Ever since Aksorn opened it has brought to diners dishes from Thailand's past. In its new menu, executive chef David Thompson has once again drawn from the past for inspiration, though this time with a living legend at the helm.
The menu is based on memories and dishes by Nutchanand "Pao" Osathanond, food columnist, cookbook author and presenter. "This first menu is a selection of some of the more striking dishes we encountered in Pao's kitchen. I have known Pao for around 15 years. A dear mutual friend, well versed in matters culinary, was forever extolling her cooking to be the very best, declaring it to be at the summit of traditional Thai food. I am a hard man to please. Yet after tasting it, I was gobsmacked, loss for words, I could only savour her food silently.
"Pao's menu follows the fashion of a formal dinner of the 50s to mid-60s. A decade when Bangkok was utterly changed yet at a time when some households still dressed for dinner, by custom and in expectation of the pleasure of the table. The menu took form quickly as we cooked and mulled over the dishes. I was surprised at the deft, straightforward methods employed. The recipes were not as elaborate or fiendish as I had supposed they might be. The wrought ornateness of regal cuisine had been polished away to offer smoother, more balanced flavours, measured in technique and distinct in taste.
"Once having tasted Pao's food, there's no mistaking it. We've picked up some real gems from the family annals. Aksorn has dutifully prepared and cooked the dishes to the chef's standard, they've passed muster and now are rearing to be served. Pao's menu will be changing continuously. She has a bounty of intriguing dishes swirling around the dinner cart and about the courses.
"With Pao at the helm, the food is truly Thai and unassailably good. Food of this character is increasingly becoming harder to find. At Aksorn we delve into the past to find remarkable cooks and cook their food with pride and relish. I just hope we can capture her shimmering finesse," says chef Thompson.
Begin with the Hors D'Oeuvres. Miang mhark, which are prawns and wild ginger wrapped with coral leaves. "I have never come across a miang quite like this," says chef Thompson. Fresh chilli, ginger, dried prawns, lime, toasted cashews and grated coconut are placed on a coral leaf. It is dressed with a mixture of palm sugar, toasted coconut, wild ginger and fish sauce. Much like the miang kham, it is sweet and sharp, though I found the coral leaves a tad chewier than betel. The second hors d'oeuvres is Song, which is pork, salted fish and duck egg in a fried parcel, much like a spring roll. Finely minced pork is mixed with pla gulao and salted duck egg, though despite the addition of salted fish, there was none to be tasted.
The best thing about the open kitchen at Aksorn is that you can opt to sit right in front of it and observe each course being freshly made. A couple of strapping young lads pounding curry paste in a pestle mortar doesn't hurt the eyes either. A feast for the eyes and later, the mouth!
If, like me, you're not glued to your phone, you can see the chef making the fresh rice vermicelli with an age-old wooden handpress. Makes for a good IG story, should you be so inclined. Ray rai nah phoo or fresh rice vermicelli with crab, coconut and chilli is your next course. The sauce is made with crab, chillies, deep-fried shallots, garlic and toasted mung beans simmered in coconut cream, which is ladled over the vermicelli and topped with more crab meat, chillies and coconut cream. The plating in a crab shell adds to the appeal.
Mains are served samrub style or family-style. Yum yord grathin uses an old-fashioned chilli jam made from grilled chillies, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste pounded to a fine paste. The jam is lightened with fresh coconut cream then seasoned with lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. This dressing is mixed into a handful of tender grathin shoots, minced pork, home-made dried prawns and toasted cashews and deep-fried shallots, garlic and chillies. Served with one of my favourite things -- torched ginger. Yum!
The Kaeng chud muu yang is a great palate cleanser and a mellow broth of smoky pork and bamboo. Do remember to sip it while hot. "It is a rudimentary soup, a relief from the complexity of the other dishes, and is a comforting broth. It's my favourite soup," says chef Thompson. A burst of green on the table is the Kaeng kiew waan of tiger prawns with roasted coconut, basil and chilli leaves.
Prik khing pla salid is stir-fried gourami with pork scratchings and lotus seeds. The gourami is grilled and smoked then deep-fried before being stir-fried with dried prawn floss, red curry paste made in pork lard, lotus seeds and salted duck eggs. It is finished with a dusting of finely shredded kaffir lime leaves. Nahm prik nakornbarn, a relish of smoked fish, chillies and prawns, is a dish from the court of King Rama V. Pao's great-grandfather was the king's physician and so the recipe came into her family. Also in the dish are seasonal produce, like sour salak, fuzzy yellow eggplants and Asian citron. As with other Thai relishes, it is served with fresh vegetables.
Pla muek tom khem or squid braised in palm sugar, soy, black pepper and ginger is my favourite main dish. The young and tender squid are braised with palm sugar, garlic, fish sauce, ginger and black pepper. It is simmered for an hour or more to end up with a sinister stew, dark and black as the devil with the delectable taste of sin. Since we are in the monsoon season, often these squids are filled with roe, a bonus! All the main dishes are served with jasmine rice from Surin.
As a palate cleanser, the Mafuang loy kaew or macerated starfruit works a charm. Half ripe starfruit is macerated in Asian citron juice, zest and white sugar, and left to steep for a day or two. It is paired with Thong plu or Thai choux, served with a toasty palm sugar drizzle, freshly grated coconut and perilla seeds.
For dessert, the Grayasart with bananas is a delight. Crunchy rice cake with local macadamias and sesame, which have just a hint of jasmine fragrance, are served with finger bananas. The cake is gilded with gold leaf in true Thai style. Is there a better way to finish this meal?
Do quench your thirst with the mocktails of Duang dao, which is a bit like the Asian mojito with starfruit, brown sugar, fresh lime juice and ginger ale. The Watsana, my favourite of the two, has fresh salak, som saa juice, fresh sugarcane juice and tamarind syrup.
Aksorn, 1266 Charoen Krung Road, Bang Rak / Menu is priced at B2,800++ / Open for dinner from Tue-Sun 6-11.30pm (last seating at 10pm) / Call 02-116-8662, email sevenrooms.com/reservations/aksornbangkok, visit fb.com/AksornBangkok.
A life of food
Nutchanand "Pao" Osathanond grew up in a family where cooking, eating and good food were at their core. Pao credits her grandfather, Phraya Prachakitchakonrachak (Chub Osathanond), with laying the foundation for her love of all things delicious. Pao's insatiable hunger for knowledge brought her close to Mae-Chom, the family's home chef, who passed down her wisdom of cooking and allowed Pao to try all kinds of food.
In the 50s, Pao moved with her family to France and later to the United States. Upon returning to Thailand in the 70s, Pao's close relationship with MR Pantip Paribatra granted her invaluable insight into the rich food history of Suan Pakkad Palace. Around this time, Pao began to notice significant changes in the eating culture of Thailand brought about by development in living conditions and global dining trends.
Pao and her mother, Anu Osathanond, resolved to share all their wisdom of traditional cooking so that new generations may taste Thai food as it was across many different eras. Pao, now 70, is a writer for the "Home Gourmet" column in Gourmet & Cuisine magazine. She is also a judge on The Great Thai Bake Off and the author of Pao's Kitchen Savories and Sweets, a cookbook of classic French and American recipes.
