I visited Bangkok’s only condom restaurant where the issue of safe sex has a unique culinary twist.
Tucked away off one of the main tourist thoroughfares and down a rather unassuming side road is one Bangkok’s most unique, but often overlooked restaurants – Cabbages & Condoms.
Bangkok can at times have a bad reputation for its sordid nightlife and haven for sex tourism and even though Cabbages & Condoms is within walking distance of two of the city’s most notorious red-light districts, it is in fact something quite different.
Because of this, I decided to find out why this restaurant was so unique.
It was early evening as we approached the restaurant on foot. The sun was setting behind the sun-beaten hotels and apartment blocks that have now engulfed the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok.
It’s always around this time of day that the area quickly morphs from city office workers scurrying around as they buy their street food to the night-time workers who come to ply their trade to the throngs of tourists who march along its haphazard pavements.
The small quiet road where Cabbages & Condoms is located seems to have miraculously escaped all this hustle and bustle and as we approached it I commented to my friend how this would be a pleasant road to live on.
We soon see the restaurant’s distinctive sign welcoming visitors in with its cartoon condom.
Before entering, we first admired the Christmas tree standing to one side of the entrance. Its fairy lights flickered amongst the hundreds of condoms that decorated its branches. Overhead, large coloured condom lights hung from a tree and swayed gently in the warm evening breeze.
A covered walkway led up to the restaurant, but we stopped before reaching the restaurant itself so as to admire a large ‘safe sex’ banner detailing, with the use of matchstick figures, when condoms should be used. It also promoted an organization known as the Population and Community Development Association (PDA).
This is where Cabbages & Condoms has become a force for good.
The restaurant owner and PDA’s Chairman, Mechai Viravaidya has been running the restaurant since its early days in the 1970s and he’s used its profits to support the PDA and its programs in primary health, education, HIV/AIDS, as well as rural development, environment and water etc.
Mechai’s approach to sexual health seems to be in stark contrast to the Thai government’s, which at times can seem rather outdated and puritanical. This is often most evident in the lead up to Valentine’s Day when it launches its annual campaign to deter teenagers from having sex.
Mechai’s own unique brand of family planning and AIDS awareness has been very much open minded and honest in its approach, and he educates in a fun and lighthearted way. Because of this, Mechai, who was once a politician himself, has come to be affectionately known as Mr Condom and condoms in Thailand are often referred to as mechais.
Visitors to Cabbages & Condoms will be able to experience this refreshingly tongue in cheek approach as well as enjoy some delicious Thai food, while knowing that the money they spend will be going to a deserving cause.
Before entering the restaurant, we first went into the small gift shop.
Here you can find all sorts of entertaining condom related products mixed in with the more traditional types of Thai souvenirs.
The small condom flowers stood out as something especially unique, with each flower being made from an unextended condom. Maybe this would be the perfect gift to give your date on Valentine’s Day.
We amused ourselves by looking at the various condom posters, postcards, and even oven gloves, and my friend was especially enthralled with the condom USB sticks.
We then made our way to the restaurant.
A girl dressed in a traditional Thai outfit greeted us at the entrance with a wai (a slight bow, with her palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion) and ushered us in.
As we walked to the seating area, we passed on either side of us mannequins dressed in rather unusual outfits. It’s not until you take a closer look that you realize that their clothing is made entirely of coloured condoms.
Even Santa Claus was there – or should I say Santa Condom, as these were the words written on his large belt.
It seems Santa and the Christmas tree are both year-round fixtures and are not there solely for the festive period.
Then something struck me as looking rather creepy. For amongst the mannequins on a table sat a strange looking condom teddy bear. Not furry and cuddly, but hard and rubbery.
“Who had worked so hard to make all of these strange objects?” I thought to myself.
We sat at our table in the open-air dining area.
The surroundings were nice with tall trees reaching out over our heads from which hung a combination of Thai wicker lamps and the large condom lights.
Once darkness fell, the place took on a magical feel with lots of fairy lights brightly glowing from the surrounding trees.
Check out my short video to see what I mean…
The restaurant building surrounded three sides of the open-air dining area and upstairs was more seating as well as also an indoor air-conditioned area on the ground floor.
The whole restaurant has the capacity to cater for 400 people and it’s not unusual for it to be full later in the evening.
We were handed the menu, which proudly declared on its cover:
’Our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy’.
The prices were reasonable as we made our choices. I’m always a little restricted when eating out in Thailand because I’m a vegetarian and the vegetarian section was relegated to only two pages in what was otherwise a large menu.
After we had placed our orders, I got up to take some pictures of the nearby wishing well.
‘Make a wish and save a life.’
A condom dressed Santa mannequin named Santa Swimmer stood in the water of the wishing well next to a large sign highlighting the serious fact that 80% of children in the North East of Thailand can’t swim and that four children a day die of drowning. It then goes on to announce that any donations to the wishing well will go to help provide swimming and lifesaving lessons at the Mechai Bamboo School located in this northern region of Thailand.
As I made my way back to my seat I noticed that the beautiful coloured lights hanging from the walls were also made from condoms. These lights actually looked quite beautiful as they glowed a warm red, pink and yellow.
The waitress noticed I was taking some photos and suggested that I should go into the air-conditioned restaurant because there were some things in there that I might find of interest.
With camera in hand, off I went…
Meet Condoman!
The air-conditioned restaurant isn’t as atmospheric as the outside dining area, but it was interesting, nonetheless, because the walls were adorned with a nice collection of framed condom packets from around the world. There was also a large poster of a masked superhero called Condoman, who from his mouth had a speech bubble proclaiming, ‘Don’t be shame, be game,’ and below him the words, ‘Use condoms!’
Could this superhero be Mechai’s true alter ego? Quite possibly.
Towards the back of the room there was a tree growing up out of the floor and up through a hole in the ceiling. Upon its trunk hung two small wooden carved faces of some type of sacred Thai tree spirit. Its face was eerily lit in the semi-darkness by a glowing condom lamp.
We returned to our table, just as our food arrived.
We tucked into our meal and my deep fried soft tofu in sour sauce with rice was nice and also extremely filling. My friend also enjoyed his fried chicken with cashew nut and he rated the iced coffee that he had ordered as one of the best he’d had for a long time. He’s quite an iced coffee aficionado.
The meal was pleasant and when we finally received the bill, we had to laugh because instead of both receiving a complimentary mint, we were instead given a condom each.
Before leaving, I decided to have one more look around and went into what was called The Captain Condom Bar.
The only people in the bar were all seated formally around a large table. They were not having a relaxed get-together over a beer, but something rather more serious.
Then it soon dawned on me…
It turned out we had inadvertently walked in on the restaurant’s board of management having their meeting and there sitting at the head of the table was Mr Condom himself, Meechai.
It seemed that they had some journalists present and Meechai was patiently answering their questions.
We thought it would probably be best to leave, but not before first taking a photo of a model replica of the Mayflower sailing ship. Unlike the real Mayflower, this one had sails made from condoms. Now I know where the phrase ‘being blown’ probably comes from.
As we made our way out, we came upon a large sign at the exit declaring:
’Sorry, we have no elections.
Please take a condom instead.’
If you didn’t know already, Thailand is currently under military rule following a coup d'etat in 2014. This was the country’s twelfth since 1932, so it can be something of a regular occurrence here.
“Condoms should be like cabbages which are ubiquitous and accessible to everyone,” Mechai Viravaidya
Cabbages & Condoms is a fun place to visit and very unconventional. The food was decent enough and the staff were pleasant and very accommodating to our needs.
If you want to unwind from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, which at times can become quite suffocating, then visiting Cabbages & Condoms in the early evening is probably a good choice. You'll then be able to sit out in the open-air area and unwind with a cool beer while you wait for your food to arrive.
It can become quite busy later in the evening, so making a reservation in advance might be a good idea if your evening schedule isn’t too flexible.
We stepped back out into the warm night air and as we made our way back down the small street towards the main thoroughfare of Sukhumvit Road, with all its noise, lights and congestion, we felt a sense of contentment and reassurance. We were now prepared for any eventuality because the condoms we had been given were tucked away safely in our pockets.
Thanks, Mr Condom!
Until next time...
