Thursday 20 August 2015

Mia's Bangkok Travelogue: Alpaca View Restaurant

Shortly after my previous Bangkok trip, I've heard of this Alpaca Cafe that has sprung up in Bangkok and I was like, "Damn, I missed it!"

So naturally, this 'alpaca cafe' got onto my must-visit list for this Bangkok trip, and TADAA~


We went to visit the alpacas, BUT they're on medical leave for eye infections. Dang it! :(



The place is really big, judging that it needs to fit an indoor seating area, alfresco sitting area with a stage for live performances, and large roaming areas for their animals. Other than alpacas, there's also horses, donkeys, pigs, goats, geese and rabbits in the premise.
Another characteristic point of their decor, is the total un-relatedness of one decor to the other. At the entrance you'll see a windmill right opposite Eiffel tower, and in front of the tower stood a snowman. And then walking further in, you'll see a family of Koalas, and they're brown!

But the funny thing was, despite the entire mismatch of literally every piece of decoration in the premise, the place still looked good and there's an overall relaxing atmosphere that surrounds you while you dine. 

 Watermelon Smoothie (Slush) and Lemon Soda

Well, you can't go wrong with a cup of icy cold watermelon slush on a hot day (or evening). But that lemon soda was a little too acutely sour for me though.

 Stir-fry Morning Glory Stalk

Specially ordered this because I've never seen morning glory (stalks) in any other menu before and I HAD to try this out. Savoury and slightly spicy, the stalks were kept relatively crunchy and they're really yummy and goes pretty well with plain rice. My only complaint is that they should have cut the stalks into small bits, for picking these long stalks up with a fork and trying to bite onto one end (to start munching like a rabbit/goat) can really look pretty... unglam, no joke.

 Tom Yum Goong

Well, something you just have to eat while you're in Bangkok, but may not necessary love. The Thailand/Bangkok version of TYG is always too sour for my liking (acutely sour plus spicy hot really isn't the best combination for sensitive throats), but I just can't help ordering one when I see them on the menu when I'm in Thailand.
I mean, if not now, then when? Right?

 Omelette with Seafood

The best dish we had for the night, without a doubt. I know right, you can hardly go wrong with eggs, especially when they're fried till crispy at the edges and fluffy on the insides, and then stuffed with shrimps. The amount of food we ordered were definitely too much for 2, but this plate of omelette was polished off at the end.

Fried Grouper/Snapper

Didn't know T ordered this. It was a major 'Oh, I shouldn't have!' moment when it was served. He thought it would be a whole, fried fish but what came was the whole fried fish carcass bones with minced fish meat, probably stir-fried with a whole lot of other ingredient and spices, so much so that we couldn't even tell that we're eating fish.

BBQ Scallops in diced garlic

Didn't like the dip, at all. It tasted weird, near rancid for me. Definitely an acquired taste there. As for the scallops, they were pretty good. Sweet and slightly chewy, but it'll be good if they weren't so generous with the chopped garlic and spring onions. 

And while waiting for out massive order to be served, we left the table for some animal-exploring! 
And well, the alpacas went on medical leave, so the next cutest things we met were these hungry, squealing piglets! 

There were three of these greedy piglets and you can get a small bottle of milk at 20 baht to feed them! If you follow me on IG (@mianne86) you should have seen my instavideo of their greedy selves vying for the milk bottles. 


Other than milk for the piglets, you can also buy a box of pellets to feed the goats. I wouldn't say it's the best experience, for these goats were.... violent. HAHAHA! You really had to use force to keep a firm grip on the container to not have all the pellets spilled while they try to empty it in seconds. 
One greedy goat got so excited trying to pick the pellets on the ground that it actually squeezed itself through the small gap in between the barricade and gave the staff a pretty tough time trying to chase it back in. 

And RABBITS! I got so excited seeing this pretty rabbit munching on some food under a long bench as I came out of the washroom and waiting for T. For the staff did tell us that there's rabbits around but we couldn't find any. And as we decided to leave and headed for toilet breaks first, tadaa~ I found one!
And right beside this rabbit was a pretty grumpy looking goose. Didn't want to get chased or pecked, so... no shots of it. Heh!


And while we walked out of the premise, we saw another rabbit family chilling on the grass patch. See one with a one-lopped ear! So cute!
And when they saw me aiming my camera at them, they all decided to show me their sexy backs.

And lastly, there's two obviously very bored donkeys housed at the entrance to say their goodbyes to us. And there's the snowman and Eiffel tower I was talking about at the beginning. 

Getting to Alpaca View can be quite troublesome because it's pretty far away from Bangkok city centre. We decided to forget about all the squeezing and lines changing on the BTS/MRT and hopped onto a cab right outside our hotel, and then got stuck in a glorious traffic jam. Google map stated the car ride will be about half a hour with smooth traffic, and it was more than an hour's ride in the cab for us and the cab fare was about 200 plus baht. 
Or else, if you'll really not want to waste time doing nothing but doze off out of boredom in the cab while getting stuck in a traffic jam, you can take the MRT (or BTS then change to the MRT line at the interchange stations) to Lat Phrao station first before hopping onto a cab and telling the cabbie to get you to Wang Hin 71. Traffic turned exceptionally smooth after we went past the Lat Phrao MRT Station exit and it took about slightly more than 5 minutes (at most 10) to reach Alpaca View.

For more information, visit their FB page HERE

Till then,
Mia Foo

20 comments:

  1. The Alpaca View Restaurant sure has a view, haven't seen an Alpaca in person yet so that's a plus. So there are a lot of animals about, how was the smell in the resto while you were eating?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. there's no distinctive animal smell in the air. no worries about sniffing goats poop smell while eating. haha!

      Delete
  2. I've never been to this place before but this kind of set-up is very common here in Thailand. They are very creative with their places. I've been to similar animal parks before and I am still in awe until now how they turn one bring place into something awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, the food really looks delicious! The view is exquisite. I'd love to go there someday.

    ReplyDelete
  4. When I retire I plan on traveling around the world and I will definitely be visiting this place. I especially would love to try the Tom Yum Goong and the Lemon Soda. I love sour stuff so that's right up my alley.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My kids would definitely love to eat at a restaurant with cute animals to play with. Although it seems like their food are not that great.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Alpaca seems like it's worth the travel. I love what they did with the place. It is pretty and it makes you want to settle in. I'll put this in my list of places to visit. I'm planning to go to Bangkok next year. Thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Maybe I will try this! The animals are the main attraction~ Gonna try the morning glory stalks too!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh wow this looks and sound like a really awesome place -- and the food looks divine! I would really love to dine there one day!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I will ask my kids if they will be interested to visit this restaurant when we go to Bangkok to visit my brother. I hope it is near their house since traffic can be bad.

    ReplyDelete
  10. this is a restaurant? it is more of a theme park. but i love to try those dishes. it makes me hungry right now. Setting my goal to visit Bangkok soon. see you there

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a cute themed restaurant! Looks like a pretty decent place to bring little kids to for a meal.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The restaurant has several good offerings. You also get to bond with the animals here.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sounds like an amazing restaurant. Hoping to visit it one day.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The place looks good especially that it has Alpaca on it.. ha,ha,ha.... The foods looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  15. OMG... I can't say no to Thai food. I like the BBQ Scallops in diced garlic and Tom Yum Goong is a must.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Aww what a lovely place, so much to see and do. I love that you can sit and eat outdoors, although I would have to be brave to try some of that food it is very different from the UK. Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  17. How do you get back to town? Cabs readily available outside Alpaca View?
    Or the restaurant staffs can help to flag cab?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. streets there are a lot quieter but we managed to flag a cab down right outside the restaurant after a short while.

      Delete
  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete