Sora City, Bangkok

Coffee goes great with pancakes.

At least that’s true at Sora City along the tree-lined Soi Sukhumvit 26 of Phrom Phong. For a minute there, we are transported from humid Bangkok to summery Tokyo: all natural light and blonde woods and… bicycles?

Sora City is a bicycle company first and foremost, specialising in their own brand of functional and beautiful city bikes. Their vintage-style two-wheelers are all minimalist in design, inspired by the Japanese and Scandinavian aesthetic. All clean lines, just like the café itself. Stylish bicycle frames, saddles, helmets and accessories abound.

The Swedish adage “Vackrare vardagsvara” – meaning “Something beautiful for every day” – captures the ephemeral spirit of this lovely café perfectly. (“Sora” or 空 means “sky” in Japanese, hence their cloud-shaped logo.) So consider this a bicycle shop that serves coffee rather than a coffee shop that sells bicycles. Either way, Sora City does both well.

The friendly owner and barista, Amm, suggests that we try their signature homemade buttermilk pancakes, and we’re glad we do. From the basic to a savoury version featuring bacon and scrambled eggs, we are spoilt for choice. Again, we trust her advice and go with the Thai Tea option and we’re so glad we do. Layers of soft, fluffy pancakes interspersed with crumble and a reduced Thai tea sauce – heavenly.

For drinks, we want coffee, of course. Their Sora City Blend balances Sumatra Mandheling G1 with a local Phrao Chiang Mai. Our caffè latte arrives with an adorable bicycle latte art – what else? – that looks to good to sip, though we do, of course. We need something thirst-quenching too, on account of having braved the heat outside, and go with their sugas soda, with delicious bits of jelly cubes.

Whether you’re a lifestyle cyclist in need of a cuppa or a coffee lover looking for some sweet wheels, Sora City might just have what you’re seeking…

在酒店附近尋找早餐地點時，意外的發現了這家咖啡館，
看看門外的營業時間，我們決定先去吃早餐，然後再來喝咖啡。
Sora 在日文里有天空的意思，而Sora City卻是當地一個自行車品牌。
受到北歐和日本的簡約風的影響，
這裡無論是裝潢佈置，還是所售賣自行車及配備都簡潔流暢為主，
時髦得來卻又不嘩眾取寵，深得當地人的喜愛。

雖然是一家自行車專賣店，但這的咖啡也毫不含糊，
以曼特寧和清邁咖啡豆調製的拿鐵順滑可口，
加上上頭逗趣的自行車圖案，受到咖啡客的歡迎也是意料中的事。
除了意式咖啡外，這裡的各式甜、咸味鬆餅也非常有名。
所以雖然才剛用完早餐，不過在咖啡師的推薦下，
我們還是點了一份酪漿鬆餅來嚐嚐。
鬆軟的鬆餅配上特製的泰茶醬，果真不錯。
我們都說下次再到訪曼谷，要回來試試其他味道的鬆餅呢。