Nahm, Bangkok
Do any of you have those days where you realllly question life? I have had two of them. The first was when I went on my first date with BW and after such a great day, it was time to say goodbye. I went for the wave whilst he went in for the hug, and it just ended up being the most awkward side hug with a wave one can imagine. A little bit of me dies inside thinking about it now. The second “omg-i-hate-life” day was in Bangkok. Let me tell you alll about it.
I had managed to get a booking at Nahm, number 37 on the global top 50 restaurants list and whose chef, David Thompson, had been the first ever to achieve a Michelin star for Thai cuisine. So there I am sitting in Nahm with BW, and we have just ordered the most amazing selection of dishes after being told they serve halal.
The waitress brought us our lovely mocktails and as I took a sip, I realise that I couldn’t taste much. Huh, weird. I tried BW’s but same the same thing happened. Ah, I’m sure it’s just nothing.
She then brought out the amuse bouche and that is when it horribly dawned on me that this was one of those days. You see, a cold I had been harbouring since London had caught up to me and coincidentally decided to make me lose my sense of taste on the one evening I had booked an amazing dinner. So, I present to you a blog post about the best Thai food BW has ever eaten *sigh* at what was once regarded as Asia’s top restaurant.
Sweet pineapple triangles topped with shredded chicken and vegetables, and reduced in a palm sugar and tamarind sauce. A sweet and juicy start to the meal.
A refreshing salad made with an assortment of different fruits and vegetables – rose apple, green onions, chillies etc. – and finished with a tangy tamarind, palm sugar, and sesame dressing. The textural and subtle flavour contrasts really made this a fantastic dish.
A Thai classic; beef stir-fried with basil, chilli, and garlic, but with a Nahm twist on it using wagyu beef instead. According to BW, this was everything you would want in a Thai dish. The mouth-melting wagyu meat was wonderfully cooked and had taken in all the flavours from the holy basil and garlic, and even though this was mind-blowingly hot, it was still insanely enjoyable. I am 99.999999% sure that this would have been my absolute favourite item of the night, no wait, one of my all-time favourite dishes, but alas, I could not even taste the meat itself.
A simple chicken curry that had been served with a bowl of pickled cucumbers on the side, and perhaps was the most underwhelming of the night.
It was wholesome, but lacked that intense flavour punch that all the other dishes packed. Nevertheless, the chicken thigh pieces used were wonderfully tender and the whole shallots that were bobbing around in the curry were mild and added a sweet touch.
A rich, creamy coconut based curry with big chunks of sweet crabmeat swimming around that was served alongside a small salad with a pile of deep-fried crunchy tiny prawns on the side.
The calamansi leaves that had dressed the curry added a sharp acidic tang to help cut through the richness, and it all came together really nicely, especially with the accompanying steamed jasmine rice. A firm favourite of BW’s and I couldn’t even complain when he proceeded to scrape the bowl clean as I sat and watched in misery.
Mind you, although I could not pick up any taste from the food, I definitely felt the mouth-numbing, nose-dripping chilli hit from every dish, and the waiter ended up giving us slices of rose apple with coconut sugar to help soothe the heat. The couple on the next table had to even leave one whole dish untouched due to how incredibly spicy it was. If you can’t handle the spice, do not avoid Nahm but keep in mind that you may be limited in choice when it comes to non-spicy food.
The total bill amounted to £110 for two people including drinks and service, so £55 each. This is definitely on the pricey side but for a special occasion (e.g. my birthday) or for that one nice dinner of the holiday, Nahm is really worth it. This isn’t your usual fancy restaurant where they charge ££££ for a tiny morsel of food; their portions are substantial and the surroundings are so casual you almost feel at home!
Had I been able to taste anything, I know I would have loved my dining experience at one of the top 50 restaurants in the world, and I highly recommend you do check it out if you’re heading that way. By the way, my tastebuds were completely fine the next morning!
