Sarath Nimlamai, Thailand's chief of chocolate, has opened a new café that pays tribute to the emerging Thailand-grown cacao.
Prior to opening his hole-in-the wall café, the winner of Iron Chef Thailand 2015 and the former pastry chef at Pony Dining restaurant in Sydney, was delivering homemade chocolates from his home office Chocolate House, as well as conducting workshops and trainings for restaurants and choco enthusiasts.
At his first retail outpost, Sarath churns out chocolate bonbons with fillings that pair local flavors with international influences. Particularly exotic is the confection filled with yuzu-ginger, pineapple, Malibu coconut liqueur, strawberries and figs—it’s like a cocktail encased in a chocolate shell (B350/6 pieces). Decadent pastries like Triple Chocolate (B190), which combines layers of dark, milk and white chocolate all in one bite, will please chocolate lovers thrice over.
Hot on Instagram right now is the single-origin hot chocolate (B175) served in a pod made with cacao from Prachuap Kirikan. Pour hot chocolate into the cacao pod and a surprise (actually a marshmallow hidden within the chocolate casing) will pop right out.
Sarath’s next project involves bean-to-bar chocolates in exotic flavors, and inspired by some of Bangkok’s most popular landmarks.
