BTS Station: Siam)

Opening Hours:
11.00am - 9.00pm daily

Seen Space @ Thong Lo Soi 13
(Nearest BTS Station: Thong Lo)

Opening Hours:
11.00am - 10.00pm daily

Suprette @ Jalan Besar

Jalan Besar is fast becoming another Tiong Bahru estate with hippie coffee joints opening up at every other corner. I chanced upon Suprette from Burpple (my food bible) and I was so damn excited to try the lamb shakshuka during their breakfast hours. From the pictures that other Burpplers took, it looked like the baked eggs we had back in Melbourne! And as some of you may know, I'm a total fan of Aussie and ever since we came back from our road trip, we've been trying to find coffee and food here that will make us a lil less 'Aussie-sick'.

Suprette is located at the lobby area of Kam Leng Hotel and I was really intrigued by this retro yet hippie looking hotel! So here's some quick interesting facts on Kam Leng Hotel:

1) It was first set up in 1927 by a mysterious owner and was abandoned in the last 20 years.

2) Reopened as a retro 70-room boutique hotel in 2012. 

3) The flavour of the old Singapore (think of cracks and peeling paint) was retained with the addition of a playful twist to the interiors and branding. 

As I walked into the hotel lobby, I did feel like I was thrown back into the black-and-white TV era. The wooden TV console and the props used to spruce up the area were simple yet homely and I giggled a bit at the retro "leilio" that stood at a corner of the table. 

Ok so back to the food and drinks at Suprette!

"OMG, this taste like Melbourne," we said in unison after the first sip of the coffee. It was that smooth, that light on the tastebuds and that heart-warming. Good job Suprette, your coffee captured our gut and heart already.

To be really honest, I didn't have much expectation of the shakshuka initially so as not to be disappointed if it doesn't bring me back to the days in Melbourne where we sat alfresco-style at the litter cafe along Hardware Street with the hot baked eggs and chai latte to warm our tummies. Suprette's lamb shakshuka, fortunately, was simply wonderful. Crusty baguette dipped into the mixture of feta cheese, spicy tomato sauce, baked eggs and tasty lamb sausages and into the mouth - comfort food for soul and the tummy.

Another food item that we ordered was the Breakfast Set where you get to customise your style of eggs - fried/poached/scrambled with 2 sides. The scrambled eggs brought out the essence of the whole dining place, very honest, down-to-earth and tasty without being over-the-top. I liked that they didn't try too hard to make it too runny or milky and it was a delight from the start to the end. The portobello mushrooms were juicy and very well seasoned though there's nothing much to shout about the chicken chipolatas. It's the kind of meal that leaves you with a satisfied smile because you know you had a darn good meal and you wanna keep it all within yourself for a while. :)

I highly recommend everyone to have brunch on a lazy weekend here at Suprette. The service is prompt and the food is tasty yet humble, just like the whole style of the hotel it is housed in.

Suprette
383 Jalan Besar
(Kam Leng Hotel lobby)
Suprette Website
Suprette FB page
Tel: +65 6298 8962

Artichoke Cafe - Not your usual brunch cafe

Really respect their attitude and passion to whip up awesome food for customers without conforming to the norm. Way to go, Artichoke. :)

Coffee was smooth, fragrant and we even takeaway 2 cuppas after our meal.

"dirty fries" with various condiments (pickles, tomatoes, mayo and salsa) is a must to start your stomach.

(in order of appearance)
Soft scrambled eggs with local organic mushrooms + grilled haloumi cheese + za'atar bread/
Bacon & Sweet potato hash - Sunny side-up + Fresh rocket + Turkish toast + bourbon butter/
Mezze Platter - A lil of everything on that day's menu/
Overdoughs' Snickers Tart + Roasted Banana muffin -

Thanks to Doris for the recommendation! Else we will not have walked into this cafe that we passed by so many times before! I love the laid-back atmosphere and the friendly servers who gave really awesome recommendations.

Artichoke Cafe & Bar
161 middle road, Sculpture Square
Tel: 6336 6949

Operating hours: 
Tues to Fri- dinner hours 
Sat- brunch & dinner (close at 4pm and open at 6pm again)
Sun- brunch

Artichoke Cafe & Bar Website

Artichoke Cafe & Bar FB