Syrniki at Home: A Simple Cottage Cheese Pancake Recipe (2026)

I’ll happily argue that breakfast is a legitimate reason to cross Sukhumvit any day. Syrniki — those golden, pillowy pancakes made from tvorog (cottage cheese) — will get you to do that crossing twice. Someone once called them “just cheese bread.” Accurate, but it misses the point. At CreativiTeaHaus on Sukhumvit Soi 31 we serve syrniki with mors and Russian / herbal tea, and every visit reveals a tiny detail you hadn’t noticed before. Below is a kitchen-friendly recipe and the practical notes I use when recommending syrniki around Thonglor, Ekkamai or Ari.

What syrniki actually are (and why texture matters)

Syrniki aren’t American-style pancakes, nor are they a cheesecake pretending to be breakfast. They begin with tvorog — a drier curd cottage cheese — mixed with an egg, a little flour, sugar and salt, sometimes a touch of vanilla. Moisture control matters: too wet and they spread into sad puddles, too dry and they crumble. When done right they have crisp edges, a tender, slightly tangy center, and take a smear of sour cream, a drizzle of honey, or a cup of hot herbal tea like a small, satisfying ritual.

A reliable syrniki recipe (what I actually make)

• 500 g dry cottage cheese / tvorog (if using supermarket curd, drain it well)
• 1 large egg
• 30–40 g (2–3 tbsp) sugar — adjust to taste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 70–90 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• Butter and neutral oil for frying
• Serve with sour cream, berry jam, or mors (cranberry / blackcurrant) and Russian / herbal tea

Method: Press the tvorog through a sieve or wrap it in a clean cloth and squeeze out excess whey for 15–30 minutes. It’s dull work, but essential. Mix the drained curd with egg, sugar, salt and vanilla. Fold in most of the flour until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough — it should hold together when formed but not be tough. Chill the dough 20–30 minutes; it firms up and becomes much easier to shape.

Shape into rounds about 2 cm thick, dust with flour, and pan-fry over medium heat in a mix of butter and neutral oil so the butter browns slowly without burning. Cook until each side is a warm, caramelly brown, about 3–4 minutes per side. Drain briefly on a paper towel. I had one piece for research purposes. The rest was apparently also research.

Why you should try syrniki at CreativiTeaHaus (and what to order)

Eating syrniki at CreativiTeaHaus on Sukhumvit Soi 31 is a particular pleasure because the kitchen pairs them with the right things: a small glass of mors (cranberry or blackcurrant) cuts the richness with bright acid, while Russian / herbal tea brings the warmth you want after a chilly evening in town. The café’s hours — 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM (12:00–24:00) daily — mean syrniki work as a late-afternoon treat or a relaxed supper. Expect to pay roughly 160–220 THB for a plate depending on accompaniments; that’s fair considering portion size and provenance, compared with the over-topped, tiny plates I see around the soi. Would I order it again? Yes. Seconds, please.

One pleasant surprise for newcomers is how syrniki sit between savory and sweet. They’re not dessert-first; try them with a bowl of borscht (veg, 300ml) or alongside blini if you want to lean into Slavic snacks. For brightness, get a mors on the side. Folks from Thonglor and Ekkamai drift in here for exactly that balance.

Mini-scene: a practical visit

She arrived from Ari with fifteen minutes to spare before a meeting in Thonglor and a bag full of notes. Not rushing to the airport — good — but she needed a single, calming thing: a small plate, hot tea, a few minutes to proofread. The server took her order, the kitchen placed syrniki and a steaming mug of herbal tea on the table fifteen minutes later, and she found the edges crisp and the center soft enough to spread jam. She left with the meeting calmly sorted and an extra container of mors for the ride. If she’d been heading to Suvarnabhumi, she would have needed at least 90 minutes to reach the airport from Sukhumvit and the staff would have wrapped a takeaway properly — but today was the right kind of pause.

Tips, a life-hack, and a frank opinion

• Life-hack: If making syrniki at home, press the tvorog in the morning and leave it in the fridge in a sieve over a bowl. When you’re ready, the drained curd makes forming and frying straightforward. For takeaway from the café, ask for syrup/jam and sour cream in separate containers — this keeps them from going soggy.
• Technique: Fry in a mix of butter and a neutral oil at medium heat so the crust forms without burning. Resting the shaped patties in the fridge for twenty minutes improves structure and cuts down on splatter.
• Mild opinion: Trendy extras like molten ice cream or extravagant fruit towers are usually unnecessary. Syrniki are best kept simple — a good mors and tea is both traditional and honest. If a menu charges a big premium for fancy toppings, you’re buying flash more than flavour.

FAQ

• Do you have vegetarian or vegan syrniki? The syrniki on the menu at CreativiTeaHaus are made with cottage cheese and egg (not vegan). You can order vegetarian-friendly options like Olivier Russian salad (vegetarian) or blini with cottage cheese.
• Can I take syrniki away? Yes. The kitchen will pack syrniki and condiments separately on request; keep them cool and reheat in a low oven (140–150°C) for a few minutes to refresh the crust.
• When is CreativiTeaHaus open and where exactly? CreativiTeaHaus is open daily from 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM (12:00–24:00) and is located on Sukhumvit Soi 31, Bangkok (same building as GlowUp Beauty Haus). Phone +66 98 276 1802 for questions.

If you want a quiet chair, a small plate of comfort, and a proper pot of Russian / herbal tea, drop by CreativiTeaHaus on Sukhumvit Soi 31. Book ahead for a weekend stop, or wander in between errands in Thonglor or Ekkamai — walk-ins are welcome but seating can fill. Book your spot on CreativiTeaHaus or call +66 98 276 1802. Seconds, please.