The friend chose the place and so we made our way to dinner after our massage. It was an interesting journey as the grab passed by local markets, alleyways and high-rise buildings before stopping us in the middle of a construction going on with no restaurant in sight. But seeing we are near (on GPS), we alighted and found our way to the restaurant. Upon reaching, it was a beautiful villa with a wide and spacious garden front. The sight that welcomed us was so different from the activities that was going on outside

Baan Tepa is built by Chef Tam’s grandmother and the place is home to 3 generations. It has now been remodeled to a restaurant/garden focused on sustainability and guests are more than welcomed to interact and explore

The main dining area remained hidden to the outside world as you stepped into a different sanctuary after passing though the doors

The start of a 12-course menu, priced ฿4,500

And as we were welcomed to our table, we got led to the kitchen for our first bite. It was the first for us, like I never had my first course in the kitchen itself. I had to say, brownie points for being creative. And as we (+ the group next to us) walked down the kitchen, you could hear the palpable excitement and all the phone being ready for action. We were welcomed by Chef Pam herself and soon, the suspenseful first bite appeared

Tubtim Grab

Inspired by a Thai traditional dessert, this was presented like a sorbet that was refreshing and cold. I felt like this was more for the experience, like it sets the stage for our entire dinner. I mean it’s fun to be in the kitchen for a short while, eating and not cooking of course

We went for the 4-glass wine pairing and first to appear was this Champagne, which was disappointing. We noticed the bottle was already opened (how long I’m not sure) and as the sommelier was waiting for our first course to be served so that he can pour the champagne for us. That aside, the champagne itself – the bubbles were not very defined. It fizzed for a short while and it dissipated rather quickly. To me, it felt more like a white wine after awhile. We feedbacked though I’m not sure if our feedback was taken well cos in his defence, he said the champagne tasted like this. The friend and I just looked at each other like.. does he think we never had champagne before? But okay, we left it as that #notgonnaargue

Nam Prik

Back to dinner..

Salted Duck Egg Nam Prik, Crispy Noodles, Prawn Mousseline

Ma Maad Mad Nam Prik, Salted Jasmine Thai Wagyu, Local Potatoes

Krill Kapi Nam Prik, Rose Apple, Murex Conch

These small bites all had their own flavours. I personally enjoyed the salted egg duck and the rose apple nam prik that left an impression on us

Som Tom

Their version of Baan somtum which was nicely balanced and not overly intense with the spice. Love the addition of sweet longans and mangosteen with an icy crunch to wash off the palate

Marinated Giant Kingfish, House-made Chilli Paste, Garden Mint

We thought this was good. Using a special thai sauce, the whole dish had different layers of sweet, spicy and saltiness. The fish itself was sweet and fresh. Basically, this was like the savory version of Thai pancake

Glass 2: White Wine

Crab Crab Crab

Blue Swimmer Crab Custard, Three Orange Vinaigrette, Paddy Rice Field Crab Fat Emulsion

I really liked the custard, it’s like their own rendition of steamed egg

Trang Soft Shell Crab, Yellow Curry Fermented Bamboo Aioli, Black Crab Brittle

The fried crab was good on its own but the aioli was too strong in my opinion. It overwhelmed the dish and i felt it wasn’t necessary. Truth to be told, I was full at this point already

Chicken Liver Mousse, Jaew Gel, Toasted Rice, ‘Ma Paam Jam’ served, Warm Samerng Rice Brioche

I love a good chicken liver dish and I was excited to see what Baan Tepa had to offer. Honestly, the star was the sourdough bread. Awesome is an understatement. The starter of the bread started 3 years ago so imagine the thought and effort that went into it. Toasted well, nicely buttered. So good the friend asked for 2 more slices under my glaring eyes (cos I knew she was going to tell me she’s so full later) They need to keep this on the menu period

‘Kradang Nga’ Fresh Rice Noodles, Yunnan Ham, Coconut Lon Sauce, Smoked Coconut Shoot

Probably the only dish that I really didn’t like. The flavours were too heavy for me. Imagine a heavily cured ham, blue cheese and coconut sauce. It was a firework of different flavours but probably more like an explosion that gone wrong to me. Texture of the noodles were good though but that aside, please set this dish as far away from me

Ham, cheese and no me

Glass 3: Orange Wine

We honestly didn’t like this wine and told them to clear our glasses and skip to the red instead. So they served the red upon our request. We didn’t make any request for them to serve us something else though we honestly expect them to do so. And rightfully, they did eventually. Cos if they didn’t do this service recovery, the friend and I would probably have this private discussion for a very long time. And in her annoyance, she said he’s not a very good sommelier. LOL

‘Kapi River’ Prawn, Southern Curry, Prawn Fat Emulsion, Rice Roti

The pineapple was sweet but the prawns lacked in the slightly charred taste. They could grill this a little more to bring out the flavour. The red curry went very nicely with the roti though the roti felt a little too oily. If they had used the Singapore’s version of roti (prata), I thought it would be a stellar combination

Seasonal Fish, Grilled Bamboo, Snake Gourd, Bai Yunang, Fish Consommé

I thought fermented fish might taste a little too strong for some but it went very nicely with the broth

Abalone, Khao Mao Dai Rice, Local Herbs and Ingredients

When this dish was first served, the friend was like where’s my abalone?? Lol

To be honest, the rice was better than the abalone. The abalone was abit too chewy. The texture just wasn’t great. They need to change their supplier. The mixed rice reminded us of bibimbap, just that this was Thai version. Love all the spices and ingredients they had incorporated in this dish

Service recovery provided: Choice of own cocktail 😉

And that’s Chef Tam at work

Stuffed Duck Breast, Pork, Lotus Seeds, Wood Ear Mushroom, Ginger Duck Jus, Green Lettuce

The first bite was good. The duck meat was well cooked, skin crisp and a little oily just to keep that fattiness there. But I felt the texture with the pork belly was too much. It made the whole flavour went down to the heavier side and the texture of the pork belly made the whole dish too soft, which wasn’t really enjoyable

Lychee & Basil

Palate cleaner

We were glad we were finally progressing to desserts soon. We were so full we asked them to serve our desserts 15 minutes later. lol

And there was a show going on here. And that’s sweet wine to go with our final course

Banana Beignet, Issan Almond Ice cream, Banana Leaf Charcoal and Oil

I was too full at this point to describe anything. It was just into the mouth and moving on

Petite 4: Passion Fruit/Sea Salt, Chocolate + Wild Cherry from Issan, Sticky Rice Cake, Corn/Coconut

And clearly we took our Petite 4 away

So the joke came when the birthday cake arrived. I totally forgot I had requested for it and the friend and I were as confused as the server. So we took turns posing with the cake. lol

There were hits and misses no doubt. I mean to be fair, it’s a freaking 12-course dinner. We can’t expect every dish to be 100% perfect. If we could give a suggestion, they could cut down 2-3 courses. We were really struggling. Still I think it was a good dinner overall and one I think you could give it a try as well

Baan Tepa Culinary Space

2369 Ramkhamhaeng Rd, Hua Mak, Bang Kapi District, Bangkok 10240, Thailand