The highest-ranked Thai restaurant on this year's list of Asia's 50 best restaurants is called Nusara, and I went to Bangkok a while ago to reserve a table, but I was actually a little reluctant because I was in the chef's other restaurant, Le I was shocked when Du was shocked to win the first place in Asia's Top 50 after only nine months of opening, and to the surprise of many, Chef Ton became the only Thai chef to own two restaurants on the Top 50 list.
The following year, Le Du fell to the top of the charts at 12th and Nusara was 6th, but despite this, it was still the highest-ranked Thai dish in Asia, so I decided to give it another chance.
Nusara occupies a three-storey house next to Bangkok's most popular attraction, Wat Pho, and the chef named the restaurant after his grandmother, who raised him, as a nod to the family's recipe.
Before the meal, we sat at the bar to relieve the heat before the rainy season, and wanted to come to the top 50 bars in Asia, and I also drank a lot in Bangkok, so I had the opportunity to write an article.
Served at six o'clock on time, the waiter brought a welcome drink, watermelon juice and tamarind juice, sweet and sour, this was the first stop of our dinner.
The second stop is at the kitchen, where the chef himself will serve two hors d'oeuvres, a small golden cup with shrimp and pork stuffing and a coconut cake made with green curry squid, both based on traditional Thai street food, but here in a more advanced version.
Then take the small elevator to the rooftop of the top floor, and sit down opposite the Wat Pho, with a panoramic view of the twilight, which is our third stop.
Who wouldn't love the appetizers, the small fish dumplings with the tom yum consommé and a big spoonful of caviar?
Turn your head and move to the bar, eat a bite of tomato beef tart, and have a meal that changes again and again, which is also busy enough.
In fact, we are no stranger to this form of dining, from Stockholm Michelin star Frantzen to Shanghai upstart EHB, Nordic people have long been played, I didn't expect to play again in Bangkok, one foot low, one foot high step down the stairs, I have a feeling of being routine.
Finally settled down in the main dining room and officially started our dinner, and the cuisine returned to the comfort zone of tradition and innovation.
Smoked mackerel, dare to be salty, a meringue, garnished with lemongrass, infused with traditional Thai sour soup, is a refined and sublimated Thai food taste.
A slice of oily squid is paired with fish sauce to create a salty and sweet contrast, and there is a subtle beauty.
Crab meat curry is Nusara's signature dish, and there is a special ingredient display link, and the crab shell on the side says Horseshoe crab, which literally translates to horseshoe crab, but isn't this a horseshoe crab? I have seen it in Chaoshan, which is an endangered species and a national second-class protected animal......
Crab roe is taken here, its taste is completely different from shrimp roe and caviar, hard and firm, with the fishy smell of protein, a bit like eating happy eggs.
Deep-fried betel nut leaves on a plate of blue swimming crab, similar to our flower crab, the crab leg meat is strong and sweet, and the curry is also sweet, which is really flattering.
As if the season was getting better, the next scallop bonifish ball, served with lime, palm sugar, fish sauce and bird's eye chili sauce, was sweet and spicy and spicy, reminiscent of countless Thai dishes as soon as you eat it.
After the clearing, it is warm, and a light corn soup is handed in, freshly ground into salted egg yolk crumbs, soothing the taste buds and stomach.
The traditional Tom kha contains coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass, lime, coriander and mushrooms, a rich and gorgeous coconut flavor, like a visit to the island, with a tropical freshwater fish called silk-footed fish, the fish is fried and then dried, like crispy fish floss, the lobster on the side is not so important, spices are the soul of Thai food.
The main course is a return to the traditional Thai way of serving at home, and the main dish is served to the full, with jasmine rice and brown rice also served.
The chef has put a lot of thought into it, and each Thai dish borrows Western elements to form a pair of opposites - Western-style slow-roasted 24-hour beef ribs mixed with Thai tossed beef, with the unique aroma of basil leaves.
The green curry chicken made a smoked chicken roll again, the chicken skin is crispy and fragrant, and there is fresh chicken blood underneath the surprise opening!
The oversized river prawns are grilled fragrantly, the pineapple is caramelized, and the hollow core in the middle is filled with shrimp brains.
There's also a pot of seasonal vegetables from the restaurant's farm in Chiang Mai, and I'm more interested in exploring unfamiliar ingredients: eggplant or green or purple popped seeds, aquatic green leaves are fresh or sour or slippery, and dipping in fish sauce or peanut butter is a Thai tradition.
Clear consommé, beef dumplings and garlic
I actually have doubts about the main dish of Nusara, which is presented in a traditional way, but the seasoning is too heavy, the beef is very spicy, the shrimp juice is extremely strong, and the curry is super sweet, which is completely out of touch with the previous delicate and mild, as if the production of two kitchens, maybe the chef is paying tribute to the family tradition, or maybe it is a sense of taste out of control?
Dessert: Pink guava and Roselle parfait
The big dessert was coconut ice cream, and the table service scooped a spoonful of warm and sticky sago and ground raw chestnut slices, which was not brilliant, but in fact, I was satisfied with opening a fresh coconut and just sucking the juice.
The final farewell dessert brought back our memories at Le Du, and the rough plastic feel was as good as ever...... Laughing and talking after the meal, now eating in a famous restaurant, the three things that I am most afraid of the chef: childhood memories, grandmother's recipes and routines, coincidentally, today are all in the middle!