Melt Me is a popular sweet shop Bangkok, Thailand, serving low- and no-fat gelatos, mouth-watering desserts, refreshing drinks, and yummy chocolates finding favour with a Thai clientele famed for its insatiable sweet tooth.
Food + Beverage
Melt Me is a new take on an old institution that has all but disappeared from the landscape: the ice cream parlour.
You won’t find waitresses wearing maid’s hats or frilly white aprons over pastel dresses, with pencils stuck behind one ear.
Nobody there will call you “Hun”.
And there is no soda fountain with a counter and stools, where you can watch your order being prepared behind the counter.
Familiar treats such as banana splits, strawberry sundaes, and black and tans are nowhere on the menu.
But surely they did serve as inspiration for some of the treats that are on the menu, which runs from gelatos to desserts, drinks, and chocolates.
And the ingredients tend to be lighter and – dare I say? – a bit healthier than what you would find at a traditional ice cream parlour.
To start with, none of the treats contains full-fat ice cream. There’s not even any low-fat ice cream.
Instead, you will find desserts made with 90% fat-free gelatos ranging from yoghurt to dark chocolate, roasted almond, and tiramisu to 100% fat-free gelatos in 13 mostly fruit-based flavours.
The only exception to the fruit-based gelatos is beer, which I’ve got to try on my next visit. If I had seen it on my first visit, I definitely would have asked for a sample!
Signature Treat
Volcano Toast – thickly sliced white bread is toasted four times to achieve just the right texture. Then it is stacked, hollowed out, and filled with something yummy.
Then it is topped with fresh strawberries, kiwi, dragon fruit, apple, melon, and a scoop of strawberry ice cream.
Finally, it is drizzled with strawberry syrup. The dessert – which is arguably Melt Me’s signature treat – takes 15 to 20 minutes to assemble, but it is well worth the wait.
Volcano Toast is one of three toast desserts. Other varieties include Chocolate Toast with banana mello and Matcha Toast made with green-tea flavouring and red beans.
I would hazard a guess that Matcha Toast might not entice dessert fans with Western palates, but I can assure you that many Asian foodies would find them absolutely delectable.
Other mouthwatering desserts include crepes, pancake towers, New York cheesecake, gelato, and parfaits – the list goes on.
Choco Cup
Choco Cup – next to Volcano Toast, Choco Cup is probably Melt Me’s most eye-catching treat.
Made of brownies, cookies and cream, and vanilla ice cream, the decadent dessert is served atop dry-ice for a dramatic presentation. Perfect for chocoholics!
I only wish I could have captured it on my mobile device. By the time I had figured out how to activate the video function, it was too late. The show was over.
Kakigori Strawberry Milk – (top) made with ice flake with white chocolate and blueberry crumbled cookies, strawberry shave, and fresh strawberries.
The ice flake is very dense so it melts very slowly – even in torrid Bangkok. Very light, creamy, and refreshing.
Cookies and Cream Smoothie – (bottom left) topped with an Oreo, my favourite cookie!
Blue Lemon Mojito Float – (bottom middle) cool, citrussy, and refreshing.
Fruity Gelato Cake – (bottom right) yoghurt cake made with 90% fat-free yoghurt topped with kiwi, orange, strawberry, and dragon fruit.
Chocolates
Something to Take Home – Melt Me’s chocolates come in three basic types: Hokkaido Chocolate, Praline Chocolate, and Coated Chocolate.
Melt Me’s chocolates are made of at least 70% cocoa. Hokkaido Dark Chocolates have 80% cocoa.
My favourites would have to be the caramel praline chocolates and the brandy praline chocolates. Wouldn’t they go nicely with a heady cup of espresso?
For a distinctive Asian taste, try the Hokkaido Matcha, which is made with Japanese green tea flavouring, or Hokkaido Milk Tea, which is made with black tea leaves.
The Ambience
Melt Me had a chocolate brown and pink colour scheme, which effectively set the mood. How could you NOT want to order something with chocolate?
It reminded me of an ice cream parlour that used to grace the streets of my hometown called Edy’s. I always wanted to be taken there, but my mother said it was too expensive.
In retrospect, I believe it was the kind of place where ladies that did lunch stopped for a sweet indulgence before heading home for dinner.
The Verdict
My traveling companion and I were invited for a complimentary tasting during our visit to Bangkok, and it was a mouth-watering experience.
The drinks were refreshing and the chocolates were yummy. I particularly liked the caramel pralines.
As for the desserts, I must say, the biggest surprise was the Volcano Toast. I’m not sure where the name comes from because it does not erupt.
But the texture of the four-times toasted bread was fantastic and proved the perfect accompaniment to the gelato and the other ingredients, which was much to my surprise.
There are six Melt Me outlets in Bangkok and another one in the beach resort, Pattaya, which is about a two hours’ drive from the Thai capital.
My traveling companion and I visited the branch on a soi off Thonglor, one of Bangkok’s most popular food and beverage districts.
It was located in a sort of strip mall, which had several restaurants, clubs, and at least one karaoke lounge.
We started at Melt Me, continued onto the karaoke bar, where we not only sang – we were also served some of the yummiest Thai dishes I’ve had in Bangkok. And we ended up at a club with a pulsating rhythm.
Where
Melt Me – Thonglor Arena 10, Thonglor 10, Ekkami 5, Bangkok, Thailand. Tel: 0 90.197.5600.
Melt Me serves some of the most mouthwatering gelatos, desserts, chocolates, and drinks in Bangkok, Thailand.