Since its low-profile opening two months ago, Chef's Table by Khao, a new venture by chef Vichit Mukura, hasn't experienced a slow moment.
The exclusive 12-seat restaurant has received brisk business from highbrow diners seeking refined Thai cuisine in five-star privacy, resulting in a long waiting list, which as of now reaches into mid-March.
This is perhaps thanks to Vichit's well-built portfolio as the former executive Thai chef of the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok (he left the hotel last year after 28 years of service). Or maybe it's the chef's profound culinary dexterity — not to mention his charming looks and amicability.
His brainchild, located at the front of Yuutaro Japanese restaurant, is so-named to express Vichit's high respect for Thai rice (khao) and the country's culinary culture.
As the name suggests, the restaurant contains a solitary dining table, placed next to a 1.5 million baht, marble-and-chrome open kitchen surrounded by a glass facade, and welcoming groups of four to 12 diners.
Vichit describes his cuisine as having "traditional Thai taste with a modern look", creatively crafting dishes with world-class — yet mostly Japanese — produce.
The multi-course degustation menu is designed and changed regularly according to the day's best ingredients, and priced at 4,990 baht per person for a six-course; 7,500 baht per person for an eight-course; and 9,900 baht per person for a 10-course meal.
The first course was an innovative rendition of a thord mun goong (prawn cake). The rectangular-shaped appetiser exhibited a brittle crust encasing a buoyant interior of minced prawn, squid ink — lending the dish its black colour — and springy morsels of ika (Japanese cuttlefish). It was complemented by luminous dashes of chilli-plum and mango sauces.
Crispy engawa (Japanese halibut fin) with Thai-style tomato salad followed. As pleasing to the palate as it was to the eyes, the dish's adoption of engawa, a popular sushi ingredient treasured for its supple texture and rich, fatty taste, was an interesting integration of Japanese and Thai cuisine.
Strips of the halibut fin, slightly battered and deep-fried, were enhanced by fresh Japanese tomatoes, served whole and drizzled with a zesty yum dressing made with bird's eye chillies, garlic, lime, fish sauce a touch of olive oil, and topped with finely chopped basil and shiso leaves.
Yum thua phu (Thai-style winged bean salad) represented the third course. While prepared according to a traditional recipe (and therefore yielding its familiar taste), Vichit has given the classic dish a word-class upgrade by substituting chopped prawn meat for taraba (Japanese snow crab) meat, and forgoing amundane boiled egg for a poached "onsen" egg.
The salad of crisp green winged beans, flavoured by sweet, nutty and tangy dressing, was garnished with miniature crab cakes.
Tom kha fans, meanwhile, are promised contentment from tom kha taraba, served over a crab leg. The creamy soup, prepared with fresh-squeezed coconut milk, showcased a well-rounded combination of flavours that enriched the juicy crabmeat, which is imported live to the restaurant twice a week.
The main course was a massaman lamb rack with foie gras. It featured a succulent lamb chop, grilled medium-well, served beneath a firm slab of pan-seared duck liver, and smothered with rich massaman curry, with a firm slice of grilled pineapple on the side. The curry is served with the diner's choice of rice bread or roti.
At the meal's end, first-time visitors are most likely to be treated with Vichit's dessert trio platter.
The first delicacy was a creative marriage of Japanese mochi (a glutinous rice dumpling) and yok manee (an old-fashioned Thai dessert often unknown to young Thais), showcasing a soft tapioca pearl dumpling stuffed with fresh amaou strawberries, the crunchy sweetness of which was a perfect contrast to the mild, cushiony tapioca.
Also served was thua paeb (sweet mung bean dumpling), a well-known Thai snack, made inside-out with a mung bean exterior and chestnut-red bean filling.
Escorting the two was a bowl of bua loy peuk (taro pearls in warm coconut milk), which was just as delightful.
Service, conducted by five-star standard trained staff, was efficient and cordial.
Chef Vichit Mukura.
Crispy engawa with zesty tomato salad.
An innovative rendering of thord mun goong infused with squid ink and morsels of cuttlefish.
Massaman lamb rack with foie gras.
Tom kha with taraba crab leg.
Yum thua phu with Japanese snow crab meat, crab cakes and an 'onsen' egg.
