yosithezet

Any recommendations for great breakfasts in BKK outside of hotels?

biggestbopper

Okay, I know it is in a hotel, but I am partial to the J.W. Marriott Cafe on the 1st floor of the hotel. Excellent Italian style coffee, free English language papers, and pretty good, for Thailand, croissants, etc. Tip: if you order the large latte, you get free refills.

Otherwise, I have had some great little pastries and fried bananas, etc. from street vendors right by the Marriott. I think they start cooking at dawn. Yumm. Thai food is great.

jimquan

I was at Crepes & Co last week with my nieces and their Mom. They loved it. Not really Thai or local but yummy.


http://www.crepes.co.th/

Jim

Savage25

I used to stay near there for a couple of years and often went there for brunch on Sundays ^^

sonoftheheartland

Probably no longer around but years ago there was a Filipina-owned and run breakfast restaurant serving pancakes, waffles, eggs, etc., first located in Gaysorn in front of old President Hotel, then when Gaysorn was completely demolished and rebuilt, owners relocated to the small soi off Thaniya Road at Silom Road, just across the soi from the entrance to the Shangri-la Chinese restaurant (with the best "beggar's chicken" in Asia) branch. Can't remember the full name of the restaurant, started with "Little" to my best recollection. Again, may be long gone by now.

Many shopping centers have small bakery/cafes serving pretty standard types of continental breakfasts, but hours are not early "breakfast hours", rather mid morning croissant or pastry and coffee or tea.

And of course lots of wonderful street vendors along major roads like Silom in early morning frying "pla-tong-goh" and perhaps tiny cream puffs and other delicacies, sold to the throngs of office workers making their way to work in the mornings.

sonoftheheartland

Little Home Bakery -- they may still have an outlet in basement of Silom Center, but without the ambiance of full service restaurant.

transpac

Time of day? Style (English, American, Continental, Buffet, Asian, Thai)? Location?

Hotels might be the easiest option as many offer low/fixed-priced breakfast buffets and draw non-guests.

Maybe search the Western Food and Bangkok subforums on forum.thaivisa.com?

yosithezet

Morning, any styles that people think are especially good.

billp

Thai jok (rice porridge with vegetables and shreds of meat and an egg) and strong, thick kaffee tung from a street stand. You have to be up early to get this (6-7AM); Victory Monument is one place to find it. There's also jok late at night on Din Sor near Khao San Road, and at the night market near Tha Chang (not far from Grand Palace).

I also had a wonderful dim sum breakfast at a place on the edge of Trang City, a popular breakfast hang-out for the locals. Trang has some of the best coffee I've ever had, anywhere.

SaigonCyclo

Check out Kuppa on Suk Soi 16. And Crepes and Co is always a good option.

BKKROP

Hi, Upfront I must say, that part of every hotel experience, for me, is the breakfast, and if anyone can do a breakfast spread, it's the Asian hotels with all their tropical produce. Raffles has the best in Singapore, and for my money, the Westin and the Royal Orchid Sheraton in Bangkok are superb. I love the latter and esp watching the different nationalities. Here they have Japanese chefs doing all their healthy vegie things alongside Americans chefs churning out waffle stacks oozing syrup. The great part about being western is we can get to try all these different foods and generally love it whereas I observe the eastern nationals will stick to their tried and tested favourites, and going from their low heart problems, so would I.

BUT, the best breakfast I have in BKK, are the ones where I meet local suppliers at "hole in the wall" outlets, and let them run riot with the ordering. Most of these offerings are down side laneways on tin tables and chairs, soon to be cleared away to make room for the truck deliveries, and impossible to direct tourist to. One supplier takes me to the downstairs food hall at Robinsons down near the river at Taksin, where he orders chicken broth and rice/noodle dishes whichy love but would be at a loss to describe or name. Another one is opposite the Amari boulevarde hotel in front of/or part of a supermarket. It's on the right hand side as you walk in and it's always busy, so you stand behind the ones who you anticipate will finish first. ( the cafe is a L shaped bar with stools) Here I have had juice, best poached eggs, side dishes of "very hot stuff" and all in all had the time of my life for $10.

Now last week we had a breakfast/brunch at the Oriental bakery in Paragon. It's not the tables and chairs, look at me, set up in the front, it's down the left hand side adjacent to the gourmet deli . They bring in pastry chefs from Europe, and these blighters work their buts off, and wow do they turn out some magical pastries. We all brought a box of goodies to take back to the hotel and with a chilled bottle of Australian white, I don't mind telling you it was a treat to behold. Incidently if you adore dried fruits, close by, also on the ground floor, is a large display of every known fruit I could imagine. Keeps you very regular and "propels' you along for a day or two. Been enjoyable relaying this to you, hope it is of some help, regards bkkrop

yosithezet

Wow BKKROP! It is nearly lunchtime and I don't land in Thailand for another 20 hours. I am drooling already! Thanks to you and everyone for the suggestions! We're at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit and will have breakfast there at least one morning but wanted some additional suggestions for variety and because I expect we'll have enough hotel breakfast in Hua Hin at the Hyatt before we arrive in Bangkok.

transpac

This would be the lunch counter at Foodland supermarkets, called Took Lae Dee. The one you mention is on Sukhumvit Soi 5 but every Foodland has a Took Lae Dee, open 24 hours and you can get anything, and I really mean anything; reminiscent of a 24-hour Diner, including jook (rice porridge mentioned previously), Thai food, cheeseburgers, club sandwiches, anytime. American breakfast, albeit a bit skimpy, is 41 baht between 6 AM and 9 AM.

So much depends on your location, the time of day and things you might like so it is challenging to come up with suggestions short of shotgunning. Maybe just grab a yogurt at a 7/11, fresh fruit and coffee on the street and make it a lighter start to the day? There are coffee shops everywhere with fruit, yogurt and freshly baked treats.

The foodhall at Paragon, like other similar destination malls, might not be open much before 9 AM but generally agree the baked goods there (at least half a dozen bakery outlets) are top notch. The St. Etoile bakery outlet (operated by Yamazaki) is fantastic.

jpatokal

Which, incidentally, means "Cheap and Good" in Thai. The "cheap" part is indisputable, but I'm not so sure about the "good", at least as far as their Thai fare goes. Great people-watching though thanks to the Soi Nana crowd

I'll second this though -- Paragon's basement has everything and for every price bracket. ^

transpac

Every Foodland supermarket has a restaurant, Took Lae Dee. The one I go to, early in the morning, is packed with Thai people eating either eggs or Thai food. They seem to be enjoying their food so expect the food quality is at least "good". I have had both Thai and western food there many times and think that the food quality is good as well.