Dessert t and all day dining in trendy Thong Lor
A mixture of excellent Thai and Western cuisine, with a healthy drizzle of that all-important key ingredient
Dubbed a “dessert & all day dining” eatery, Honey opened six months ago at the same expansive corner space which had for a few years up until the beginning of 2016 housed the first venue of Roast. The brainchild of two young and fresh-faced restaurateurs, the 50-seat Honey offers a mix of Thai and Western cuisine in a cosily contemporary setting. As its name suggests, the design tone is sweet, clean and girlish with a warm homey vibe.
Honey’s cuisine reflects just slightly the owners’ appreciation for honey, fortunately. Only about half the items on the 60-item menu are prepared using the honey (mostly from Chiang Mai province) whereas the taste-profile of the rest (at least speaking of the dishes, desserts and drinks that I’ve had) isn’t at all overwhelmed by the honey character.
From a small collection of salads, we felt content with the newly-launched Thai-style beef salad (340 baht). The dish featured thick yet tender slices of beef tossed with gummy and translucent konnyaku noodles, beansprouts, fresh greens and roasted peanut in a sour and spicy dressing.
The subtle-tasting salad was followed by an alltime bestselling dish: chicken waffles (390 baht). Thanks to the nice, homely presentation and comforting taste, it was my favourite dish on the table.
Generous portions of deep-fried battered chicken arrived on golden waffles and were accompanied by a garden salad. The chicken exhibited a crispy, grease-free exterior encasing juicy meat. Intermingling flawlessly with the chicken were the waffles, made with croissant dough to yield an impressively light and flaky texture with great buttery taste. Drizzles of honey perfectly complemented the waffles.
An order of coquillette with white ham and truffle (390 baht), which arrived next, provided as much palate satisfaction. The elbow-shaped pasta came tossed with supple morsels of ham and was made more irresistible with the rich and aromatic, truffle-seethed cheese sauce, which offered addictive gastronomic pleasure.
I found the crispy pork rice and paneng curry (260 baht) another worth-having dish. A Thai take on the Japanese katsu curry, the dish featured deep-fried breadcrumb-encrusted pork cutlets on jasmine rice and accompanied by the creamy paneng sauce on the side, as well as a deconstructed coleslaw salad and a bowl of piping hot consommé. The pork, which was crispy on the outside and succulent on the inside, went well with the sauce that wasn’t overly spicy nor too sweet to the point that it may have overpowered the flavourful meat centrepiece.
The restaurant’s staff also suggested that we have Honey’s signature barbecued back ribs (440 baht). Unfortunately, my dining companions and I found the slim and stiff ribs, glazed with a strange-tasting house-made BBQ sauce, just passable.
Desserts deserve being highlighted. Don’t miss sampling some of the Honey buns (220 baht), prepared with Danish-dough bread soaked in butter and vanilla sauce before being pan-toasted and flame-torched and served to create a flaky exterior. The luscious pastry was served with Thai tea cream sauce, vanilla ice cream and a touch of honey.
Drinks are truly worth exploring at Honey. The signature Manuka Toddy (150 baht), served hot from a small aluminium teapot, proved nice and soothing thanks to a wonderful combination of imported manuka honey, warm passion fruit tea and a touch of fresh thyme.
Another heavenly drink that we had was from a collection of alcoholic milkshakes. Try crunchy tiramisu (260 baht), made with Kahlua, Baileys, Oreos and coffee ice cream, and you’ll be delighted.
On the Monday evening that we visited, local families and groups of friends (mostly middle-aged ladies) made up the clientele. Service by English-speaking staff was enjoyable.