Ari & After You

If there’s one thing I really love, it’s dining with friends. Last night the lucky winner was my awesome Thai g’friend Jenny (Sripimol). Feeling lazy after the gym we decide to stay in the area, sticking to Ari where Jen lives and only three BTS stops from moi. I like this part of town, in fact, everywhere north of Phayathai (where my hotel/home also is) towards Mo Chit and beyond is really cool. Swing a cat and you’ll hardly hit a whitie. There are loads of local eateries, shops, parks, markets and so forth.
One of my favourite spots to have brunch, get a manicure or do a spot of shopping is La Villa Shopping Complex located directly beside BTS Ari. Here you will find an Adidas outlet store; Boots chemist; some nick-knack shops ideal for buying b’day presents; a Starbucks with nice outdoor seating; Apple iStore stocked to the brim; several restaurants like Greyhound and Secret Recipe; Gloss nail salon (which my Thai friend Pen swears by!); Bookazine, a Chang beer garden on the roof [see my other post: Beer, glorious beer!] and, of course, a Villa supermarket.
Tonight we opted for a cheap’n’cheerful dinner at Fuji (this is an OK Japanese chain restaurant but not worthy of a blog post) and after, deciding that our eyes were indeed bigger than our bellies, headed upstairs to the legendary After You (open daily 7am-midnight) café for somethin’ sweet. This small but mighty eatery is renowned for its irresistible, mouth-watering desserts. The café is simply decorated with wood, has limited tables (about 10 in, 5 out) and oodles of charm. The café’s all-day breakfast is another highlight that brings in droves of loyal fans who thrive on the French toast, ham and cheese toasted sandwiches (with maple syrup or honey infused into the bread!) and fried egg ‘n’ bacon toast box set.
However, once you're here you do not want to miss their sensational dessert called Shibuya Honey Toast (Bht 165); which consists of a humungous slab of warm, grilled toast slathered in ice cream, cream and syrup. It may bring on a cardiac-arrest, but it’s sure worth it! As for us, as we were already full on sushi, we opted to share a strawberry crumble (Bht 145), and let me tell you folks, we were NOT disappointed!



Getting there: From the Siam City Hotel take the BTS from Phayathai station three stops (towards Mo Chit) to station Ari, from there you went to leave the station on your right-hand side (exit 2) and La Villa Shopping Complex is right smack there. *For those further afield, there is another outlet south of the city just off Sukhumvit, at J-Avenue, Thonglor 13.