One of the most noticeable characteristics about most of the small businesses on both Thong Nai Pan Noi and Yai is that they make no effort on promotions. The big hotels have websites and are on most of the major booking engines. They run promotions and they publish press releases. In contrast the little bungalow operations, the small restaurants and bars and the other service providers are virtually invisible to all but passing trade.
One example of this is Su's Cafe. I have passed the sign for the place countless times as I ride my bike into Yai. It’s on the left, on the main road. I always imagined it was some old lady with an oven knocking out a few loaves of bread and a few cakes for the tourists.
It turns out I was wrong. Su is the Thai half of a fully fledged restaurant and bungalow business. The other half is Eric. They are an older couple who seemed to have carved out a nice little niche for themselves on Thong Nai Pan Yai without most people noticing.
Su's Café and Bakery is comprised of a small restaurant, 3 ‘houses’ for rent and 1 bungalow to rent. It is an accommodation option that isn’t on Agoda etc. You can go to their website directly (http://su-cafe-andhouseforrent.com/) or drop in if you want to rent a house. After several years of being open for business Su Café and Bakery has only 1 Trip Advisor review. That kind of warms my heart. I’m sure they provide good service and warm hospitality. It is that they aren’t interested in helping corporate entities like T.A.
The restaurant has German bread, schnitzels, pizza, pasta, salads, steaks and burgers. It is one of only 2 places in Thong Nai Pan to put their menu and prices online. This I like. Whenever I eat in Thong Nai Pan I always feel they are too keen to get the menu away from me, like it contains secret information. Pricing is far from transparent in Thong Nai Pan. Thank goodness Thai Break has stopped as that event drove prices up by 20% for 10 days.
House 1 is 1 bed with air-con, kitchen, fridge, washing machine and UBC TV. House 2 has 2 bedrooms (fan), kitchen, fridge, TV and washing machine. House 3 is for rent or sale. It has 2 air-con bedrooms, a bathtub, kitchen, fridge and TV. The bungalow is a basic fan affair.
The accommodation is set in a tropical garden. It doesn’t enjoy sea views but is peaceful and a good spot to avoid the crowds.
I have never stayed at Su's Café and Bakery. Trip Advisor won’t help you. Why not go and see for yourself?
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