http://www.hansarbangkok.com/cafe_boca
This post is significant because it marks the first proper Western food I had in Thailand, after nearly a week of abstinance, as well as my first real coffee throughout the entire trip. A week of no coffee is not an easy feat for me! I suppose I did have a couple of foul hotel offerings along the way (boiled black water in a pot) that helped me along. Not great but still caffeine.
Kat and I checked into Hansar and we felt like we had stepped into someone else's lives. That is, lives of other people who were more famous, rich and successful. If that seems like an exaggerated reaction to checking into a 5 star hotel, bear in mind that we had just finished a hilltribe trekking tour where seated toilets and hot water were a luxury we dared not even dream of.
The transition from wooden hut to Hansar is somewhat a shock to the system. We were upgraded to the Vertigo Suite and even given a guided tour through our suite. I won't go on about how amazing our living quarters were, to avoid sounding like a hotel rep. Suffice to say I HIGHLY recommend Hansar for accomodation in Bangkok.
We were 2 hungry girls and couldn't wait to head out blindly for food (traffic is awful so things that are close by can still be over an hour away). The easy solution was to check out the cafe downstairs, which happened to be Cafe Boca.
I was enticed by the menu yet apprehensive. It was refreshing to see items like sandwiches and paninis because that was what I had been craving the past few days. However, lots of Asian eateries claim to have 'sandwiches' but what you get is a couple of slices of sweet bread with a mayo-ladden filling.
Latte
I ordered a latte to start with. Happiness and joy! Despite its strange appearance, it tasted very much like a proper latte!! I was ecastatic. I think I dissolved into a seat a bit. I realize I sound like a coffee addict and uh, whatever! That I may be.
Boca club sandwich - with slow cooked chicken, smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, egg and tomatoes on wholegrain bread
Kat chose a Boca club sandwich for lunch. It was a tall, handsome sandwich with layers of stuff. I loved the look of it, that's for sure!
Roast beef hot panini - with goats cheese, sauteed mushrooms and caramelized onion
My own pick was the roast beef panini. It was DELICIOUS. Not only was it a proper sandwich, I would have been impressed with this at any fancy cafe in Australia. The combination of beef, caramelized onion, mushrooms, mustard and goats cheese was just the right amount of familiar and interesting. I'm starting to love anything with goats cheese these days.
We were so satisfied with our meal at Boca that we had lunch there again the next day.
Chicken sandwich - with slow cooked chicken supreme, onion, vine-ripened tomato and aioli on multigrain bread
This time, I copied Kat and ordered a sandwich. I went with the slow cooked chicken filling. Again, it was a great sandwich. Each component was fresh and tasty and it all just came together perfectly. Satisfying and not at all stodgy. The chips were perfect too - golden and crunchy.
Bread basket with butter
Kat went for something a bit different this time, a caesar salad. Interestingly, it came with a bread basket. We didn't really understand how the bread rolls/sticks and butter went with the caesar salad but we happily munched on them all the same.
Traditional caesar salad - with romaine lettuce, bacon, parmesan cheese and dressing
The salad itself actually arrived a bit after the bread. It looked like a work of art with a sculpture-like piece of garlic toast balanced on top.
Gang buad fak thong - golden pumpkin in coconut syrup
I finished my lunch with a morsel of dessert. There were a few that sounded good to me but in the end, I went with the pumpkin in coconut syrup. It was a simple dessert with tender pumpkin pieces in a creamy, sweet sauce. It was delicious but way too sweet for me to finish the whole thing. One taste was enough.
I should point out that Boca also serves Thai food (with a modern spin). I really wanted to give some of those dishes a go too but we simply ran out of time. I thought Cafe Boca delivered high standards of simple, Western-style cafe cuisine. The sandwiches we had were all wonderful and the service was warm and friendly too.
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