{Cafe Crush} Melt Me, Bangkok

Melt Me is one of Bangkok's many dessert cafes - a concept I just can't get enough of. At this recently opened orange, white and glass cube of a cafe it's all about desserts made from creamy Hokkaido milk, which hails from the Japanese city Sapporo. It's used in Melt Me's chocolates, gelato and even one of its drinks (a ridiculously decadent hot chocolate - basically a huge slab of dark chocolate on a stick that you melt into a cup of hot milk). The staff urge you to try samples of the handmade chocolates (not that my arm needs twisting!), and intriguingly, the gelato and sorbet menu promises some not-yet-available flavours including....beer!


Tried & loved

Chocolate lava cake (129 baht)

Hokkaido milk hot chocolate (149 baht)

3 scoops of gelato - dark chocolate, hazelnut and Hokkaido milk flavours (139 baht)

Chocolate samples - green tea, macadamia and Hokkaido dark (free!)

For more on the story behind Hokkaido milk and Melt Me, check out this piece in the Bangkok Post, and this one in the Nation. And if you happen to be a Bangkok-bound chocoholic, be sure to add Melt Me to your must-do list!

Melt Me, Arena 10, Thonglor Soi 10, Bangkok, www.melt-me.com

At the moment I'm...

...visiting iberry waaaay too often!

....in one of my favourite cities in the world - Bangkok - for up to two months! Am here waiting to have baby number 2 - but I'll save the ins and outs of that for another post. I get so many emails from random readers asking me for more details about having a baby in Asia so I'll do a FAQ post about it soon (that the non-baby minded among you can choose to skip over - I don't want to bore you to death!). In the meantime, here's what I'm:

Watching...

Old episodes of Entourage (playing catch-up) and downloaded TED talks

Reading...

Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert, the follow up novel to Eat Pray Love where she delves into the history and concept of marriage while contemplating her own impending 2nd wedding (which she was basically forced into to allow her Brazilian partner to stay in the US). I'm about halfway through, and so far, it's a pretty interesting read, albeit a little textbook like in parts. I'm hoping for more about her travels in SE Asia and chats with people there about their culture's attitudes towards relationships and marriage, which is meant to be covered but hasn't really been - yet!

Eating...

Lots of Japanese, Thai and desserts (everything chocolate and everything ice-cream - I'm still so in love with iberry!)

Drinking...

Too much coffee for a pregnant chick(!) but Bangkok is a world of temptation, in every way!

Loving...

My new iPod Touch! Still figuring it all out, and welcome any suggestions on good apps to download! So far I have epicurious and Facebook, and that's about it!

Looking forward to...

More Bangkok eats while I still have the chance! On my radar - a chocolate cafe, a taqueria, and some amazing sounding Thai restaurants, including one with a 7-course Thai meets French degustation menu, can't wait!

...how about you?

{Saigon Eats} Dim sum at Shang Palace

Chicken & taro balls

I'm officially obsessed with going for dim sum at Shang Palace. My quest for the best dim sum in Saigon has taken me from the really crappy (the Chinese place behind Pacharan that's currently closed for renovations - and hopefully a complete menu overhaul), to the bit better Windsor Hotel (naff 80s decor, ok but unremarkable dim sum) to the much better dim sum place across the road from the Saigon Zoo (the name escapes me). And then there's Shang Palace! It definitely trumps them all - a chic, contemporary Chinese style space with a menu to die for.

The best bbq pork buns

Shanghai style crab dumplings

Favourite dim sum dishes - chicken and taro balls, barbecue pork buns, prawn dumplings, Shanghai style crab dumplings (soup-style dumplings with vinegar dipping sauce), and the rice rolls with sea scallops, prawns or barbecue pork. Most of the dim sum are from US$2-3 a basket, a price belying the surrounds and service. I love, love, love this place!

Bbq pork in rice rolls

Har cao (prawn dumplings) - all time favourite dim sum dish

Shang Palace, 17-19 Ly Tu Trong (@ Norfolk Mansions), District 1, Saigon, T: +84 8 3823 2221


{UPDATE} Thanks readers Kim and Jenny for reminding me the dim sum place near the zoo is called Ocean Palace, @ 2 Le Duan, D1

{Cafe Crush} AQ Coffee, Saigon

If you like your cafe sua da served up with a dash of colonial-era grandeur, AQ Coffee is the perfect place. A restored villa complete with high ceilings and requisite patterned tiles offers a charming alternative to Saigon's newer mega-cafes with their floor-to-ceiling glass and vinyl lounge chairs.

Outside is a cool, curved bamboo structure emitting a cooling mist, while indoors and upstairs is the best place to relax and escape the relentless traffic noise. My only gripe? The olive coloured interior is a little grim - a coat of bright white paint would much better suit the surrounds!

Go for: a strong, smooth and sweet cafe sua da (iced coffee with milk) served with a cute ice box and tongs
Not for: sandwiches, brownies, that kind of thing - this is a young, trendy local haunt with a Vietnamese food menu to match

AQ Coffee, 32 Pham Ngoc Thach, District 3, Saigon