Nothing screams "I'm back" louder than flavours on a plate, especially for a chef. Andrew Martin is making sure he is heard, seen and tasted at 80/20 since returning to takeover the kitchen.
Packing all the punches, his first menu at the one Michelin-starred establishment is seasonal. But not seasonal as you would think. "Seasonal here depends on what's available at the moment. It's less about the actual weather," he states emphatically. The menu (Experience Tasting Menu, 14 bites for B2,800++, Signature Tasting Menu, 18 bites for B3,300) is inspired by chef Martin's adventures across Thailand and people he's met, offering a journey of his memories.
Mains are grilled beef curry, pickles, coral trout, nam jim black pepper asparagus, egg and sweet sausage.
Nam Fon - Fresh Herb Juice.
Mok - Tiger Prawns, Tomato Relish, Northern Spices.
Begin with Snacks of Gai krajan, which is chicken, sweet chilli and cashew, a bite inspired by the chef's visit to Kaeng Krachan National Park. Though it is the Isan market of mushroom, herbs and pickles that will throw you into a bit of a "tail" spin (pun intended). Recover with a refreshing Nam fon or rainwater, which is like "walking through a forest after the rain", and some Seasonal fruit of rambutan from Nakhon Si Thammarat, smoked fish and sweet pork, which is a play on the sweet pork relish.
Appetisers begin with the Stormy sea, a dish inspired by a Chanthaburi fishing trip, consists of squid, mangosteen and chilli. The Chicken rice dish is a curry with crispy rice and wild herbs. The curry is blended with lots of aromatics and cooked in a clay pot for maximum flavour. Pickled mulberries and sliced chills complete the dish.
"Mok love is inspired by cooking different meats in banana leaf," says chef Martin. Tiger prawns are quickly steamed in banana leaf, seasoned with turmeric and fried garlic powders, fish sauce and garlic oil. Served with tomato relish, 24-hour slow-grilled pineapple, pineapple vinegar and seasoned with salt and palm sugar.
A soup for a prince is a dish that is named after one of chef Martin's friends, a member of royal Laotian family. "This is the recipe from one of his family's recipe books called tom chao pla, which uses boiled nam phrik," adds chef Martin. The base of the dish has kai paan or dried Laotian seaweed, with a chilli and garlic relish. On top is the pla boo or goby fish. The broth is made from grilled pork, pork shoulder and bone, served with sweet young coconut and pickled aubergine. It almost has a dashi-like familiarity to it, which won't be unusual for the half-Canadian, half-Japanese chef. It is the best tasting soup, I've had in a long while!
Mok - Tiger Prawns, Tomato Relish, Northern Spices.
A palate cleanser before mains comes in the form of Lao khao or rice wine. The khao in the lao khao is a sorbet made with the rice water from the rice that is cooked for the staff meals. Dessert wine is used for the lao.
Mains are served samrub style (is there any other way now?). "My own recipe is based on a Malaysia-Hat Yai border town curry topped withthe A5 Wagyu beef. I am not a fan of meat when it is too fatty, so this one works well," explains the chef. The coral trout comes with makwan served with Thai-Chinese style nam jim. Instead of using lime juice and fish sauce in the nam jim, Chinese black vinegar is used because "I like the funk", chef Martin says. Vegetables are always better with meat and a fried egg so the organic stir-fried asparagus is served with sweet Chinese sausage, fried quail egg, black pepper sauce, fried garlic and green beans. There are two different kinds of pickles, too, which clearly take inspiration from the Japanese pickles. All eaten with coconut rice cooked in a clay pot.
To prepare for dessert a Southern drink in the form of som kaek (Indian orange) and honey is served. Extremely delicious though I would have added a dash of black pepper for that zing.
For desserts (there are two, because we all have another stomach for sweet things), chef Martin serves Khanom chocolate yang, which is Chanthaburi chocolate cake, roasted chocolate ice cream, roasted sesame crumble and fresh mango with rosella and mulberry. The Suan maprow is a big serving of coconut, guava, honey. White and gold dominate the petit fours and it is a good way to end the meal. Visit 8020bkk.com
