We check out Bangkok’s latest themed cafe Moomin Café Bangkok.
MOOMIN CAFÉ BANGKOK INTERNATIONAL, CAFE 10am-9:30pm (last order 9pm) Siam Center, 4/F, Rama I Road, BTS Siam 02-658-1716 Fb.com/moomincafethailand
THE SET-UP
Bangkok is home to several cafes themed after cute characters and Moomin Café Bangkok is the latest addition. This new eatery aims to steal our hearts away with adorable eats and a cute atmosphere. Opened in mid-April, the cafe is styled after the whimsical world of the Moomins, a famous and beloved cartoon family by Finnish illustrator and writer Tove Jansson.
They — Moominpappa, Moominmamma, and Moomintroll — are hippo-esque cuddly beings that have an adventurous and carefree spirit. They are the central characters of a series of books and have since been the basis of TV series, films, a theme park, shops and more.
Moomin Café Bangkok, the fifth Moomin eatery outside Finland, stands out with its adorable aura. The cafe is styled to look like a Moomin house, featuring papa’s room, mama’s room, a garden and a shop in the same space. Opt for the papa room with a fake fireplace for some privacy and a more formal feel. Regardless of where you sit, however, you can pick up big Moomin dolls to play with and use as photo props at your table.
THE MENU
Moomin’s menu isn’t pages worth of pancakes, candyfloss and all that sweet jazz — if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s a fullrange menu featuring salads, rice dishes, pasta dishes, desserts, and beverages.
Grilled salmon apple salad (B390; prices here are not inclusive of VAT) tastes very good but comes with a high price tag. The thick fish steak has salty and crispy skin while its flesh is moist and tender. The tasty side salad is basically yum mamuang, but using apple instead of mango.
Spaghetti crab tomato cream sauce (B390) looks like it could have blown you away with so much flavour but turns out to be a meh. The al dente spaghetti is thoroughly enveloped with the aromatic sauce. The crabmeat on top is delicious and delicate. Despite these two pluses, it, overall, still tastes too mild.
Soft shell crab curry rice (B220) gives you better value in our opinion. It impresses with a quartered soft-shell crab which gives an audible crunch and is juicy once your teeth sink into it. We don’t mind the fluffy rice and the tasty curry sauce either.
We like Moomin’s mud brownie (B195) for it’s not a one-note dessert. The warm brownie goes great with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream. The fruity trio of strawberry, lychee and peach provides a refreshing burst in delicious contrast with the brownie’s moist texture.
We don’t want to sound mean but Moominmamma’s pancake (B295) is rather ridiculous. Basically, it’s a stack of mini pancakes with various add-ons served on the same tray. Sure, you can dress each piece as you like and it’s fun, IG-ready and all that but, at this kind of price, you could have easily expected it to be more substantial. #sorrynotsorry.
‘Little My’ in love (B150) tastes like drinkable bubblegum. The milky drink doesn’t taste jarringly sweet and comes topped with whipped cream and marshmallows. Moominpappa’s magic hat frappé (B150) combines both coffee and chocolate. We like the slightly icy sips it provides but wish the coffee could have come through more. It’s still a good drink, though.
INSIDER TIP
At the moment, you can’t just order any food from the menu during the cafe’s opening hours. This is a bit tricky. From 10am-2pm, you can order only savoury dishes and baked items. Warm desserts like crepes and pancakes are available from 2-5pm and from 5-9pm, you can order anything. There’s also a soft rule that every guest must order at least one drink and one sweet or savoury item while visiting the cafe. We don’t think five people ordering one drink is cool either. There are some Moomin cut-outs in front of the cafe for you to snap pictures with.
VALUE & VERDICT
For discerning eaters, the cafe’s offerings alone don’t merit a visit. There’s no point of going if you don’t plan to take cute pictures for your IG. This is a place to let your inner-child come out and play. Moomin fans should be very happy here. The cafe isn’t purely all gimmicks and does have some substance to somewhat back it up. That being said, we may have liked it more had the pricing been more reasonable.