Best Dessert & Dumplings in Bangkok

I was planning on going in order when I finally wrote my Bangkok-Pattaya-Hong Kong-Macau trip report. But someone reminded of this today and now I can’t stop thinking about it and have to share.

On a previous trip to Thailand I’d come across the top 3 desserts in Bangkok. I’m not a huge sweets person, but I was intrigued by this Crepe cake. So we dutifully went to the Secret Garden, the Thai food is decent, and then got dessert. OH WOW.

It’s over 50 layers of thin sweet crepes with delicately smeared whipped cream in between each layer. And of course it’s then drizzled with strawberry sauce. It’s probably not the best dessert you’ll ever have, but it’s definitely one of best tasting unique desserts you’ll encounter. It’s mostly a texture thing. Mmmmmm. Crepe Cake.

It’s expensive by Thai standards (~$5 a slice) but must be so labor intensive to make, I can’t imagine it ever being affordable in the US.

So when we went back to Bangkok this year it was on our list of places to go. Then I discovered they had a dessert-only outlet on the 6th floor of Central World mall. Which was conveniently located across the street from the Grand Hyatt Erawan we would be staying at. YES!

The decor is definitely cheesy, but it works, and it’s a lot easier than schlepping out to Sathorn. Though the Sathorn location is near my favorite branch of Health Land Spa.

And while I was looking up the Secret Garden location in Central World, I saw they had my all time favorite dumpling place — Din Tai Fung!! My first experience at Din Tai Fung was the original restaurant in Taipei. Then a year later I discovered an outlet in Bellvue, WA of all places. It was really pricey once you indulged in a few orders, but it was well worth it!

So I was beside myself with excitement that there was one in Bangkok, right across from our hotel! My friend likes dumplings but isn’t as enthusiastic as I am (few people are) but agreed to go. It wound up almost directly above the Secret Garden on the 7th floor.

She also turned the ordering over to me. I went a little nuts…

I got the fried pork wontons.

The juicy pork dumplings.

The juicy chicken dumplings.

The juicy chili crab dumplings.

A steamed pork bun.

And some rice & pork shao mai for good measure.

The juicy dumplings are also called “soup dumplings” and the best way to describe them is like the best chicken dumpling soup you’ve ever had, but the soup is in the dumpling. The chili crab dishes were only so-so, but even my friend went nuts for the juicy pork and chicken dumplings, finally understanding why I was squealing when I found out there was a location in Bangkok. 🙂

The best part? This extravagant meal which would have cost $75 or more in the US was only $33.

 Looks like there’s often a long wait to get in the restaurant–we went at 3 so we only had to wait about 5 minutes –but you can pose with the mascot and/or watch your future dumplings being made to pass the time.

Related Posts:

• A Week of Spas, Upgraded Rooms, & Fun in Thailand
• Ringing in 2012 in Bangkok
• Is the Din Tai Fung San Jose Worth the Wait?
• Seattle Now Has More Than Its Fair Share of the Best Dumplings in the World
• Good Dim Sum Near San Francisco Airport