|
Fast food, bread and the like :
McDonald's can be found all around town. Other burger fast food restaurants have not fully developed, so you will have to stick with this one. Prices are in our opinion extremely low. Example, one hamburger + one cheeseburger + medium French fries goes for about 100 baht. There are many Pizza outlets around town, the two most available being Pizza Hut and the Pizza Company. Their wares are very similar, and when compared to McDonald's their prizes are much higher.
The Thai diet is based on rice. Bakeries (like in any small village or even street corner in some European countries) are not easily found. As far as we know there are no proper bakeries anywhere to purchase standard 'usual' fresh bread. Most bread you can buy is industrial-made and tastes as such. Furthermore, standard bread bought in supermarkets is usually sweetened, sometimes with honey.
Possibly the best choice [2009] for your daily shopping for bread and rolls, is the Central Food Hall at Central Chitlom. Likely the Food Hall way up at Central World PLaza (Ratchaprasong Intersection), offers a similar variety of rolls, croissants, bagels, bread etc. Bagels have recently been renamed as being 'New York' bagels, and prices have gone up from the 22-26 baht a piece, to no less than 40 baht. A bit over the top for what you get. Bagels are slightly sweetened. Specialty bread items like Foccacia are a bit salty.
Bakery outlets at Tops supermarkets offer a reaonable selection. Although mostly junk Danish (with often mayonnaise on top) is sold, you can find fresh bread products, bagels and rolls.
Some branches of Villa Market (like the original one opposite Emporium Shopping Complex) also have fresh bakery products.
The Gourmet Markets both at Emporium and Siam Paragon sadly have very little to offer. Granted, a lot of 'bread' products are sold outside Gourmet Market at Siam Paragon, but most of it belongs in the junk food category. The best choice is likely Saint Etoile, on the right side of Gourmet Market.
Almost by accident we found a reasonably good bakery in Sukhumvit Soi 19. It is called Grottino, and located in the first small soi to the left when entering soi 19. Basically the soi behind Robinson Department Store. This soi is a bit crowded and less than appealing, but you will find Grottino on the left after just 100 meters. The same also covers a small Swiss restaurant and hotel. Just go into the restaurant, and ask for the breadlist. They have a fair selection of rye bread, multigrain bread, and various rols. Basically they supply pubs and hotels, but will be happy to sell you their wares. It is not what they call a 'warm bakery' in Europe, where the bread is made overnight and fresh in the morning, and the bread invariably comes out of the refrigerator. Anyway, it is quite good. Be sure to buy a bread knive in any supermarket, so you slice it yourself at home. That is the best way to enjoy it.
The best bagels in town are at Au Bon Pain outlets. There is one outlet somewhere in the back of the ground floor of Discovery Center (Siam Square), and one at Bumrungrad hospital. The branch that is most conveniently located is close to the exit of the Silom station of the subway. You will find also a branch at the basement floor level (close to Gourmet Market) at Siam Paragon. Later in the day, any of them may have run out of bagels.
Not that long ago, bagels were priced at 18 baht, but steadily the price has gone up to 40 baht. One very good thing (but not justifying high prices) is that a lot of the cookies and the pastries at Au Bon Pain do not contain trans fatty acids, and thus are healthier than what is available at other bakeries. It does however not follow that all sandwiches at Au Bon Pain are good and healthy. We recently had a 'California chicken' sandwich. We did not pay much attention, and noticed too late that besides the slice of cheese, our sandwich was also layered with a thick coat of greenish butter. Surely we were served about 30 grams of mostly saturated fat right there. We consider the sandwiches overall at Au Bon Pain good value, but just observe what they are going to serve you, and suggest a limit to the amount of butter or mayonaise they put on it.
Coffee at Au Bon Pain is reasonably priced, and though there is only a choice between standard coffee and Americano, what you get tastes better than what you get at Starbucks.
Reasonable, somewhat sweetened bagels can be found at Villa Market (close to Phromphong skytrain station). The can last for up to five days (if your lucky), likely they contain additives to prevent early spoiling.
Delifrance has a few outlets in Bangkok (Silom Road, MBK-Center, Royal Orchid Sheraton). As far as sandwiches are concerned, we think this chain offers good value for money. They offer mostly chewy bread varieties (not like the soggy ones at Subway) . They also serve excellent coffee (short, medium and large).
 |
Inside Delifrance on Silom Road. Offering good coffee (in small cups though) and a selection of sandwiches, breakfast and lunch menus. |
|
Pretzels can be found at Foodland (Sukhumvit soi 5), and if you can find them also at the Tops Market Place.
Danish rolls and baked goods (except at outlets of Au Bon Pain) are usually a disaster. Just looking at the contraptions will make you loose your appetite. Somehow though, they seem to be popular with Thai people. You will find Danish with mayonnaise spread out on top, if that is something you fancy. One of the few times we got a stomach upset in Bangkok, was after eating some pastry with custard inside, so beware a little bit. We understand heart disease is on the rise in Thailand. Some bakery shop owners are accumulating bad karma by providing less than wholesome products.
Subway has opened a few outlets in Bangkok. There is one at Siam Paragon, one at the entrance of Sukhumvit road Soi 23, one at the lower end of Sukhumvit Road.. Now, Subway seems to position itself as providing healthy food, but while we enjoy their sandwiches once in a while, we also understand that they are partly to blame for overall obesity in the U.S.A. This in view of the size of their servings. Cheese seems to be added to any bread you order, adding another 150-200 unnecessary calories. Maybe our American friends do not know better, but in our opinion the four different breads to choose from all basically taste the same, and have the same texture. The bread is obviously designed for eating without chewing first, and that way is perfectly suitable for edentates. Possibly at least one choice of bread should be just a little bit chewy. Some new menu items have been developed that contain less than 6 grams of fat. There are daily promotions of different types of sandwiches.
Actually good fresh bread can be found at certain Indian and Arab restaurants. If you are not islamophobic we can recommend one restaurant where you can buy freshly baked flat Arab bread made in front of your eyes. It is located in soi 3/1 (a small soi in between soi 3, which is the wide road at Nana intersection, and soi 5 Sukhumvit Road, where Foodland is located). Just walk into the soi, and after about 50 meters on the left you will find Petra Restaurant. It looks like a back entrance to the restaurant, but as far as we know, it is the front entrance. Order a few flat breads, it will be done in a few minutes. Then get one or two portions of hummus, and you will have a very decent healthy meal (maybe you can ask not to put olive oil on top, and use your own oil at home, just to avoid spilling the oil while going home).
|
: Contains Video. 