Lingering mists of rain on Saawaan's façade added to our evening there a mystic vibe. Nothing would be more perfect a name for the Thai restaurant -- small, dimly lit, yet gorgeously-decked out -- than what it already has. Saawaan, pronounced "sa-wan", is a Thai word for heaven.
Another brilliant venture by veteran French restaurateur Fred Meyer, Saawaan takes over the space that was once home to exquisite Japanese restaurant Kom-Ba-Wa.
The restaurant serves up multi-course fine-dining cuisine, yet with recipes inspired by rustic home-cooked Thai meals.
Saawaan's 10-course dinner (a total of 15 items) is a superb collaboration of chef de cuisine Aom Pongmorn and chef patissier Paper Chongphanitkul.
The dinner costs 1,950 baht per person, but you can add an extra 2,350 baht per person for a selection of pairing wine, or 680 baht per person for a package of tea pairing from northern Thailand wild estates.
The meal is designed to offer a comprehensive variety of Thai primary recipes and cooking methods. The debut menu features key words including raw, dip, ferment, boil, miang (fresh vegetable wrap), steam, stir-fry, charcoal-grill and curry. A selection of dishes will be changed seasonally, with the current one running until October.
Amuse-bouche arrived in an eggshell on a pile of hay. It's an aperitif-like rendition of a household favourite dish -- khai look khoei, or deep-fried boiled egg with sweet fish sauce glaze.
Here, the dish is transformed into creamy layers of egg yolk, caramelised fish sauce, shallot emulsion, tangy tamarind compote and roasted-chilli oil, all of them to be stirred together for a balanced unification of flavours. A beverage pairing of house-brewed kombucha black tea soda also helped electrifying our taste-buds and prepared us for the meal that was to come.
Photo: Apipar Norapoompipat
The first course, koi pla, a Thai peasant dish of chopped raw freshwater fish with various herbs and spices, was introduced to Saawaan guests in a refined fashion.
Prepared tableside with imported Japanese amberjack (hamachi), this local "fish tartare" was seasoned with pungent ingredients including finely sliced kaffir lime leaf, phak khayaeng (aromatic finger grass), dok phak plang (Malabar spinach florets), lemongrass, roasted rice powder and Seville orange juice -- the latter lending a more subtle sourness than lime juice.
The dip dish was represented by mun pu na, or roe of rice-paddy crab. The cheese-like delicacy, almost equivalent to Japanese uni, was cooked in its shell and looked like a gratin dish, but with a pleasing charcoal-grill aroma. The sumptuous and savoury sweet roe was enjoyed with roasted sticky rice.
Continuing to widen our palate was naem nuea khao thod, basically a dish of fermented beef sausage tossed with crispy rice balls and herbs.
The cured beef flank was lent a nutty crunch by morsels of rice crisp and roasted peanuts; a refreshingly sweet and sour punch by pickled cucumber; and a pleasant bitter tang and peppery heat from deep-fried ginger floss.
Prepare yourself for a blazing tongue from the chef's rendering of tom klong, a consommé made with smoked dry fish. Naturally sweet Jean-Paul oyster from France was chosen as the protein centrepiece of the tom klong soup. Still, most guests tend to find the super-tasty broth, despite its fieriness from fresh bird's eye chillies, the star of the show.
As if a stage play, the ever-electrifying gastronomic showdown came to an enigmatic turn with the arrival of miang bai cha, or fermented wild tea leaves wrapped in fresh chaphlu leaf. Don't let the dish's intimidating look scare you away, try it and you'll love the delectable sour zest it offers.
Next up was steamed fish curry pudding made with cobia from Krabi province, which would have been nicer if it had come with rice.
A finale platter of mignadis.
From provocative beginning to mystic midway, the meal revealed early through dishes eight to 13 its very happy and romantic ending chapter.
A pitch-black kaphrao plamuek, showcasing sustainably harvested squid from Songkhla province and an authentic phad kaphrao recipe, looked like a plate of squid-ink pasta but without any flour.
The squid, finely sliced into fine, fettuccine-like strands, yet still retaining the squid's characteristic taste and springy mouthfeel, came tossed with Royal Project mushroom and basil with a garnish of salted egg yolk, freshly grated upon serving.
To represent the charcoal-grilled dish, Spanish Iberico Secreto pork was marinated, flame-cooked and served in sizeable slices with juicy slices of fresh taling pling (bilimbi), which offered a sour taste profile of dipping sauce.
Kai kathi, or free-ranged chicken in savoury coconut cream, was another dish that got high praise. That thanks to the succulent quality of the chicken meat, the well-balanced taste of the salty-sweet gravy and the marvellous complementary accompaniment of grilled pineapple, crunchy wild bamboo shoots and firm but soft black rice.
The evening wrapped up with the most delicious sangkhaya fuk thong I've had in my life. The pumpkin custard was dressed with organic coconut cream, dollops of coconut rum gel, pieces of pandan chiffon cake and marmalade foam, and resulting in a flawless dessert that left a lovely unforgettable mark on our mind.
At the very end of the meal was an assortment of mignardis. Of it, a calamansi mousse tart, jasmine meringue with candied mango-passion fruit and durian-chocolate truffle proved a super luscious showcase of chef Paper's exceptional dexterity.
The tea pairing was also on-point. Service was nothing to complain about.
