If you follow me on IG and Twitter (@niannlynn, shameless plug), you will know I am a certified Swedophile. I love everything Sweden, Vikings included. So, needless to say, if there is a Scandinavian aka Swedish restaurant or bakery in town I will sniff it out faster than the word Sweden can be said.
Mammaskok Sofie Lisby
Mammas Kök, which means mama's kitchen in Swedish, is not new to the Bangkok bakery scene, having first started out in a small shophouse in the middle of Klong Toey. It has now located to Rama IV, a location much more approachable and is a full-fledged bakery and catering service.
The brainchild of Mia Palmkvist, Mammas Kök began when Palmkvist, who was born in Thailand but adopted to Sweden when she was three months old, found her biological family and wanted to help them out with a steady income. She divides her time between Helsingborg and Bangkok and is responsible for most of the sweet treats on offer.
"Before I met my family, I tried the cakes in Bangkok and they were not upto scratch. I have always been interested in baking and I wanted to introduce the Thais to Swedish cakes and food. My cakes and food have gained the following of the Swedes in Bangkok, which prompted me to open a small cafe," says Palmkvist.
If you have only tasted Sweden at Ikea, you're in for a surprise at Mammas Kök.
My absolute favourite Swedish pastry is the semla (B150), which is a pastry rooted in tradition. The wheat flour bun is flavoured with cardamom and filled with almond paste and whipped cream, and is only eaten till Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday (fettisdag in Swedish). The buns are eaten as a last feast before the Christian fasting period of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. In some parts of Sweden, the semla is eaten soaked in hot milk (hetvägg). During semla "season", I cannot get enough and am often found stuffing my face with it!
In fact, the first time I visited Mammas Kök and met Palmkvist in Klong Toey was just for her semlas, which says a lot. Semlas at Mammas Kök are generally made to order, are available all year round and take around 20 minutes. If you don't like waiting, you can place your order a day in advance.
Another favourite sweet treat is the chokladbollar (B30 each) or chocolate balls. These no bake balls are found throughout the country (Sweden), and are coated with desiccated coconut. A perfect after meal chocolate bite!
"The cakes change a lot, because if I have a new idea, I immediately start baking and put it on the shelves. But we always have the traditional cakes like chokladbollar, cinnamon bun [B55], almond cake or toscakaka [B100] and chocolate biskvi [B60]. Everything is made from scratch. Some times the princess cake is made for the weekends, and we sell it by the slice," Palmkvist adds.
If you wanna feel like a princess, fear not Sweden has you covered. Birthday's in Sweden are incomplete without a Prinsesstårta or princess cake. Prices for this cake start from B1,200 for two pounds (6-8 slices) and B1,600 for three pounds (8-12 slices).
A classic princess cake is usually covered in green marzipan, layered with sponge cake, raspberry jam, pastry cream and whipped cream. It is garnished with a pink marzipan rose and leaves, and then dusted with powdered sugar. It is to note that the cake was originally called "green cake" or gröntårta, but was changed to prinsesstårta because princesses loved the cake.
"Baking has always been a hobby of mine. Cooking is therapeutic for me but I think it was because of my grandparents. Every Friday we used to bake for the weekend, that was when the interest in baking started," adds Palmkvist.
These days Swedes are breaking away from tradition and variants of the cake are being tried; prinstårta (prince cake) for yellow marzipan and operatårta (opera cake) for red or pink marzipan, which is what I tried at Mammas Kök.
The best thing is that you don't need to order the entire cake as Palmkvist usually bakes one for the weekend to sell by the slice. Moist, tarty and delish... and I don't even like cake!
Other signature birthday cakes are the Swedish sandwich cake or the Smörgåstårta, available for B350 per piece (minimum order of four pieces), B1,700 for 6-8 pieces and B3,000 for 10-12 pieces.
The smörgåstårta is a must at all celebrations and is a layered open sandwich of sorts. The layers can be anything you fancy like pork liver pate, salmon, prawns, roast beef and topped with ham and cheese, and mayo. The more mayo, the better. The sandwich cake at Mammas Kök was delicious and had the right amount of mayo to prawns to cucumber, to salmon to bread to hard-boiled eggs. Yum! (Salivating as I type is probably too much info, but hey, how else do I convey how scrumptious this was?)
The Swedish word "fika", which loosely translates as a social event that takes place anytime, anywhere, standing or sitting. Important to note: it can last from five minutes to several hours, and involves a hot or cold drink, pastry, salad or sandwich. It can be had alone or with family, friends and even strangers. Pro Tip: First dates in Sweden usually involve fika.
So it would be strange if I mentioned all the above sweet treats with no mention of the drinks. I highly recommend the Swedish summer soda of Swedish homemade elderflower (B70), filled with berries and offering the refreshing kick, so desperately needed in the Bangkok heat.
Sweden is one of the world's largest consumers of coffee, so it would be a shame to leave the bakery without trying the Swedish coffee (B80), usually drunk black, or the Swedish chocolate (B60/B65).
What are you waiting for? Ska vi ta en fika? (Shall we fika?)
MAMMAS KÖK CAFE BOUTIQUE & CATERING SERVICE, 1905 Rama IV, Near Bon Gai bus stop, Monday to Friday 8am-5pm, Sunday 11am-4pm, Saturday closed. Call 095-935-3983. Email mammaskok@gmail.com. Visit bangkokwww.facebook.com/pg/mammaskok.
