Bangkok’s Best Instagrammable Dessert Cafes and Floating Market – After the Rain and Bubble in the Forest (Thailand)

This year, we traipsed through Asia, exploring some of the many exquisite desserts that it has to offer — starting with a Chinese New Year-themed high tea in Kuala Lumpur, we then compared two of the best kuih shops in Penang, hopscotched through Singapore’s best traditional high teas, escaped the pandemonium of Hanoi by taking high tea in the clouds, slurped bowls of che admist the glowing lanterns in Hoi An, feasted on exquisitely-crafted cherry blossom high teas and hunted down the best wagashi in Tokyo, and became bedazzled by three different Thai high teas in Bangkok. And in this latest volume of our dessert travel adventures in Thailand, we feature two of the most Instagrammable dessert cafes just at the outskirts of Bangkok, and a more traditional Thai dessert pitstop that you must not miss. Note that none take credit cards, so bring cash.

Dessert destination: After the Rain Cafe.
Budget: Approx USD $10-15.
Must-eat: Thai Milk Tea Mille Crepe Cake.
Short and sweet story: Located on the outskirts of Bangkok, After the Rain Cafe is a calming open-air cafe nestled among a palm tree forest. The main reason that tourists visit here is that you can row a boat down the canal way. However, do note that there may be queues of people trying to get that perfect rowboat picture as well. For us, the food options were excellent — note especially the spicky pork and the butterfly pea-coloured noodles, and the many mille crepe cakes on offer — and should not be missed.

Dessert destination: Bubble in the Forest Cafe.
Budget: Approx USD $20-25.
Must-eat: Mango Sticky Rice Cheesecake.
Short and sweet story: Whereas After the Rain Cafe has a rustic feel, Bubble in the Forest Cafe has a distinctively more luxe ambience. Modelled after the iconic above-water villas found in the Maldives, it is completely kitschy yet also breathtaking in its own way. Compared to After the Rain Cafe, the food menu here is higher priced, and the dessert menu is more limited, but we much prefer the more spacious pillowed seating under one of the wooden pavilions.

Dessert destination: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.
Budget: Approx USD $2-3.
Must-eat: Traditional Mango Sticky Rice .
Short and sweet story: Google “best things to do in Bangkok,” and “floating markets” are likely to come up in those search results. We hummmed and ummmed, and even though we knew it was going to be ultra-touristy, we booked a tour and went. And we don’t regret it. Is is touristy? Yes. But, you do have to experience it once. The boat ride is about 30 minute, hurtily through milky grey-green waters for the first 5-10 minutes, before grinding against a sardine pool of other boats as you near the market itself. The floating market stalls are mainly souvenir stores, with some food stores scattered about. Don’t miss ordering coconut ice cream or mango sticky rice from one of the boat sellers.

☑ Dessert destination: Bangkok, Thailand.
☑ Budget: $-$$.
☑ Sweet irresistibles: Instagrammable dessert cafes and floating markets.
☑ Travel notes:
- How long? Similar to NYC, 3-4days is a good starting point for the first time visitor to Bangkok.
- When to visit? Some months are rainier than others, but otherwise, the temperature doesn’t shift significantly from 25-35 degrees Celsius and high humidity.
- How to get there? So many people warned us about Bangkok traffic. Compared to NYC traffic, it was on par. Nothing to fear 😛 …but do expect about 1 hour to get to/from the airport to the city centre.
- Where to stay? We stayed near the shopping district, near Siam Paragon and Central World, and highly recommend it for shopping, a diverse range of food options and connectivity via the BTS trainline to many parts of the city.

Dessert Correspondents