Gazpacho

This cold Spanish soup will remedy your impending heat stroke, as well as any raw food tendencies you might have. Traditional gazpacho involves absolutely no cooking: stale bread, tomatoes and other vegetables are chopped and puréed, and cold olive oil and wine vinegar are added at the end, making gazpacho not only cool, but also zesty and refreshing. Get a cup at Tapas Café (1/25 Sukhumvit Soi 11, 02-651-2947) for B120.

Oysters

You don’t have to wait till the end of the meal to enjoy ice-cold bliss. At The Oyster Bar (395 Narathiwas Soi 24, 02-212-4809), you can pick from the day’s selection of fresh oysters flown in from Canada and the US. April is the tail-end of the season so gorge yourself before the summer months. Individual oysters range from B75-300 each and dozens go for B1,500-3,000. April also sees a special deal where B990 gets you a dozen oysters and a glass of Champagne.

Guacamole

Eating cold food doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice on nutrients. Thanks to the avocado base, a bowl of guacamole packs in a fair amount of protein to go with your carbalicious tortilla chips. The addition of lime, cilantro, onion and tomato all lend a spike of acidity to the smooth base. We like the chunky version offered at La Monita Taqueria (1/F Mahatun Plaza, Phloen Chit Rd., 02-650-9581), B160.

Beef Tartare

Essentially chopped cuts of high-quality (one hopes) raw meat, the Western-type beef tartare involves tart, spicy additions like capers, mustard, onions and Worcestershire sauce. Sometimes there’s even an egg. Le Bouchon (Patpong Soi 2, 02-2349109) serves this bistro classic in a grungy—but authentic—atmosphere for B550. For the Japanese counterpart, yukke (B180), try the new and hip Iza (Somerset Residence, 115 Soi Thong Lor, 02-712-7836).

Khao Chae

Summer also means khao chae, that seasonal relic of royal Thai cuisine, with its many little components: young chillies stuffed with shrimp, dried fish cooked in palm sugar, stuffed red shallots, par-boiled jasmine rice in ice water, smoked overnight in rose and jasmine—and more. April is awash with hotel restaurants doing a seasonal deal on this dish (not to mention S&P). Try the one at Spice Market (Four Seasons, 155 Ratchadamri Rd., 02-126-8866) for B700 per person, from Apr 13-19.

Bagel and Lox

Pack in the calories without overheating yourself with this New York breakfast and lunch favorite. A bagel of your choice is smeared with cold cream cheese and topped with smoked salmon and red onions. There aren’t many places in Bangkok where you can get bagel and lox, but the newly-opened BKK Bagel Bakery (518/3 Maneeya Center, Phloen Chit Rd., 02-254-8157) remedies that for B195 a pop.

Naengmyeong

Satisfy your noodle craving without enduring a boiling hot gway tiew naam. Go for Korean buckwheat noodles, naengmyeong, which come with either a plain cold broth, called mool naengmeong, or a spicy broth, called bi bim naengmyeong. Both these versions, and a few others, are available at Myeong-ga (216/14 Sukhumvit Plaza, Sukhumvit Soi 12, 02-229-4658) for B200-250.

Gway Tiew Lui Suwan

This ubiquitous cold dish can be bought from many a street vendor, sold as a box of cold rice noodle sheets rolled up with all kinds of veggies and meat and topped with a spicy, garlicky green sauce. But our favorite version of this dish is a kind of DIY naem neung called Complicated Noodles (B140), served at Greyhound Café, where you assemble lettuce, herbs, noodle squares and sauces into cooling bites. For a full list of branches, visit www.greyhoundcafe.co.th.

Tabouleh

This cold salad is common to many Middle Eastern cuisines and comes in variations containing grains of either couscous or bulghur wheat and is packed with loads of refreshing elements: lemon juice, mint leaves, parsley and raw veggies like tomatoes and onions. We like the one at Nadimo’s (Ban Silom, Silom Soi 19, 02-266-9081) for B110. You’ll probably want to have it with a variety of other mezzes, though, like roasted eggplant and chickpea purees.