Dreaming of dessert

THERE’S A fairytale quality to Dream Forest, Siam Paragon’s newest food court, and not all of it is due to the puffy pink-tinged clouds formed out of translucent gauzy fabric that hover below the ceiling. Scents of sugar, butter and all things sweet drift through the air in this recently opened zone, an area spread over the fourth and fifth floors and devoted to delectable desserts.

The fragrant aroma of fresh baking comes from the 10 cafes and patisseries making up the Forest, among them such stalwarts as True Coffee and Mister Donut plus newer names like Cupcake Love, Tart to Tart, Royal Sugar, Patisserie Masatomi, Fucheer by Lukkaithong, Custard No.4, Love to Eat Home-made Ice Cream and Chewy Junior.

The decor is fresh and clean but surprisingly intimate and guests will be tempted to linger while waiters in uniform, trained to luxury hotel standards, bring the sweet treats to the table.

Tart to Tart on the fourth floor has adopted a slogan of “savoury to sweet” and offers no fewer than 24 home-made tarts prepared by veteran pastry chef Ayusakorn “Van” Arayangkoon, co-owner of the popular French restaurant 4 Garcons Brasserie and Patisserie on Soi Thonglor.

Trained at Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School, Van spent three years perfecting his art, combining French, Japanese and Thai culinary techniques until he was satisfied with the result. Most of his tarts are based on local fruits and mixed with custard, cream, chocolate, fruity mousse, cheese and hazelnut. 

“My aim is to encourage people to eat more Thai fruits,” he says. “My tarts have the soft and light layers of pastry the Japanese are famous for while I draw on French patisserie techniques to infuse different flavours.”

Freshly baked every day, Van’s tarts include a delicious blueberry cheesecake that’s topped with white cheese, a mixed berry tart lined with fresh raspberry and blueberry and an interesting sapodilla creation that oozes coffee cream. 

Other must-try desserts – the names all finish with “to Tart” – are Bael Fruit Glace, Apple Caramel, adapted from the popular apple tatin, and Grape, which boasts a filling made from grape juice mousse and is topped with sliced aloe vera. Tea, coffee and other beverages are also available.

Also on the fourth is the latest branch of Patisserie Masatomi, a bakery that specialises in Japanese and French treats.

Owned by entrepreneur Thomas Van Blaroom and chef Pichai “Tommy” Rungnoppakunsi, Masatomi appeals to diners who prefer their treats soft and light and not too sweet.

There’s sticky and chewy Mochi cake (Bt150) filled with strawberry, green tea, red bean or strawberry chocolate and the crunchy Mont Blanc cheesecake with its multitude of different layers and in flavours that include purple sweet potato, pumpkin, red bean and green tea. 

Sakura Cake, which combines sakura sponge cake, sakura mochi, pastry cream, fresh strawberries and sakura cream, is another favourite as are the macaroons, available in 18 different flavours from yuzu and momotaro (white peach) to organic lavender and green tea. Masatomi also serves Gryphon premium blended teas. 

Fucheer by Lukkaithong, which describes itself a “chic tea house” offers original Thai tea made from its own blend of Ceylon, Oolong and Southern Thai leaves. A favourite here is the Pung Cha Yen (Bt175), tea served over shaved ice, sweetened with condensed milk, and topped with jelly, breads and almonds. Snacks are also available and include croissants, sausages, ratongthong and mantou. Do sample the French Roti in caramel sauce for a sensuous blast of crunch and cream.

Royal Sugar meanwhile specialises in high tea sets featuring scones served with mixed berry and cream cheese dips, sandwiches, macaroons, panna cotta, tarts, brownies and blue cheese that can be washed down with a range of English teas. 

Other goodies include brownie salad in chocolate sauce, served with strawberries and ice cream, chocolate lava and a Lady Diana crepe with mixed berries in strawberry sauce.

Mister Donut is up on the fifth floor and sports a Japanese design along with premium-blend coffee and more than 10 donuts with toppings available only at Dream Forest.

Specialities include a soft donut served in an espresso affogato or red raspberry affogato for Bt59, the Pon De Ring topped with green tea almond and white chocolate and a white choco & cookie number. Prices range from Bt25 to Bt29. 

Popular Singapore bakery Chewy Junior is also present and offers cream puffs with chocolate and strawberry as well as cotton cheese puffs that are wonderfully sticky on the outside. Less sweet than the average Thai dessert, they come with a variety of cream toppings like caramel, raspberry and apple, lemon, chocolate, cornflakes and blueberry.

The Dream Forest outlet of this franchise is run by Ploynapat Pongsinthanakit and she guarantees a fresh selection every day. 

Perfect for chilling out after a day of shopping, Love to Eat’s home-made gelato is both creative and interesting. The owner and chef Suthanmaporn “Paeng” Wongsanganon trained in London and Switzerland and today offers this delicious Italian ice cream in various combinations and more than 20 flavours. 

“My ice-creams are served in dessert form,” Paeng explains. 

They include Banoffe Pie (Bt175), aromatic caramel ice cream served on a crunchy pie and dressed with home-made caramel sauce and sliced bananas and Panna Cotta ice cream served with raspberry or passion fruit jelly, as well as fresh berries, kiwi and orange for Bt165. 

The Creme Brulee ice cream (Bt175) shimmers with brown sugar that’s caramelised by a chef’s blowtorch. It’s served with kiwi, orange and such fresh berries as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.

You can wash the gelato down with a refreshing soda drink, made with fresh blueberry, raspberry, strawberry syrup and steeped with berry ice for Bt110. 

Owned by Suwimon Thanyawong, a cheerful entrepreneur who has traditionally dealt in foreign eyewear, beauty accessories and kitchen products through her business Kamnuan Karn, Custard No 4 serves scrumptious Japanese-style pastries and desserts, all of them created by young chef Phuttipong Techamanachai. 

The recipes are adapted from Hokkaido-style layered desserts that are not too sweet and feature a range of custard choices including honey, milk caramel, Thai tea, green tea and Earl Grey. Also on the menu are such savoury and sweet toasts as Crispy Spicy Tuna Basil, Chicken Cream Stew, Ham Cheese Pizza Neapolitan, Spinach Gratin, Honey, Caramel, Espresso Caramel and Chocolate priced between Bt85 and Bt115. Diners can 0also enjoy healthy smoothies, iced tea and milkshakes.

 

 

CREATIVE WITH CAKE

 >>Dream Forest is located on fourth and fifth floor of Siam Paragon. It’s open daily from 10am to 10pm.