A day at the hounds
The Greyhound Concept Store is a restaurant surrounded by fantastic clothes and accessories, all of the sister brands together at last
GREYHOUND HAS combined its clothing with its popular cafe in a fresh 500-square-metre location at EmQuartier, giving shoppers a chance to mull over a new wardrobe while enjoying its “basic with a twist” cuisine.
On offer are the coolest threads from Greyhound Original, Playhound and Smileyhound, plus items from the new lifestyle brand Everythinghound, which extends to casual T-shirts, tote bags, blankets, scented candles, flowerpots and even cosy dog mats and enamel carriers for your tiffin lunch, as well as the same salad dressings, breads and sauces served in the cafe.
“Greyhound is more than a fashion and food brand – we’re a lifestyle brand,” says senior marketing manager Angsana Puangmalit. “We have loyal customers who’ve loved our minimalist yet detailed styles since we opened the first Greyhound boutique in 1980. After that we branched out into lifestyle with the first Greyhound Cafe in 1998, intended for Bangkok’s entrenched dining-out culture – the well-travelled, brand-conscious urbanities.”
The shop-within-a-shop is partitioned with curved glass to guide the way from one section to another. From the cutting-edge clothes with graphic prints of Greyhound Original, you can amble on to Playhound’s more youthful and more flamboyant street apparel and accessories.
Smileyhound has the neatly cut shirts with little playful embroidered greyhounds, and adjacent is Everythinghound, proffering those great cotton T-shirts and bags for
shopping bags. Its best seller, though, is home-made ice cream decorated with a “smiley” dog biscuit. There are 18 unusual flavours sold for Bt65 a scoop, such as Grilled Banana Caramel, Guava Plum, Bean and Coconut Paste, Cranberry Balsamic and Mixed Berries Crumble.
“The Everythinghound accessories are more casual and have more user-friendly prices,” says marketing director Suthida Virankabutra. “Many people love the characteristic Greyhound styles, but find the apparel and accessories a little too wild or too expensive, so now there’s Everythinghound fashion, perfect for everyday wear.”
“People are more knowledgeable and always on the move these days,” adds Angsana. “They know what’s best for them and they know what they can expect. They pay attention to the details and want quality as well as style, whether it’s a coffee mug or cutlery. Everythinghound was born to meet those needs.”
The Greyhound Cafe takes up the bulk of the new location, big enough to seat 100 diners. It’s decked out in black, grey and white, with printed floor tiles, mosaic wall tiles, unfinished concrete, rustic brick and exposed metal ducts. It all adds up to “industrial chic”, though there’s plenty of glass to let the natural light stream in.
On the ceiling above the dining room is a printed portrait of Pablo Picasso by Cholsin Chosakul. Elsewhere the design elements include a full-wall blackboard where the menu is updated by hand and grey retro chairs. There’s an outdoor dining area too, but few customers dare venture there while the temperature’s so high.
For the tummy there are all of the cafe’s favourites together with new items. The specialties are Salmon Sashimi in Spicy Hot Sauce (Bt200), Spaghetti Pla Salid (crispy dried gourami fish with basil and chillies, also Bt200) and Fresh Lasagna Salad (Bt180), with layers of crunchy romaine lettuce, olives, tomatoes, pasta and Parmesan cheese served with thick tomato dressing.
Kao Nam Prik Pla Tu (Bt180) is another must-try with its assortment of fried and boiled vegetables topped with fried fish and shrimp-paste dressing. It’s served with steamed rice, a fried egg and clear soup. For something zesty, opt for Complicated Noodles (Bt160), which is thin noodle sheets, a bowl of minced pork and a bowl of chilli sauce. You just wrap all the ingredients in lettuce leaves.
Fried Tons of Crabmeat with Rice (Bt420) is new – fried rice with garlic topped with an abundance of crabmeat and served with clear soup.
All through June there’s also the “Spicy Hokkaido” set, featuring Thai fieriness and ingredients flown in fresh from Japan.
You start with simple yet tempting Fried Marinated Salmon Toro (Bt180). The salmon belly is marinated in fish sauce, deep-fried and then sprinkled with garlic chips and served with hot tonkatsu sauce and Isaan-style jaew dip mixed with mayo. Next is Double Spicy Grilled Hokkaido Scallop (Bt350), with the shellfish swimming in Thai sauce and wasabi and served with julienned radish.
Similar to the local delicacy goong ob woonsen (shrimp and glass noodles in a clay pot), the main dish – Taraba Leg and Glass Noodle Casserole (Bt690) – instead utilises premium taraba king crab. It’s just the right balance of soft meat and chewy noodles, seasoned with coriander root, garlic and Sichuan peppercorns. And, yes, it comes in a clay plot, with more of that burning Thai sauce.
The set finishes up with Hokkaido Snow (Bt150), which is milk pudding accompanied by refreshing and also milky Hokkaido ice cream.
DRESS UP AND DINE OUT
>>The Greyhound Concept Store is on the second floor of Building C (the Waterfall Quartier) at EmQuariter on Sukhumvit Road.
>>It’s open daily from 11am to 10pm.
>>Call (02) 003 6660 or visit www.GreyhoundCafe.co.th.
