Sunshine on the plate

A LONG-TIME fan of the popular 2003 Korean series “Dae Jang Geum”, Utchima Sriprachya-Anunt was so fascinated by the way food and herbs can be used to prevent and cure sickness that she decided to study dietetics at the University of Wisconsin Madison in the US. On return to Bangkok she easily found work as a dietician in a local hospital but eventually decided that the work was much too limiting in its scope.

So in November last year, she teamed up with her boyfriend Polvut Anusasamornkul to open Little Sunshine, a small cafe on Wireless Road offering healthy Japanese-Thai fusion dishes and sweets that diners can enjoy without feeling guilty.

Located on the first floor of Suthavongs Place service apartment in the space that was once home to bistros Pastel and Tiny Cup, the cafe has been redesigned to feel like a cosy sitting room. The indoor dining space is spacious enough for 20 customers while another 10 can relax over their meals in the shady garden. 

“I dreamed of being a dietician just like Dae Jang Geum but when I start

 ed work I quickly discovered that hospitals don’t encourage new healthy menus but prefer their patients to eat bland food. 

“I quit soon after and worked for six months as a writer for Health & Cuisine magazine while looking for a location for my own cafe,” she says. 

“This apartment block is in a good location and we cater mainly to residents and local office workers who are looking for home-cooked meals packed with nutrients.”

Utchima has personally designed the menu and is also in charge of the kitchen. She uses rice bran oil and organic vegetables and makes all the sauces from scratch, keeping salt and sugar to a minimum.

A favourite is the Grilled Salmon & Mushroom Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette (Bt240) featuring New Zealand salmon served with pickled pumpkin, cranberry, almond, tomato and radish and mushroom tossed in soy sauce. Another recommended dish is Spicy Three Little Eggs Pasta (Bt195), which blends lightly spiced pasta with onsen egg, ebiko and marinated roes of pollock and cod.

 Spicy Thai Fried Rice with Norwegian Salmon and Herbs (Bt185) boasts fried rice cooked with spicy jaew sauce, Norwegian grilled salmon, mint, shallot slices and dill. Braised Pork Ribs with Shitake Mushroom (Bt175) are simmered for four hours until tender and served with rice and a boiled egg.

Sukiyaki Rice with Hamburg (Bt220) is a bowl of rice cooked with full-flavour Japanese-style sukiyaki sauce, eringi mushroom and onion and served with marinated ground pork and a boiled egg while Spicy Chirashi (Bt250) is a bowl of rice mixed with spicy Thai dressing, seasoned Japanese omelette roll, smoked salmon, salmon roe and topped with spicy mayonnaise sauce. 

Dessert favourites include Apple Cinnamon Cake (Bt120) and Soft Cookie Nutella (Bt95), which is inspired by the popular American picnic dessert S’mores. The cookie is filled with Nutella chocolate and topped with marshmallow. Customers can pay an extra Bt30 for a scoop of ice cream. 

Drinks include Little Sunshine Soda (Bt110), a blend of passion fruit, lychee juice and elder flower syrup, along with a selection of aromatic coffee made from Laliart’s medium dark-roasted beans.

  

 

CREATURE COMFORTS

>> Little Sunshine is on the first floor of Suthavongs Place, Witthayu Soi 1. 

>> It’s open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm. Call (091) 889 8327 or visit the “Little Sunshine Cafe” page on Facebook.