A True Taste of Speed

Anew café pops up in downtown Bangkok every other day, and “Cub House”, the brainchild of A.P. Honda, is a welcome addition. Located right at the Ekamai Soi 3 corner, the café impresses with industrial loft décor and a collection of vintage motorcycles on display. It’s a café like no other: besides coffee, the place has collections of clothes including bikers’ riding gear and other cool goodies that will definitely draw the attention of motorcycle fanatics, bikers and coffee lovers alike.

An exhibition on Honda’s history with a prototype motorbike on display | Photo Credit: Teerarat Yamngamluea

We met up with Rassana “May” Chansakul recently for a nice chat and a tour of the hip spot. She’s currently in charge of A.P. Honda’s Project Sales Planning and Administration.

Motorbike parts to mix and match | Photo Credit: Teerarat Yamngamluea

UA: How did the idea of Cub House came about?
May: “CUB” stands for “Culture”, “Unique” and “Bikes”. This is the place where you can enjoy your coffee and creativity, whether in groups or solo. We like to call it a “co-creation space” because it’s a different kind of café. There’s a corner displaying a prototype motorbike and a short presentation of Honda’s history. We have a showcase section where you can watch our technicians in action [in the nearby repair shop]. On the shelves in another corner are more clothes and motorcycling accessories specially designed by Greyhound. And finally, there’s the café area where you can enjoy food and drinks while deciding how to kit out your two-wheeled speed machines.

UA: What’s the inspiration?
May: We know that there are people who enjoy different kinds of things and have different hobbies. They can be epicures, bookworms, painters, travelers, or even motorcycle collectors. With a sound understanding of their lifestyles, we’d love to create a place where people who share the the same interests could hang-out together and create something new.

That’s why A.P. Honda collaborated with Greyhound, a renowned F&B and lifestyle expert, to start this unique project. The concept here is “Today Original”, which translates well into our food, drinks, clothes and our motorbikes, all introduced and developed for today’s lifestyle.

The apparel section | Photo Credit: Teerarat Yamngamluea

UA: How about the design?
May: Cub House is designed to allow people to experience the venue through all five senses: see and enjoy our atmosphere and products, smell and taste our good food and drinks, listen to good music and share ideas, and touch or test the products we have on. The products here are all unique, but the ones we are most proud of are the rare collections of motorbikes and parts.

The cozy interior showcases several Monkey motorbikes | Photo Credit: Teerarat Yamngamluea

UA: Explain a bit about those vintage-style motorcycles?
May: We have the Honda Monkey and Honda C125 available here. This café is a place to create and design; therefore, customers could select parts to mix and match to suit their preferences. Just like dressing up a teddy bear, customers can dress up their Monkey and C125. With computer technology, they can digitally choose different parts to match with their bike to see how it will look like before purchasing the parts.

The relax ambiance inside Greyhound Coffee | Photo Credit: Teerarat Yamngamluea

UA: Why Greyhound?
May: Greyhound is well known for designs that suit those who are on the stylish side. Their clothes and food are very popular among Thais. Together, we target the same market and approach the same type of people. That’s why Greyhound has helped design clothes, accessories and our menu at Cub House. The clothes here are original collectables that have been specifically designed for Cub House. They cannot be found elsewhere.

The signature drink ‘Monkey’ served alongside ‘Superdog’ | Photo Credit: Teerarat Yamngamluea

UA: Any not-to-be-missed items on the menu?
May: We serve Monkey, a drink named after the bike. Mention the word “monkey”, and what comes to mind is usually banana. So we’ve created a drink that has dark chocolate at bottom, banana milk in the middle layer, and espresso at the top. Then we’ll top it all off with whipped cream, dried coconut flakes, and dried banana chips. What’s special is how you drink it – by putting a straw deep until it reaches the bottom and sipping it gently while pulling the straw up so that it passes through every layer to taste all the different textures and fun. The chips are there for drinkers to scoop up the whipped cream instead of a spoon.

In terms of our signature dish, we’re famous for our grab-and-go Superdog. It’s just simply a hot dog served with a selection of the best ingredients. We serve premium pork sausages in soft buns topped with Sriracha-Mayo hot sauce. This dish takes two minutes to whip up, so it is fast enough for those on the run. Besides these two signature menu items, we also serve nitro-brewed tea and coffee, and various snacks.

UA: Any plans for the future?
May: This is our first flagship store, but we have an ambitious plan to expand to 40 stores by 2020.

Cub House
85 Ekamai Soi 3, Khlong Tan Nuea
Tel. 02 116 4446
www.aphonda.co.th/cubhouse/