EAT IN ASIA / Destinations / Thailand
Have a refreshing Thai green tea and a longan soda in Photharam
What would say for a refreshing and nutritive drink during a super-hot day in Thailand? Wouldn’t you like to have something that would really quench your thirst? A hydrating and an energetic drink that is fully natural and prepared with really little ingredients. Doesn’t it sound wonderfully? Only basic and super healthy ingredients! For me, it sounds great! And what is more, the recipe is so easy that you can prepare it at home too!
But nowhere it tastes so wonderfully as in Thailand! This unique atmosphere, these lovely people, banana trees, palms, monkeys and much more! Wonderful landscapes, Buddhist temples, and a lot of scooters and tuk-tuks on every single road, no matter how small it would be.
Now, it is mid-January, and it is really hot here. Temperatures reaches at least 35°C in Bangkok, and many places are even hotter. And this real felt temperature is even higher due to the humidity and due to the position of the sun during the whole day.
Photharam, Ratchaburi province
The last week we decided to have a short daily trip to Photharam, in the northern part of Ratchaburi province. Actually, there is not many things to do there apart from strolling, walking along the Mae Klong River and visiting some temples. However, that is a nice city, located in the western part of Thailand (to be more precise – on the way to the south from Bangkok). Photharam is easily reachable by train from the Hua Lamphun Railway station in Bangkok. It is a pleasant journey that takes more or less two hours. Of course, there are almost always delays and the punctuality of Thai trains is not as it is in Japan, however, it is a convenient connection that even during weekends is not overcrowded.
Why should you go to Photharam, Ratchaburi, Thailand?
Although, as said above, there is not many top sights to see in Photharam, Ratchaburi, the city and surroundings are very pleasant. A day trip to a city like Photharam is a nice break in a touristic routine. It is a good escape from main tourist attractions, vendors with souvenirs and attacking you from almost every side taxi drivers. It is a good place to chill out, to see a real Thai city that is almost deprived of all touristic attractions. Of course, it does not mean that it is not interesting! On the contrary! It is a really great option to see something indigenous, with local people, local businesses and with all local activities. This trip will also give you an insight into the real Thai life, to some of local initiatives, to their customs and to their everyday life.
You will be also able to experience some great moments in the local community and to spend some time in a local restaurant or in a local café, where you will chill out and forget about all your problems.
Menu in the Vintage Café and Eatery Do Nom - Doนม (ย่านถนนน่าเดิน) in Photharam, Ratchaburi, Thailand
So, if only you had a chance and some time to escape from all the hustle and bustle of the big city, go to Photharam and find there relax, calm and the beauty of the land.
And finally, after some walking, some strolling and just after doing nothing, have a refreshing drink in one of the local restaurants or cafes. Enjoy a nice music, a slow life and this wonderful Thai hospitality and politeness.
At the same time, have a drink that will provide you with all needed nutrients that were lost during a hot day . Choose a simple, but a valuable drink that will hydrate you and quench your thirst. Opt for something sour, maybe slightly salty and with some sparkling notes.
One of the places that we could recommend you to try in Photharam, is a Vintage Café and Eatery Do Nom - Doนม (known in Thai as ย่านถนนน่าเดิน).
This café and eatery is a really good place if you are looking for something out of the beaten track, where mainly local people meet, but where tasty drinks and snacks are served. The Vintage Café and Eatery Do Nom – Doนม, will give you a possibility of spending time in a nice, relaxing way, where you will feel like at home and where you will be in a nicely decorated place.
What is more, this Vintage Café and Eatery Do Nom – Doนม has a small gallery on site where temporary exhibitions are presented.
The selection of beverages and meals (also these light options) is really wide and apart from many Thai and international staples, many of them are not so common. Although ingredients are relatively basic, their composition and their taste are less popular.
Many of the ingredients are local. That said, I did not only mean local in the meaning of Thailand, but also in the meaning of the production place. For example, the honey that is added to some drinks, like to the Thai green tea, and lemons originate from this province - Ratchaburi, Thailand.
Drinks in the Vintage Café and Eatery Do Nom – Doนม
Starting with the drink menu, you will find in the Do Nom Vintage Café and Eatery both milk and non-milk drinks. These that are based on natural fruits and these that are based on a coffee. Then come the list of tea selections and refreshing, sparkling sodas with fruits. Apart from that, different shakes and smoothies.
Desserts and sweets in the Vintage Café and Eatery Do Nom – Doนม
Then different deserts or sweet snacks cannot be forgotten. Waffles, pancakes, delicious ice-cream lavas and shaved ice desserts. Finally, there are, so popular here in Thailand, thick toasts with chocolate, whipped cream, honey, sweet milk or with bread spreads and creams like Snickers, caramel, or Oreo.
Snacks and toasts in the Vintage Café and Eatery Do Nom – Doนม
If you are looking for a light lunch or for a snack, then this eatery will also have something for you. Deep fried and breaded vegetables, deep fried fish balls, spring rolls, French fries and many more. Of course, the menu list of all savory toasts cannot be forgotten. Toasts with ham, sausages, bacon, egg and with different types of seafood.
Main courses in the Vintage Café and Eatery Do Nom – Doนม
Here the meat and non-meat menu list is also relatively wide, especially that apart from many dishes with rice, there are also these with French fries!
Fried rice with meat, vegetarian or with an omelet. Then the list of seafood meals served with a plain, steamed rice and finally, the selection of Thai staples like fried basil leaves with minced pork, a Thai style sweet and sour chicken, crispy pork, or teriyaki chicken. All nicely served and prepared just after you make an order. So, everything super fresh and aromatic.
Have a refreshing Thai green tea and a longan soda in the Vintage Café and Eatery Do Nom - Doนม (ย่านถนนน่าเดิน) in Photharam, Ratchaburi, Thailand
This time we decided just to relax and sip a refreshing drink while waiting for the train heading back to Bangkok. While the drink menu list was long, the choice was not so easy. So many wonderful beverages! These fruity, these with sparkling water and these with a traditional Thai tea or coffee.
Finally, we decided to have one soda and one tea-based drink. I order Thai green tea with honey and lemon, while my husband chose longan soda.
Thai green tea with honey and lemon
For me the best option was to enjoy sipping something that is slightly sour, but at the same time a little bit sweet. And definitively I did not want to have any milk-based drink. Although these drinks are very good and I love them, especially these traditional green and orange-color Thai teas, I did not want them this time. That was the moment for a light drink that would quench my thirst.
The tea was served ice cold with a lot of ice cubes. That was a traditional Thai green tea that has an intensive, bottle green color. It was mixed with a couple of teaspoons of the locally produced honey. Apart from that, the whole green lemon was squeezed into the drink. Finally, this Thai green tea was nicely decorated with a peppermint leaves.
The whole drink had an intensive bottle-green color, the taste was very strong with dominating tea’s theine and lemon’s sourness. Although it might be surprising, the amount of the added honey was not making the tea sweet at all. Actually, I must admit, this drink was completely not sweet for me. It was refreshing and hydrating.
Traditional Thai longan soda
My husband preferred something sparkling and totally fruity. Apart from these two things, it had to be seasonal and typical for Thailand. That is why he chose this thirst-quenching soda with longans. Sparkling water was nicely balancing longan’s sweetness and was adding some refreshing notes.
This served soda had a pale color and a slight milky tone due to the amount of ice cubes and sparkles from the soda drink. The whole longan juice was in the lower part of the cup, so it was up to you to decide whether you would like to mix these two ingredients or not. Definitively, it was a good idea to try at the beginning the pure longan juice, or better to say, longan syrup. But finally, you should mix both ingredients to get a more refreshing beverage where longan’s sweetness is nicely lowered by soda’s sparkles.
The whole atmosphere was really great. We could relax, listen to a pleasant, chilling music and have some talks. Apart from that, the surrounding was so nice, and the decoration was creating this special, slightly vintage climate. Finally, the staff was very helpful, could well describe the menu and if needed, was eager to replace or eliminate some ingredients.
The whole afternoon was really wonderful. It was a well-deserved relaxing time after a long and hot day.
