Chef Weerawat "Num" Triyasenawat has finally put down roots in Bangkok and now helms Sra Bua at Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, as the fine dining restaurant turns a new leaf.
Sra Bua by chef Num sticks to his dedication of putting Thailand's biodiversity in the spotlight and on plates.
"My culinary philosophy is ever-evolving. It has got more mature in terms of the thought process and in the way I treat the ingredients, but at the core, it is the same. Everything begins with the richness of Thailand's natural ecosystems," says chef Num.
"Sra Bua is following in the footsteps of my chef mentor, Michel Bras, who said, 'Let the ingredients guide you and then you follow that'. Every dish begins with what nature gives us, not what we ask of it. Sra Bua is me being more explorational and more experimental than ever. The way I approach food is gentler and more mature.
"I want to change the world with local ingredients. I would like to perfect small things like how to preserve, for example, and pass that on to my team or to the younger generation. I would like to pass on what I have learned and what has changed my perception of what I have seen or what I have learned."
For years, while he was still chef-patron of Samuay & Sons and Mah Noi Food Lab in Udon Thani, chef Num always shunned a move to Bangkok.
"Back then, I was 100% sure of never moving to Bangkok. When my son was born, I had more responsibility and decided to put my pride in my pocket and maybe put that on pause it for a while," says chef Num.
"I needed to make money to feed the family and so my son is the main reason why I decided to move to Bangkok, though I will still be living between Udon Thani and Bangkok."
Building on this distinguished legacy, chef Num guides the next chapter at Sra Bua with a philosophy rooted in Thailand's seasons and producers.
"The opening menu has been with me for a long time. Since I was approached to take over Sra Bua, I started doing my homework to make it happen. The menu is structured in a way that it offers a bit of everything. It's about the seasons; it's about the Thai food that you want to see on a table. It's super simple. It is based on what is available out there with my fermentation stuff from Mah Noi Food Lab, which is now in Sra Bua. It is a memory of past journeys and what has led me here," emphasises the chef.
"Sra Bua is about telling the story of Thailand through its ingredients as every menu evolves with the rhythm of Thailand's changing seasons. Every season offers something different and every producer has a story worth sharing. We simply listen to nature, work with what it gives us and allow those ingredients to lead the way.
"My favourite course on the Signature Biodiversity Journey, which celebrates the richness of Thailand's land, sea and seasonal harvests, is the Citrus and Sour Fruits, which has lime, lemon, bitter orange, kaffir lime, tangerine, calamansi and river prawn. I started creating the dish with river prawn first because it goes well with sour fruit and I love sour fruit."
The sour fruits are served as a Thai chilli sauce, which the chef calls nam phrik nakhon baan, made with river prawn and chilli paste. Grilled river prawn is served under a prawn cracker and a grilled prawn head with its tomalley comes with a sticky rice ball, known as khao nook nga.
A course that maximises the philosophy of root-to-leaf and nose-to-tail is the Bua. Every part of the lotus is used with smoked lotus root, fresh lotus stem, lotus kimchi, fresh lotus seed and fresh lotus shoot together with the lotus flower.
The nose-to-tail element is evident in the chicken that is served along with the lotus. A chicken consommé jelly is stuffed with lotus pollen and baby lotus seeds, and comes with chicken liver mousse and mok gai or slow-grilled chicken in a banana leaf.
Also on offer is a dedicated Thai vegetarian menu called the Plants & Roots Forward Journey, which showcases the land's botanical diversity.
"When I was offered the job, I couldn't help but think what would make Sra Bua stand out from the other good Thai restaurants. Bangkok has so many talented chefs doing their own thing and talking about Thai cuisine. Also, when you look at Thailand's culinary past, all the cookbooks, there have never been any recipes that are proper vegetarian," says chef Num.
"We have such an abundance of fruits and vegetables and we never let them shine. People never give value to fruits and vegetables. I decided to take on this challenge of making them stars. I also think it makes sense because of the fermentation I have been doing for years and it was time to let that shine.
"Mah Noi Food Lab may be closed but I still have the database and I am happy to tap into it, now and again, for newer things. Even though Samuay & Sons was open for 10 years, it was during Covid that I branched out of just using produce from Isan and started travelling around the country.
"Back then we had a group of chefs who travelled all over Thailand familiarising ourselves with the bounty of the country. We would go to everyone's kitchens and try to do things that inspired us.
"This is the time that I am also looking outward of just Isan ingredients. When I started to curate this menu, I concentrated on balancing it out, because it's Sra Bua. Even though the restaurant has my name, I respect it and the fact that it already has an established reputation. I am using my knowledge to cook in this house. So, I am trying to make each region of Thailand shine."
Beyond the dishes, which change every four months, the experience extends to a dedicated Fermentation Library, a rotating exhibition of around 30 heritage Thai rice varieties, of which three are served and changed daily, and a curated zero proof beverage pairing inspired by Thailand's agricultural landscape, creating a dining journey that is as immersive as it is innovative.
"Every household cooks Thai food differently. We cook Thai food too, but what makes it different is how we bring together the diversity of local ingredients from across the country, together in the way older generations used what they already had to enhance the flavour of the ingredients. We have our own way of making it more exciting at Sra Bua; we don't stick to tradition," says chef Num.
