Gone are the days when breakfast was just a boring ritual for kids and the health-conscious. Over the past year, it has become one of the most popular gastronomic trends in Bangkok. And the "all-day breakfast" has successfully squeezed its way onto the menus of many restaurants.
The 35-seat restaurant is decked out American style.
Yet, as a breakfast-buff, Chitraphan Charanachitta, proprietor of the much-loved, three-year-old Buttercup restaurant in Soi Soonvijai, found that there wasn't enough establishments dedicated to early-bird diners. Most all-day breakfast joints open from 8am at the earliest, which she feels is just too late for many potential guests.
So when she came across a vacant shophouse in Soi Thong Lor a year ago, she got the idea of opening a restaurant to particularly cater for early risers.
Behind its New Orleans-inspired, olive-green facade, Tiny Cup Cafe serves up creatively-crafted, Western homestyle dishes — from traditional breakfast to salad and pasta — prepared with premium quality ingredients, together with a selection of freshly brewed coffees and house-blended drinks. The cooking is geared towards light and healthy cuisine, without much seasoning or lashings of butter.
Tiny Cup coffee menu.
Of the breakfast menu, we passed on the best-selling full English breakfast and settled on the smaller-portioned egg & chorizo (190 baht). The pan-baked organic egg was presented sunny-side up, with a hunk of Spanish sausage from Sloane's, Bangkok's famous artisan charcutier. All this was on a bed of chunky home-made tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese. The tasty meaty fare was served with whole wheat toast.
The fig and avocado salad (200 baht), which came next, featured mixed leafy greens generously drenched with balsamic truffle dressing. The salad was lent an addictive element by the sweet dried fig and offered a crunchy finish due to the pine nuts.
Guests interested in sampling a salad with distinctive texture could try okra tofu salad with yuzu-mirin dressing (220 baht). It's a well-presented jumble of romaine and iceberg lettuce, thin slices of okra, edamame (green soybeans) and chilled cubes of tofu. The green okra gave the dish a soft texture, the steamed beans added a chewy punch and dried fish flakes gave a mild seafood taste. The dressing lent a citrusy contrast.
Though it didn't look very photogenic, Tiny Cup's tuna melt (260 baht) proved the best in town when it came to taste. It simply was an open-faced sandwich of plump, mildly sweet pumpkin bread baked with tuna spread, sliced avocado, cubed capsicums and mozzarella cheese topping.
From the main course menu, we tried salmon steak with quinoa taboule salad (380 baht). A nice fillet of pan-grilled salmon came accompanied by the quinoa grains, which are high in protein and low in carbs. The refreshing salad was with lemon-and-olive oil dressed pomegranate and mint.
A frothy blend of orange and passion fruit with raspberry granita.
Another rich dish I fell in love with was spaghetti ikura (320 baht). It's a hefty serving of al dente spaghetti and neatly cubed salmon fillet garnished with salmon roe, which impressively released a salty oceanic zest in contrast to the mild-tasting cream sauce.
Tiny Cup's French toast (250 baht) and wholewheat pancake balls with banana fillings (240 baht), listed under the breakfast option, were sampled as a sweet finale. Both came with assorted fresh fruits and were delightful.
A nice collection of dessert and bakery items, including cheesecakes, tarts, cakes, brownies, scones and muffins, from a display fridge, are also available for both dining-in and takeaway.
The cafe has a lovely selection of smoothies, milkshakes and freshly squeezed juice. Orange Passion, a rich and frothy blend of orange and passion fruit juice with raspberry granita topping (130 baht) and a very thick and silky strawberry milkshake (120 baht) were both winners. For coffee-addicts, affogato (150 baht) is highly recommended.
The 35-seat restaurant, with a small counter bar and a lovely private corner for up to 10 guests, is decked out Americana-style with a comfy sofa, wooden picnic bench, long dining table, tea cup display, glass cabinets and cottage-style chandeliers.
In the morning of our visit, it was packed by locals and farang expats. Groups of Japanese housewives took over the place in the afternoon. Service was welcoming.
The spaghetti ikura.
The salmon steak with quinoa taboule salad.
Egg & chorizo breakfast platter.
