THE QUINTESSENCE OF THAI CUISINE
Newly opened R. Haan earns a seat at the table of top Thai
Opened a little over a month ago, R. Hann (pronounced “ah-han” and meaning “food”) is a fine dining Thai restaurant run and co-owned by Chef Chumpol Jangprai, Thai cuisine master and cooking celebrity.
The exquisite 88-seat establishment is evidence of a profound dedication and high financial contribution that celebrates Thailand’s abundance of food sources while raising the country’s long-treasured culinary flair to another level.
Meals here are offered only in multi-course set menus. Of them, a line-up of dishes changes every four months following the ceremony of the Emerald Buddha’s seasonal attire changing.
Current dishes are classified as Samrap Ake (or the first-tier set, priced at 2,612 baht per person), Samrap Tho (or second-tier set, 2,412 baht per person) and Samrap Tri (the third-tier set, 2,212 baht per person).
Each set comprises 18 different items ranging from amuse-bouche, appetisers, main entrées to dessert and petit four, all executed with long-established kitchen dexterity.
Every ingredient is sourced from the best origin and only within the Kingdom. For example, garlic comes from Si Sa Ket province, pomelo from Phichit, toddy palm from Phetchaburi, salted fish from Narathiwat, fish sauce concentrate from Rayong, freshwater prawns from the Bang Pakong River and caviar from the Royal Project at Doi Inthanon, the country’s highest peak in Chiang Mai.
To add vintage visual glam to the meal, dining ware, too, has been designed exclusively for the restaurant and crafted according to ancient tradition by highly-respected artisans.
The Samrub Ake that I had started with a pair of khanom khrok (soft pancakes made with rice flour and coconut cream) and a shot of house-concocted aperitif.
Unlike sweet, ordinary renditions found street-side, the pancake here came exquisitely filled with savoury espuma of galangal-seethed cream soup, aka tom kha, and garnished with caviar. Together with the aperitif, the amuse-bouche duo marvellously prepared your palate for the journey ahead.
Bite-sized portions of three locally favourite delicacies, namely mee krob (sweet and sour crispy noodles); khanom chin nam phrik (fermented fresh rice noodle in golden bean curry); and third mun (deep-fried fish cake) represented an appetiser course.
Despite their whimsical presentations, all three dishes were impeccably portrayed, offering a full-dress taste profile of the authentic recipe.
I was very impressed by how the mee krob noodles were served on a French-style tuile made with chives — one of the dish’s key fresh vegetables. While the ah-jad (a cucumber-vinegar dipping sauce) for the scrumptious fish cake came in a jellied sphere to lend to the dish an innovative dash.
Following Thai family-style dining tradition, the main course is served in a big cluster and comprised of five dishes, each denoting a different cooking method.
Complementing these dishes is free-flow steamed rice — jasmine and multi-grained brown rice — from the country’s top-notch growers.
Tom yum goong soup arriving in a siphon glass pot is Chef Chumpol’s contemporary take on Thailand’s most famous soup.
This particular container allows the stock a constant boil while sends out an ambrosial steam of the tom yum herbs. When poured into a bowl over a springy and flavoursome meat of the jumbo river prawn, the soup provided a soothingly pungent zest that promises your taste-buds cloud nine delight.
The grilled course is represented by a northeastern-style charcoal-roasted pudding made with ant’s eggs and wild star gooseberry leaves.
Presented in a smoky banana leaf packet was a custard-like delicacy in which grain-like crisp white eggs of the mango tree ants came mixed with wild vegetables.
Khruang jim (platter of assorted vegetables and a dipping emulsion) is regarded as a vital part of a Thai meal.
Of the set, the dip is represented by lhon pu
ma, made with naturally sweet and chunky blue crabmeat from Bang Taboon estuary in Phetchaburi province. The crabmeat came seethed in coconut cream with fermented soy bean and herbs with an extra touching of grilled crab’s roes to offer to each bite a depth of flavour.
When it came to the subject of stir-fried dish, the chef opted for phrik khing pla kaphong, or pan-seared sea bass with wok-fried caramelised red curry paste. The sweet curry had been tossed with fine morsels of pork crackling and, to me, proved very delicious and nicely retained its crispiness.
For a curry dish, green curry with locally-bred wagyu beef and bird’s eye chillies was perfect. The curry tasted subtle — creamy and not too sweet. While the meat was tender but still yielding a pleasant chew and full beefy taste.
The restaurant served fragrant jasmine rice from Chiang Rai and Ubon Ratchathani. The brown rice was a mixture of purple-hued riceberry, reddish Sangyod rice, gaba rice and mountainous brown rice.
After the main course was a pre-dessert of chilled crystallised kaffir li me and pomegranate in syrup. It was very fragrant and a refreshing palate cleanser.
Dessert was served in parfait style and showcased a tiny portion of mango sticky rice with silky mango mousse, housemade coconut ice cream and coconut crumbles.
The evening was offered a graceful finale with Thai-style Petit Fours on a miniature afternoon tea platter. Service blended well-trained efficiency with heartfelt cordiality. Reservations are highly recommended.
THE QUINTESSENCE OF COOKING THAI CUISINE IS THE UNDERSTANDING OF MOTHER NATURE Chef Chumpol Jangprai