Thailand gets first insect fine dining restaurant
BANGKOK: Aroonwatree Rattanataree was enjoying her pasta in a neatly decorated restaurant in a Bangkok suburb on what seemed like an ordinary evening.
But her pasta was anything but ordinary. It featured a number of silkworms, and the fettucine itself was made of crickets.
“It is a nice combination — Western food and insects. It blends really well,” the 25-yearold food columnist said about her first dining experience at Thailand’s first — and so far only — upscale restaurant dedicated to insects.
Although eating insects is far from new in Thailand — the country is home to a wide variety of fried bugs for sale on the sidewalks — it is the first time the staple has received a fine dining boost.
“I’ve already eaten bugs on a regular basis, but this is new. The concept is pretty cool and I’m here to try it,” Aroonwatree said.
First opened in July in a hip openair market called Chang Chui, in Bang Phlat just north-west of Bangkok, Insects in the Backyard serves Western dishes with an insect touch.
The diverse menu includes starters like green salad with pan-fried crickets and nachos with mixed insects, and main courses like grilled seabass with ant caviar and scallops with crispy bamboo caterpillars. For worm ice cream and tiramisu.
The blend of insects and typical fine dining cuisine is meant to appeal to the international palate, said Thitiwat Tantragarn, the restaurant’s chef and co-founder.
“We want to create a wave, an international legend, that insects can be cooked like this too,” the 30-year-old chef said.
The concept even stretches to the restaurant’s peculiar decor — from stuffed insects in glass windows to a giant plastic plant from the popular musical Little Shop of Horrors hanging from the ceiling. dessert there’s silk