CRIZ BON APPETITE

Before I start my post on the Sanrio Hello Kitty House in Bangkok, Thailand, let’s welcome the latest addition to the Hello Kitty family right in Malaysia. I’m sure those who had frequent Sunway Pyramid in Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, would have noticed a huge pink signage on the construction site next to Caffe Benne. Yup! Malaysia will be having its first Hello Kitty Gourmet Café right in the heart of Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall real soon. I’m sure due the limited space within the complex, the layout might not be the same as the rest of the cafes throughout the world. However, I would be sure that it would be pink everywhere with whatever corner filled with your beloved Hello Kitty decors. Don’t you love PINK now? LOL~ 😛

Recently, I paid a visit to the Sanrio Hello Kitty House at Siam Square One in Bangkok, Thailand. It was a unique multi-storey shop unit filled with lots of pink, love and cuteness at every possible corner within the premises. Why is it called Sanrio Hello Kitty House? It actually housed two levels of Hello Kitty Café and a basement level of Hello Kitty Shop and Hello Kitty Spa.

Let’s have a look at the respective floor of the Hello Kitty Cafe. The first floor comprised of the ordering counter where you can have glimpses all the cute desserts on display. There was also a take-away counter on the far right for your beverages and light snacks. The system here was somewhat like how you would order your items at Starbucks, eg. Order-Pay-Collect. For orders that would require some period of preparation time, you would be given a number and the staff would deliver to your table.

Though there were some dining areas at the first floor, the second floor itself was more spacious and basically just for dine-in with more selfie corners, pinkish chairs and lounge sofas for you to slumber in.

When you are so far away from home and at such a themed café, you would want to try the best items that they would offer. All price quoted is inclusive of 7% VAT. The Lemon Tart (THB280nett) display at the chiller caught my attention. Well, looks can be real deceiving. Sometimes, when we deemed an item to be photo-worthy, it might not appear to be tasty at all. That was what happened. The lemon tart set was horrendous! The lemon filling tasted rather fake and extremely sour. As for the crust, I would recommend you to request for a hammer and chisel. It was so rock hard that I might break the given pair of fork and knife. Those “chick pea” like pebbles were nothing more than some bland biscuits. If not for the chocolate sauce, I would just leave them aside. For that lovely looking mini mug with red mousse, it was just some tasteless cream with red coloring. As one of the most expensive desserts on the menu, it was one order that was barely consumable.

Thanks goodness the kitchen ad hoc prepared Ham & Cheese Sandwich (THB200nett) was at least edible. It was just two slices of “Hello Kitty” face shaped toasted bread with rolled ham and cheese, accompanied with some cheap greens with salad dressing. It was normal and nothing to shout about.

As for drinks, I ordered their recommended Kitty Smoothie (THB150nett) and Hello Kitty Mineral Water (THB30nett). Except for the bottled water, I really can’t figure out what I was drinking. It was like drinking a glass of syrup with some light hints of milk and strawberries. It was so sweet that I had to leave it after a few sips as it might juggle up my glucose level. I’m still wondering why the Thais like their drinks to be so artificially sweetened up.

Let’s leave the food and beverage woes away and check out the basement of the unit. The Hello Kitty Shop will be a merchandise heaven for those Hello Kitty enthusiasts as they have practically everything you ever dreamed of having here from little memorabilia to items such as T-shirt, bags, umbrellas, etc. I’ve to forewarn you that prices of the items are not cheap. They are original franchised items after all.

On the other hand, you would find the Hello Kitty Spa at the other further end of the basement level. This might not be the type of spa you would be expecting as it would basically cater to the feminine parties, kid inclusive.

The facilities would include nail services, lash extensions, waxing, face and body treatments plus massages. You can check out the prices below (click to enlarge for a better view).

Overall, Sanrio Hello Kitty House is quite a nice place to bring your family or dates for the first time experience but most people won’t be able to stay there for too long. The reason is that the never ending replaying of the theme song can drive anyone up the wall with madness. Can you imagine having the same few seconds theme song playing over and over again at the moment you step into the place until you leave? OMG! As for the food and beverage wise, I was expecting something more edible rather than loads of food and drinks with high level of sugar and coloring contents. I hope we don’t get these experiences at other franchised outlets in the near future.

Name: SANRIO HELLO KITTY HOUSE BANGKOK
Address: 388 Siam Square One Building, LG, 1st & 2nd Floor, Siam Square Soi (Alley) 7, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Contact: +662 115 1335
Business Hours: 10.00am-10.00pm
GPS: 13.744526, 100.533489

DIRECTIONS:

Take the BTS Sukhumvit Line and stop at BTS Siam Station. Use the Skywalk towards Exit 2 and walk downstairs all the way until you reach a junction. Turn into Siam Square Soi 4 and walk straight until the cross junction of Siam Square Soi 4/Siam Square Soi 7. The Sanrio Hello Kitty House is just at the corner unit.

RATING:
Ambience: 9/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Other than hunting for unique and fashionable items or visiting the many temples in Bangkok, the next attraction would be the street food. Along the many thanon (main streets/ถนน), soi (side streets from main streets/ซอย) and trok (alley/ตรอก) in Bangkok, you would surely find some quick bites that would suit your preferences. Other than the easily available meaty Sai Au (Nothern Thai Fermented Sausages/ไส้อั่ว) and Sai Krok Isan (Northeastern Thai Fermented Sausages/ไส้กรอกอีสาน), the Moo Ping (BBQ Pork on Skewers/หมูปิ้ง) somehow remains my favorite. Well, the scents of well marinated food would surely command my nose to their whereabouts~ LOL! I would say I was lucky though it was my first time in Bangkok as I found the perfect Moo Ping right in front of my hotel – The Key Bangkok Hotel.

Compared to the many Moo Ping stalls I have tasted in Bangkok or even Hatyai in Thailand, this stall managed to suit my taste bud real well as each skew had just the right balance of texture and bites (85% meat & 15% fat). Moreover, the sweetness was just right for me without the overpowering of the overall flavors. The amazing thing is that it was only priced cheaply at THB10/skew. The Thais love to have their Moo Ping with warm sticky rice (Khao Niao/ข้าวเหนียว) and each small pack would cost only THB5. Two skews of Moo Ping and a pack of Khao Niao would be the perfect breakfast or supper for anyone. For those whom had tried out the delicious and succulent Moo Ping as well as the sticky rice, that’s why I can be so crazy to freeze packed them and flew them home to share with you. That’s 6kg extra baggage~ LOL~ 😛

Anyway, I had tried to recreate that flavor but could not get it to be 100% exact to the taste of the ones I had tried in Bangkok. There must be a secret ingredient in it. Perhaps, they might be using some sort of MSG which is the common practice in most street stalls. I’m not a fan of MSG so here’s the 95% result of my Moo Ping. Do try out my recipe~ 🙂

RECIPE: MOO PING (BBQ PORK ON SKEWERS

Makes: 20-25 skews (7” bamboo skewers – soak overnight before using)

Ingredients A:
4 cilantro roots (about 2 Tbsp) or chopped cilantro stems (if roots are not available)
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp white pepper corns
1 tsp black pepper corns

Ingredients B:
2 Tbsp palm sugar (pound until powdery) or brown sugar or honey
2 Tbsp mushroom/oyster sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp black soy sauce
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp corn starch
100ml coconut milk (mix in a tiny pinch of salt – keep 1/4 for brushing)

Ingredients C:
700gm pork shoulder (about 1.5lbs – wash clean, drain well, semi freeze and slice about 3mm thickness. Lightly hammer each piece to break the veins)
200gm pork fat (optional – slice 3-5mm, to be skewed in between 2 pieces of meat. Lightly hammer each piece.)

PREPARATIONS:

1. Use a mortar, pound everything in Ingredient A. You may add a bit of water if it’s too dry to scoop out.
2. In a big stainless steel basin, mix the pounded Ingredient A with Ingredient B. Mix thoroughly.
3. Add in the sliced pork from Ingredient C and mix well.
4. Slowly skew the marinated meat onto the bamboo skewers. Maximum until half the length of the skewer. Make sure the meat pieces are pressed compactly without showing the bamboo skewers. You can opt to skew a piece of fat in between the meat for that sinful flavor.
5. Place all the skewers into a Ziploc bag or a big plastic container. Pour the remaining marinates into it. Make sure you lay the skewers flat.
6. Leave them in the chiller for a minimum of 6-8 hours. The best result is to leave them overnight for maximum flavors.
7. Prior to barbeque, pour out the remaining marinate and mix with the remaining coconut milk. It’s for brushing purposes.
8. Barbeque over medium charcoal heat. Make sure the exposed bamboo skewers won’t get direct heat or they may be charred. Turn the skewers every 2 minutes until cook. Do brush some of the remaining marinate on the meat (as stated in #7) prior to turning them.
9. The Thais may love their Moo Ping with sticky rice. For me, I would love them with some lightly dressed salads.

Note: You can opt not to add fat to your Moo Ping but that’s where the natural flavor comes in.

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Name: MOO PING @ SUKHUMVIT SOI 19
Address: Sukhumvit Soi 19, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
Contact: Not available
Business Hours: 5.00am-9.30am
GPS: 13.739075, 100.559977

DIRECTIONS:

Take the BTS Sukhumvit Line and stop at BTS Asoke Station. to Mo Chit Station (BTS Sukhumvit Line). Take the Skytrain to BTS Asoke Station. Use the Skywalk towards Exit 1 and walk downstairs towards Terminal 21. Walk straight towards “The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel”. At the road before the hotel, turn right into Sukhumvit Soi 19 and walk about 70m and you will see the “The Key” after a row of shop houses on your left. The stall is located just at entrance of The Key Bangkok Hotel at the junction of Sukhumvit Soi 19 and Sukhumvit Soi 17 next to the Family Mart convenient shop.

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 4/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

By staying at The Key Bangkok Hotel where travelling via the two major mass transit systems has been real fun and convenient, I managed to explore quite a few interesting cafes within the Watthana district. Located nearby the BTS Thong Lo Station is a charming little hideaway establishment named Chico Interior Products & Café. If you are a cat lover, you would surely go goo-goo gaga over some of the free roaming cats within the premises. The bungalow-style shop may be hidden away from the main road but it was never short of visitors, especially those Japanese staying within the vicinity. Even their main website is all written in Japanese other than Thai or English. Isn’t that obvious? LOL~ 😛 If you love the serenity away from the hustle and bustle of the city life, this will be quite a nice place to spend some time sipping some beverages and gobbling down some of their nice homemade snacks and light meals.

On top of some tranquil moments with the furry felines, you can also spend some time mingling through some of their interior home products as well as personal gifts, not forgetting cat related items too. Some of their products may include Thai handicrafts, unique kitchen utensils, pillows, pillowcases similar to that silk pillow case online, cushions, aromatherapy lamps, bamboo by-products, natural soaps, beewax candles, trinkets, wind chimes, stuffed toys, printed clothes and more.

Here are some photos of their cute cats, a mix of pedigrees and local shot hair felines. Even my cats had some edible gifts from the shop~ LOL~ 😛

Since it was already almost tea time, we had some light food and dessert over some hot beverages. I started off with a hot pot of Lavender Tea (THB100nett). With so much of eating spree for the last few days, it indeed relieved my eating tension and stress~ LOL~ 😛 Luckily they did not burn any lavender oil or I would be fast asleep under such a relaxing environment.

I also did try out their Hot Chocolate (THB80nett). It was filled with chocolate richness and the milk they used was also awesomely creamy. Wait! Why is there a fat cat having its sauna in my cup? Haha~ The latte art may look simple but based on the comment by an established 3D latte art master, it required lots of patience and steady hand to come out with this design. The hot beverage came with a cute cat shaped cookie as well.

As for a light meal, I ordered the Japanese Style Spaghetti (THB160nett). Wow~ I was impressed. The color may not look pleasant to the eyes but the taste was heavenly. It was just a simple spaghetti dish, stir fried with some pork slices, shitake and enoki mushrooms, zucchini and garnished with some bonito flakes but the gravy itself was pepped with rich earthly flavors. I could not stop myself from pussy licking the whole plate dry~ Meow~ 😛 For those who would want to get the best of the meal deal, I would advise you to drop by between 11.30am and 2.00pm as they have daily set lunch available, which would include a salad, a main dish (4 options such as Japanese Omu Rice, Japanese Style Spaghetti, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Japanese Beef Curry with Rice) and a cup of hot beverage (+THB10 for iced beverages) at only THB185nett.

We were lucky on that day as they have Dessert of The Day which was the Hot Banana Pie served with Vanilla Ice Cream (THB55nett). The hot oozing banana combined with the fresh vanilla pod ice cream was so seductive. The sensation was beyond any earthly word.

Overall, I quite like this place due to the peaceful settings within a hidden greenery filled premises. I also like the fore-sight of the shop owner by allowing patrons to have a place to relax before continuing with their hectic lifestyle. Time will stand still here while you are immensely occupied with the many interesting and unique items you can bring home as souvenirs. At least you do not have to suffer the scorching heat from the scattered markets to have your shopping done. Everything will be inclusive of the necessary taxes.

Just a note to those shutterbugs: You may take some general shots of the shop but not on individual product as they would want their products to be exclusive to their patrons.

Name: CHICO INTERIOR PRODUCTS & CAFE
Address: 109 Sukhumvit Soi 53 (Paidee-Maidee), Khlong Tan-Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
Contact: +662 258 6557
Business Hours: 9.30am-6.00pm (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 13.732805, 100.579067

DIRECTIONS:

Take the BTS Sukhumvit Line and stop at BTS Thong Lo Station. Use the Skywalk towards Exit 1 and walk downstairs all the way until you reach a junction. Turn right into Sukhumvit Soi 53. Walk on for about 15 minutes, pass the newly opened Nippon Kai Market, until the second junction with a “Soi Renoo” road sign. Turn right into the small alley and you can see the Chico signboard right at the end. If you are tired of walking, you can always get a tuk-tuk or a motorbike taxi by telling them that you are going to Soi Renoo or Chico.

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Many people would have heard of the infamous Cabbages & Condoms Restaurant (C&C) in Bangkok, Thailand, with 5 other local branches in Nakhon Ratchasima, Vieng Pa Pao, Chiangrai, Nangnong plus a resort cum restaurant in Saptai. This themed restaurant is tucked away in an alley in the Khlong Toei district but is quite easily accessible via the BTS Asoke Station. You may ask why the bizarre name as cabbages had nothing to do with condoms at all. The brainchild of this over a decade old establishment, Senator Mechai Viravaidya, had conceptualized this project to spread the knowledge and understanding of contraception throughout Thailand, namely to overcome the reluctance to discuss issues on family planning, sex and HIV/AIDS. Thus, he caught the attentions of the public and eventually condoms became commonly available and as cheap as cabbages. Moreover, part of the profits from these restaurants would go towards supporting the work of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA).

It happened that I was staying at The Key Bangkok Hotel nearby and decided to check out the restaurant. Cabbages & Condoms Restaurant indeed has a catchy tagline on the menu to create the curiosity amongst diners – “Our food is guaranteed not to create pregnancy”. There are also many sex awareness posters scattered around the pathway towards the sanctuary-like restaurant ambiance plus quite a few condoms and birth control pills created fashionable outfits on the mannequins along the way. What caught my attention was the after dinner souvenirs – FREE CONDOMS. On top of that, you can also get more condom supplies at their free-flow corner, inclusive some water-based lubricant sachets. Cool~ Such convenience~ Well, they indeed won’t give you after dinner mints but you can take a condom instead~ LOL~ 😛

Anyway, Cabbages & Condoms Restaurant may have a great concept in introducing safe sex and family planning but failed in pepping up great dishes. It may be a great hangout place for Westerners over some barely authentic dishes but not for any Asians whom had years of growing up with herbs and spices. Somehow, I felt that the dishes served were mainly catered for those diners with low spicy tolerance. If you are looking for the Yin Yang balance of the Thai cuisine, this is definitely not the place for you as the basic 5 flavors (wan, kem, brieow, ped & kom/ หวาน, เค็ม, เปรี้ยว, เผ็ด & ขม/sweetness, saltiness, sourness, spiciness and bitterness) were not significantly present. You should have at least 3 of the 5 flavors significantly presence in a Thai dish.

To prove my points, I started out with the appetizer of Kratong Thong (Minced Chicken & Corn in Waffle Cups – THB120++). Basically, it was just some blandly prepared minced chicken mixed with some corn kernels (mixed vegetables version) and served in “Singapore Top Hats” aka “Nyonya Pie Tee” crispy pastries. To give them more flavors, you have to dress them with some Thai chili sauce. So, in my opinion, what is so Thai about this dish?

Just as an ideal example to judge on the 5 flavors, I tried out their salad, Yum Ma Khue Yaw (Roasted Eggplant with Prawns and Minced Chicken Salad – THB170++). Basically, only 2 flavors popped up significantly… saltiness from a high hint of nam pla (fish sauce) and sourness from the added lime juice. There were no sweetness from added palm sugar, spiciness from some added bird’s eye chilies and even some bitterness from the supposedly roasted eggplant. Even the minced chicken tasted bland. The whole dish tasted rather flat.

On top of that, they served the worst Gaeng Massaman Gai (Chicken Masamman Curry – THB200++) I have ever tasted with overcooked chicken pieces in super sweet curry. From my experience in cooking and creating many Asian dishes, the texture of the meat was the end result you would get if you have frozen the dish for many days and heat up when needed with a microwave oven. It was so bad until the meat was with powdery texture. It would surely put a shame to the Thai culinary world since it was voted as the #1 dish in CNNGo’s Top 50 Best Food in the World 2011.

Other than the main dish as above, I have decided to try out their noodle dish which was the Phad Se-Ew Moo (Stir Fry Flat Noodles with Kale & Pork – THB120++). I’m quite a regular for this “hor fun” type of stir fry noodles but the dish served here was horrendous. There were no hints of “wok hei” aka high heat stir frying, balanced flavors and the whole dish had that bitter-like chemical flavors. It was like consuming pesticide without getting murdered.

Overall, the ambience was quite cool for that themed experience or even bumming out with friends over some drinks. However, the restaurant should at least check on their food quality to ensure returned customers rather than concentrating on the one-time Western tourists. The only thing that I had supported was their many scattered donation boxes towards the welfare of some charitable organizations. There will be a surcharge of 10% service tax (ST) and 7% value added tax (VAT) in your bill.

Name: CABBAGES & CONDOMS RESTAURANT
Address: 6 Sukhumvit Soi 12, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
Contact: +662 229 4610
Business Hours: 11.00am-11.00pm
GPS: 13.737885, 100.557966

DIRECTIONS:

Take the BTS Sukhumvit Line and stop at BTS Asoke Station. Use the Skywalk towards Exit 2 and walk downstairs towards Times Square Shopping Center Asoke. Immediately, after the building, turn left into Sukhumvit Soi 12. You can see a signboard directing you to the venue. Walk around 10 minutes and you can see the entrance within a compound on your right.

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 5.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)