A true labour of love

VETERAN INTERIOR designer Doungsawart Soonthornsaratoon has spent the best part of the last three years rebuilding and restoring an old family house in the Samsen area but at last the work is finished and her dream – Baannai The Reminiscence – has come to fruition.

The boutique hotel, which has four unique bedrooms and a Thai restaurant, aims to take guests back to the glory days of King Vajiravudh’s reign through its charming interior decor and a range of traditional Thai dishes, desserts and herbal drinks, based on her family's recipes. 

Standing behind Samsen Railway Station, the house stands on land that originally belonged to Praya Ronnachai Charnyut (Thanom Bunyaketu), the regent of Roi-Et Province, on which he built a concrete-and-wood residence for his three daughters.

Those ladies were Doungsawart’s grand aunts and she’s confident they would be proud of her work in reconstructing the old house, an effort on which she has spent more than Bt10 million. Every care has been taken to retain the graceful colonial architecture and while the new structure is made of concrete, the shutters and exterior decoration have been fashioned from solid old wood. The old-world ambience is underlined in the reception area through a collection of rare postcards, porcelains and black-and-white photographs of Bangkok’s former business avenues.

“I wanted to transform this house into a boutique hotel that reflects the beautiful old architecture. My younger brother, who is an architect, was key to the reconstruction. We demolished the original house and kept the old wood from the floors, walls, staircases and doors. Then, we created a new structure with concrete to make it durable and covered parts of the exterior with the old wood,” Doungsawart explains.

“The layout of house is still the same and the three bedrooms on the second floor are designed with different concepts reflecting the characters of each of the three sisters. Modern and functional fittings have been added to ensure comfort and convenience to our guests. We want our hotel to be just like a cosy home,” Doungsawart says. 

Surrounded by a shady courtyard, the restaurant opened in December. The large dining area, where guests can choose to eat either indoors or al fresco, is furnished with marble tables and rattan chairs. A private room is available for parties.

Doungsawart’s 84-year-old aunt and her chef are in charge of the kitchen and have created a selection of both Western and Thai dishes based on authentic recipes. Many of the vegetables, herbs and flowers come from Doungsawart’s adjacent garden so freshness is always guaranteed.

The dishes are not overly spiced but each has a distinct flavour. They include such Thai favourites as Khanom Pang Na Moo – fried bread with minced pork spread, Khao Neaw Moo Daeng Goon Cheang – sticky rice with roasted pork and Chinese sausage, and Miang Kham – coral tree leaves in which to wrap a mix of dried shrimp, fresh ginger, red shallot, lime peanuts, bird’s eye chilli and roasted grated coconut. 

“Our great aunts learned how to cook in a royal household. We’ve started by serving some rare dishes with which Thais may be familiar such as a Khao Man Som Tam set that includes papaya salad, green curry, deep-fried vegetables and jasmine rice cooked with coconut milk,” Doungsawart says. 

“And we are always coming up with new menus to ensure guests have a good selection.”

Perfect for sharing, Pla Haeng Taeng Mo (Bt90) – diced watermelon chunks with dried fish flakes and crispy shallot – refreshes the mouth and whets the appetite for the Yam Dok Mai Baannai (Bt160), a spicy flower salad with minced pork and prawns.

“Yam Dok Mai Baannai is a mixture of fried Thai flowers including butterfly pea, cowslip creeper, marigold, vegetable hummingbird, Mexican creeper and West Indian jasmine, all of which come from my garden,” Doungsawart says. 

For main dishes, Doungsawart recommends Spaghetti Pla Salid (Bt190) – salted dried sepat Siam fish (gourami) cooked with chilli and garlic sauce and the Nam Prik Long Rua set (Bt250), which blends shrimp paste with fried chilli sauce, catfish, sweet pork, and spices and is served with vegetables, omelette, bitter gourd soup and jasmine rice. 

Those with a sweet tooth will enjoy Pra Phai (Bt180), old-fashioned dumplings filled with mung beans and served with fresh coconut milk as well as the seasonal favourite, Khao Neaw Ma-Muang (Bt120) – mango and sticky rice. Other desserts include coffee crunch cake, feuillantine cake, black forest gateau and a sinful mix of chocolate and passion fruit with mascarpone. They’re priced at Bt110.

Fresh juices and shakes made from bael, pineapple, green apple, grapes and watermelon range from Bt80 to Bt95.

The guestrooms will be completed this month. Prices start at Bt7,000. 

  

 

NEW TAKE ON THE OLD

>>Baannai The Reminiscence is at 102/13 Soi Kampangpetch 5, Setsiri Road, Samsen Nai district. The restaurant is open from 2 to 10pm on weekdays and from 11am to 10pm on weekends. 

>>Call (02) 619 7430 or (02) 619 8783 or visit the Baannai page on Facebook.