29.9 C
Bangkok
Friday, March 29, 2024

Interview with ChikaLicious Thailand’s Samita Dhanasobhon

Samita Dhanasobhon was born and raised in Thailand and studied her Master’s degree in the US.  It was there in the United States where she discovered ChikaLicious New York and fell in love with ChikaLicious desserts and the whole concept of the shop. She was eventually trained by Chika Tilman, the  owner of ChikaLicious New York, eventually coming back to Thailand open ChikaLicious Bangkok. Since opening, she hasn’t stopped learning new techniques from chefs around the world and has been leading her team in Bangkok in creating new and innovative desserts for ChikaLicious.

 

What makes Chikilicous different?

At ChikaLicious, we believe in bringing the best possible ingredients available in the market to make quality desserts offered to our customers. That’s why we put a heavy emphasis on taste. It is our mission to expand the flavor profile of all our patrons.

You can always have a good cake. But we think it is important for our customers to have good experiences with desserts as well. Our ChikaLicious team at every shop will explain how the menu is created and how to best enjoy it when you buy ChikaLicious menu home.

What’s the most popular menu item at ChikaLicious?

Every menu we create caters to a wide range of people, which means that whether you’re a sweet or savoury person, there’s something there for you each day.  For those who haven’t tried our desserts, I would recommend our Strawberry Shortcake as your ChikaLicious starter dessert. It’s made with strawberries that are imported from Japan.  We hand-select each strawberry to ensure that we use only the best quality and sweetness level. The cake is made with fresh cream. You can see how fluffy the cake is just by looking at it. We use real butter to enrich the taste.

Don’t be fooled by its light-weight exterior – our Strawberry Shortcake packs a heavy ‘satisfaction’ punch even after the first bite.

We also serve seasonal specials on our menu. As Thailand is a paradise for tropical fruits, we seek for the best seasonal items that suit our style to create our seasonal menus – be it mangosteen, mango, sugar-apple or other tropical fruits.

It’s not just the taste that we want our customers to experience. We play with the look as well. When you visit Chikalicious, I’m sure some of our cake displays will probably catch your eye – a unicorn, a little monster, a mermaid, a cute polar bear offering a heart.  We try to push our creativity to the max.

What’s your favourite dessert and why?

I actually love all of my creations, but if I had to pick one, I’d go for our Red Velvet cake – the simplest item that you can ask for. It has a perfect balance between buttery chocolate cake and tangy smooth cream cheese that’s unique and is rarely found in the market. It is so simple but so satisfying that you can’t have just one bite. When I had it in ChikaLicious New York, it was when I decided to ask for the partnership and open ChikaLicious in Bangkok.

What’s the latest update for your brand? Is there anything new and exciting?

Even though ChikaLicious is famous for our sweets, there are always new opportunities out there for us. If ChikaLicious cakes make people happy as a dessert, why not make our customers happy from the very beginning of their day as their ‘breakfast’? We have created a new pastry line with truffle bread, Hokkaido milk bread, croissants, scones, and bagels, all with the goal of satisfying our customers with a high quality breakfast. If not breakfast, they might also have it as a power booster during their afternoon break.

We love perfecting our recipes and having these new additions added to our signature menu.

What do you like most about Thailand or Bangkok?

One of Bangkok’s highlights is the food scene where you can experience a large variety of cuisines. I enjoy grabbing a quick bite from street food vendors as there are so many good ones around town. Sometimes I love to splurge and treat myself by getting all dressed up and going to experience Michelin-star creations with family and friends.

What would your ideal holiday look like? Where would you stay?

Beaches are always a good idea.  It’s where I can truly relax and enjoy the tranquil and beautiful surroundings. I recently made a trip to Koh Tao – somewhere I hadn’t previously travelled to. It made me realise just how many beautiful gems there are in Thailand. Our local hospitality businesses are world class and could go head-to-head with anywhere else in the world. I stayed at a beautiful resort by the beach on Sai Dang where you can just jump into the gorgeous turquoise sea first thing when you wake up in the morning. It was one of the best holiday experiences I’ve ever had – and it’s one of our own Thai-owned places!

I would like to encourage people to visit nice beaches or some of the mountainous regions across the country so that we can support our own people. I’m sure people will be pleasantly surprised with the experience that they receive.

Related Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.