Three nights in Bangkok
And the world’s my oyster
About a month ago I got this text.
Sorn, if you didn’t look it up, is the only 3 Michelin star restaurant in Thailand. Bestie is my favorite travel buddy, this is a clear and obvious hell yes. I’ve never been to Bangkok, but I sure know the lyrics to the Murray Head song.
This isn’t our first rodeo. A couple of years ago we we having lunch discussing her upcoming trip to Japan. Somehow we’d been friends for years and I never mentioned having lived in Japan and speaking the language. That lunch ended up with an invite to Tokyo for dinner at three star Harutaka - which will spoil you for sushi for the rest of your life.
Last Sunday I left Chicago. I arrived at about 1AM Tuesday at BKK, as one does when going to the other side of the world, apparently. After a nap I joined Bestie and her family for breakfast - the Peninsula buffet is fairly insane. [If you’re flying 22 hours each way to spend 74 hours in a city, I strongly recommend a luxury hotel. While they headed out to see temples and learn about Thailand, I hit the pool and took a nap, clearly winning that 95 degree day.
Sorn, as I said, is the only 3 Michelin star restaurant in Thailand. Now, everything else I say will appear to disprove this, but I don’t only chase stars. You can get amazing food on every corner in Tokyo, and all over. Last night I had a really good bahn mi at 3 Asian Sisters in Chicago for $12.99. The coffee is great at Phin Smith in Garden Grove. But I love a list and a “best of”, if you can toss in seasonality and limited edition, I am yours.
Sorn’s service is not ready for Michelin prime time. Nothing wrong, per se, but clunky and very memorized. The best service feels smooth and natural, like a dance you didn’t know existed. It’s comfort with the menu and guests, remembering that this meal, no matter where or what, may be a milestone meal. It was described to me as “authentic and intuitive to the character of the restaurant and the meal.” and I loved that. Alinea did an amazing job on my birthday [the server thanked me so sincerely for choosing them for my celebration] and so did Sweet Lake Biscuits and Limeade for my friend’s last month.
For each course, they placed a platter with the raw ingredients. Super cool way to set the mood and connect us to the food, right? Well, sure, except they sometimes took the platter mid bite and sometimes before and sometimes after we finished the course. Take a look at the picture above, the right side, and thank me now that that isn’t a video. This course featured abalone, and that is a live abalone that would then proceed to wiggle around, trying to escape the plate. We are fairly sure we watched it die - I wanted to give it water, but not sure that sparkling helps dying abalone. Creepy vibe - yummy dish.
I like to say that I love to dine out because I was faculty in the School of Hospitality and Business Management at WSU. That is true but really a coincidence. I just like hospitality. A lot. Bestie and I can dissect every aspect of a meal and experience and still have an amazing time, and we did. Last year we went to Noma together - their service is unimaginably good, frankly. In terms of seafood, I’ll give the edge to Sorn. Service wise, you can tell people move from all over the world to work at Noma!
Friends left the next morning to go elephant seeking while I stayed in BKK
I researched almost nothing before I left, but Instagram did serve me up the Jim Thompson House Museum and a best of list gave me Restaurant Gaa. When Michelin started their guide, it was a way to get people to drive more on Michelin tires - what restaurants were worth a detour. In my new rankings, I think I’ll have to go by “how much and what kind of travel is it worth.” Let me know what icon I should use the replace the star.
Lest it seem odd that my Thai sightseeing was about a white guy named Jim Thompson, I agree, it was odd. Hear me out. Jim Thompson was an American who served in the military and in the precursor to the CIA. He fell in love with Thailand [easy to see why] and made it his home. After learning of [I refuse to say discovering] Thai silk, he formed the Thai Silk Company - once they costumed “The King and I” on Broadway, the company boomed. I suspect that White Lotus Season 3 is leading the next revival - yes, I bought a kaftan.
The Jim Thompson House Museum, while about Jim Thompson, is really a stunning representation of Asian art and traditional Thai architecture. After carefully consulting an astrologer to find an auspicious buying day he bought 6 traditional teak houses and moved them to Bangkok, forming a compound of beautiful, simple, open air rooms and galleries. All of his art, by his direction, will stay in Thailand forever. Adding to his life story - at 61 he was visiting friends in Malaysia, went for a walk, and disappeared. Never heard from again. The top three theories seem to be 1) eaten by a tiger 2) CIA life came back to bite him and 3) he fell down. I admit I’m partial to the tiger, a certain romance to that end.
My last meal in Thailand [not counting airport McDonalds- get the fried pineapple pie] was at Restaurant Gaa, Garima Arora was the first Indian woman to receive 1 star, and now has 2. Yes, I went for modern Indian in Bangkok. Yes, I’d do it again.
Quite simply, Gaa was the best meal I’ve ever had. In case you missed the rest of this post, I’ve been to a lot of restaurants. I love restaurants. Gaa wins.
When Chef Garima brought me the Summer Curry I told her that it was shaping up to be the meal of my life. I wasn’t wrong. When a chef can turn something familiar upside down and make you wonder why no one ever did that, it’s magic. The summer curry is blue crab in green curry over shaved ice, instead of rice. Yes, like a snow cone. Yes, you’ll love it and want more.
Thankfully, this is where I tried durian, the “King of Fruit” - which Anthony Bourdain apparently described thus “Your breath will smell like you’ve been French kissing your dead grandmother.” With all respect to Bourdain, it is clear he never met Garima Arora.
The Tandoori Story is the flagship dish of Gaa. It is grilled durianserved in a kadi with bread, chutneys, pickled ginger and onions. It was so good. Insanely good. At this point I was full and refused to stop. That dish is perfection, creamy and smooth and grilled and sweet and sour.
The new Asia’s 50 best list is out - apparently it’s Gaggan’s fifth time at #1, another Indian restaurant in Bangkok. I’d like to say I’ll fly back out, but since Gaa didn’t even break top 50 on this list, I am reminded that it’s all relative, that supply is dependent on demand and that your 3 stars might not be my 3 golden spoons.
I’m going to assume that two trips makes a spring break tradition and look forward to Bestie’s family vacation next week. With any luck a few weeks out I’ll get a text about reservations at La Villa Madie overlooking Cap Canaille or Forum in Hong Kong. I’ll keep you posted.