Two Bangkok Nights, Two of the Best Restaurants in the World? Heck YEAH!

When in Bangkok, with its 26 Michelin Star restaurants, and its THREE of “The World’s 50 Best,” what else would a pair of occasional foodies do with a couple spare evenings? With our first night’s dinner at AriyasomVillas Na Aroon restaurant still lingering on our taste buds, we knew we were starting from a high plateau . . .

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We had done our homework, so we thought we were well prepared for the next night’s Bo.lan experience—1 Michelin Star—where each diner chooses from three tasting menu options: Bo.lan Balance, Bo.lan Botanical, or the ultimate, Bo.lan Feast. For once, we elected discretion and went with the first option, the non veg Bo.lan Balance.

We were initially seated on comfy lounge chairs in the cozy entry salon, where the staff welcomed us with a warm hand towel and incredibly spiced boiled peanuts and a variety of pickles served with toasted rice iced tea, a divinely scented potion we both loved; then, kneeling before us, she went through the menu options . . . and, of course, helped with our wine selection. After a few minutes, we were invited to begin our dinner . . . in the kitchen! There, we met Dylan Jones, Australian chef and co-owner of the restaurant along with, of course, Bo (Duangporn Songivsava) his Thai wife and the energetic, driving force behind their venture. While the amuse bouche, served on a single spoon, was a startling contrast of savory and sweet, Sarah and I both swooned over the followup: a slightly grilled mangosteen, the “Queen of Fruits!” (We’d had our first mangosteen at Na Aroon the day before, and we remain heartbroken that they are rarely available at home in Chennai.)

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The Bo.lan experience is pure, traditional Thai, and Bo put in years of research to attain the ancient methods and ingredients—the “lan” of the restaurant’s name links to the Thai word for “ancient—and we were both thrilled with the new tastes and textures we encountered. After the amuse bouche, we learned a new three step process: drink the Thai whiskey, eat the sour fruits with turmeric, then spray your palate with a pandan-leaf tisane. The ancient just became brand new!

Can you tell from the photos the extent of our exploration of authentic Thai cuisine? And all of it from Bo and Dylan’s belief that “The best Thai restaurants should be found in Thailand.” BTW, they met when they were both working at another Michelin Star venue, Nahm . . . in London.

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Then came the desserts, first at table, and then back out to our cozy setting in the welcome area. Wow, all in all, a pinnacle experience, with so many new thrills for all our senses, and a marvelous introduction to the genuine article of Thai cooking. Four thumbs up!

So, how could we top that?

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How about the brand new bar at Gaggan, the number 1 restaurant in Asia four years running—not to mention number 5 in the world? Oh, and TWO Michelin Stars . . . okay, then, just head for the loo and . . . Bottoms up!

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While Bo.lan was straight up authentic Thai, Gaggan’s approach has always been a gleeful, somewhat sarcastic spin on Indian cuisine that turns it on its noggin. Diners must be prepare to be surprised, mislead, teased, and even a bit humiliated . . . All with tongue firmly in cheek.

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This year, we managed to score seats in the R&D Kitchen, where Gaggan himself often leads the experience—it’s where we met him last year as we toured the restaurant following our dinner in the main part of the house—but he was in Macau to open a new venue so a pair of his sous chefs took charge and were delightful as they explicated each dish, teasing and guiding, and usually finishing the description with: “One bite, please.” BTW, the Yogurt Explosion and the What Did U Lick? (Delivered to the pulsing beat of Kiss’s “Lick it up”) are repeats from last year’s Gaggan visit—can you guess what’s playing on my Spotify to echo our night around the table as I type this section?

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So, after we got our 80’s rock vibe on, we moved to a selection of reformulated traditional Indian standby’s served on oddly shaped puzzle pieces. Sarah loved the Egg Tart Ghewar—a North Indian sweet—while I can never resist eating charcoal so I fancied the Pyaz Kachori in its take on the popular fried dumpling.

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The whimsey continued with an array of misdirection—white asparagus from cauliflower, porcini from cheese, liver mulled wine, oh, my!

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Okay, so we’ve shared eighteen of the twenty-five dishes tantalizingly emoji’d on the wordless mylar strip menu, but rest assured the others were equally unique and startling, with creative juxtapositions of textures and unexpected tastes that beguiled our tastebuds and spun the wheels of our minds—and invariably brought a smile. (Yeah, The Dark Side did indeed hold a nice little puff.)

So, Gaggan brings Bangkok, Round Two to a captivating, whimsical success, with a harmonic counterpoint to Bo.lan’s treasures of authentic, traditional, Thai. And next year, perhaps we’ll seek out the legendary Jai Fai with her goggles and her own Michelin Star for her opulent street food and her omelettes bursting with crab! But for Gaggan, we will definitely push through those graffitied doors to that loo again next March, for one final meal in the rambling white house in Bangkok, since he is moving his operation to Fukuoka in June 2020. Maybe you can join us for that exquisite ramble through the emoji’s? As Pink Floyd sang: “We’ll be waiting, we’ll be waiting for you . . . .”

Next we head off to Chiang Mai for our first visit there. Will we discover our own Shangri-La in the ancient, templed, hilly north, and want to return for longer stays? Ah, but that, as you most certainly know, is another story . . .