"F" refers to fruits, while "V" refers to vegetables, hinting that the local gem serves as both inspiration and ingredients for this artistic café on Song Wat. Housed within a converted shophouse, it boasts artful paintwork, features a traditional wooden Thai house, and showcases colorful paintings in various styles.
Song Wat is so cool that it’s become hot. The compact neighborhood, which runs between Chinatown’s main road and the Chao Phraya River, gives off very different vibes from bustling Yaowarat. It’s a lot more quiet and relaxed. Even peaceful.
Song Wat is one of Bangkok’s oldest trading quarters, established in the early 1900s after a massive fire that wiped out half of Chinatown. Its name, Song Wat, meaning “draw” in royal vocabulary, references a line drawn on an old map by King Rama V himself.
A row of shophouses boasting intricate Sino-Portuguese details line the neighborhood’s main street, while religious and education establishments find homes down its narrow alleys.
Many of the original shops still peddle what they’ve been selling for a century: spices and food ingredients. However, new entrepreneurial ventures—from craft cafes to art galleries—have started taking over vacant shophouses, and many, if not all, of them feature aesthetics that respect the original structure and blend in seamlessly with older establishments. Today, Song Wat sees an intriguing mix of past and present, not to mention a camaraderie among its old and new residents —exactly how we envision a cool neighborhood.
