When LC and I found out that there was a Siberian Husky dog cafe in Bangkok, it became the top destination in our Bangkok itinerary. I generally like all dogs while LC is a biased lover of doe-eyed domesticated wolves. He never gets excited when he sees another breed.
I wouldn't suggest walking to True Love Cafe because of the convenience of a cab or tuk tuk. From the Ari BTS station, exit the station at Exit 1 and make sure you're on the same side of the road as the Shell petrol station. Walk past the petrol station till the end of the row then turn left into Soi Paholyotin 7 Road. Walk a little further and you'll see a gathering of waiting tuk tuks.
They're familiar with True Love Cafe so show them the cafe logo and they'll know where to bring you. Our tuk tuk guy could actually ask 'Cafe?' which was some reassurance that we were going the right way. The trip will cost you about 30-40 baht so if try to charge you any more than that, negotiate with them. It is a short trip by tuk tuk but if you walk, it'll probably take you 20 minutes.
You'll have to complete a short registration before paying up for the package you want (whether a main course set or a cake set) and be seated.
You are no longer required to make a reservation so arrange to arrive a little earlier before your selected time slot.
You'll have to complete a short registration before paying up for the package you want (whether a main course set or a cake set) and be seated.
You are no longer required to make a reservation so arrange to arrive a little earlier before your selected time slot.
Click to zoom in and read their guidelines!
As we had a heavy hotel breakfast, we opted for a dessert and a drink. Surrender your drink stub with the waitress and the cake/ice-cream stub at the cake display case.
As we had a heavy hotel breakfast, we opted for a dessert and a drink. Surrender your drink stub with the waitress and the cake/ice-cream stub at the cake display case.
Click to zoom in and have a closer look at the menu.
You have options of cakes or ice-cream cakes for sets with desserts.
The Green Tea Cheesecake tasted pretty good - bittersweet, creamy and dense, I only wished there was a little more green tea in it. LC's Red Velvet Cake was decent too. The cake was moist and there was a good balance of cake and creamy cheese
An Apricot Squash Soda and a Grape & Lime Soda was among the drink choices we had. For flavored sodas, they were refreshing and pretty good!
Husky plush toys are abundant here and it takes a great amount of control to not succumb to buying these adorable plushies.
Husky plush toys are abundant here and it takes a great amount of control to not succumb to buying these adorable plushies.
There are also shirts with the True Love Cafe logo for sale (not pictured).
Put on your rubbish bag shoes?
Plastic make-shift shoes will be distributed before every play session and you're asked to wash your hands with their antiseptic soap then get a spritz of alcohol spray.
The play area was pretty well maintained. The handlers sweep the compound of any fallen leaves (the dogs love chewing on everything, including leaves) and handle the dogs at the same time. They're very quick at grabbing and caging rogue dogs.
An informative brief before our session gave us the Do's and Don'ts such as putting your face to close to the dogs for a selfie, grabbing the dogs or chasing them around.
Before the brief, we spotted this cutie trying to engage in play with the other dogs. It was funny to see such a big dog being playful and play-bowing!
Not all the dogs are Huskies and not all are friendly. The ones at the bottom right were caged separately because they were not okay with human contact. The dog on the bottom left is a Malamute while the naughty one chewing on wood is a Collie.
This gorgeous brown darling enjoyed LC's petting so much that when LC lifted his hand away, he gave him a long stare. So patting had to resume.
We could hear the silent 'carrot chant' among the excited dogs. Snack-sized carrots were being distributed and their bottle-brush tails started swishing about excitedly. They were so amusing to watch.
To try to get the dogs to get closer to you, the handlers will ask you to hold up some bowls of ice for the dogs to munch on. The ice probably cools them down since they're out in the sun for almost an hour.
Momo, the most unHuskiest of them all was a crowd favorite as he was easy to take photos with. He also spreads out on the floor like a carpet when he's tired. Oh so adorable!
Happy people with doggies. Remember, keep your face one feet away from the dogs for a selfie!
After about half an hour or so, the dogs get tired and start laying about. The humans naturally flock to them to take selfies as they continue their snooze without a care in the world.
But! A minute or two before the session ends, the dogs will have a 2-second dash back to their air-conditioned kennel where they're fed. There will be sudden excited barking as they're stuffed into the enclosures all together before they're all let go at once.
Remember to put your phones and cameras on continuous shooting mode or put that slow-mo function on your iPhones to good use cause you'll get awesome looking running photos.
Shockingly, it was really a 2 second dash and they were all so well-behaved, jumping into their respective cages and digging into their food bowl. It was quite the spectacle.
As much fun as we had patting the dogs, we could sense that the dogs didn't like human contact unless it was with the handlers or if you had food. This however, was probably the character of a Siberian Husky. They're not the kind of dog that aims to please so don't expect a dog whose willing to do tricks for you. You'd also need to speak Thai for that to happen.
The experience itself was not pricey. A simple meal could easily cost 350 baht in KL. What more with Siberian Husky dog-patting thrown in?