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I must've eaten here 50+ times and so was surprised that it didn't have a review thread. I'm Aroi is an open fronted restaurant sitting in the grounds of The Ambassador Hotel, and is located where the old Au Bon Pain Coffee Shop used ot be pre-Covid. It is easy to find from the street, as it is across the hotel entrance lane from the Wine Connection. The signage is poor and for years I referred to the place as 'Always Arroi', but I double-checked the name for this report. The place is open 24 hours a day and serves mainly Thai food, all of which is cooked to order and I would put it on the same level as The Swan on Soi 4, which is another restaurant I frequent. The food is very good value, considering the prime location on soi 11 and service is always fast. Most of my visits have been after 02.00 with LBs and they always give the food a solid thumbs up, so they must be doing something right. The waiting on staff have always been efficient and pleasant and seating ranges from large couch-style set-ups at the back, to the usual tables for 2,4,6 and also counter seating all around the periphery of the restaurant. The latter seating is great for watching the zoo that Soi 11 can turn into after hours. i have never been there during the day time and it may get quite warm there, as they only have ceiling fans. At night, this is not a problem. There must be 100+ items on the extensive menu ranging from curries to the usual Thai dishes, seafood and some farang food. I certainly recommend this place, especially if you have a take-out and want to eat before going back to the hotel. There is usually a few LBs in there, either FLs or with punters. Enjoy SAG

Background I’ve been meaning to do a write-up about this recent discovery that I made whilst walking around the side sois of the Golden Triangle last week. BKK has many great coffee shops, but this is one with a difference and this is the third time that I have been back there in just under ten days. Read on and you will learn why… Bump and Grind This caffeine oasis is located on soi 8/1 and has rapidly become my go-to place for an hour’s afternoon break from the hustle and bustle of BKK. The coffee shop is quite compact and has 6 tables inside and it is also busy for takeaways. Not only do they serve all of the usual variations of coffee, but they also have an inhouse bakery and provide a wide range of breads, cakes, and desserts, which change daily. The prices are in line with the Golden Triangle, and the cafe is kept spotlessly clean. So, what makes Bump and Grind so special and why do I keep going back? That’s extremely easy to answer – the coffee shop was founded by a certain Amah Klaowan, and it opened just two months ago. Amah had a successful career as a cabaret performer both in Phuket (Simon Cabaret) and BKK (Calypso). When she turned thirty, she decided to use her savings to establish a coffee shop, and this also explains why it is called ‘Bump and Grind.’ Did I mention that Amah is an exceedingly hot LB? One coffee shop – six hot LBs! In addition to the gorgeous Amah, there are also two hot baristas, two counter servers and a sexy baker. Every friendly member of staff is a LB! Specials Bump and Grind had a soft launch in early February and by mid-March Amah realised that more than half of her customers are farangs. Luckily, her and all of the service staff have decent English. To cater to the farangs that have flocked to the shop, she has started running specials and this month there is a happy hour from 07.30-11.30 every day, with 25% off coffees and 10% off all food items. Some of the cakes and savouries on display Summary I highly recommend this place. The coffee is really good and so are the sweet and savoury options. The eye candy is beyond outstanding, and Amah sends shivers down my spine, which trigger fantasies of her becoming the next ex-Mrs SAG. Location Bump and Grind is quite easy to find, as it stands out due to the great signage. It is near the top of soi 8/1. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be on Google Maps yet. Enjoy, but please be kind to Amah and the five lovely LB members of staff! Cheers SAG

Yesterday evening I organized a business dinner with some customers, and went to Monkey Pod restaurant on the corner of soi11 and soi 13. Magnificent old Thai style wooden house (one of the only ones left in the area). Incredible service and wonderful setting inside the restaurant, pure luxury but very classy. We went for the discovery menu an 8 course thai style dinner (2200thb/person) The food is just incredible, thai style but on an exceptional level, lots of traditional Thai dishes with a gastronomic twitch that enhances the traditional Thai flavours even more. Huge cocktail list with exotic and dared cocktails (i went for a Rhum based cocktail, with kafir lime, lemongrass and ginger), we paired the food with 2 bottles of Gewürzstraminer (Hugel), which is a slightly sweet and spicy wine that works wonderfully well with thai food. Per menu every body could choose his own level of spicyness he wanted, so no surprises there for those who want it a bit softer in taste. all in all an excellent choice if you want to go for fine dining in a nice setting and still be able to hit the streets afterwards. We ended the business part with a couple of pisco sours in Above11 and closed down the business part around half past midnight. After waving my customers out, I finished a very nice evening at cindy's (300m walk) if you want to have some culinary experience with some friends or a romantic dinner with one of your sweethearts, this is an excellent place to go. I should warn that if you wanted to take a Ladyboy friend out there, you have to make sure it is somebody that can appreciate a high quality meal. The advantage however is that it is thai food and Thai flavour so they most probably will like it. There is a dresscode, but just the obvious one, no flip flops, no tank tops, and I would suggest your girl not to wear bikini's Not for everyday, but worth it for a special occasion or if you want to give yourself a treat.

So…I just checked out of Hope Land Soi 8 having stayed there 5 nights and am on my way down to Pattaya in one of Nam’s Taxis. My hot take on the Hope Land: * I really liked it. Location for me was perfect - just a short stroll down the Soi on to the Sukhumvit Rd. From there you are only a few mins walk from any of the Bars we often visit (there is also that useful cut through to Soi 4). * Soi 8 is a really pleasant, friendly street. Fairly busy at the Suk Rd end it gets progressively quieter and greener as you make your way along. Nice mix of commercial, hotels and private residences. It’s a dead end so no through traffic and it’s easy and comfortable to walk along day and night. Hope Land located approx half way along. * Decent sprinkling of bars and restaurants along the Soi from cheap and cheerful to interesting, high end Thai eating. * Hotel: It’s definitely a little bit worn and shabby to be honest but nothing that some TLC, a few coats of paint and new room Ifurniture would’nt fix. On the plus side my One Bedroom Suite was huge and great value (booked on Agoda about 4 months ago and came in at approx 1900THB per night). Loads of space in the rooms, AC very effective, shower hot with good power, everything was clean, really comfortable bed, small balcony (important for me) was useful and my regular companion insisted that we utilise it for some evening errr… activities. Wi-Fi great in living area, lousy in the bedroom (I ended using my hotspot there). Not a very smart TV was poor but I watched it for only about 5 mins so kinda irrelevant to me. As discussed above, in-room lighting is a bit crap with low wattage bulbs not helping. Lots of sockets everywhere though. Good rooftop pool with all day sun, a few sunbeds and grassy area. Nothing fancy but OK for a 3 star in heart of the City. No idea about the Gym or Sauna. Front Desk Team continue to seem disinterested but that’s ok, unless I am a frequent visitor I’m not really there to make friends with Reception. They were though helpful and swift the two times I interacted with them - check-in and check-out. Housekeeping, by contrast, were cheerful and friendly. Room seemed to be cleaned within 20 mins of ‘please make up room’ tag going up. Tips help. No idea about breakfast there’s too many great options in Bangkok to be trapped into a Hotel breakfast package. Didn’t see anyone sleeping in / hanging around, the lobby area. Perhaps management have stopped that? It’s not a scientific survey but most guests seemed to be Europeans and Americans (mainly singles, but also couples and families) and a few Thais, Koreans, Singaporeans etc. It seems unlikely that there are going to be big tour groups of Chinese or Indians staying (not saying this is a good or bad thing). Entirely Guest friendly and no signing in or checking in of guests ever occurred (might be a risk-consideration if bringing back a Freelancer from Soi 4 at 5.00am….) Complimentary golf buggy transfers down to end of Soi is back on. So, all good. Downside? There is a freakin huge construction going up directly adjacent to the Hotel on its north side (Sukhumvit Rd side). This could be going on for some time and it’s VERY noisy Mon-Sat if your room is on that side of the building. There are 7 floors of accommodation and best as I could see you need to avoid room numbers ending 19,18,11,10, 09, 08, 07, 06, 05 (ie 519, 518, 511, 510 etc etc) I’d stay again next visit.