In all my years of existence, I have never travelled just for food. But I had heard so much praise for Samuay & Sons from my chef friends that I found myself on a plane to Udon Thani, in the Northeast of Thailand.
Though the exterior of Samuay & Sons (named after the chef's mother) is very nondescript and you may miss it if it wasn't for Google maps, it's what's on the inside that counts. There is no signage in English, but look for the bright-red signboard to guide you through the front door.
A typical Chinese-style shophouse, the restaurant's entrance has a number of potted plants, which on second glance are actually herbs used on the menu. As soon as you enter, you are treated to a view of the small, open kitchen with seating at the back and on the mezzanine.
Chef and co-owner Weerawat "Nhom" Triyasenawat is known for his modern take on traditional northeastern Thai fare, with an emphasis on indigenous, sustainable and foraged produce -- most of which is sourced by chef Nhom himself. The menu is divided into two: a Seasonal Menu, which is an eight-course affair and costs 1,250 baht per person (food only), and an à la carte menu.
The Seasonal Menu is a gateway to all things northeastern and begins with "Isaan Gate", which takes inspiration from nature (as most of chef Nhom's food does) in the form of an edible ant's nest.
Inspired by the summer and mangoes that are abundant during that season, coconut ant larvae jelly with Phu Thai relish is refreshed with guava foam and wrapped in young mango leaves (bai ma muang orn). It is served on a log of wood complete with moss, reminiscent of an ant's nest. While the texture of the dish reminded me of the classic hor muk, each bite comes with a delightful crunch of the otherwise invisible ant egg.
Having whetted our appetite, we move on to the second course, which is the Salted Baked Ocean Prawn With Sticky Rice In Coriander Juice. Passion is evident in chef Nhom's explanation of the dish, which contains two kinds of sauce. A local fruit called ma ki puan (carabao teat) is deseeded and puréed. To the purée, flavour is added by using ripe kaffir lime zest, chilli and salt. This sauce is used on the prawns, because a shellfish like the prawn needs that tart addition.
The other sauce is made from shrimp tamal which has been fermented for six months. The fermentation leaves a creamy paste, which is mixed with saffron. However, it was the rice that won my palate over. Despite having being brought up in India and with its wondrous "rice done 1,000 ways", Samuay & Sons' coriander rice was delicious.
Instead of making rice the traditional Thai way -- soaking it in coconut cream -- it is soaked in coriander juice, which turns the fluffy rice a bright green and gives it a spicy bite. The dish is finished with a sprinkle of roasted, crushed-prawn shell powder.
Of course, it wouldn't be northeastern Thai cuisine if we did not have pork. Soured Pork Coconut Relish And Steamed Crab is a dish that despite its many components is made in-house.
Illusion In Pollution. Nianne Lynn Hendricks
"We usually order half a pig, so we make sure we use every part of it," says chef Nhom, as he explains the dish. This is probably the least colourful dish of the Seasonal menu, but did not disappoint on taste. The sour pork is mixed with coconut and creamed to create a relish of sorts. On the side is steamed crab, spicy salted duck egg meringue and toddy palm embryo (jao pan), with a hamhock broth and pancetta sauce. While the accompaniments may seem a bit different, the flavour profile offers sweet, crunchy and sour all in one mouthful.
A common saying in Isan is, "In the river we have fish; in the field we have rice", and this forms the basis of the third course.
"This dish shows that we have plenty of food in our country. So when you go to a rice field, what can you find? You have rice, fish and crab, and that idea has inspired this dish," says chef Nhom. However, since he could not source top-quality fish from the river, he decided to use the tasty African pompano.
The serving of the dish is inspired, with the fish swimming in a green broth and topped by herbs. However, the method of cooking the fish originated in the region. When children are fussy eaters, northeastern parents usually wrap sticky rice in the leaves of a local herb called bai pao and steam it, as it is healthy.
The fish is treated the same way, wrapped in bai pao, seasoned with khao mak, which is salty and sweet, and steamed. The broth is made out of freshwater crab, whose flesh is crumbled, and a chilli jam is made out of the crab fat. Hidden in the broth and under the fish is a sort of kimchi made with pak wan thu. The green broth's flavour is enhanced by wheatgrass juice, which represents the rice. A nutritious dish, to say the least.
Because being sustainable and conscious of seasonal produce does not come without dependence on the changing climate, chef Nhom's next dish is aptly named Illusion In Pollution. Perhaps the most striking and prettiest dish on the menu, with the black, yellow and green strewn on a white plate, it is a bit reminiscent of Jackson Pollock. It is comprised of two crops that make a farmer rich -- sugarcane and corn. "However, despite being money-spinners for the farmers, these crops are huge environment-polluters, and this inspired the concept of the dish," says chef Nhom.
The black sauce is made from black sugarcane rum from Nong Khai mixed with squid ink. The sauce has a bit of a spicy kick to it, which comes from pepper and bird's eye chilli. The yellow sauce is made from corn, which is juiced and mixed with wild ginger (krachai), and infused with popcorn. It is cooked till the starch is broken down. The protein is slices of pork collar, mixed with Kampot pepper from neighbouring Cambodia. Emulsified pickled mustard greens from the nearby mountains give the dish its green, and it is served with a gaeng som kimchi for that extra zing.
One doesn't go to Isan and not try its famed jungle curry. The sixth course is therefore named the Jungle and is smoked duck or goose, depending on the quality available in the market. The protein is grilled with coconut, served in a curry with three different vegetables, sugarcane shoots, banana tree shoots and pak hee hoo, which adds a sweetness and crunchiness to the dish, which goes well with a spicy curry. It is served with khao lam, which is sticky rice stuffed in bamboo. However, at Samuay & Sons, herbs and spices like wild ginger are added to it to make it a sort of Isan biryani -- which got a gold star from me.
After the heat comes the cool, and the seventh course balances out the previous one -- an important aspect of chef Nhom's cuisine.
To cool the palate down from the Jungle, the Cucumber And Winter Melon In Black Chicken Broth is a simple preparation of a Chinese-style dish. Black chicken is simmered for three days to make sure the melanin from the bones enters the rich broth. Clam juice is added to give it a salty flavour. The dish is also served with clams, som pak sian and a local herb, and is usually pickled. It brings a sourness to the dish.
And all this is washed down with either home-made Thai plum soda (my favourite) or a passion-fruit sato, made by Samuay & Sons.
The dessert is unlike any other dish you've had anywhere. And I'm not even sure if it fits the word "dessert". But it does fit into Samuay & Sons' ethic of "eating food as medicine".
The Aloe Vera Jelly In Cold Flower Tea is detoxifying, with aloe vera pulp extracted and served in the tea, which contains a combination of many healing flowers. The dish is served with okra paper; okra is washed until the slime is removed and soaked in lime-leaf syrup. It is then puréed and put in a dehydrator to create the paper or okra crisp. Served along with the tea, which takes eight hours to act, it cleanses your system.
The tasting menu or seasonal menu changes every two months. As Chef Nhom explains: "In one season, which is four months, during the first two months you get the first seasonal produce and that changes in the last two months, as the seasons change. Since we try to express this in our food, our seasonal menu changes every two months."
All the more reason to hop on that plane to Udon Thani. Good food is worth travelling for.
Chef Weerawat "Nhom" Triyasenawat will be a part of the Best Thai Chefs In the Country BBQ Dinner, a prelude to the {Re} Food Forum, at the Anantara Riverside today at 6.30pm. The dinner costs 4,000 baht per person, including all beverages.
