If you’re in Bangkok and are on the hunt for eateries that not only have a smorgasbord of delicious food but also a unique layout, this is one place that you should add to your list.
Situated right smack in the middle of Yaowarat—Bangkok’s Chinatown—is Lhong Tou Cafe. This eclectic, cosy eatery is popular for their dim sum as well as their very interesting interior; both of which are incredibly Instagram-worthy.
The common thing about quirkily designed eateries is that they usually have pretty subpar food. This isn’t the case for Lhong Tou Cafe; we never thought that we would ever have some of the best dim sum of our lives in Bangkok and the dim sum here puts some of the ones we’ve tried in Hong Kong to shame!
We’ve attempted to come to Lhong Tou Cafe twice and the very first time we did, we found ourselves stuck in the middle of a 2-hour queue which we left within 10-minutes. This time around, we went at an odd hour of 4pm and it had been raining as well, so we managed to skip the crowds and snag ourselves a table pretty quick.
What we absolutely love about this place is the design of the seating area. Here, wooden panels and metal pipes are strategically placed to form a double-decker structure where people can choose to either sit on the top level or at the cubbies at the bottom when they take their queue ticket.
We also love how the entire place was also filled with plenty of lush greenery, giving the entire space a lovely botanical touch.
We started off with a plate of Lhong Tou Shumai where 3 very plump dumplings were doused in a delightfully sweet and savoury sauce. The dumplings were filled with a generous amount of meat that was chock full of umami and the meat to skin ratio was perfect.
Next up, we had the Thai Tea Bun (which features a fluffy, fragrant bun that comes chock full of satisfyingly good Thai tea custard. Tear open the bun to reveal its rich, creamy contents and watch in satisfaction as it slowly oozes out of the bun. The custard here tastes remarkably like actual Thai tea and we highly recommend this dish to anyone who is a huge fan of the drink.
Salted egg lovers will be happy to know that Lhong Tou Cafe has a menu item that resembles the popular salted egg yolk buns that we have here in Singapore. What makes Lhong Tou Cafe’s Egg Lava Bun so different (and better) is its exterior. Instead of a soft, pillowy bun, the lava is encased in a flaky, crispy pastry that provides the dish with plenty more bite and flavour.
Break open the bun to let out all its sinfully good contents; the egg lava here is both salty and sweet at the same time with a distinctive salted egg taste. Coupled with its pastry exterior, we can safely say that this is one of the best salted egg items that we have ever eaten in our lives and we will undoubtedly be back for it the next time we are in Bangkok.
The most adorable and unique item out of the lot was the Shitake Mushroom Bun. This bun looks like a carbon copy of an actual mushroom and what makes it even better is its earthy shitake mushroom filling. Our only gripe with this one is that we wish that there had been more filling because it was so good!
All in all, we highly recommend this place and you definitely need to check it out the next time you’re in Bangkok.
Lhong Tou Cafe
538 Yaowarat Rd, Khwaeng Samphanthawong
Khet Samphanthawong
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10100, Thailand
Tel: +66 64 935 6499
Daily: 8am – 10pm