Bonita Cafe and Social Club, Bangkok
Special places are hard to come by, and the best ones are always remembered.
‘Bonita’ has stayed on Bangkok’s Trip Advisor’s Top 10 list of ‘visit’ places for nearly a year now. She has been touted as the ideal place for fusion cuisine, where East meets West. Here, they say, you can spend an entire evening in tranquil settings satisfying your taste buds with the healthiest meals ever.
Bonita seems to have held her own but is she true to life as on print?
Managed by the Katsuyamas, this warm and friendly Thai-Japanese couple have set up a charming yet health conscious café and managed to transform the food experience into an American home made meal, with a twist.
The café atmosphere is filled with highlights from fringe cornered lamps that provide softness to the dark traditional wooden bureaus in the room.
Wall tapestries add warmth yet natural lightness through colour. A radio recorder plays in the background, reminiscent of the hits of the 80s.
The Katsuyamas live just upstairs above the café with their 2 adorable cats. As co-proprietors of the business they are attend to everything, from the early preparation of to taking orders, cooking and serving up a piping hot meal.
Yes, stepping in, the place feels more like a home away from home: there are familiar whiffs of Japanese radishes, garlic, gingers or wasabi constantly wafting in the air.
What is Bonita’s secret?
The hallmark of the Katsuyama brand is their endearing hospitality. Their attention to cuisine detail and customer service is both impeccable and personable.
Mrs Katsuyama receives her guests like her own but she cautions everyone that all their dishes are prepared with great love and that’s why we need to wait and chat with her. Immediately the entire café turns into a dinner conversation filled with engaging questions and personal experiences.
The anticipation was worth it as we were in for a treat; she recommends the house specialities like vegan whole wheat pancakes, hotdog plates, pasta, burgers and sandwiches.
Seriously tempted with everything, we decided on starters like the Vegan Caesar Salad and Club Sandwich.
Fresh greens were mixed in a Caesar salad dressing that was light and smooth, possibly the best that we have ever tasted.
The Club sandwich was elegantly stacked with vegan scrambled eggs and bacon, sundried tomatoes, fresh lettuce and avocado stuffed between thick whole wheat bread slices. This huge serving had to be eaten piecemeal with a fork and sharp knife. All ingredients tasted as if freshly sourced and prepared that morning.
Indeed, we noticed no difference in the smoothness or taste of the dressing or the quality of the vegan products used in both dishes.
The Teriyaki Burger plate had to be everyone’s favourite and an immediate hit, judging by the rave compliments it received. It is also arguably Bonita’s best-selling cuisine. Here’s why it sells: the burger pate, made of tofu, onions and teriyaki sauce is 100 percent homemade. It is well mixed, firm and very tasty. As we bit into the pate, it was dripping in the sweet sauce and it tasted and looked every bit like real succulent beef. Divine!
Bonita has certainly proven after 18 months in business that successful food can be ‘homemade, filled with love’. Vegans and non-vegans will surely enjoy the intelligent and varied way meal combinations that have been thoughtfully designed, without breaking the bank.
Bonita’s love for fusion has paid off impressively: she has created a beautiful all American home-hearty ambience to serve up the most famous cuisines from the west and east done in the healthiest Japanese way, enticing all sorts of visitors, food adventurers and critics who have savoured once to crave for yet another perfect idyllic food adventure that (she knows) they can never get enough of, ever.
Bonita Cafe and Social Club
100 Soi Pramote (Silom Soi 26), Silom, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Tel: +66 2 081 5824
