Gaggan

Set in a stunning whitewashed colonial-style wooden house in the heart of downtown Bangkok, the award-winning Gaggan offers a culinary experience like no other. Drawing on his memories of the amazing street food and diversity of India's different regional cuisines, Chef Gaggan Anand uses science and modern technology to create modernist and progressive re-interpretations of traditional recipe that have made his restaurant the top dining destination in Bangkok with residents as well as visitors.  The 22 course menu is available for 3,500 THB per person.

For our last night in Thailand, Keith made reservations at this progressive restaurant.  Service was of high-quality, and we ordered a bottle of white wine to accompany our meal.  The fun menu is inspired by seasonal ingredients and takes you on a journey through Southeast Asia.

We started with a series of "Bites" to be eaten with our hands.  The Dewdrop was a cool explosion in the mouth that was sweet and refreshing.

Next, the Chocolate Chilly Bomb was a little truffle covered in edible silver; Yogurt Explosion was a savory delicacy; and the Edible Plastic Spiced Nuts were mind blowing crushed pistachios in edible rice paper.

Salli Boti was another oddity to me intense with Indian spices.

Uncooked Curry Cookie was a bit dry, but I think it was the chef's interpretation of American "cookie dough".

Papadum Uni was a beautiful little bite of puffed rice topped with a strawberry slice and some briny uni.  I could have eaten many of these nibbles.

Idly Tamago was another pretty plate, but not my favorite.  It was a bit dry.

Foie Gras Sundae was the last of the little bites and a nice sweet and salty finish.

Charcoal - was a surprise dish that was presented under a glass full of smoke and ended up being a burnt fish croquette.  It was interesting.

Magic Mushroom - forest mushrooms served in the shape of a log with edible soil.  While I loved the mushroom flavor and the play on the garden and earth elements, the 'mushroom' skin was very chewy like taffy, and a little difficult to eat.

Red Matcha was a lovely 'tea ceremony' of fresh heirloom tomatoes.  Were were instructed to eat the fresh tomatoes first, while the server poured the tea water - made from the tomato skins - into our bowls. We were then told to drink the water separately.  This dish had a lot of nice flavor, and was a good transition to the following courses.

Story of fish called Kin-Medai.  The first act was an oil poached fish with yellow gunpowder.  The second act had rice kedigree (porridge) with fish heads.  The third act was eggplant smoked with fish.  The fourth act was fish bone jelly with orange segments.  Overall, the course was not that fishy at all, but reminded me of Japanese cuisine.

Moving to more heavier dishes, we had Rangoli - tandoori lamp with a gorgeous edible design made with beets.  I had a vegetarian substitute of meaty mushrooms.

Since the chef is Indian, it was fitting that he have some sort of traditional curry dish.  I Want My Curry!!! was a delicious course of green chicken tikka masala served with naan and rice.  It was a nice change up from the Thai cuisine we'd had all week.

Now segueing into desserts, we had Mithai ki Maki - ice cream made from date sugar served with pistachio cake and sesame and almond crunch.

Co-created by Chef Goh - #Gohgan was a sake ice cream with miso caramel, grape snow, and spring fruits.  It was Canada on a plate.

We ended our journey with Roots of Love - another collaboration desert with rose essence. It was like a little yogurt popsicle.

We had a great progressive Indian experience at Gaggan.  The Chef came by a couple times to chat with the tables, which was a nice interpersonal way to demystify the allure of the line between art and cuisine.

*Update 2018:  Gaggan received 2 Michelin stars!

Total Rating: 4.73
Food: 5, Price: 4.5, Service: 5, Ambience: 3.5, Accessibility: 4.5