, Thailand

Roses and croissants

or, Petals and pastries

By Kenny Mah

It always feel like a weekend morning here, even when it isn’t. How inviting is a place that feels as though it has no walls? (Floor-to-ceiling glass windows will do that for you.)

Breakfast at Baker Gonna Bake has been a ritual for almost as long as we remember. We tell the taxi driver Sukhumvit yîi sìp hòk – soi 26. We will pass EmQuartier and then make a U-turn. Past the pork noodle shop and DoubleTree and then we’ve arrived.

We greet Pun, the barista, with our most cheerful Sawadee krub! and she greets us welcome in return. What would we like? Two hot Americanos, then one of us orders the krapao spaghetti (with crispy bacon and sautéed mushrooms) and the other a buttery croissant, served with a pat of rich, room temperature butter.

Today the flowers are roses, apricot-hued. A cross between coral and champagne. Orange roses symbolise energy and joy, I tell you, an enthusiasm for life.

You smirk, glance down at my croissant. Alright. An enthusiasm for butter, then. Still, such joy.