The Ideal Commuter's Breakfast

July 7, 2007 * Victory Monument BTS

Taste & See: Victory Monument BTS food vendors. At least two are chains are found at sky train stops throughout Bangkok.

Next time you need a little something to wake you up for a long day of staring at the computer [or Thai temples], take heart.

For those of you not living in Bangkok, the Sky Train ["rot fai fa"] is the city's main artery of public transportation. There is a below-ground subway as well but it doesn't really hit the convenient locations most ex-pats or tourists would visit. The sky train stops are all above-ground and contain an impressive variety of shops and vendors. You can go to a tofu restaurant, or get a haircut, buy a cell phone or glasses, shop for clothing or hit up 7-11, buy magazines or hair bands or watches. And most of all, you can buy snack food. I have often wondered who actually gets their hair cut at a sky train stop, but other Sky Train vendors are undeniably useful.

1. Waffles:

Little dough-balls are rolled up to the perfect size in advance, but the waffles are often made to order. They're greasy but not that greasy, ideal fresh from the grill, and small enough to eat on your way up the stairs to the train- but even if you pack it away in your bag to eat at the office, they don't get mushy or clammy.

My favorites are sesame or almond. The plain waffles are also very good, a sweet/salty combo. I'm a little afraid of trying the rum raisin or the mixed candy fruit, but you're welcome to and let us know how they are.

The waffles appear to simply be called, 'Wa-FULL.' Just point to the flavor you want. Plain waffles are 15 baht each; sesame or almond are 18 baht. There's a discount for buying three.

2. Soontra freshly squeezed juice:

The fruit in Thailand is sinfully delicious. Dessert seems extraneous. But it is still fruit, and that means you can eat it for breakfast, which basically works out to- guilt-free dessert-for-breakfast. You can't lose!

The juices at Soontra [look for a green sign with white lettering] taste very natural and fresh, sweet but not too sweet. The passion fruit, [nam sao-a-rote] with a bit of a natural zip to it, is my favorite, a perfect counter-point to the waffles. Juices are 18 baht.

3. Iced latte:

If you're like me, you don't do mornings without coffee. Luckily, sky train stops usually have two or three coffee stops. This shop even seems to cater to people who want their coffee in a hurry.

In between espresso and the street vendor coffee, made dark with with sweetened condensed and evaporated milk, is a nasty instant coffee-sweetened condensed milk hybrid. This is distressingly common, to the slight of the much tastier alternatives at either end of the spectrum. I don't care how many Thai people like that nasty drink, I like my espresso drinks. "If you want Western Coffee, go to some Starbucks clone and pay your Western prices" you might be thinking, but I'm here to tell you: no more.

This little coffee-stop, across from Quickly in an unassuming corner, has both an espresso machine and fresh milk. My iced latte was as tasty as anything I had at Starbucks, for only 20 baht.

All beverages are 20 baht; see menu. 'Iced coffee" is 'ga-fae yen,' and if you want fresh milk, just ask for "nom sot," and point to the canned milks and say you don't want them- "mai ow."