No, it's not a typo. Tooday is the name of the coffee shop cum cafe that I'd been trying to avoid for weeks as I quickly drive past it every Friday on the way back to Bangkok.
The problem with spending so much time on the road is that there are literally millions of nice looking places to eat and drink, this is Thailand after all, and after getting off the boat, all I want to do is put my foot down and head North. As we drive, if the wife is actually looking out of the window, she'll be constanlty pointing out places she want to stop and eat and drink at, whether for their twee cutesieness or their 'rare' menus.
" Oooo, that Southern noodle place looks nice" Like there's any great difference between any noodles
.
Tooday Cafe is just 80km into the trip in a rather strangely, out of the way location and usually, with the wife's head buried in a book I can scoot past until sometime later she asks;
"Have we passed that place I always want to stop at?"
To which I will answer;
"Ahh, sorry darling, We're way past. I forgot you wanted to stop there. Next week I'll remember."
This was only ever going to work for so long and last week, she was prepared. No books, no phone and her eagle eyes scanning the roadside from the minute we drove off the boat.
As we twisted and turned around Surat Thani, her gaze became ever more focused and my right foot pushed down harder on the gas but to no avail.
"Noon (There)" she screamed, as I tried to divert her attention to a lonesome buffalo that was meandering un-tethered down the road as we approached, but I was done for. It was Insta-time!
Tooday Cafe...
... sits on the outskirts of Surat Thani city, right in the countryside with barely a house in sight. It's one of those places you'd have to know was there to visit as apart from me using that route as a short cut around Surat, its not really on a road to anywhere particularly. As well as a shortcut though, its a great driving road both for car and bike with a lot of twisties.
The cafe was rather formal in decor with a huge TV at one end acting as a picture window. No comfy seating unless you were waiting for a take-out, just dining tables and chairs. Not a place to come to chill out.
It would be a little unfair to say that it is typically one of those places that Thais only eat and drink at because the instagram shots are the primary focus because there were some amazing cakes that you could actually watch being made. There was a huge picture window into the kitchen and the rest of the menu was fresh and tasty, but still...it was all about the photos!
The wife had to get on a shot! Each table had either a flower arrangement or a music box!
A quick glance at the menu and the wife was ordering 'afternoon tea for 2'. Seriously, what is the growing obsession these past few years with afternoon teas? Even the local pubs back home are doing them!
With this being Thailand, and them serving cucumber with absolutely every meal you buy, you'd think you'd know what was on the menu, but no.
The afternoon tea menu was a couple of cheese and ham toasties, (straignt out of 7/11!) any three cakes of your choice (three? for two people? That's fighting time, that is!) any two drinks, a tiny bowl of mushroom soup and a small salad. The cost, 500 Baht (£12 GBP, $15 USD) so not too bad and being fair, the presentation matched the rest of the surroundings!
The cakes we chose were a blueberry cheesecake, a matcha thing and the rather spectacular looking purple cake is a Japanese style sweet potato sponge.
For the drinks, the wife went for this cucumber and err green thingy which she said was delicious, whilst I just had a regular hot latte. No, not a teapot in sight!
The choice of cakes wasn't that extensive to be honest but they were all handmade and all looked delicious.
The salad, although tiny and containing just two prawns was delicious. All the salad crops were being grown behind the cafe where they had a huge hydroponic set-up and you could tell in the taste and freshness.
The cakes and drinks were delicious but nothing out of the ordinary. The problem we have in Thailand is that nearly all ingredients that aren't grown here are bought in Makro so everything is much of a sameness. In this case, I was a little disappointed with the blueberry cheesecake as it had far too much base for my liking and the base in the matcha, was just a little greasy but the love and attention to detail that went into the creation and presentation was there for all to see.
The wife loved this cake. Me not so but we bought a big version to take home anyway!
Just when you try to escape, one last photo opportunity arises! I have to be a little grateful to the wife who does love a good selfie, but doesn't go mental, and better still, doesn't drag her old fella onto every shot...oh the shame!
Would I recommend it?...
Absolutely yes. It's a bit different and it's a nice place. Good food and drink, staff were friendly and polite, not overly expensive and well worth dropping in. The sort of place my Mum and Dad would regularly have a ride out to but...
Would I return?...
Absolutely not! I've been once, that's it and its not the kind of place that I can just chill out all day drinking coffee and eating cakes. This isn't a criticism of the place, it's just not my style.
