Thailand still prides itself on being the only Southeast Asian nation never colonised by Western powers. But the same can no longer be said about Thai food.
In the past year, the country's fine dining scene has been enlivened by an invasion of Aussies, Americans and Scandinavians claiming the colour and complexity of Asia's second-most widely travelled cuisine as their own. The results in this race for borrowed authenticity have ranged from pretentious to audacious.
For years now, spurred by the promotion of standardised Thai restaurants overseas, their wondrous m?lange of tropical flavours has been whittled down to endless repetitions of culinary cliches. The same tasty treats found in markets and street stalls are garlanded with orchids to justify high prices, but few high-end or hotel restaurants boast a single chef daring enough to try to make his name with something new. Enter the crusading saviours, led by last year's advance guard of Bo (Duangporn Songvisava) and Lan (Dylan Jones), with their restaurant Bo.lan, followed by Soul Food Mahanakorn, Nahm and Sra Bua.
Bo and Lan are two disciples of David Thompson, the Australian devotee of true Thai whose Nahm in London won a Michelin star. Spurred by the fearlessness of youth, these partners have gone full out with the Thompson formula: sophisticated setting, scrupulous sourcing and centuries-old specialities - no shortcuts. Too spicy for tourists, too pricey for locals, Bo.lan's starters sometimes seem a mishmash. And the menu reads more like an encyclopedia, as in 'Hand-picked mud-crab and fermented rice simmered in fresh coconut cream with lemon grass, white turmeric and chilli served with deep-fried stuffed cabbage (pork and preserved fish).' Can one really taste if the crab was hand-picked?
Wisely, a 30-year-old food writer named Jarrett Wrisley avoids such complications. In a first move from critic's table into the kitchen, this American's Soul Food Mahanakorn is a noisy, glorified bar offering a limited range of sanitised street favourites.
While he, too, stresses organic suppliers and better cuts of meat, few of his salads and grills could really be said to be more soulful than their much cheaper equivalents at venues such as Or Tor Gor, Chatuchak's state-run Farmer's Market. Through trial and error, Wrisley seems to be honing a style distinctively downscale-turned-upscale. But so far, the lure is less his farang-friendly touch than a trendy Thonglor location.
No wonder Thompson himself hesitated for years before bringing his hot coals to hotter Bangkok. After testing the waters at various culinary festivals and burnishing his credentials with two well-researched standard-setting cookbooks, Thai Food and Thai Street Food, the Aussie guru finally took the plunge with another branch of Nahm in the hyper-cool Metropolitan Hotel. No bamboo, no coconut shells, no purple orchid garnishes to spruce up the bare white serving bowls: it's just the food, madam. While the setting seems almost too clinical, Thompson's menu turns out to be far more playful and confident than the haute-peasant fare he attempted in London.