Last Updated on February 28, 2026
Street food elevated to fine dining
5.0 out of 5.0 starsBangkok has a stellar reputation for its diverse range of street food, but it also has a thriving fine dining scene. Opened in 2023, KHAAN has won several awards and is listed in the 2025 Michelin Guide for its inventive fine dining. Chef and founder of KHAAN, Aom Sujira Pongmorn, won the 2021 Michelin Guide Young Chef Thailand award. KHAAN has a double meaning: ‘tiger’ (the chef’s birth year) and ‘proclaim’ which is what the restaurant sets out to do, telling stories through food. Chef Aom is inspired by a deep passion for Thai street food and marries traditional flavours and local ingredients with modern culinary techniques, thus transforming street food into a fine dining experience. I was intrigued by this idea and delighted to be invited to review the 11-course tasting menu.
The first thing that impressed me about KHAAN was the ambience. On arrival one can see the calm in the kitchen through large windows onto the street. Once inside, guests are ushered into one of several interleading rooms, each of which only has 4 well-spaced tables. This creates a sense of luxurious privacy and keeps the noise level very low. The décor is minimalist, elegant and chic – dark wooden floors are polished and gleaming. The walls are textured. Banquettes and chairs are very comfy and covered in ruby fabric. The table is set with a white cloth, and a wooden spoon positioned on a ceramic spoon rest. There is a candle floating in water and a white napkin. The wall art is spectacular – a series of wall sculptures made from silk.
In a country the size of Thailand visitors will find that many dishes are regional. The country is divided into four major regions with the south having the spiciest food and each region having its own specialities and cooking methods. The menu at KHAAN showcases all these regions. The restaurant uses every part of the ingredients such as fish and vegetables. Sustainability is key to the KHAAN philosophy and fermentation is beautifully incorporated into the dishes. The tasting menu was accompanied by a wine flight (four or six glasses) or a tea pairing of six teas. As I don’t drink alcohol I was delighted by this alternative especially as it was the finest and most creative pairing I have ever had in a restaurant.
The amuse-bouche consisted of four dishes, one to represent each region of Thailand. Each had its own serving platter all of which were both sculptural and textured. The spicy south was represented by egg with yellow curry – a half egg shell containing a spicy, loose egg curry topped with kaffir lime powder. It set my taste buds humming with the spicy flavour.
A milder mouthful represented the central region. Yellow noodles and mung bean with peanut sauce had contrasting textures, the sweet tones of the peanut sauce, the earthiness of the mung bean and the lovely hue of the yellow noodles stimulated all the senses.
The Northern region was represented by the most famous dish in Chiang Mai – Khao Soi. This is a spicy, creamy coconut soup with noodles and chicken (or other meat) and topped with crispy noodles and chopped peanuts. I appreciated this amuse-bouche even more when I travelled to Chiang Mai a couple of days later. KHAAN elevated this dish that is served at food stalls all over the city and turned the crispy noodle idea into a tiny croustade shell. Inside was a spicy khao soi soup and this was topped with tiny shavings of macadamia nut and khao soi espuma.
Lastly, representing Issan (the Northeastern region) was the most refreshing green disc. It was very crisp and vegetal, light green and slightly tangy. It was the stem of a Thai vegetable which has no English name and cooled the palette.
The tea pairing kicked off in fine form, as creative a tea as I have ever encountered. Cold Golden Sunrise: Oolong, tangerine rind, strawberry flake, mango flake, kaffir lime rind. It was presented in an elegantly tall wine glass and garnished with a lime slice. It was refreshing and the fruity notes were muted but discernible. The wine pairing was a sparkling wine from South Africa – 2023 El Bandito I am the Ninja, Testalonga, Swartland.
The fifth course was KHAAN’s version of lime-pickled shrimp. Here it is called Andaman Tiger Prawn, handmade pickled lime and tomalley cracker. The prawns in Thailand are quite outstanding from oversized ones called River Prawns from the north to those from the Andaman Sea in the south. Prawns are ubiquitous in street food markets from skewers to stir fries to tom yum soup. At KHAAN the prawn was presented across two plates, with half a coconut and a Kilner jar of water of bamboo shoots displayed on the table. Served on a ceramic pebble there was a wafer-thin, crispy tomalley cracker made from the orange matter you find in the head of the prawn, with the tiniest of shrimps on top. On an accompanying plate was a tumble of semi-cooked prawn slices sat above a layer of fermented soybeans and topped with a pepper leaf, over which a sauce was poured of pickled lime juice with red ginger and chilli. This added noticeable heat and was deliciously fruity while also subtly sweet with hot notes.
The sixth course was rice paddy crab/sticky rice. This is Chef Aom’s signature dish and one that I appreciated increasingly as I continued on my travels through Thailand. When in the northern city of Chiang Mai, I came upon people eating rice paddy crabs with a side of sticky rice. I also saw these tiny crabs in street food markets on skewers, having been grilled on braziers. Chef Aom saw these crabs harvested in the rice paddies of Singburi, a central Thai province, and grilled on the spot by farmers. At KHAAN they are grilled over charcoal and diners scoop out the cooked innards – crab fat blended with red curry paste and kaffir lime zest. Here the khao niao – sticky rice – is cooked with a coconut leaf and grilled in a rolled banana leaf which one peels open. It had a lovely smokiness from the grill and sweetness from the coconut. I loved the confluence of execution and concept in the presentation with the rice and rice paddy crab being served on a bed of raw rice in a bamboo basket.
The second tea pairing brought a warm tea in a small ceramic bowl. Forgetful purple rain: roasted purple sticky rice, green tea was gently smoky. The wine pairing was 2022 Kamptal Grüner Veltliner, Fred Loimer, Austria, an unfiltered wine with a gorgeous pink hue.
The seventh dish was the KHAAN version of a Thai noodle soup known as Kaw Pun Phak from Uttaradit province. At KHAAN, fermented Sangyod rice, dried aged turnip and Thai borage are used. Here a traditional technique is used to ferment the rice for seven days in clear water that is changed daily. This small dish was an explosion of flavours. In the bottom of a black marble bowl sat three overlapping discs – one white, one orange and one purple – made from taro, potato and sweet potato. Over this was draped a translucent cover made from the fermented rice and tiny pieces of Thai borage. It looked like a fine fabric. Over this, a sauce was poured tableside which included Mexican turnip aged for 60 days and stir-fried with homemade peanut butter and coriander root, garlic and black pepper. There was such a lot going on here. The crunchy vegetable disc was covered by a soft rice ‘wafer’; the peanut butter flavour brought a salty sweetness to the sauce which then gave way to the coriander and pepperiness in the sauce. As one ate, the flavours started to appear like musical notes, one following on from the other to form a harmonious chord.
The third tea pairing was Cold Spa in a Cup: organic mulberry leaf, lemongrass, Japanese peppermint, and organic black mint. This had a honey lemon flavour and was served in a cutglass tumbler. This is exactly the drink one needs if down with a cold, so sweet and comforting.
It was a fabulous pairing for the eighth dish, KHAAN’s Tom Kha oyster – Barron point oyster, Surat Thani oyster, and lacto-fermentation king oyster mushroom. I loved the concept before I even saw this dish. Two oysters and a king oyster mushroom. Two dishes arrived plus a teapot. In the main dish – a black bowl – sat a shucked Barron Point (USA) oyster on tiny strips of banana blossom, coconut and galangal. This was accompanied in the bowl by a white foam. There were also minute cylinders of sliced mushrooms filled with red (chilli) green (coriander) and white (young coconut) purées. Into this bowl was poured a broth which made it look as if the oyster was surrounded by the sea. The soup is made from a 45-day lacto fermented mushroom. In a second container – a small wooden box – was a Surat Thani (a southern Thai city) oyster which was a creamy purée topped with oyster powder. A mixture of oyster, creamy coconut and spicy galangal – all the flavours of the traditional Thai Tom Kha (a spicy and sour hot soup with coconut milk) – this was umami heaven with the spicy flavour of the galangal adding gentle heat. The creamy oyster purée was magical. It was a startling contrast to the briny Barron Point oyster. and it had all the four flavours coming through – spicy, sweet, sour and salty. Brilliant.
As with all fine dining restaurants, each unique piece of crockery and cutlery contributed to the overall aesthetic experience and provided visual and conceptual support to the dish. Watermelon Snow palate cleanser made using all parts of watermelon was served in a most stunning dish – an organically formed, blood-red ceramic bowl that looked like an organ had been removed from a body. The late David Lynch might have used such a plate in one of his movies. In it was a sweet watermelon jelly on which perched a ball of watermelon and small cubes of white rind. Over this was grated frozen watermelon.
The ninth dish was paired with the fourth tea pairing – Midnight Earl Grey: organic black Assam, lavender, peppermint and turmeric. It was served in a ceramic tumbler and was surprisingly light considering the strong flavours of the ingredients. The third wine pairing was an Austrian red reminiscent of a Beaujolais Noveau– 2022 Zweigelt Nouveau, Darli Muhr, Carnuntum.
This course brought seasonal catch by local fishermen, shrubby basil and spicy Thai bisque. This dish was full of surprises. At first, the taste buds registered the unmistakable rich flavour of a prawn bisque (made with the heads and shells for a more intense flavour) and then the heat rose, situating us firmly in Thailand. The fish which had been aged and grilled was soft yet meaty and then came the contrasting crunch from pickled mung beans sprouts stir-fried in fish oil. In addition, were the flavours and colours of wild basil purée and fresh wild basil. This was one of my favourite of all the dishes.
The fifth tea pairing was one with which I am very familiar as I drink Rooibos tea every morning. It was served plain which is how I love it in a lovely speckled ceramic cup and saucer. To my mind, this was a perfect pairing because the next course was so rich that it needed a clean taste to accompany it.
The tenth dish was so good that no duck that I ate on the rest of my trip in Thailand came close to this one. Khao Yai duck, paka-um-pun rice, five spice curry is a dish that unites Thai and Chinese flavours. It was served with striking cutlery on a burnished gold plate that looked like a huge gold flower. At KHAAN the duck is dry aged for nine days which creates the most perfect crisp skin I can recall eating. The duck is prepared in the restaurant’s signature five-spice curry. This dish brought a slice of duck with that magnificent skin, a square of mille-feuille of pineapple and green apple, plus a red quenelle of tomato and pickled ginger and micro herbs. There was a tiny timbale of Chinese sausage in a prune sauce, topped with pear. This simply wonderful plate was served along with a dish of rice fried with nuts and homemade dried beans. To this was added crispy garlic and spring onion and it was mixed through at the table.
The colours of this dish were burnished rust and deep orange with a spot of bright red. The taste just of the duck brought sweet meat and heat from the five-spice curry. The pineapple and apple mille-feuille was both sweet and tangy and cut right through the richness of the duck. The sausage was herby and so beautifully paired with a fruit and prune sauce that lay below. The duck was so rich that it needed all these fruity flavours which balanced the dish beautifully.
A pre-dessert was served – pineapple cream from Phuket. This was a cream custard made from pineapple and served with kumquat juice and Thai basil. As I have a pineapple allergy, Chef kindly made me an uncooked meringue to replace the pineapple cream, like an ile flottante. The kumquat sauce was emerald green and fragrant with basil while also tart from the fruit. I love herbs with a dessert, so this was very pleasing and like a light palate cleanser after the rich duck course.
The final tea pairing was Moon Garden: Jasmine green tea, chamomile, honeysuckle, bulletwood and liquorice. It was served in a small, black ceramic tumbler and brought to a close the most creative tea pairing.
The eleventh dish was dessert. I had assumed it must be a dish that referenced the quintessential Thai mango with sticky rice. And it did so in style. At street food markets you get a portion of chopped mango and a side of sticky rice onto which is poured some deliciously sweet coconut milk. At KHAAN it was called seasonal ripe mango, forget husband sticky rice, mung bean. We were told the story of the forgotten husband Thai black rice, a traditional rice called Khao Leum Pua – the rice tasted so good that the wife ate it all and forgot about the husband. Here it was served in the form of a fondant. Below the rice cake was a layer of fresh mango and underneath that was a cashew nut and caramel cookie. The whole creation was topped with a mung bean leaf. What flavours there were! Sweet and salty tastes flooded my mouth before I had even tasted the rice. To the side, there was a coconut ganache wrapped around a mango ice cream and topped with mango gel and crispy mango pieces. To drink at the end of eating this rather fabulous dessert was a shot glass of mango juice with black rice sticky foam which ended the meal with a slightly tart note. It was exquisite.
The fondant oozed perfectly when cut open, the colour contrast between the dark shades of the cake with the gleaming white of the coconut fondant and the slightly sweet coconut contrasting with the cold mango ice cream – the dish was a fabulous play of taste, shape, colour and texture. I realised that on the rest of my trip to Thailand, I was rather spoilt for all future helpings of mango and sticky rice.
We still had the treat of petits fours ahead of us. This brought the meal full circle with four offerings, each representing one of the Thai regions. We were advised to eat them in a set order. Each was served in its own dish and they looked like something from Alice In Wonderland. I half expected to grow or shrink on eating them.
First was a small cigar – representing the northern region – a crunchy tube made from black sesame with sticky rice and black sesame paste. It was not too sweet and slightly salty. Very moreish even at this stage of the meal. Next was a pink offering from the south of the country. It was shaped into a grub made from marshmallow, like a moth in a cocoon and melted in the mouth.
The third was the KHAAN version of a traditional Thai dessert presented as a Tang Thai tart. Tang Thai is a green melon from the central region and was presented as a tart with a base of rice berry cake layers of taro paste and a creamy coconut milk blend. It was topped with green melon, was very fruity and tasted like green melon inside. There were shades of green in a dark brown cup, like a tree perhaps?
The final one was an orange chocolate from Isaan (the northeastern region). This was shaped like a cacao bean and was made with very dark chocolate from Chanthaburi Province and filled with kumquat juice and jam. This sophisticated chocolate brought the meal to a lip-puckering conclusion.
Surely a Michelin star must come to KHAAN? The conception and execution of each dish are at such a high level as are the plating and presentation. The staffing and the ambience are top quality. The staff took time to explain each dish in detail which I so appreciated because there were so many components to each dish and I also needed to understand what was being referenced from the street food perspective. Our meal at KHAAN was way and beyond the best we had in Bangkok. If you are visiting, put it on your list.
KHAAN 14/3 Soi Som Khit, Phloen Chit Road, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
T: +66 92441 6547
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