COCONUTS CRITIC’S TABLE – When Ootoya Kitchen decided to drop its delicious tofu and green tea soft-serve ice cream about a year ago, I was devastated. I had been so in love with its creamy goodness that I literally stopped eating ice cream.
I needed time.
But, as with any breakup, I had to move on and soon I began to hunt for the next best thing.
I’m happy to report that I’ve found it at Brown Eyes Café located in Sukhumvit Soi 12.
This unassuming establishment is not only a dessert café, it’s also a restaurant, a living room, a cooking class and even a Japanese housewife club. Having recently relocated from Sukhumvit Soi 31, Brown Eyes maintains a lot of its original Japanese essence that its regular customers will remember.
Here, unlike at Ootoya Kitchen, the soft-serve ice cream takes center stage on the dessert list. Brown Eyes offers more than 20 dessert items, most of them incorporating one of the two soft-serve flavors —Soy Milk and Green Tea— along with many other yummy toppings.
I was perfectly satisfied with a plain serving of ice cream for THB80, but for more fun I recommend the combinations. My very favorite is the“Green Tea Crushed Ice” (THB150), which features classic Japanese dessert ingredients like soy-milk-flavored soft-serve, green-tea-flavored crushed ice, red-bean paste (so smooth), chewy mochi balls, and last but not least, an ample dose of brown syrup.
For those of you who may not be so fond of green tea, I would still recommend the Green Tea Crushed Ice anyway. It’s totally worth stepping out of your comfort zone. But if you really can’t give green tea a go, try the fruitier “Kasumi Mango” (THB150), which includes fine snow ice that melts in your mouth, soymilk ice cream and fruit sauce made with mango and passion fruit. It is tropical, brain-freezingly refreshing, and an antidote for any hot day.
Another close relative to “Kasumi Mango” is the“Brown Rice Flour Crepes with Soymilk Ice Cream and Mango+Passionfruit Sauce” (THB140). Instead of snow ice, however, you’ll get Brown Eyes’ very own brown-rice-flour crepe.
If you happen to come for a heartier meal, you might enjoy the“Soymilk Soft Ice Cream Sandwich” (THB70), which is made with waffles.
The rest of the dessert dishes are generally pretty yummy, although I have to say I’m not a big fan of “Soymilk Pudding Parfait” (THB150). There’s just too many things going on in that tall sundae glass—soft cream, pudding, bits of various fruits, short bread, and whatnots—without any of them actually enhancing each other.
On my visit I skipped the food and went right for the desert, but that’s because I’m not as fond of the savory courses as I am of their sweeter items in the back of the menu.
Brown Eyes Café offers a great deal of Japanese-style Italian dishes, many of which seemed very photogenic. Their pasta list includes the classic ones like pesto and carbonara, as well as others with interesting Japanese twists such as those with Japanese curry, seaweed, and cod roe. The prices range from THB170 to THB240.
I tried the“Squid Ink Risotto” (230 Baht), which turned out a bit dull. Aside from being very presentable in velvety black sauce, the dish seemed unremarkable a few bites in. The “Garden Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Balsamic Dressing” was also quite bland.
Other anti-pasta dishes include a number of pizzas (THB190-330), soups (THB140-160) and small courses of appetizers. I would recommend that you half-fill your stomach with these creative little appetizers and finish with Brown Eyes’ delicious desserts. Light-meal dishes you’ll find here include the Bruschetta” (THBBaht), “Squid Herb Fritter” (THBBaht), and Omelette (THB140B).
I’m can’t stress this enough: Don’t fill yourself up before dessert!!!
Please be reminded that the opening hours for this Café can be a little tricky. On Tuesdays-Fridays the lunch hour runs from 11a.m. to 3p.m., and dinner from 5p.m. to 10:30 p.m. On Saturday the place opens all day from 11a.m. until 10:30 p.m., on Sunday until 9:30 p.m. Monday is always their day-off.
In short, Brown Eyes is a nice place for a laid-back average meal. Its real highlights are its spectacular deserts, especially the ice creams.
FIND IT:
16 Sukhumvit 12
Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110
Telephone: 02-255-5348, 02-255-5349
Reader Interactions