A year in Europe followed by a move to Bangkok

Bangkok: Honey Toast, Goats and Mango Sticky Rice - A Walk Down Thonglor


Thonglor is one of the nicest parts of Bangkok and a lot of fun to explore.  This area seems to attract some of Bangkok's best and most creative restaurants and cafes, leading to lots of great places to try out.  Located right off of the skytrain, Thonglor is easy to reach.  Hint: Thonglor Road is also called Sukhumvit Soi 55...


Jake and I wanted to explore the area, so we set out on a walking and eating adventure.

Our first stop was Mae Varee, home of the internet declared best mango sticky rice in Bangkok.  It is a fruit stand with a small shop inside.  The shop's website says they have been around for 20 years.




A favorite dessert in Thailand, the dish consists of a variety of rice called sticky (glutinous) rice,  fresh mangoes and coconut cream. We bought a tray to share and kept walking in search of a place to sit and eat.


We came across "Root Garden" which looked so unique that we had to stop.  It is a coffee shop / vegetable garden with a side of goats and chickens.  Run by an NGO called Thailand Land Reform, Root Garden is meant to highlight sustainable land use by showcasing what a once idle piece of land can be turned into.  




The hens actually did look pretty happy.


The coffee and iced tea were tasty and reasonably priced and we finally got to try out our mango and sticky rice.  It was delicious!  The mango was so ripe and juicy and the bag of coconut cream added the perfect amount of richness.  Those people at Mae Varee really know what they are doing.



After visiting the goats and hens, we headed out in search of more food...

We passed the below street food stand.  The vendor had stepped away and I got the chance to take a good look at how everything was set up which is rare as there is usually a lot going on at these stands.



I especially liked the kitchen utensils and wok hanging in a nearby tree.


This I can't explain but it seemed to have something to do with this street food stand.


Speaking of trees, we also saw this during our walk: some Thai people believe that spirits can live in trees, so offerings of food are sometimes left to keep the spirits happy.


While walking down Thonglor, we also saw a darling little dog wandering the street.  She looked like a poodle and couldn't have weighed more than ten pounds.  She was walking down the street by herself without an owner in sight.  Jake and I were worried she would be hit by a car or hurt by a stray dog.  We noticed she had a collar on, so it appeared that she was someone's lost dog.  Jake decided to approach the dog to see if she was friendly, and if so, wanted to check the collar for information on how to get the dog back to its owner.  

The dog ended up being extremely friendly, wagging her tail at Jake and basically jumping into his arms.  The dog was loving the attention, and so I decided to take a few photos.  We noticed a man watching us from afar and went to ask if he knew whose dog this was.  Turned out it was his dog.  He had seen the whole thing - us following the dog down the street, our intense discussion on what to do and the resulting photoshoot.  He probably thought we were completely insane! 


The dog's name was Lily and apparently she roams the street around her owner's food stand.  The streets of Bangkok are not a good place for a little dog to be wandering around, but the owner told us Lily was 7 years old, so if she managed to live that long, she must know what she is doing!

Happy that Lily had a good home, we kept walking until we reached Thonglor soi 13, home of After You Dessert Cafe.  


I have heard the line is often out the door, but luckily it wasn't too crowded.  After You is known for their Shibuya Honey Toast.  It was amazing!  One of my favorite desserts I have ever eaten.  We returned a few days later for seconds...  I think After You (and its honey toast) deserves its own blog post, so I intend to write one soon. 



On our way back to the skytrain, we saw our old friend Lily again.  She indulged us for a minute or so but apparently had had her fill of us for the day and trotted off to find her owner.


All in all, a very interesting and delicious day in Thonglor.

6 comments:

  1. These are such great pictures! And that honey toast looks sooo good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks - it is one of my new favorite desserts!

      Delete
  2. Yumm!!! This sounds amazing!!!

    Danielle

    http://www.blushblossom.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Danielle! I hope you are doing well! :)

      Delete
  3. Great adventure and nice pics! ^_^
    The food looks really tasty! :D

    www.camelianita.ro

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Camelia! Yes, the food was great!

      Delete