When Bangkok what should one eat? Thai food of course, so I decided to try one of the top restaurants in town, Nahm Bangkok. Nahm is another Bangkok restaurant that is on the The Worlds 50 Best Restaurants list at number 28 globally and the number 10 restaurant in Asia. Nahm also received a Michelin Star in the inaugural Bangkok guide in 2017.

A part from be well credentialed Nahm Bangkok’s Chef, David Thompson, is an Aussie, so the food must be good.

Nahm

Nahm Bangkok is located in the Como Metropolitan Hotel Bangkok, which is next to the Banyan Tree (which has better signage if you are looking for the place). When you arrive at the Como, Nahm is on the right hand side. You can enter from the drive way or from the hotel lobby.

The restaurant has a few outside tables that overlook the pool, but when I was there it was a bit to steamy to dine outside, a good option on a milder night.

They also have a few interesting cocktails to kick off the meal, I had a Ginger Tanqueray Martini, which was very refreshing!

Dinning Options

There are two dining options at Nahm, ala carte or the tasting menu. I went with the tasting menu, which I would recommend.

Tasting Menu

With this option you get a fair bit of flexibility as you decide which dishes to try, one problem though is what to choose, it is an interesting menu. How it works:

• Canapés Course: Both Canape’s are served
• Entree Course: Two dishes from the menu
• Soup Course: One soup from the menu
• Relish Course: One relish course from the menu
• Curry Course: One curry from the menu (I wish more restaurants had a curry course)
• Wok-Fried, Steamed or Grill Course: One dish

Our tasting menu experience sets you on a course to explore the complex flavors of Thai cuisine.

Your meal will begin with our selection of canapés. Then you will be served two small entrées, which are designed to be shared and enjoyed with the accompaniments and condiments provided but without rice.

Following this course will be the main part of the meal, which will be served in two linked movements, the first will focus on light, bright flavors of soups and relishes, followed a number of minutes later by fuller bodied dishes such as coconut curries and grilled meats.
We recommend rice with this part of meal.

The final course is dessert, followed by a selection of mignardises. 

Please help us compose your tasting menu experience by choosing two dishes from the entrée section, and then one from each subsection in the main course. Most dishes are meant to be share, please make your selection as a group. The portion size will correspond to the number of guests at the table. You may each choose an individual portion of soup as well as dessert

The Menu

canapés

bright santol dressed with dried shrimp, pork, peanuts
and herbs served on crisp rice crackers**

miang of lobster, chicken, green mango, snake fruit,
and herbs served on thong – lang leaves**

entrées

relish of wild prawns from songkla
with tamarind, ginger, and somsa

chiang mai larp of pigeon tossed with herbs and
crisp alliums, served with fresh vegetables

thai leaves and fruits
with vegetarian chili jam dressing

fiddlehead ferns from northern Thailand
with songkla wild prawns and delicious tawai dressing**

soup

tom yum soup of river prawn,
blue foot mushrooms, chilli jam** 

black grouper fish in tamarind and ginger broth

chicken, coconut and galangal soup
with chilli oil

savory soup of wagyu beef cheek
in a mild, herbaceous broth

relish

relish of grilled river prawns with ranong province shrimp paste,
served with cha-om omelette and vegetables

relish of sour madan fruit served
with grilled songkla squid and fresh vegetables**

spicy, fragrant relish of makmaad prickly ash
served with sampran farm pork jowl and vegetables

blue swimmer crab and preserved shrimp cooked in coconut cream
with deep fried prawns

curry

massaman curry of lamb with lychee,
young potatoes, and burnt shallots

rich red curry of duck
with snake fruit , sour yellow eggplant and chilli leaves

southern yellow curry of blue swimmer crab
with betel leaves and calamansi**

sour turmeric curry of young coconut palm
pumpkin, green bananas, eggplants
young corns, and tree basil

wok-fried, steamed and grilled

wok-fried fiddlehead ferns,
sour pork and heirloom tomatoes

“angry beef” stir-fry with wagyu beef
young coconut shoots, basil, and green peppercorns**

wok-fried pak wan with garlic and yanagi mushrooms

steamed leopard coral grouper
with pork, fermented yellow beans and fried garlic

grilled omelette with blue swimmer crab and prawn

** the dishes that I chose (The Banana Leaf wrapped dish was not listed on the menu)

The Food

Starter

Sweet Thai wafer

Tastes of coriander, subtle chili, slightly sweet. Each flavour was distinct flavors, a great start to the meal

Canapés

bright santol dressed with dried shrimp, pork, peanuts and herbs served on crisp rice crackers (the dish on the right side)

Very subtle flavours lime was predominate, another of the many dishes that I enjoyed

miang of lobster, chicken, green mango, snake fruit, and herbs served on thong – lang leaves (the dish on the left side)

Great dish, loved the pomegranate pearls popping and releasing their flavour as you devoured this, nice combo with the chili, lime and spice flavours.

Entrées

fiddlehead ferns from northern Thailand with songkla wild prawns and delicious tawai dressing

Wow, what an abundance of different flavours, each flavour was distinct especially the chili and tamarind.

banana leaf packet (I made the mistake of not checking the online menu to confirm that all of the dishes were included, so this one I don’t have the full description)

This dish you had to unwrap and then eat with a rice cracker. Maannnnnnnnnnnnnn the flavours of spice and chili, that lingered after the ginger, lime and different types of seafood, prawn, crab, grouper, had dissipated. What a great dish, I think that it was my favourite.

Soup

tom yum soup of river prawn, blue foot mushrooms, chilli jam. This was recommended by one of the wait-staff

I was thinking about choosing a different soup as I usually have Tom Yum when I am eating Thai, but one of the wait-staff was adamant that I should go with this. He was right it was great (I expect that the other soups would have been pretty good as well though). Good balance between the heat and the sour, again each flavour was quite distinct

Relish

relish of sour madan fruit served with grilled songkla squid and fresh vegetables. Another dish recommend by the wait-staff.

I had no idea what to expect for a “relish” course, but I like the idea (now). The squid was cooked to perfection, would make my Uncle Sid smile, very tender, wonder if they soak it in milk first. I did not find the relish to be too spicy, another nice mix of flavors. There is heat though lurking in the background just waiting for you to for you to take a big bite and then bammm there it is. YUMMMMMMMM!

Curry

Southern yellow curry of blue swimmer crab with betel leaves and calamansi. Also recommended by the wait-staff.

The only other time I have had a blue swimmer crab curry was at another (to be unnamed restaurant in BKK that I have frequently written about) and this was a different take on it. The other was a bit more Indian this was definitely Thai. The first taste the flavours are subtle then as your taste more the spice and the flavour of the crab are uncovered. What impressed me the most was that the flavour of the crab was not overpowered by the spice. Great dish. Would love to try this with a muddy (a mud crab to the uninformed), the extra bit of flavour from a muddy would be very interesting

wok-fried, steamed and grilled

“angry beef” stir-fry with wagyu beef young coconut shoots, basil, and green peppercorns

This was the dish that just did not do it for me. Too much chili, and for me to say that is pretty amazing. The chili overpowered all of the other flavours with the exception of the fresh green peppercorns. I could not taste the beef or anything else. BTW, I still enjoyed this, but it could have been better if there was less focus on the chili.

rice

At Nahm Bangkok they serve the main courses with two different types of rice, green (which young rice) and white both are from Thailand. The textures of the two are different, the green rice was firmer than the white rice.

after dinner

I didn’t have any dessert, ran out of room, but was given a sweet thai cracker with coconut mousse and shaved coconut, which was very tasty.

The Wine

Nahm Bangkok has an interesting wine list with a decent selection of Riesling, once I found them, I did not look any further.

Name:            Domaine Ostertag Clos Mathis Year:               2013 Region:           Ribeauville, Alsace, France Vineyard:       Clos Mathis Varietal:         Riesling Oz’s Wine Rating:   4 out of 5 Bright light yellow straw in appearance with a refreshing mix of grapefruit, lemon zest, lime and a slight hint of kerosene aromas. On the palate it was vibrant, complex, refreshing with just the right balance of acid and sweetness and an enjoyable medium length finish.This paired very well with the food served at Nahm. Great wine!

Nahm Bangkok

I enjoyed my experience at Nahm Bangkok, great food, excellent service and a very comfortable place to eat. A number of my friends have eaten there in the past and found it a bit too spicy, I guess they are not the only ones who found this to be the case as there were a number of “less” spicy choices on the menu. The only dish that I found over the top from a spicy level was the Angry Beef, but that was because the chili overpowered everything else.

My favourite dish was the Banana Leaf Packet, great flavours and just the right amount of chili. One word YUM!

The Tasting Menu is definitely the way to go and would work with groups as well, most of the dishes are easy to share and they serve individual portions of the soup. I will definitely return to Nahm Bangkok.

Cheers!