Old standby delivers

There might not be a lot to say about Australian culinary flair in terms of its influence on the global stage.

But that doesn't mean it lacks a remarkable characteristic.

Just like the Aussie people, Down Under's dining culture is casual, fun and unpretentious. Meanwhile it's always versatile, open-minded and location-driven.

Offering the much-love Australian gastronomic vibe, The Coffee Club, founded in 1989 in Brisbane, is one of the fastest growing restaurant brands from Australia to expand internationally.

Today it has over 400 stores throughout nine countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including 59 in Thailand.

Although the brand is not totally new in Bangkok's food scene -- its first outlet opened in Ekamai 10 years ago -- the menu is always refreshed to offer something up to date.

My most recent visit to one of its restaurants, located at Hyatt Regency Sukhumvit, was as pleasurable as usual.

The 50-seat cafe, just a few steps from the BTS Nana station, is decked out in a bright and clean Coffee Club style with minimalist contemporary decor, light wood floor and lots of comfortable space.

Fresh-brewed beverages, warm-baked pastries, salads and desserts come from an extensive coffee bar in the front, while main dishes are prepared in the semi-open back kitchen.

To underline the brand's all-day dining concept, the menu is designed to offer everything for everyone at anytime of day. That means you can enjoy a hefty burger while a friend has breakfast congee and a cup of coffee, all in the evening.

Hence, other than a long list of hot and cold drinks -- caffeinated, alcoholic or virgin, you will also find on the current menu a large selection of all-day breakfast items, healthy salad bowls, Italian pasta, burgers and sandwiches as well as favourite Thai dishes.

The recipes and selection, I was told, had previously been based on expat preferences. But very recently the menu and prices were adjusted to cater more to local palates.

The value-for-money khao tom set featuring Thai-style rice soup with four side dishes of your choice.

The restaurant's all-time best-seller, should you be in the mood for all-day breakfast, is the Big Breakfast, which I quickly passed over along with the popular eggs Benedict and fluffy pancake.

I settled instead for khao tom set (200 baht), a combo of Thai styled plain boiled rice and four side dishes of your choice. Extra dishes cost 49-59 baht per dish. While additional rice costs 30 baht.

I sampled many of the side dishes and was very satisfied with chai-pow phad kai or stir-fried sugar-cured turnip with egg; stir-fried Chinese kale with soy sauce; Thai-styled deep-fried omelette; moo phad namlieb or minced pork with Chinese salt-cured black olive; and yum kai kem or salted egg with sour and spicy dressing. As I'm writing this my mouth could not help but salivate.

Overloaded Thai baked eggs on French butter croissant with sweet Chinese sausage, minced pork and shiitake mushroom garnish (220 baht) sounded interesting but proved fair.

For those looking for a healthy salad, there are Power Bowl (220 baht) and Keto Bowl (260 baht). The latter features lettuce, radish, avocado, tomato, cucumber, cooked pumpkin, asparagus and salmon cubes with sesame dressing.

The super scrumptious Sriracha chicken burger.

Another good carb-free option is the rocket chorizo salad (220 baht) of which cos lettuce, arugula leaves come tossed with Spanish spicy air-dried pork sausage, balsamic dressing and Parmesan cheese.

A friend fell in love with spaghetti khor moo yang (220 baht) so much she could marry the dish. It featured juicy slices of grilled marinated pork collar tossed with pasta, Thai basil, fresh chillies and spicy jaew sauce. The dish was delicious all right but could have been improved, for me, with half the sweetness.

My darling dish was the spicy Sriracha chicken burger (195 baht). Normally I wouldn't expect much from the poultry centrepiece of a sandwich. But it's represented by a nice piece of deep-fried breaded chicken thigh of which the exterior was extra crispy and the meat succulent. Enhancing the chicken was cheddar cheese and sweet, sour and spicy Sriracha glaze. Add-on curly fries costs 60 baht.

For drink, my favourite at The Coffee Club has always been the frothy chai latte black tea (120 baht, which used to cost 155 baht in the past).

A new addition of salted caramel espresso frappé (140 baht) and yuzu lemon cold brew coffee (140 baht) proved equally delightful.

Currently there are 26 outlets of across Bangkok. Opening hours may vary upon locations.