Masatomi Patisserie

3/F, 02-652-1977. Open daily 10am-7pm (until all the shops open in the mall, around Oct 2011, the shop will not be open on Sundays)
Chef and owner Tommy Rungnoppakunsi quit his job in marketing to take a patisserie course at the Cordon Bleu. Assisted by his co-chef, Busarin Itsarachai (also a Cordon Bleu alum), they blend their very classical French training with Japanese influences. For example, their Mont Blanc (B90) is made with sweet potato instead of chestnut puree. But what’s most exciting at Masatomi is the carefully crafted macarons. The lavender and white chocolate one (B45) is infused with real lavender, bringing floral notes to the sweet treat. As for the citrus cream cheese macaron (B35), it is made with yuzu, an East-Asian fruit with both lemony and orangey notes. Definitely a notch above the usual buttercream and jam fillings.

Pisila Lee

2/F, 02-650-4701. www.facebook.com/pisilalee. Open daily 10:30am-8:30pm
Fed up with fashion stores in community malls that try to impress you with cheap clothes from Platinum Mall? Well, here, the owner designs all the pieces, including the shoes. Made for ladies only, the style is urban vintage, with looks ranging from earthy printed t-shirts to charming, pink strapless dresses. As for the décor, the place looks retro with its white walls, painted with cute, colorful pastel patterns. Prices start from B1,290 for a printed t-shirt and around B3,000 for a dress. They also have a small selection of stationery and hair accessories.

Talk about i.T.

2/F, 02-652-0002. www.talkaboutit.in.th. Open daily 11am-9pm
Just like at iStudio, this shop offers geeky gizmos such as screen protectors (B100), iPad cases (from B1,700) or B22,900 speakers from Monster Beat Box. The real difference is that they are not shackled to Apple, and stock Motorola, Samsung and HTC tablets. One of our favorite discoveries was a line of retro handsets called John’s Phone, which reminded us of a simpler time when phones were used for talking rather than for Angry Birds (B3,600-4,100). On the whole, you can tell they’re really trying to stock products to differentiate themselves from iStudio and iBeat, which is a commendable effort in our book.

The Portico Langsuan

31 Soi Langsuan, Ploenchit, 02-652-1968. BTS Chitlom.

Spoonful Zakka & Café

2/F, 02-652-2278. www.spoonfulzakka.com. Open daily 11:00am-7:00pm
Standing right next to Pisila Lee, Spoonful is a concept store selling products for daily household use including stationery, kitchen items, home decoration pieces and a little bit of clothing. The main idea comes from the Japanese zakka culture: functional items with a kitschy, handicraft or retro touch. Apart from the cute, multi-purpose masking tapes, rubber stamps, notebooks and ceramics, the shop designs its own bags and garments from time to time. There’s also a mini-café decorated to blend in with the shop’s lovely atmosphere. Try their signature scones at B120 for two pieces or a piece of homemade Japanese cake at B125 with fruity tea (B90 for hot/cold).