On my past trip to Bangkok, I was continuously impressed by the cafés’ interior and high standard of coffee. In particular, the Sukhumvit area has been booming with such cafes and is now as busy as it gets on weekends. My café of choice when I visited the area was A Keen House, just a few minutes’ walk away from Ekkamai BTS station. They have another outlet at EmSphere but I highly recommend this outlet at Sukhumvit 40 for the interior.
Originally a three-storey townhouse, it was then redesigned into a café while maintaining the old structure. Additionally, a new glass house, that was inserted on the side of the first floor became the main aesthetic feature and seating space of the café. The interior reminded me of a cross between Scandinavian minimal + Japanese wabi-sabi – an inspiration I would like to take for my future abode.
The menu offers a wide range of coffee, non-coffee, pastries and artisanal goods such as breads, biscotti and truffle aioli. Many items are also seasonal in nature.
While the café is popular for their signature flavoured coffees with Instagram-worthy toppings such as the Burnt Caramel Latte, I opted for the boring Matcha Latte (THB160, SGD 5.9) as I just had coffee from the previous café stop. It was decent, though slightly grainy with a flavour profile on the sweeter side.
Along with my drink, I had the seasonal Double Chocolate Cherry Brownie (THB320, SGD11.8) which came in a glass jar. Rather than a brownie, it felt more like a jar cake with several layers including a cacao almond crumble base. I loved exploring the different textures and layers. Despite it being a double chocolate cake, it was not cloyingly sweet and felt more like a blackforest cake thanks to the use of cherry.
In between sips and bites, I also explored the second floor which serves as an art gallery with exhibits. The third floor is reserved for workshops only.
It was an interesting concept and use of space for various purposes – something I wish that we could have in Singapore, despite being aware of the impracticalities from a financial standpoint.
4 Soi Sukjai Sukhumvit 40, Phra Khanong, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110
Nearest BTS station: Ekkamai
9am – 5.30pm daily
Foodography: A Singapore Food Blog 