The first newly minted three Michelin-starred restaurant in Bangkok takes diners on a wondrous journey through delicious Thai fare.
A few weeks ago, Bangkok’s celebrated southern Thai restaurant Sorn, helmed by Supaksorn “Ice” Jongsiri became the country’s first ever three Michelin-starred restaurant.
It was a monumental moment in Thai gastronomic history and one that has catapulted Ice, as he is better known, into the annals of culinary superstardom. It is also a sign that Thai cuisine – and Thai chefs – are now recognised and celebrated on an international level.
But in many ways, the writing was already on the wall for Sorn. Since it opened in 2018, Sorn has gained almost instant fame, earning its first Michelin star just months into its opening and gaining a second star one year later. The restaurant’s popularity and success is all the more hard-earned because Ice is entirely self-taught
In fact, it was his grandmother who taught him how to cook and instilled in him a deep love for southern Thai food. He recalls growing up learning the fundamentals of the cuisine from her and it was these tenets that formed the foundational force upon which Sorn was formed.
Ice is the self-taught visionary chef behind Sorn, which celebrates the southern Thai cuisine his grandmother used to make. — Instagram/SORN
In an interview with the Michelin Guide, Ice says, “I didn’t go to culinary school but learned cooking from my grandma, and most of my team didn’t attend big cooking schools but are descendants of Southerners, bringing back the charm of pestles, coal, and clay pot cooking.”
Before opening Sorn, Ice also travelled throughout southern Thailand, meeting with producers, fishermen, farmers and home cooks to gain deeper insights and understanding into the cuisine.
It is virtually impossible to get a reservation at Sorn, but recently, I was lucky enough to score a table at this ground-breaking eatery. So what’s it like to eat at Thailand’s best restaurant?
The entrance to the eatery features lots of leafy greens. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
Well, the experience is an all-encompassing one that begins the minute you walk into the eatery, which boasts a beautiful garden entrance that segues into a dining area bookmarked by private dining rooms and an open kitchen that forms the centrepiece of the restaurant.
A meal here doesn’t come cheap (those three Michelin stars are a dead giveaway) so be prepared to fork out THB7,700 (about RM1,000; the price includes taxes) for the degustation menu plus the cost of any additional drinks you might order.
Each dish is preceded by a tray which shows off all the ingredients that go into it.
Southern Thai food is epitomised by the area’s close geographical relationship with Indonesia and Malaysia. As a consequence, the food tends to be spicier, more potent and very seafood-driven.
The menu features ingredients sourced from the 14 provinces of southern Thailand, with a focus on the aquatic richness that is the beating heart of the region.
Highlights from the menu include the trio of raw seafood in the form of Blue Crab, Phuket Lobster and Spotted Babylon sea snail. Here, sea creatures are featured in their unadorned beauty, garnished with minimal accoutrements.
Seafood is recurrent throughout southern Thai cuisine and this is celebrated with raw seafood like blue crabs, Phuket lobster and sea snails.
The Phuket lobster for instance is topped with tiny blobs of watermelon, coriander and mango sauce that give the crustacean a touch of vivacity and a fruity, floral overcoat but even through this veneer, it is evident that the true star is the lobster itself which is incredibly fresh and velvety soft.
The Blue Crab meanwhile serves up the flavours of the sea, a taste that is redolent of sea foam and the whispers of brine laced throughout the ocean.
The sea snail meanwhile is probably the heftiest of the three in terms of mouthfeel and delivers weight and substance in a single bite.
This midnight black offering features squid sprayed with squid ink and stuffed with eggplant and lobster.
Then there is the Sotong which basically features Andaman squid stuffed with eggplant and lobster, sprayed with squid ink and topped with bird’s eye chillies.
This dark, dark offering may look menacing on first impressions but delivers oceanic flavours juxtaposed with a hint of fire, all tied together very nicely by the voluptuous texture of the squid.
The Crab Stick is a Sorn mainstay that has been on the menu since the beginning. The star power and enduring appeal of this dish is the crab itself, which is brought in alive from Surat Thani and is then steamed and grilled.
The crab stick is an enduring favourite at Sorn that captures the freshness of the crab and the heat of the chilli paste. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
This is topped with jellified crab roe and chilli paste. The result is astoundingly good – fat, plump crab meat interspersed with a fiery, heat-laced chilli paste that delivers a gut-blasting quality that is softened by the pearly bursts of roe interspersed throughout the concoction.
Another memorable pit stop on the menu is The Sea Holds the Forest, which is essentially a variation on nasi kerabu that has been on the menu since the eatery first opened. Here, Thai jasmine rice has been steamed with turmeric, then deep-fried with coconut oil till it crisps up. This is then rounded off with herbs and greens in the form of pomelos, cucumbers, green beans, lemongrass, torch ginger bud and bean sprouts.
To make this southern Thai variation of nasi kerabu, rice is steamed with turmeric, sun-dried and then fried in coconut oil, then stirred with fresh greens and herbs. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
The entire concoction is given a shot of funk, courtesy of a budu sauce from the Pattani province, which has been revitalised with the addition of palm sugar and shrimp paste.
There is so much on offer and yet on the palate, there isn’t a sense of being overwhelmed; rather the meal takes you on a sojourn through nostalgia and a time when the heart of flavour was what the soil offered up.
The main course meanwhile features rice with shared dishes and condiments – designed to resemble Thai-style communal meals. In Thai culture, a meal should be built around four kinds of cooked dishes – a soup, a curry, a stir-fry and a deep-fried dish.
The soul of this is rice, which has a special place in Thai homes and hearts. Here the southern Jasmine rice is charcoal-steamed in a claypot with Ranon mineral water. The true test of well-cooked rice in Thailand is that the rice kernels should be standing upright and at attention, which is exactly what happens with the rice at Sorn.
Stink beans, catfish and a gorgeous southern Thai curry. What’s not to love? — Photos: ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
Built around the rice are side dishes like Stink Bean, which features a southern curry paste with catfish and stink beans. The curry is very, very flavourful and aromatic and this is accentuated by the crispy fish and the pungency of the stink beans.
Perhaps one of the highlights of the entire menu is the Omelet, which is made using organic eggs, tiger prawns, shallots and sweet basil. This is an omelette that has been designed with precision (and Jay Fai) in mind.
The outer core is shrouded in a crispy, crackly shield that provides an armoury of sorts for the internal contents of the omelette. This is also a multi-layered omelette – providing a contrast that balances a crunchy top layer against a squishier, fluffier bottom. The large, fleshy prawns are the crown on this fabulously good cake.
The green curry with roti is honestly the best sort of comfort food. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
The savoury part of the meal is capped with a tribute to the Muslim influence in southern Thailand. Here, crispy roti is paired with a southern green curry topped with beef. The roti is honestly sensationally good – crispy, flaky, buttery and fluffy all at once. The curry makes for the perfect counterpoint to mop up with the bread and together, these two form a formidable duo.
From the desserts and petit four on offer, one of the show-stoppers includes the Bee Koh Moy which features black sticky rice with young coconut ice-cream and cashews. It’s a combination that draws the mind to all the rich attributes of southern Thai cuisine – from coconut to rice and harnesses this power to deliver a memorable finish to your meal.
It is clear that with Sorn, Ice is attempting to do draw from the spirit of authenticity whilst also embracing the art of creativity. Too often this can result in gilding the lily, but when someone masterful is at the helm, every mouthful can feel like epiphanic – the combination of art and heart at play.
It also clearly elucidates why Sorn has become an unstoppable Thai juggernaut.
