Nooror Somany Steppe is gifted. Originally a housewife in Belgium, Nooror used her cooking talent to put up the first Blue Elephant restaurant in Brussels with her husband over 30 years ago. Ironically, the restaurant in Bangkok is the 10th branch of the global brand—it was first launched in London, Paris and Dubai before finding a place back home. Nestled charmingly in the monumental Thai-Chine building right by the Surasak BTS station, the Bangkok branch is probably the brand’s most famous and has long been a prestigious spot for hosting members of the Thai royal family, foreign official guests and VIPs (a “wall of fame” is filled with countless of framed photographs of international who’s who). Don’t be surprised, then, if you end up dining alongside ministers from the Indian government, like we did.
The converted dining room takes you back in time with colonial-style interiors, dark wooden furniture and antique sculptures. The menu sees high-quality local produce combined with imported staples like Australian lamb and French foie gras. But it’s chef Nooror’s meticulous treatment that brings these ingredients to another level. Blue Elephant’s signature foie gras dish (B780) is given complexity with a combination of tamarind sauce, mashed sweet potatoes and Thai basil. Other must-try dishes include crispy prawn cake paired with pomelo salad (B420), Phuket-style crab curry with betel leaves (B880), and fragrant sea bass wrapped in banana leaves and grilled in a bamboo case (B620).
