Too Fast Too Sleep

754, Samyan Center, Rama 4 Rd., 086-577-8989. Open 24/7.
This new café opened earlier this year and immediately won over a crowd of uni students, freelancers and even office workers who need a change of surroundings. The large open space is perfect to get work done without feeling like you’re stuck at a desk.

TCDC

6/F, the Emporium, 02-664-8448. Open Tue-Sun 10:30am-10pm. www.tcdc.or.th
With impeccable design and views of Benjakitti Park, libraries have never been this sexy. Of course, there are also 15,000 books, CDs and DVDs along with over 3,500 additional material resources—not to mention Wi-Fi, Macs, color photocopy, image scanning and digital photography services. Still can’t be tempted by the B3,000 yearly silver membership (B12,000 for platinum)? Just sip a latte at the Kiosk café that shares its space.

Banrie Coffee Ekkamai

4 Soi Sukhumvit 63 [Ekkamai junction], 02-391-9784/5. Open 24/7. www.banriecoffee.com
The most professional looking of the bunch, it even has private rooms with whiteboards if you need to host a serious meeting.

Starbucks Thonglor

231 Thonglor Soi 10, Sukhumvit Rd., 02-712-9691. Open daily 7am-10pm (Fri-Sat 7am-11pm). www.starbucks.co.th
Yes, it’s a Starbucks, but this branch has a separate room with a large desk, library lamps and a bookshelf, making it the most studious in town. It’s also located in a small house in front of Thonglor Soi 10, plays jazz, and has a decent newspaper corner.

The Sync

1111/67 Ban Klangmuang, Ladprao Rd., 02-938-2636. www.thesync.org
This new space, set to officially open May 10, is run by NGO Change Fusion. It is meant as a co-working space where freelancers or small SMEs with big ideas but small budgets (and no proper office) can access pro facilities like a fax and meeting room. Rates start from B450-B6,000 a month.

What: Tandem skydiving (Skydiving for amateurs)
Where: Thai Sky Adventures, 142/162 Soi Banluekanka, Sukhumvit Rd. Pattaya, 085-900-3412.
Price: B9,950 per jump, no training needed.

What: Wakeboarding
Where: Taco Lake, 175/1 Km.13, Bangna Trad Rd., 02-316-7809.
Price: Cable rates B300 for two hours, B500 for all day, 1 year unlimited pass B7,500. All day wakeboard and binding rental B200.

What: Bungee jumping
Where: Pattaya Jungle Bungee Jump, 25/5 Moo 12, Chonburi, 087-150-1166.
Price: Starts from B2,000 for a 165 ft. jump including insurance.

Taiwan

The food: The island’s climate is sub-tropical, allowing for a bounty of great agriculture produce, from rice to seafood. Taiwan’s cuisine is characterized by stews (mostly with lamb) and the use of wheat flour dough instead of steamed rice, as seen in xiao long bao.
The place: Ran Nam Toahu Yung Her (also Taohu Yung Hoe or He) certainly looks exotic with its food stuffs stacked up behind the cashier and an open kitchen that allows for plenty of banter in languages we can’t begin to comprehend. The stews are pure meaty bliss. The chunks of beef or goat (B150 for a bowl of noodles) are buttery soft without having lost their consistency, their juices preserved in the thick, herby broths in which they are cooked. Another must-try is the xiao long bao (B155)—the dough is very thin and the soup is naturally sweet.
Ran Nam Toahu Yung Her, 68 Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Rd., 02-635-0003. www.sukanyayonghe.com. BTS Chong Nonsi. Open daily 11am-10pm.

Hainan

The food: Hainan or Hai Lam is a small island in the South China Sea, where seafood reigns supreme. Just like other Asian cuisines, there’s a big focus on noodles and rice, the most famous specialty being Hainanese chicken rice. The original dish, Wenchang chicken, is now popular through Southeast Asia, where it’s often called Hainanese chicken rice (we, of course, call it khao man gai) and comes with subtle variations.
The place: Despite moving from Ploenchit to the edge of Bangkok, Suan Sone’s air-con shophouse is still home to some of the best and most authentic Hai Lam noodles (B50) in the city—a thicker, shorter version of our sen lek noodles. The soup they are served with comes with a choice of beef or pork. Both meats are very tender and juicy. Of course, they also do the Hainanese chicken rice (B40).
Suan Sone, 103-105 Pracharat Soi 7, Bang Sue, 02-587-5344. Open daily 8am-6pm.
The other place: Located on a quiet bend of the Chao Phraya River, Kuan Ah is about as stylish as a cafeteria, more function than fashion. The focus here is obviously on the food, which is terrific, the kind of confident, presentation-be-damned cuisine you can only get in places that have been in business this long. We do recommend the pae toon ya jeen (goat stew with Chinese herbal medicine, B300 for small), another famous Hainanese dish, which is very addictive.
Kuan Ah, 884/9 Rama 3 Rd., 02-682-7747-8. Open daily 10am-10pm.

Tae-Jiew

The food: Tae-Jiew, Teochew or Chaozhou is commonly known for the lightness and subtlety of its flavor. In the region of Chaoshan, the cuisine is more about stewing, braising and steaming. Located close to the ocean, steamed fish in soy sauce is a big classic there. Other famous dishes are goose in five spices, fish balls and oysters.
The place: With its typical red and gold color scheme, Lim Kwong Meng (a.k.a. “the 1999” restaurant) serves a variety of perfectly executed traditional dishes ranging from roast suckling pig to hue sae—raw sliced fish sprinkled with white sesame and dipped in sweet-and-sour sauce.
Lim Kwong Meng, 294 Chulalongkorn Soi 5, Rama 4 Rd., 02-216-8065. www.lkm1999.com. Open daily 11am-2pm, 5-10pm.
The other place: Another Tae-Jiew kitchen, the venerable institution Yim Yim has been around for some 80 years—a sign it is some of the best Tae-Jiew food you’ll get in Bangkok. We recommend ham with goat skin served with canned asparagus and a mayonnaise dressing with crunchy sugar. The meat itself, with that thin layer of goat’s skin, once plunged into the accompanying rice vinegar, is a pure delight—robust, meaty, but lean. The goat skin is flavorful without being smelly, thanks to very careful washing. Yim Yim is also famous for its chicken soup, a wonderfully flavorful broth—just don’t be shocked if a foot or head sticks out of your bowl.
Yim Yim, 89 Soi Yaowaphani, Yaowarat Rd., 02-224-2203-5. Open daily 11am-2pm, 5-10pm.

Szechuan

The food: Szechuan cuisine is perhaps the strongest in character—pungent and spicy due to its wide use of chili and garlic to increase your body temperature in the cool weather. The techniques used are mostly stir-frying and braising. Dishes like mapo doufu (stir-fried tofu in chili and bean curd sauce) and gong bao chicken (sweet and sour stir-fried chicken) have become famous worldwide.
The place: Ta Yang or Giew Jeen is a small shophouse that looks like a photocopy shop with its decrepit glass front. As its name represents, Giew Jeen or wonton is the highlight here, as well as the mapo doufu, whose strong flavors manage to balance spicy, sweet and salty. Another must try is their fried eggplant. You’ll spot every table ordering one plate because of its appetizing smell and silky texture.
Ta Yang, 5/4 Soi Ngamduplee, Rama 4 Rd., 02-679-7019. Open daily 10:30am–2pm, 5pm-9:30pm.

Hotel Spot: Four in One

Feeling lazy? Now at Silk Road (3/F, Plaza Athenee, 61 Wireless Rd., 02-650-8800. www.plazaatheneebangkok.com), you can discover four Chinese regions’ cuisines in one setting. Covering Szechuan, Hong Kong, Cantonese and Beijing, expect dishes like fried Maine lobster with Szechuan bean curd and sautéed blue crab with marinated pork sauce. Through Jun 30.