Rocket Nordic Cafe, Bangkok – bring on the gravlax
The outlet of Rocket at Sukhumvit 49 is closed, but there is still a branch at Sathorn Soi 12
Desperate to escape the early spring gloom in Melbourne, Greedy Girl and gluttonous husband packed their bags for a mini-break in Bangkok. Gluttonous husband had another date with the dentist (see the blog Dental Tourism here) and we were intent on finding a particular restaurant for a quick lunch beforehand.
Sadly, in the six months since our last visit, it had closed down. We headed nearby to Rocket Cafe, an old standby to find it too had undergone a bit of a makeover.
Rocket is now a ‘Nordic cafe’. Basically that seems to mean lots of smoked salmon on the menu. Still, it’s a light and bright place to sit, with effective air-conditioning. We’d been to two Rocket outlets on our previous visit and enjoyed a decent (if pretty expensive) hamburger, some nice chocolate cookies and slices and very acceptable coffee.
A light and bright spot
Given we were there for a good, not a long, time we opted for some simple food. After the best part of a day sitting in a plane getting to Bangkok and having a bit of a meat fest, gluttonous husband was craving some greens. He took the gravlax salad, pictured at the top of this post.
It looked pretty but it didn’t really deliver on the flavours he hoped for. The salmon was overwhelmed by the other elements on the plate, particularly the dressing. Greedy Girl tried the dish and found the dressing on the potatoes to be almost bitter. There were also some semi-dried tomatoes, peas, beans, dill and lettuce. Still, it was fresh – and refreshing.
Greedy Girl took the cheese and truffle toastie. Here’s how it looks on the menu:
The menu picture
And here’s how it is presented in the cafe:
The cheese and truffle toastie
It was perfectly acceptable. The dollop of pesto on the side was a little over-processed for Greedy Girl’s liking but it worked well with the richness of the toasted sandwich. It could have used a bit more seasoning.
Happily, gluttonous husband received a side of warm potato chips. We were able to add some more salt to these to give the hit we were looking for.
Homemade potato chips
With a few minutes before we had to head to the dentist, we opted to have a coffee each. Gluttonous husband took his customary double espresso while Greedy Girl had a piccolo latte – effectively a caffe latte served in an espresso glass. You get all the coffee and much less milk.
Seriously good coffee
This was one of the best coffees we’ve had, anywhere in the world. The flavours were robust, yet smooth. An unqualified delight.
And we were done.
One wonders why Rocket has gone down this path of professing a ‘Nordic’ connection. Perhaps it differentiates the cafe in the Bangkok market but western coffee isn’t exactly commonplace.
By local standards, it isn’t particularly cheap but European visitors to Bangkok, looking for some comfort food (and coffee) might regard it as a haven. For the coffee alone, it’s worth seeking out.
Rocket Nordic Cafe
Sukhumvit 49, Bangkok
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