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Australia’s dining scene is seriously heating up! Just weeks after it was announced that three-Michelin-starred Swedish chef Björn Frantzén is opening two Aussie restaurants in 2027, another global heavyweight is joining the party.
Pichaya Soontornyanakij, the celebrated chef and restaurateur behind Bangkok’s one-Michelin-starred Thai-Chinese restaurant Potong – ranked No. 13 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list – is opening contemporary Thai restaurants in Perth and Sydney next year.
‘Chef Pam’ was also named The World’s Best Female Chef 2025 and Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024.
Landing at Crown Perth, Khao San Sek will draw inspiration from Chef Pam’s Bangkok venue of the same name. The menu will zero in on five “sacred ingredients” – rice, chilli, coconut, fish sauce and palm sugar – repositioning Thai cuisine around the core building blocks of flavour.
Meanwhile, at Crown Sydney, Sek will be an entirely new dining experience, featuring an open kitchen, theatrical tableside experiences, thoughtful wine pairings and a playful dessert trolley.
Chef Pam, who feels a deep connection to Australia through her New South Wales-born grandmother, says: “Opening my first Australian restaurants is incredibly meaningful. My current venues are about respecting the foundations of Thai cuisine and expressing them in a modern and personal way. Australia’s beautiful local produce makes it the perfect destination for this next chapter.”