A STAR IS BORN
SEASONAL THAI INGREDIENTS ARE ROOTED IN TRADITION AT MICHELIN-STARRED LE DU
When chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn isn’t jet-setting the world as the unofficial ambassador for Thai cuisine, he is busy making a name for himself and Le Du worldwide. Having been on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list for a few years, No.14 in 2018, Le Du earned its first Michelin star this month. “The Michelin star hasn’t affected us much. We got the star because of what we do, but I want to be better. Since we opened Le Du, it is my goal to be a better restaurant each year. Of course, the star is nice but that was never my goal. Our goal is to add to the dining experience at Le Du,” says chef Ton.
Le Du, which may sound French but is a Thai expression meaning “season”, is based on the centuries-old culinary cultures that have taken root in the Kingdom. While not judging contestants on Top Chef Thailand, chef Ton is busy dishing out the creations that put his fine-dining restaurant on the map.
The menu consists of two tasting menus: four course (2,290++ baht, 1,400 baht for a four-glass wine pairing) or Le Du’s tasting menu (six courses for 3,590 baht, 1,800 baht for a six-glass wine pairing).
The tasting menu is ingredients-driven and focuses largely on seasonal produce. “Since we are moving towards winter, the new menu takes note of that change. The food is hearty and rich, warming and slightly heavier than our summer menu, which is refreshing and cooling,” says chef Ton.
The two amuse bouche are wonderful palate teasers, one pineapple and the other beetroot, followed by first of the “Cold Dish” section, the Banana Prawn. Marinated with lemon oil, prawn oil and kale oil, the chilled prawn is served with pickled and sour kale, crispy rice cracker and coconut milk infused with galangal. The dish was reminiscent of a tom kha and is delicious, with the rice cracker offering a crunchy texture.
The next cold dish was squid cooked with lemongrass. The squid tagliatelle is dressed with chilli paste and dry shrimp, served in a squid ink sauce. Considering I am not a huge fan of squid ink, I found this very enjoyable.
The wild seabass marinated with vinegar and salt is served on a bed of pomelo with caramelised shrimp paste, peanuts and a mousse made from coconut cream and ginger. If you’re familiar with Thai cuisine, the dish will taste like the northern miang kham, perhaps because of the addition of betel leaf.
“We not only want diners who are familiar with Thai food to enjoy our menu but also those who are new to Thai cuisine,” says chef Ton of his modern approach to familiar Thai dishes.
From the “Forest And Sea” comes the grouper, sourced from Phangnga. The fish is steamed and the skin is fried slowly so it becomes cracker-like crisp. It is served on a purée of kale made with salted fish and a chiffonade of crispy kale, which is stir fried with garlic and oyster sauce. Surf and turf gets a Thai take as the dish also comes with a pork ball and a chu chee curry: red curry with a lot of kaffir lime. The curry was a tad salty for me, but had a lovely kick to it. And, if you were me, you’d save the pork ball for the last bite. Yum!
The wild mushroom with smoked pumpkin and dried river fish broth was spectacular. Normally I stay away from any kind of dried fish but this Thai-style dashi was so delicious I couldn’t stop slurping it with my spoon — I almost licked the bowl clean. I am a mushroom head and found the smoked pumpkin purée and mushroom combined well with the clear broth, which is smoked so the fishy taste doesn’t overpower. The trick to getting full flavour out of this dish is not to mix it all, but to enjoy a bit of this with a bit of that.
What comes next is the highlight of the meal and needless to say, it is Le Du’s signature dish. River prawn with pork belly jam, shrimp paste and organic rice. However, by now you would have noticed that nothing is as simple as the menu reads.
Organic black rice is served risotto-style and is Le Du’s version of khao kluk kapi (rice fried with shrimp paste and condiments). The prawn is served with a sauce made from tom yum, with crispy fried egg atop. The pork belly jam is To. Die. For. A thoroughly satisfying dish, though rather rich. (Pro tip: if you haven’t sucked on shrimp head you are missing the deliciousness that lies within). It is not hard to see why this dish is the most popular.
Since the food philosophy at Le Du is to showcase underappreciated Thai produce, ingredients are sourced from local farmers and combined with modern cooking techniques. “We use vegetables that are good for this season, taking into account the dish itself — in terms of taste and how the dish makes the diner feel. We make small changes like, in a week we may change a couple of dishes. We do test runs three or four months before the dishes go on the menu so the staff can familiarise themselves with the dish.”
And that is more than apparent in the main courses. “From The Ranch” offers the charcoal-grilled pork jowl, a fine-dining take on the popular Thai street food khao
kha moo. The pork jowl is put in a sous vide machine for 24 hours at 72C and slow cooked. It is firm and tender and almost melts in your mouth. I love barley and, cooked with traditional five spices, it is soft enough but with a bite. Pickled choi sum, Chinese olive, quail eggs and a housemade chilli sauce and the braised pork leg sauce complete the yumminess.
The dessert section of the menu is aptly name “Sin” and I indulged in the coconut panna cotta, which comes with charcoal coconut ice cream lemon zest, coconut tuille and a black sesame purée. Dried coconut shavings with sesame seeds crown the panna cotta, which was the best tasting panna cotta I have eaten in a while — almost like eating the flesh of a young coconut. Tender and fresh and the right dessert for the tropics.
“At Le Du, I want to present modern Thai food and to showcase the different perspectives of Thai cuisine. To be able to make people understand or to make Thai cuisine famous throughout the world, we cannot say this is how my house eats and this is how it’s presented. It is modern, but when you taste it you feel the soul of Thai cuisine in a way balanced. Not too sharp or spicy. Just a balance of flavours.
“I want to be a part of promoting Thai cuisine to the world, along with the other chefs who cook Thai food. I want to be part of this revolution,” adds chef Ton.
WE NOT ONLY WANT DINERS WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH THAI FOOD TO ENJOY OUR MENU BUT ALSO THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO THAI CUISINE