TWG cafe and restaurant, Emporium BKK

 Personally I don't like mixed tea leaves, as I consider Earl Grey as Earl Grey, and Pu Er as Pu Er....etc.  So it's not appropriate for me to judge the tea of this one, but I would say the water isn't nice in terms of clarity and temperature (in considering the black tea I ordered, some hotter water should have been to brew it).  Got a tea set for the highest price choice but it's not that appealing.  The sandwich is very nice after all.  The scone is a bit too dry and not taste like a scone.  The extra dessert ordered is ultra sweet.  However, the service of the old team is still very nice.  Next time I'd order an iced mocha instead.

Back to ours - there's no place like home. A special dinner at Big Shanghai restaurant, Suk 24, Emporium BKK

Passed by this place hundred times and puzzled if I should go in.  Finally the clock was turned back...  Back to something we used to have...
And here we had a special dinner.  The most surprising thing is the classic and the original cooking of hot and spicy soup which the Shanghai's hot bean paste was used, instead of the white pepper that nowadays most restaurants use.  The other nice one is the stir fried eel, also a classic cooking with raw chopped garlic with hot burning oil to bring out the aroma.  The other dishes aren't the best, they are still pretty classic.  Most of all, we could be here on a special day, and right next to Emporium.

2012 spring review: Minibar Deli, Emporium, BKK

I guess I am getting a Minibar poisoned syndrome. Quite some friends told me they don't like their signature red velvet cake (photo 5), but I kind of like it as it has some kind of a fruity and nut flavour (from beetroot and cocoa). Besides, I like the raw pound cake texture of it. The meat balls and in fact the ground meat (their pie) are very nice in texture and rich in fresh meat flavour. So if you like some light meal, this is a good place for a small portion of meat balls and a side salad. Then a small piece of cake to go with a coffee, or simply get a penna cotta (photo 1).

The swimming pool, Emporium Suites, Sukhumvit BKK

The other good thing about this serviced apartment is this big tropical swimming pool. Though the water is a bit cold (due to the weather), the abundant sunshine would keep you warm a bit.

The room, Emporium Suites, Sukhumvit BKK

The only thing I am happy with this service apartment is the friendliness of the front desk and restaurant staff, but when it comes to the room quality and the hotel facilities standard, there are a chain of problems. Just like the room, the sound proof is pretty poor. The fridge is quite noisy and the shower water is just at room temperature during 10-12 night time. There is another consideration for me to choose this serviced apartment is the view that I looked for and especially they did cater my special request for facing on the side to the river and Rama III.

Breakfast at the Emporia, cafe of Emporium Suites, BKK

1. Noticed no one would take this seat and on the 2nd day they still put the seating like this.

2. If you enlarge the photo, you would find some dirt and dust on it. Actually almost every corner is quite dusty.

3. Next to the boiled egg is some turkey bits. Actually I asked for a double portion. The food is so so, actually not fresh fruit and meat, even the eggs, almost expired. Then the next day I gave up the breakfast. Simply go down to Minibar on the food court floor of Emporium.

*If you will consider to stay here, please ask for a room only (if possible, forget the bathroom too and if you don't like a quiet room.). Don't waste your time.

The memorable facilities, Emporium Suites, Suk 24, BKK

1/2. the executive lounge. The first time I noticed a TV set was put in a golden picture frame.

3. the gym. All the equipments can be classified as in the World Heritage gym museum but amazingly look so brand new. The weigh bars are even sticking to each other because of rare uses. So no matter you wanna choose 10kg or 60kg, it's the same as 100kg as they are sticking to each other. No wonder they are so brand new. I even saw some twisting machine that I haven't seen since the 80's.

4/5. I thought at least a nice changing room and a shower (at least for a real warm water shower, due to the room having just room temperature shower water in the night time when many guests were turning on their showers - this is again another common thing of the 80's hotel signature, or even 70's).

6/7. Then I ran into a cruel massacre 一家三口滅門慘案... :( The father must have asked his wife to go bring with their kid on run, as the father was inside the toilet room and the mother with kid were near the entrance.).