[Bangkok] Modern Thai Cuisine at 1* Le Du

Rating: ❤❤❤❤ (4/5)

It was a night of creative modern Thai cuisine and great hospitality at 1* Le Du where the name of the restaurant means “season” in Thai. The chef Thitid Tassanakajohn (better known as Chef Tonn) trained at the Culinary Institute of America and subsequently Eleven Madison Park, The Modern and Jean Georges before opening his own restaurant in Bangkok. Sourcing only quality local ingredients, the chef aims to showcase the amazing produce that Thailand has to offer using modern cooking techniques. 

Our meal started with a gorgeous Beetroot Tart and a series of appetizers of which the highlight was the Khao Chae with shrimp, pork and jasmine ice cream! Khao Chae is a Thai dish where the rice is soaked in cool fragrant water and meant to be eaten during the hot season - I actually tried this at another restaurant earlier in the trip and thus could appreciate Chef Ton’s ingenious version even better.

Squid Egg & Palm Sugar

Wild Sea Bass with watermelon and smoked fish cream

Khao-Chae with shrimp and pork, jasmine ice cream

The Ocean Cat Fish with bamboo shoot and ivory gourd was the chef's flavorful and spicy interpretation of the Japanese grilled unagi.

The Ant Larvae with potato and smoked fish broth was definitely an intriguing dish as it was the first time I ever had ant larvae (well I've had ants before but not its larvae). Ant Larvae is commonly eaten in Northeast Thailand and the taste is honestly not as revolting as it may seem. In fact the eggs are fatty and sweet.

I was expecting more from the River Prawn with pork belly jam, shrimp paste and organic rice. It was generous in size but I felt that the flavor of the prawn itself was lacking.

Of the mains, my favorite was the Charcoal Grilled Pork Jowl with its intense flavors. The Local Beef Short Rib was slightly disappointing however as the beef itself was a bit lean and not as flavorful as we had hoped.

Free Range Chicken with tomato, carrot and Hor-nueng sauce

Charcoal Grilled Pork Jowl with five spices and Chinese olive

Local Beef Short Rib with green curry

A refreshing palate cleanser before desserts.

Mango Panna Cotta with sticky rice and smoked coconut

Jackfruit with its seed and tamarind

More petit fours to end the meal.

While not every dish was a home run, there were a few interesting highlights and I look forward to learning more about Thai cuisine through Chef Tonn's creative dishes.

Le Du
399/3 Silom Soi 7, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 Thailand
Tel: +66 92 919 9969
http://www.ledubkk.com/

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