Located at the site of the old Vanilla, the new Vanilla Home Café (G/F, Silom Complex, Silom Rd., Bangkok, 02-231-3168) offers an intriguing Thai cuisine focus. The décor and packaging is still tastefully chic, while the menu is filled with Thai classics like pla too tom sai bua (mackerel in coconut soup with lotus stem, B150) and tom saep nuea toon sai kapi (spicy soup with beef and shrimp paste, B165). Desserts are also pretty old-school, including pla haeng tangmo (watermelon topped with sun-dried fish, B70) and aa-lua (flour with coconut milk, B30). For those who work in the area, a set lunch is available at B220.

For something a world away from shrimp paste, head along to the Water Library (Chamchuri Square, Rama 4 Rd., Bangkok, 02-160-5188) whose set lunch menu features dishes like homemade tofu with foie gras, shiitake emulsion, bonito and leek, and seared barramundi with parsnip mousseline, lemon and parsley. Two courses are B890 and three courses are B950 with Illy coffee or tea.