Cheng Sim Ei @ Giant Swing

What is it? Cheng Sim Ei is a classic Thai-Chinese dessert shophouse in Phra Nakhon, close to the Giant Swing, and it has been doing the traditional thing – shaved ice, sweet coconut milk, a choose-your-own selection of toppings – for as long as anyone can remember. This is not kakigori. It's not bingsu. It's the original: crushed ice, fragrant coconut milk, a ladle of sweet syrup and whatever combination of taro, jackfruit, lotus seeds, water chestnuts, coconut jelly and pandan noodles you're craving for.

Why we love it: Because some things don't need to be improved upon! The coconut milk here is properly coconut milk – rich, fragrant, just sweet enough – and the toppings, arrayed in an impressive spread behind the counter, are fresh and well-prepared. Choosing your own bowl is part of the ritual: you point, they pile, the ice goes on top and sweet syrup follows. The ruam mit (mixed) version is the path of least resistance and rarely disappoints. Prices are comfortingly cheap by any standard, the room is open-fronted and breezy and the street outside feels a world away from the malls of Sukhumvit. 

Time Out tip: The ruam mit bowl lets you go all-out on the toppings. Add the pandan-green lot chong noodles if you see them – they're the best.

212/1 Dinso Rd, Sao Chingcha, Phra Nakhon. Open daily (hours vary, best visited mid-morning to mid-afternoon)