• CLOSED: Tien Yarn Vegetarian Food

  • (15)
    2

    Closed

  • White Vegetarian
Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Chinese
Thai

Provides Chinese and Thai vegan food with some mock meat dishes. Located in the M.S.I. Tower building since Jan 2013, a few blocks down Soi 36 from Sukhumvit; previously at Sathupradit Road, Central Praram 3, Yannawa. JAN 2016 REPORTED SHUT HERE - POSSIBLY MOVED ELSEWHERE.


Venue map for Tien Yarn Vegetarian Food
© OpenStreetMap contributors

15 Reviews

First Review by Mdk

Aya

Points +627

Vegan
29 Aug 2015

It's a scam!

There was no other staff in the restaurant but one middle-aged lady who didn't speak a single word of English. The restaurant was both a typical Thai buffet where you get a plate with rice and two or three toppings, and it also had a la carte dishes (60-80 baht each). It was impossible to find out which dishes had dairy or eggs in them.

I chose the buffet and pointed at a liquid Chinese cabbage dish, a tvp soy dish and an egg plant dish. The lady put the rice on a bigger plate and the three options I chose into three small bowls. I had no second thoughts about that, as the day before it was served in the same way in another similar place.

When it was time to pay, it turned out these three spoonfuls of cold food that was not even freshly made were 160 baht! I asked why the price was so high, but the lady could not understand a thing, just showed on the calculator that one bowl (=one spoonful) was 50 baht. Another customer tried to help and said the price was so high because the food was placed on separate plates.

I was shocked and asked the lady to show me a written price of each of the options, but she just insisted that I pay 160 baht by showing the price on the calculator. As stupid as it sounds, at  that moment I just paid for the food and only after I left I realized it was yet another scam scheme.

In most places in Thailand rice with two or three toppings costs 35-50 baht, even if the food is served on separate plates.

I wonder how the lady decides who to trick and who not to.

Cons: One of Southeast Asian scams, No English spoken

Baldwin471

Points +98

Vegan
02 Jun 2015

Really cheap and tasty food

Walking down Sukhumvit 36, you wouldn't expect to se a vegetarian restaurant. But there it is, in big bold letters, right under the MSI tower.

Food is cheap, I paid 45THB for a plate of hot rice, some fried veg and grilled mushrooms with sesame seeds (the latter being a personal favourite!).

The lady in there doesn't speak English really, but it's not a problem, You're in Thailand, make an effort to learn some Thai! Its really simple, basic stuff (numbers, yes/no, thank you etc) but it'll go a long way and you'll be very much appreciated for your effort by the owner.

I'd recommend this place or sure, only a 5 minute walk from Thong Lo BTS and definitely worth the price.

Pros: Tasty, Cheap, Good Location

Cons: Fairly limited options

TantrkLvr

Points +32

Vegetarian
21 Jan 2015

A delightful find!

A short walk from Sukhumvit and Thong Lo. Refreshingly inexpensive, nice buffet and vast menu to choose from. Sweet woman, understands even though doesn't speak English. Will be back!

Bob Sultan

Points +649

Vegetarian
03 Jan 2015

Excellent Food at a Reasonable Price

After reading the two negative reviews, and all the positive reviews, I had to try this place to see for myself. It is not far from the excellent 'Dental Hospital' on Soi 49, so I combined the visit with dental work. The woman who runs the place was indeed watching soap operas on TV, does not speak English, and was very friendly. I chose three food items from the buffet, with rice. Having read the reviews, I held up three fingers to try to indicate that I wanted the three dishes together with rice. Each of the dishes was quite good. I would say that the quality is better than Terminal 21. I was charged 70 Baht for the plate of food plus a 'premium' bottle of water from the cooler (ie. not the warm generic bottles on the tables). I don't know exactly what the breakdown was, but the three items with rice was somewhere between 50 and 60 Baht. I thought this was a very good value considering the excellent quality of the food. The portions were very reasonable. The place is bright and clean. It was very easy to find.

Pros: Excellent food, Good value, Easy to find

JessieLim

Points +261

Vegetarian
25 Dec 2014

A simple vegetarian eatery

There is only one humble lady owner running the whole restaurant. Difficult to communicate if you do not speak Thai. Overall, the food is food and inexpensive. The restaurant is around 5-10 minutes walk from Thong Lo BTS.

Pros: tasty, humble lady boss

Cons: no english speaking, slow food serving

medus

Points +731

Vegan
16 Dec 2014

Bad experience

The restaurant was very quiet when I came in the early afternoon. The lady working there spoke no English and it was hard to ask about ingredients, etc. She gave me no menu and I had to find it myself. The prices ranged from 60 to 90 baht per dish. I ordered tom yam soup for 80 baht and a rice plate with three already made side dishes from a buffet. The buffet had no prices written anywhere so I assumed that it costs similar to dishes from the menu. After all, I ate from similar buffet places many times where similar dish costs 35-45 baht. Wrong! When there was time to pay, the lady showed on a calculator it's 240 baht - 80 for the soup and 160 for the rice plate. At first it seemed like a mistake because for same quality and service I paid maximum 45 baht in other places in Bangkok. Finally, the only other people eating there translated lady's explanation that the rice plate can be served in two ways: on top of rice when it costs 50 baht, and on separate plates when it then costs a whopping 160 baht (for nearly the same amount of food, and the price is not written anywhere, neither on the menu nor on the wall). The lady didn't say anything about that before serving the food and decided by herself to put everything on separate plates. Also, it seems strange that they have so different prices for same food and don't advertise them anywhere in the restaurant. If I knew beforehand I would have not ordered it because it's ridiculous to pay such money for a few spoonfuls of cold premade food. The whole situation seemed like a scam when they don't tell you something important and you end up paying too much. A place to avoid.

Cons: staff speaks no English, ridiculous buffet prices

Durianrider

Points +372

Vegan
01 Mar 2014

Still pumping out food early March 2014.

Friendly older lady behind the bar enjoyed serving me up plates of rice and enjoyed watching some Thai singing comp on the massive TV they had in the cafe.

Will be back. Quality rice served here. Stupidly cheap.

Its facing the soi 36 at ground level of the MSI building. Big english 'vegetarian food' sign on the windows. You walk down the soi thinking 'no way there is a veg cafe out here...' then you find it!

Pros: friendly, clean, big range

Cons: limited engrish

m@earthville

Points +9240

Vegan
21 Feb 2014

Tasty

On two visits to Tien Yarn, i got to sample 5 or 6 different dishes and enjoyed everything.

At lunch there was a buffet offering a fairly even mix of mock meats and vegetable-oriented dishes. I got three items over brown rice for 60 Baht.

An dinner, i ordered a la carte from the menu and received a flavorful curry and nicely prepared greens.

Very little English was spoken, but we managed.

If you're a big fan of mock meats (which they do well), you might find Tien Yarn to be worth a special trip. Otherwise, there isn't too much to recommend this place over any of the other veg*n places in central Bangkok, but if you're in the neighborhood, it's a good option.

tiptopcat

Points +29

Vegetarian
26 Oct 2013

Great stuff!

Really nice and friendly place... will be back for sure.

Pros: Friendly, Good food, Good value

AmericanPhil

Points +224

Vegan
11 Apr 2013

perfect

King! Very cheap and great food!!!
Updated from previous review on Thursday December 27, 2012

Pros: mmm, good, food

jre8995

Points +403

Vegetarian
24 Jan 2013

Good food and service

Clean, friendly place with good food. Will go back before updating to great.

dan&mia

Points +759

Vegetarian
08 Dec 2012

Okay food, good service

The staff was nice and the food was alright.

stantheman

Points +97

Vegan
09 Jun 2012

clean and delicious

Thai style veggie food is clean and delicious with Thai flavors . . . small family owned. Exit Thong Lo station and walk about two blocks to MSI Building.
They have mock meats in their freezer to take back home with you, if your in the mood for a veggie dog.

Veggisaurus

Points +34

Vegetarian
19 Oct 2011

Excellent, authentic Thai vegetarian food

I have been twice to this restaurant and on both occasions the food was very good. The reasonably-priced menu (in English and Thai)covers a wide range of Thai favorites, including mock-meat versions, as well as tofu-based and purely vegetable dishes. The owners are very friendly and speak English well. The surroundings are typical of a local Thai eatery (including air-con)and make the place an ideal venue if you are a vegetarian seeking a genuine Thai experience without the hassle (or any risk of fish sauce etc). Recommended.

Pros: Good food, Authentic Thai food, Pleasant, clean surroundings

Mdk

Points +6

Non Veg
29 Aug 2011

Very good and cheap new place!

I live around Sukhumvit soi 24 and just feel like sharing how happy I am this place opened up in my area. This has become my favorite lunch spot over the last couple of weeks.
Dishes range from 40-70 baht, servings are quite large, service is friendly and the staff take pride in the food they serve.

Pros: Good value




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