You’re late for work. You’re hungover. And you are starving. The only cure is a fast food fix to soak up the booze and stave off the hunger pains, if not the heart attack.
The Place: McDonald’s
Fashion Outlet, 2 Silom Rd., 02-652-3018. Open daily 24 hours. Breakfast: 5-11am.
The Heart Attack: Double sausage and egg burger (B76) or as a set with coffee and hash browns (B115).
The Taste: This can definitely help ease your hangover, the two sausage patties are super salty (that’s why they’re good) and for once the meat isn’t too greasy. No, they haven’t gone all health conscious as the burger is bathed in cheese. Thinking about getting the set? Don’t—the coffee is alkaline and the hash brown is just bland, its only taste coming from the crap oil it was fried in.
The Verdict: The sausage patties are tasty, if you can handle the salt, but the head sweats and churning stomach after we finished really weren’t a pleasant experience.
The Place: Triple O’s by White Spot
7/F, CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Rd., 02-613-1640. Open daily 10am-10pm. All day breakfast.
The Heart Attack: The Breakfast Club is a hash brown topped with a fried egg, bacon, melted cheese and Triple “O” sauce on a toasted bun (B170). The set includes coffee and an extra hash brown (B220).
The Taste: This is the real deal—the sandwich is definitely an American portion (well, Triple O’s actually hails from Canada). It’s certainly tasty thanks to all the juices from the egg and bacon while the sauce adds a nice mayo kick. But if you are a fruit and muesli fan, then the heavy grease levels may scare you off. The hash browns are OK, crisp and oily, but do contain a lot of onions. The coffee is decent.
The Verdict: In desperate need of soaking up all that alcohol then this is your sandwich. Its size and content should pack you with enough carbs to make it through till lunch.
The Place: Burger King (YUCK!)
Silom Soi 2, 02-236-5520. Open daily 24 hours. Breakfast: 7-10:30am.
The Heart Attack: Croissanwich (B59) with ham, cheese and fried egg. Also comes as a set with coffee and hash browns (B129).
The Taste: The croissant is limp to start with and becomes downright soggy once the oils from the egg and bacon ooze into the dough. The egg is actually seasoned, which is a nice touch but other than that, this breakfast is a mess. The bite size hash browns are alright, but really not much better than McDonald’s. The best thing about this meal is the coffee, which surprisingly comes with a pleasant hint of hazelnut.
The Verdict: It’s a soggy croissant.
The Place: Au Bon Pain
Room #1, 1/F, Zuellig House Building, 1-7 Silom Rd., 02-235-5166/7. Open daily 7am-10pm. Breakfast: 7-11am.
The Heart Attack: Double jalapeno bagel with egg, bacon and cheddar cheese (B85). No sets with coffee, but if you get this sandwich for breakast then you get a discount for the hot coffee (B20/B30).
The Taste: It might not be a Super Size Me nightmare, but it still manages to fill that hole. The aroma from the bagel certainly gets your appetite going but the whole thing ends up being a bit dry. It’s much less greasy than other sandwiches making it feel like a good pick for weight-watchers. But then again, if you are watching your waist line, what the hell are you doing eating eggs and bacon on a bun for breakfast?
The Verdict: Dry and salty, but at least it’s not your typical junk food grease fest. Decent coffee.
The Place: Sunrise Tacos (BK PICK)
Try the original branch at 236/3-4 between Sukhumvit Soi 12 and 14, 02-229-4851. Open daily 24 hours. Breakfast: Midnight-5pm.
The Heart Attack: The Sunrise Breakfast Burrito (B189) is a big grilled flour tortilla stuffed with potatoes, onions, choice of chicken, carnitas (pork) or steak, scrambled eggs, the lot topped with cheddar cheese, sour cream and Sunrise salsa. We recommend getting it with steak.
The Taste: This is a breakfast for the lumberjack inside all of us, guaranteed to give you the energy to chop logs all day long. The steak is juicy and comes sweating with gravy. The potatoes are moist and well seasoned. And the sour cream, salsa and cheese just melt into each other making for one flavorful meal. It might seem more like lunch to the average Thai diner, but for a Texan farmer, this is the perfect way to start the day.
The Verdict: It’s a bit pricey, but you are certainly getting value for money when it comes to the carb to baht ratio.
The Place: A&W
G/F, Silom Complex, 191 Silom Rd., 02-231-3120. Open daily 10:30am-9pm. All day breakfast.
The Heart Attack: Morning fish salad (B79), a piece of fried fish with two pieces of bread, scrambled eggs and a salad with a side of mayonnaise.
The Taste: It looks damn cheap, like a bad airline serving or one of those plastic meals you get on the bus. Surprisingly, it doesn’t taste half as cheap as it looks. The fried fish is juicy and the batter is extremely pleasant while the scrambled eggs taste natural, not over-seasoned or artificial. Still, skip the salad (and the yucky mayo). Who the hell eats salad for breakfast?
The Verdict: Don’t judge a greasy breakfast by its cheap plastic tray. Not bad and probably the healthiest one in the bunch.
