Take classic Thai, add magic

HENRIK YDE-ANDERSEN’S travels in Thailand have found heartfelt expression in an astonishing feast called “The Journey”, now being served at Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin, the award-winning modern-Thai restaurant at the Siam Kempinski Bangkok.

Sra Bua is of course the sister restaurant to the Michelin-starred Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen – owned by Thai-Danish entrepreneur Lertchai Treetwatchaiwong – where Andersen, like his namesake, makes fairytales come true, though with food.

Like the Kiin Kiin in Denmark, Sra Bua incorporates Western cooking techniques into age-old local recipes to produce unique, Thai-inspired and very modern dishes. The familiar Siamese flavours are retained within beautifully composed presentations. 

Chef Yde-Andersen updates the menus regularly, and The Journey is borne on his memories of Thai cuisine, and particularly the street food. 

The banquet begins with Tom Yum DIY, a savoury course to stir the appetite. Think instant noodles in a tom yum goong broth – and then think outside the box. Diners are given a large syringe filled with tofu to squeeze into the soup. The result is curly delicious noodles to slurp up from the herbaceous, spicy soup.

Next up is a trio of oysters – Yaowarat, Phuket and Quartier Francais – representing our cuisine’s cultural diversity. The Yaowarat oyster (Bangkok’s Chinatown is where Lertchai was raised, incidentally) is topped with XO sauce and ginger, the Phuket with spicy seafood sauce, and the Quartier Francais with a mini-tempura of contrasting texture. 

Hor mok, normally a mix of fish, curry, coconut milk and greens steamed in a banana-leaf basket, comes without the traditional “packaging” in Hor Mok Talay. The coconut cream curry is served with just crabmeat and egg yolk, to be enjoyed together in one bite, recreating the sensational feel and flavour of classic hor mok. 

Egg yolk is not a typical ingredient of this dish, but it’s surprising how it boosts the richness without making it slimy. Its soft creaminess also tones down the curry’s power.

The next two dishes are beef cooked in two different ways. The first is sweetbread well balanced with various sweet-and-sour ingredients, delivered in an interesting presentation. The latter is succulent beef with oyster sauce home-made from an old recipe – just oysters, sugar and soy sauce – that in itself is a real standout with its lightness and aroma, not as pungent or salty as the bottled variants. 

The meal ends with Deconstructed Lod Chong, in which all the ingredients of the traditional Thai dessert – pandan-flavoured flour, coconut cream and the rest – are served separately so you can mix them up yourself. To anyone with a sweet tooth, this is sublime.

Meanwhile Koh Samui becomes a cocktail as well as a holiday island. Accompanied by passion-fruit-tinged vanilla ice cream, it’s a pina colada “hidden in the sand”. Take a sip and the “sand” collapses in the glass, immediately reminiscent of lazy days at the beach. 

Chef Yde-Anderson has included some of these recipes in his new cookbook, “Kiin Kiin Modern Thai Cooking”, sold only at the restaurant for Bt3,000. 

  

ADVENTURES IN EATING

>>Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin is at the Siam Kempinski Bangkok, near the Siam BTS station. 

>>The Journey set menu is served only at dinner, from 6 to 9pm, and costs Bt2,900. 

>>Reservations are required. Call (02) 162 9000.